Cultural understandings of graduate employability in accounting in China and India

The project was funded by the Global Research Perspectives Program of CPA Australia. It investigated how socio-cultural understandings of employability and generic skills inform the value attached to different credentials in accounting by international graduates and employers in China and India. The context is that in which professional labour markets are increasingly volatile in developed and developing knowledge economies making it more difficult for international graduates returning to their home country. This study provides evidence as to employer perceptions and cultural differences in key source markets for Australian international students as to the value of a range of Australian credentials (universities and professional post-graduate programs) and to other credentials (domestic and international). It illustrated how transitioning into employment is becoming more complex and tenuous with increasingly multidirectional flows of graduates’ cross-nationally.