Purpose: This paper compares and contrasts graduate accountant skills and employers' expectations in South East Asia (SEA). Design/methodology/approach: We analyse the employers' expectation performance gap (EPG) in three countries – Indonesia, Malaysia and Vietnam – to provide a reflection on current professional accounting development in SEA. The study relies on data derived from multiple sources including job advertisements, CIMA “ready for business” project, Glassdoor website and other secondary data sources. Findings: The findings indicate that over recent decades, the changing nature of the economy, state, and interest of the business sector (including the “Big Four”) have led to the wider adoption of professional accountancy qualifications. The findings suggest that graduates should be equipped with active learning activities such as project-based and work-integrated training to fill the expectation gaps between local university educators and employers. Research limitations/implications: Drawing upon a literature review of professional accounting education, we use the results of the documentations and secondary analysis to describe the performance expectation gap of accounting education in SEA. Originality/value: The study indicates a large discrepancy between the teachings in accounting education and employer requirements in Vietnam, Malaysia and Indonesia and propose different methods to fill this employability gap in South East Asia. © 2020, Emerald Publishing Limited.
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