THE VALUE OF EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE IN ACCOUNTING EDUCATION – A PRACTITIONER VIEW

Emotional Intelligence (EI) is associated with the awareness and management of one’s own emotions and those of others. Although not traditionally associated with the accounting profession, there have been calls in recent years for the inclusion of EI instruction into third level accounting education programmes. The purpose of this study is to add to the existing body of research which explores the value of EI instruction in third level accounting education.

Previous studies have concentrated on the quantification of EI of third level students or on the views of employers in the accounting industry. However, little is known about the views and opinions of accounting practitioners of how EI instruction, or the lack of it, has affected experience in the workplace. This study explores the practitioners’ views and seeks their opinion on the value of incorporating EI into accounting education.

Using theory of EI, this study explored in-depth, the views of five professional accountants. Semi structured interviews were conducted. Participants ranged in age and experience. The study found that accounting practitioners display traits of EI and these become more prevalent in senior positions where accountants manage others’ emotions as well as their own. It is suggested that EI skills come naturally to some but not to others. Age and experience may be contributing factors. Gender may also be a factor but this study did not find any clear link in this regard.

A strong finding of this study is that EI is best learned in the workplace, not in an academic environment. It is claimed that an academic environment may create awareness but will not develop EI. It is the participants’ view that EI in accounting education may be best achieved through improved technical proficiency in the core accounting subjects. This finding is consistent with other contemporary research and opens up new areas of research exploring the current and future composition of accounting education .