The higher education systems in Spain and the UK are being revised to improve the quality of education and to reduce the expectations gap relating to employer demands. In fact, both of these objectives could be seen as being one and the same. A common conceptualisation of quality is expressed in the phrase “fitness for purpose”. In order to improve the quality of higher education it is therefore necessary to identify the customers of higher education. Yorke, 1992 M. Yorke, Quality in higher education: a conceptualization and some observations on the implementation of a sectorial quality system, Journal of Further and Higher Education 16 (1992) (1), pp. 90–103.Yorke (1992) offered two alternative views. Firstly, the student is the customer who “buys” a product (the chosen academic program, course, degree, etc.) with the expectation of a future improvement in his/her standard of living. In Yorke’s second view the student is a “product” that is “transformed” by the educational process into a citizen with added value in terms of capabilities (skills and knowledge). In this wider second view, society is the “customer” and is seen as being represented directly by the job market and employers, and indirectly by the institutions and administrations that fund education. Yorke’s two views can also be seen as coincident and not as alternatives. That is, if one is accomplished (the student acquires the required capabilities) the other is also accomplished (the student is able to access the job market in a higher position and thereby improve his/her standard of living). Therefore, in order to respond to employers’ needs, the needs of the employers must be identified. Professional and academic associations, predominantly in the USA, have through published reports and statements made public their views of the desired profile of a professional accountant.

One of the most interesting aspects to have arisen from these statements is the increasing importance given to non-accounting capabilities and skills. These capabilities and skills are important because they “enable the professional accountant to make successful use of the knowledge gained through education”. A recent report in this area noted that there are continuing criticisms of accounting programs by employers and educators. It was noted that the educators and the employers shared the same views. Their report categorised the major problems perceived by employers into six areas:

• Course content and curricula

• Pedagogy

• Skill development

• Technology

• Faculty development and reward systems

• Strategic direction

Albrecht and Sack (2000, p. 55) stressed the importance of skill development. They stated that:

“Students forget what they memorise. Content knowledge becomes dated and is often not transferable across different types of jobs. On the other hand critical skills rarely become obsolete and are usually transferable across assignments and careers.”

Even though there is a high degree of consensus in the opinions expressed in the published statements, some authors have raised the possible existence of biases and hidden interests. Poe and Bushong (1991) state that the proposed curriculum resulting from the above statements is focused on educating Certified Public Accountants (CPAs) in the USA. CPAs are trained as auditors and consequently their development needs could be different from those of other accounting professionals. Davis and Sherman (1996) and Mathews (1994) indicate that the big international auditing firms were a major influence when the statements were being produced. More specifically, Davis and Sherman (1996) and Burton and Sack (1990) stated that the proposed curricular model, which was heavily focused on skills development, was designed more for the needs of large public accounting firms and that the skills included are less critical for small and medium size firms.

St. Pierre (1996) indicates that the conclusions presented in the statements have been accepted without empirical support. However, many examples of research work in the accounting education literature substantiate the importance to employers of vocational skills.

However, the research cited in Table 2 is yet again predominantly focused on the employers of CPAs, makes little reference to the thoughts and views of management accountants, and has been largely conducted in the USA. There is no evidence of comparative studies having been undertaken in order to identify and compare skills deficiencies exhibited in different countries.

A major US survey of management accounting by Siegel and Sorenson (1999) notes the changing role of management accountants. Their survey also asked employers to identify the most important knowledge, skills and abilities necessary for success. These were:

• Communication (oral written and presentation) skills

• Ability to work on a team

• Analytical skills

• Solid understanding of accounting

• Understanding of how a business functions

The purpose of our research is to establish the priorities, in terms of the development of vocational skills, of European employers of management accountants. This is done by comparing the results obtained from Spanish and UK employers of management accountants.

Whilst both countries are European there are some interesting differences between the two. Reasons for international differences in accounting practices have been analysed. Nobes (1998) develops a model that attempts to explain the differences in international financial reporting. The model splits accounting systems into two classes and then places the UK and Spain in different classes. However, Blake, Amat, Gowthorpe, and Pilkington (1998) note that because of the rapid incorporation of EU directives, Spain is experiencing major changes in the area of national accounting regulation. Sheridan (1995), Ahrens (1996), and Pistoni and Zoni (2000) suggest that management accounting in Europe is simultaneously being subjected to forces for harmonisation and differentiation.