| This research seeks to provide a basis for curriculum planning in northwest Pennsylvania by specifically identifying financial information systems skills (content knowledge, professional skills, and technical skills) sought in entry level accountants by members of the Manufacturer's Association of Northwest Pennsylvania, located in Erie, Crawford, and Warren Counties of Pennsylvania. The study confirms the findings of an earlier national study by Albrecht and Sack as well as Burnett's west Texas results regarding content knowledge and technical skills, while offering new direction in terms of professional skills development. In addition, the study examines the needs of businesses from differing business sectors; perspectives of males versus females; skills sought by disparate business disciplines and responsibilities; and the needs of businesses which satisfy their financial information requirements internally as opposed to externally or through a mixture of internal and external resources; and finds that differences between groups of participants occur mainly in terms of variations in group mean scores---thus, indicating differences in strength of preference, but not necessarily in order of preference. |
