Proceedings of 9th Asian Business Research Conference
20-21 December, 2013, BIAM Foundation, Dhaka, Bangladesh ISBN: 978-1-922069-39-9
The Development of Inter-Cultural Skills among Accounting
Students: An Analysis of Qualitative Evidence
Simon Hoy, Mark Hughes, Jesmin Islam, Anne Daly and Anita Mak
This paper reports results from an action research project for facilitating the
development of intercultural skills among postgraduate and undergraduate
accounting students at the University of Canberra. This project was part of a
broader project called, “Internationalisation at Home”, funded for two years by the
OTL (Office of Teaching and Learning) which involved the business and health
faculties at two Australian universities. An earlier paper, written as part of this
project, provided statistical evidence that participants in the accounting units
which were part of the project showed greater intercultural learning than similar
students in a control group of units outside the project. This paper further
presents the qualitative evidence and the results of an analysis of the reflective
learning journals submitted by the students as part of their assessment. Students
were asked to reflect on their experience of working in multicultural groups in
tutorials and in group assignments in these units. The results show that most of
the students, particularly the international students, found the experience very
productive. They especially liked the opportunity to get to know other students
outside their own cultural groups. The paper also provides evidence about what
students considered to be most important in creating a successful group
experience. The paper concludes with a discussion of areas for future
development of the approach adopted in this project.
1. Introduction
The face of Australian higher education has changed significantly in the last thirty years
with the increasing participation of international students, particularly in business-related
fields. In 1988, 4 per cent of students in Australian universities were international feepaying students. This share had risen to 14 per cent by 2000 and 27 per cent by 2011
(DIICCSRTE 2012). This was the highest share among OECD countries and over twice
the OECD average in 2006. (Bradley 2008). In the broad area of business and
economics the growth has been even greater with only 7 per cent of students in this
area being international students in 1988, rising to 25 per cent in 2000 and 51 per cent
in 2011 ( DIICCSRTE 2012). The majority of these students are from non-English
speaking backgrounds, particularly from Asia. Not only have the cultural backgrounds of
higher education students changed because of an influx of students from overseas but
the Australian residential population has also become more diverse with over 40 per
cent of the Australian population either being born overseas or the children of
immigrants. These changes have taken place at a time, and as a consequence, of the
decline in real government support for the university sector.
The University of Canberra has been part of these changes. International fee-paying
students accounted for 24 per cent students in 2011. In the Bachelor of Commerce,
offered by the Faculty of Business, Government and Law (BGL), 40 percent of the
students came from overseas. In the Bachelor of Accounting, approximately 37 percent
of the students were from overseas. These changes reflect patterns evolving on an
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Proceedings of 9th Asian Business Research Conference
20-21 December, 2013, BIAM Foundation, Dhaka, Bangladesh ISBN: 978-1-922069-39-9
international scale and have received attention both as a „problem‟ that needs to be
solved and as an „opportunity‟ for all participants in a multicultural classroom to learn
more about other cultures both in the formal and informal curriculum.
There is now an extensive literature on the issues raised by the internationalisation of
higher education. It is recognised that internationalisation goes beyond the inclusion of
an intercultural and global perspective in the purpose, functions and delivery of higher
education as outlined by Knight (2003), to a wider perspective –
„Internationalisation should aim to create values, beliefs and intellectual insights in
which both domestic and international students and faculty participate and benefit
equally. They should develop global perspectives, international and cultural and
ethical sensitivity along with useful knowledge, skills and attitude for the globalised
market place. „ (Elkin and Devjee 2003:11)
Australian academics have been active participants in this literature, no doubt reflecting
the significant impact of internationalisation in Australian higher education. The
experience has shown that the mere presence of students from different cultural
backgrounds at one institution is not sufficient to ensure that meaningful exchanges
between groups will take place (Freeman et al. 2009, Leask 2009). Studies in a number
of different Anglophone countries have shown limited interaction between local and
international students and that international students are particularly disappointed by
their inability to develop relationships with domestic students. (Volet and Ang 1996,
Sawir et al.2007, Ward et al.2009, Harrison and Peacock 2010,). Although Montgomery
(2009) provides some case study evidence to suggest that there has been some
improvement in the level of interactions over time.
Evidence suggests that improved interactions and greater adaptation to the new
environment leads to better outcomes for international students and that efforts to
address any perceived threats from their presence among domestic students are likely
to facilitate meaningful exchanges (Harrison and Peacock 2010 and Ward et al. 2009).
Leask (2009) emphasises the importance of systemic change that promotes the
development of an inclusive culture where people feel valued for the promotion of
learning.
2. Background to the Study
The recognition of the fact that the University of Canberra was not making best use of
this opportunity has resulted in a number of projects designed to facilitate multicultural
activities both inside and outside the classroom. In the context of the results presented
here, earlier projects based at the University of Canberra and reported in Mak and
Kennedy (2012) and Knott et al. (2013), show that the use of a structured training
program, Excellence in Cultural Experiential Learning and Leadership (EXCELL)
promoted greater understanding of cultural differences and ways to accommodate them
among a group of academics and first year psychology students. These positive
experiences prompted the development of the broader project of which the study
reported here is a part. This paper reports on the results of the introduction of inter2
Proceedings of 9th Asian Business Research Conference
20-21 December, 2013, BIAM Foundation, Dhaka, Bangladesh ISBN: 978-1-922069-39-9
cultural groups in selected accounting subjects in the Faculty of BGL as part of a wider
Internationalisation at Home (IaH) project sponsored by the Australian Government‟s
Office of Teaching and Learning. The project ran for two years, and was conducted
jointly with Griffith University in Queensland and included both the business and health
faculties in each institution (see Mak et al. 2013 for a more detailed description of the
project).
The project had four phases and was conducted in the tradition of action learning. The
discussion here will focus on the experience in the business stream at the University of
Canberra although the teams from both universities and each faculty were in regular
contact about the development of the project. It began by consulting focus groups
consisting of domestic and international students, business professionals and academic
staff about scenarios in the classroom and workplace where different cultural
perspectives were important and created barriers to communication. Selected scenarios
proposed by the focus groups were used in the professional development workshops
based on the EXCELL program which were held for academic staff in the business
faculties at the University of Canberra and Griffith University. The workshops focused
on the EXCELL tools of alliance building and cultural validation designed to promote a
sense of community among participants. Evaluation of these workshops was positive
and interested staff were invited to join a Learning Circle in Intercultural Skills in the
Faculty of BGL (Mak et al. 2013).
These Learning Circles had a similar focus to the suggested „community of practice‟
espoused by Freeman et. al.(2009) in that they aimed to promote discussion and
provide support about internationalisation issues and offer the opportunity to share
practical ideas on things that worked in the classroom and things that did not. There
were about twenty participants in the Learning Circles over the course of the project
including a mix of regular and occasional participants (Mak et al. 2013). There was a
particularly high degree of engagement in these Learning Circles among those teaching
in the accounting discipline. This probably reflected the large number of international
fee-paying students who were studying accounting and concerns some of the staff had
regarding the cross-cultural competencies of their students. This staffs were committed
to developing techniques which could be used to increase the cross cultural
communication skills of their students.
Inter-cultural communications skills have been highlighted as being of particular
importance for accounting students reflecting the requirements of the profession to
interact successfully with clients and the large number of international fee-paying
students who have used an accounting qualification to gain Australian residency in the
past. The accounting profession has identified the ability to work in culturally diverse
groups as an important generic skill. More generally, the five threshold learning
outcomes identified in the Australian Learning and Teaching Academic Standards
Statement for Accounting included „judgement, knowledge, application skills,
communication and teamwork, and self-management‟ (Freeman and Hancock
2011:269).
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Proceedings of 9th Asian Business Research Conference
20-21 December, 2013, BIAM Foundation, Dhaka, Bangladesh ISBN: 978-1-922069-39-9
A full study on internationalisation in business education funded by the then Australian
Learning and Teaching Council (ALTC) emphasised the importance of inter-cultural
skills„ because business professionals need to be able to successfully interact in
increasingly global and multicultural work environments. Current students (and staff)
also need intercultural communication skills since business cohorts are increasingly
diverse and challenges have been reported in student interactions.‟ (Freeman et al.
2009:1)
The importance of developing these skills for the benefit of both domestic and
international students was also emphasised in the Bradbury Review (2008). Further,
significant elements of the accounting industry, such as the „Big 4‟ (PWC, Ernst &
Young, Deloitte, and KPMG) recognise the need for accounting students to have high
levels of inter-cultural communications skills, due to the „high level of engagement
around cultural diversity in their workplaces‟ (DCA 2011)
There is now an extensive literature on successful strategies for the development of
inter-cultural skills in higher education. These studies emphasise the importance of
active engagement in an on-going process of learning. It is recognised that one-size will
not fit all situations and that an inclusive teaching and learning environment benefits
everyone and encourages the development of inter-cultural communication skills
(Freeman et al. 2009). Leask (2009) argues that for real engagement to take place
between domestic and international students it is essential that both groups –
 „understand the purpose and value of the interaction,
 Are assisted to develop the skills they need to engage with each other,
 Are provided with the environment and the opportunities they need to engage
effectively, and
 Are rewarded appropriately for their achievements‟ (Leask 2009:210)
It is generally agreed that self reflection is important for the successful development of
these skills. Reflective journals have been identified as a useful vehicle in this context
(Bisman 2011; Clifford 2002). Day, Kaidonis and Perrin (2003) argue that writing
reflective journals is one way of allowing students to understand accounting‟s social and
ideological contexts. They also suggest that being able to adapt to new learning
situations is an important survival skills for accountants.
3. Results of Interventions in Four Accounting Subjects
These observations and results were actively discussed in the Learning Circles and
were instrumental in the design of the intervention reported here. The aims of the study
were threefold: to develop insights into students‟ perceptions of the variables that
assisted or hindered inter-cultural communication in group work; to improve the
communication skills of both the domestic and international accounting students by
adopting inter-cultural learning strategies, and finally to develop the students‟ abilities to
work in culturally diverse groups.
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Proceedings of 9th Asian Business Research Conference
20-21 December, 2013, BIAM Foundation, Dhaka, Bangladesh ISBN: 978-1-922069-39-9
These objectives were pursued in four accounting subjects, two undergraduate and two
corresponding postgraduate ones. The intervention mechanism required students to
work in culturally-mixed (Rainbow) groups to undertake an assignment. In preparation
for this, ice breaker activities including alliance building activities and cultural validation
activities were undertaken. Presentations by specialists from the Academic Skills
Program were invited into the classes to talk about working in groups, writing reflective
journals and the time management of group projects. Students were assigned to groups
by their tutors in two of the subjects. They worked on problem sets in these groups
during tutorials in addition to undertaking the assignments. In the others, they were
allowed to select their own groups, with the proviso that no more than 50 percent could
come from the same background. The students accepted that mainland Chinese were
not different groups to Chinese from Malaysia, Hong Kong or Taiwan, and similarly for
students from India, Bangladesh and Pakistan. The voluntary formation of groups
followed the practice adopted in earlier studies by Volet and Ang (1996 and 2012).
At the same time as the assignments were submitted they were required to complete
and submit a reflective journal describing the variables that had assisted or hindered
effective inter-cultural communication and productive working relationships within their
groups. In two subjects, students were given semi-structured questions focused on
group formation and process, social dynamics, interaction, leadership and conflict
resolution to guide them in maintaining their reflective journals but in the other subjects
guidance was less detailed.
The results of this intervention were evaluated using two approaches. The first was an
analysis of the reflective journals which will not be reported on in depth here and the
second was a comparison of survey results for students who had participated in the
intervention compared with students who were in similar accounting subjects which
were not part of the intervention group.
The results presented some interesting insights into the extent of inter-cultural learning
in these accounting subjects and highlighted some of the significant enablers and
inhibitors for successful inter-cultural group communication. Results from the reflective
journals indicate that undergraduate students had more communication problems due to
the language barriers, cultural diversities and individual characteristics than
postgraduate students. Common techniques used by students to overcome the
difficulties were regular meetings, along with patience, careful listening and clarity in
speech. Phone calls were rarely used due to the language barriers where English was
a second language for most of the selected students. Instead, a number of international
students indicated they were more comfortable with asynchronous communication
technologies such as emails and text messages. These students indicated these
technologies gave them time to read and re-read the material, to ensure they
understood the content. They indicated this was less stressful than face-to-face
communication. Students acknowledged that recognizing and respecting diversity
among group members was a crucial attribute for successful group interaction. This was
also a valued component in their learning process.
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Proceedings of 9th Asian Business Research Conference
20-21 December, 2013, BIAM Foundation, Dhaka, Bangladesh ISBN: 978-1-922069-39-9
The remainder of this section focuses on the results of the surveys undertaken in
semester 1 2012. The surveys were distributed both in paper format and electronically
in week 13 after the assignments had been submitted and before they had received
their final grades for the semester. Grades were attached to participation in the survey
in one undergraduate unit and one postgraduate unit but not in any of the others.
Surveys were distributed to two undergraduate subjects which were part of the
intervention and two that were not and to two postgraduate subjects that were included
in the project and one that was not. The subjects involved and the response rates for
each subject by domestic or international enrolment status are presented in Table 1.
The table shows that over half the students enrolled in these units were international
students. It also shows, not surprisingly, that the response rates were higher in the
subjects involved in the intervention.
Students surveyed were asked 12 items about their cultural learning from each unit, for
example, “With regards to (unit)-I have developed a better understanding of crosscultural interpersonal skills.” Responses were scaled from 1 (strongly agree) to 5
(strongly disagree), so that lower scores indicated greater self-reported cultural learning.
The results for the undergraduate comparison are presented in Table 2 and for the
postgraduate comparison in Table 3.
Responses to these 12 items about cultural learning were averaged to provide an
overall mean for cultural learning. The means were then compared using an
independent samples t-test to determine whether there was a statistically significant
difference between the groups that were part of the IaH intervention and the
corresponding control groups. These t-tests were one-tailed because higher levels of
cultural learning were expected among students who participated in the IaH intervention
subject when compared to the control group. As responses were scaled from 1 (strongly
agree) to 5 (strongly disagree), lower scores indicate greater cultural learning.
The detailed results are presented in Appendix A. The results for undergraduates will be
presented first before discussing the results for postgraduates. Table 2 shows the
percentage of students who agreed or strongly agreed with each statement for the two
IaH undergraduate subjects and the two control subjects. The t test for the significance
in the differences of the mean responses for all twelve items shows that students in
Contemporary Issues in Accounting reported a statistically higher level of cultural
learning than students in the control subjects. International students in Contemporary
Issues in Accounting reported significantly higher cultural learning than students in the
control subjects. While the mean value was in favour of more cultural learning in the IaH
subject Company Accounting, there was however, no statistically significant difference
in cultural learning between students in this subject, and the control subjects at the 5
per cent level of significance.
The results for the percentage of postgraduate students in agreement with individual
statements are reported in Table 3. The summary t test for the significance of the
differences in the means shows that there was a statistically significant difference with a
higher level of cultural learning in Contemporary Issues in Accounting PG than in the
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Proceedings of 9th Asian Business Research Conference
20-21 December, 2013, BIAM Foundation, Dhaka, Bangladesh ISBN: 978-1-922069-39-9
postgraduate control subject. There was no statistically significant difference between
the means for Company Accounting PG and the control subject. This may reflect the
small sample sizes.
Students were also invited to respond to an open-ended question in the survey; „In what
ways can you apply the learning of intercultural competence in your units/course this
semester to your professional preparation?‟ The responses were grouped for each
subject according to whether they came from a domestic or international student. The
comments on the whole were much more positive than negative and there were more
responses from international than domestic students.
Among the positive comments from domestic students, one from Contemporary Issues
in Accounting noted that –
„the globalizing world will require the future generations of business men and
women to understand different cultures. This semester will help in my career if I
decide to venture overseas, particularly in the Asian market.‟
Another student in Company Accounting saw that participation in this subject would
contribute to their professional development –
„by accepting peoples‟ differences and perspectives, embracing this diversity to
improve working in a multicultural team/group to improve or gain a
better/successful outcome‟.
However a small minority of domestic students felt that they had not gained much from
the experience because they were already working in multicultural environments and
had learned how to accommodate people from different cultural backgrounds; as one
student in Company Accounting PG commented, „Mature age student so have already
developed these skills. Don‟t need to develop them here. I also work in a very
multicultural team‟. Another suggestion was that more emphasis should be placed on
the similarities between people rather than the differences.
There were none of these reservations expressed by the international students whose
comments were more often along the lines of this student from Company Accounting
PG who argued –
„it has taught me to communicate well with people from different backgrounds, to
develop a better understanding of their culture and background and become more
confident in person‟.
The effects of the classroom experiences in raising confidence were often referred to.
For example, one international undergraduate in Contemporary Issues in Accounting
stated „I often ask other students questions about CIA, because if this, I have made
friends of local students. Sometimes we share our class notes and help each other.‟
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Proceedings of 9th Asian Business Research Conference
20-21 December, 2013, BIAM Foundation, Dhaka, Bangladesh ISBN: 978-1-922069-39-9
4. Discussion and Conclusion
This paper reports the results of the first implementation of an intervention designed to
develop inter-cultural skills among undergraduate and postgraduate accounting
students at the University of Canberra. It is part of an action learning project and as
such, lessons from this first attempt to assess the introduction of rainbow groups have
been applied to subsequent offerings of the same subjects.
The results presented here are encouraging. In two of the subjects, there was a
statistically significant difference in the extent of cultural learning between students in
the IaH subjects and the control subjects. The results show a small to medium effect on
learning for the students as a whole and a large effect for international students. While
there was no statistically significant difference in cultural learning for the other two IaH
subjects, the results for Hedges ‟g‟ test show a small to medium effect on learning. The
responses by the students to the open-ended question about how they might apply what
they have learned to their professional lives also showed that the majority of students
had learned from their experiences and gave positive feedback. A minority of domestic
students expressed some disquiet about the intervention, as they felt that they had
already sufficient experience of working in inter-cultural teams and they did not believe
they had learned from this experience. Some of them felt there was an excessive
emphasis on developing inter-cultural skills. These are issues that need to be
addressed in subsequent iterations of the project. More qualitative evidence on the
enablers and the inhibitors for learning will be presented in the further analysis of the
learning journals. It is also important to explore the relative importance domestic and
international students place on cultural characteristics, compared to individual
personality traits, such as levels of motivation, good manners, and supporting team
members.
This study reports the results of a survey of students‟ cultural learning and uses a
control group to determine the extent to which it has taken place. Review of the learning
journals submitted by students has offered another way of assessing the extent to which
cultural learning has taken place. The whole issue of assessing the extent of
intercultural competence is a significant one requiring further research (Deardorff 2006)
and an area for further development in the course of this on-going research project.
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Proceedings of 9th Asian Business Research Conference
20-21 December, 2013, BIAM Foundation, Dhaka, Bangladesh ISBN: 978-1-922069-39-9
Appendix A
This appendix reports the detailed results for the comparisons between each of the IaH subjects
and the relevant control subjects. The g statistics below are Hedges „g‟.
Contemporary Issues in Accounting compared with Management Accounting and
Auditing.
UC Business students (n = 73) enrolled in the intervention unit Contemporary Issues in
Accounting reported statistically higher levels of cultural learning from participating in the units
(M = 2.09, SD = 0.71), compared with students (n = 40) enrolled in the control group Advanced
Management Accounting (M = 2.37, SD = 0.72), t (111) = -1.97, p = .025 (one-tailed). This was
a small to medium effect (g = -0.40). They also showed a statistically significant higher level of
cultural learning than students (n = 29) enrolled in the control group Auditing (M = 2.41, SD =
0.75), t (100) = -1.99, p = .025 (one-tailed). This was a small to medium effect (g = -0.45).
UC International students (n = 46) enrolled in the IaH unit Contemporary Issues in Accounting
reported statistically higher levels of cultural learning from participating in the units (M = 1.93,
SD = 0.52), compared with students (n = 22) enrolled in the control group Advanced
Management Accounting (M = 2.20, SD = 0.52), t(66) = -1.98, p = .026 (one-tailed). This was a
medium effect size (g = -0.53). They also reported statistically higher levels of cultural learning
compared with students (n = 21) enrolled in the control group Auditing (M = 2.46, SD = 0.77),
t(28.64) = -2.86, p =.004 (one-tailed), equal variances not assumed. This was a large effect size
(g = -0.87).
Company Accounting compared with Management Accounting and Auditing.
UC Business students (n = 50) enrolled in the IaH unit Company Accounting did not report
statistically higher levels of cultural learning from participating in the unit (M = 2.13, SD =0.70),
compared with students (n = 40) enrolled in the control group Advanced Management
Accounting (M = 2.37, SD = 2.37), t(88) = -1.61, n.s (one-tailed). This was a small to medium
intervention effect size (g = -0.34).There was alos no statistically significant difference in the
comparison with students (n=29) in the control group Auditing (M = 2.41, SD = 0.75), t(77) = 1.67, n.s, p = .05 (one-tailed). This was a small to medium intervention effect (g = -0.39).
Contemporary Issues in Accounting PG compared with Management Accounting PG
UC Business students (n = 37) enrolled in the IaH unit Contemporary Issues in Accounting PG
reported statistically higher levels of cultural learning from participating in the units (M = 1.95,
SD = 0.74), compared with students (n = 23) enrolled in the control group Management
Accounting PG (M = 2.31, SD = 0.86), t (58) = -1.73, p = .044. This was a small to medium
effect (g = 0.46).
UC International students (n = 31) enrolled in the IaH unit Contemporary Issues in Accounting
PG reported statistically higher levels of cultural learning from participating in the units
(M = 1.95, SD = 0.74), compared with students (n = 18) enrolled in the control group
Management Accounting PG (M = 2.31, SD = 0.86), t(58) = -1.73, p = .010. This was a large
effect size (g = 0.86).
Company Accounting PG compared with Management Accounting PG
UC Business students (n = 28) enrolled in the IaH unit Company Accounting PG did not report
statistically higher levels of cultural learning from participating in the unit (M = 2.27, SD = 0.92),
compared with students (n = 23) enrolled in the control group Management Accounting PG
(M = 2.31, SD = 0.86), t(49) = -0.154, n.s (one-tailed). This may be partly due to small sample
sizes. However, this was a small to medium intervention effect (g = 0.44).
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Proceedings of 9th Asian Business Research Conference
20-21 December, 2013, BIAM Foundation, Dhaka, Bangladesh ISBN: 978-1-922069-39-9
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