Indian Journal of Science and Technology, Vol 10(12), DOI: 10.17485/ijst/2017/v10i12/112976, March 2017 ISSN (Print) : 0974-6846 ISSN (Online) : 0974-5645 * Author for correspondence 1. Introduction Rapid development in Information Technology (IT) has posed many challenges and opportunities to accounting profession. Indeed, it expands the role of accountants and the way they deliver services is now more than their conventional boundary that limited to updating records and fles through computer programs. IT enables them to enhance their services to perform added values activities such as analysis and design, evaluation and use of information systems (IS) 1 . More importantly IT enhances more quality and timely report that enable better decision making process. Furthermore, IT enables accountants to deliver services that usually performed by others in the profession, such as those of auditors and management accountants, which require an understanding of how their companies’ computer systems work 2 . Tis scenario consistent with the notion that accounting as a profession is not functioning in isolation and stand alone, rather infuential and subject to the infuence of other discipline 3-6 such as IT. Terefore, it is advocated that continuous efort must be put to equip future accountants with sufcient IT knowledge and skill as the interconnectedness between IT and accounting functional areas in an organization is invariably important. Tis efort must be done as early as at the formal level of accounting education. For instance, Ahmad 7 has emphasized the importance of increasing IT competency among accounting graduates. In a more specifc tone Cory and Peruske 8 emphasized that, for accounting graduates to be able to perform productively as early in their frst day of employment, it is essential for them to have a solid foundation in understanding and mastering the accounting-related skills and topics associated with technological innovations, including but not limited to hardware and sofware. Abstract This research seeks to discover the IT knowledge and skills for accounting graduates which are essential for them to work competently in the industry at the early stage after graduation. In line with the evolvement in technology, it is crucial for accounting graduates to acquire and master accounting-related skills and topics associated with technological innovations, including hardware and software, for them to be resourceful, starting from their first day in the profession. Hence, this study is proposed to provide insight on the expected IT knowledge and skills among accounting graduates from the perspective of industry, specifically public accounting firms in Malaysia. Our descriptive findings reveal that knowledge and skills in accounting software, accounting system, database concept and analysis, project management and business process are essential for accounting graduates. This finding may be used as a basic guideline to enhance IT knowledge and skills for accounting graduates, by incorporating these IT elements into specific accounting degree program course, which is accounting information system. With this, it is hoped that the supply of future accountants by educational institutions are of high quality as expected by the industry. Keywords: Accounting Graduates, Accounting Information System, Information Technology, Public Accounting Firms Information Technology Knowledge and Skills for Accounting Graduates: An Insight from Public Accounting Firms S. M. Amirul * , R. Mail, M. A. Abu Bakar and N. Ripain Accounting Centre, Faculty of Business, Economics and Accountancy, Universiti Malaysia Sabah, 88400 Kota Kinabalu, Sabah; sma@ums.edu.my, rasidmail@ums.edu.my, allif@ums.edu.my, noraizan@ums.edu.my