Competências profissionais na área contábil: a potencialidade dos jogos de empresa no processo de ensino e aprendizagem

Abstract

Changes in the labor market have demanded that accounting professionals possess not only technical knowledge, but also skills and attitudes. Educational institutions and international bodies, such as the International Accounting Education Standards Board (IAESB), have guided accounting education with a focus on competencies, understood as the integration of knowledge, skills, and attitudes. Active learning methodologies, especially business games, have thus gained prominence as teaching strategies capable of promoting the development of these competencies in students. In this scenario, the role of the instructor in fostering competency development is essential. Accordingly, this research aimed to analyze how the use of business games contributes to the development of competencies in accounting education, considering faculty members' acceptance and use of technology. To achieve this objective, three research were conducted. The first research aimed to identify which competencies have been developed through the use of business games in the accounting and business fields. A systematic literature review was carried out using the ProKnow-C method, in the period from 2010 to 2023. The results revealed that while business games are widely used in the field of business, there is still a lack of specific research in accounting. The second research sought to identify the determinants of the acceptance and use of business games by accounting professors. An online questionnaire was applied to faculty members at higher education institutions in Brazil, and data were analyzed using exploratory factor analysis and multiple linear regression. The results show that Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) is applicable in explaining the adoption of digital business games by accounting faculty, with social influence emerging as the most significant determinant. Regarding the competency model constructs, only organizational professional skills showed a statistically significant association with the intention to use, although negatively. The third research was a qualitative investigation conducted with faculty members to analyze their perceptions regarding the use of digital business games as a teaching methodology for developing competencies. Semi-structured interviews were conducted and analyzed using content analysis. Faculty perceptions indicate that the potential for development of knowledge: skills, and attitudes depends on how the games are implemented. The results also show that faculty perceptions align with all constructs of the UTAUT theory: facilitating conditions, effort expectancy, performance expectancy, ease of use, and social influence. The thesis contributes theoretically by expanding the understanding of the role of faculty in using business games to develop professional accounting competencies. From a methodological perspective, the research advances by integrating different approaches to build a broad and well-founded perspective on the subject. As a practical contribution, it offers insights for educational institutions and faculty to adopt business games as effective teaching methodologies in accounting, and highlights the factors influencing their adoption, supporting educational policies aligned with preparing professionals for the challenges of the job market.