Bridging the Gap: Digital Communication Competencies as Social Capital for Accounting Graduates

The Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) has fundamentally transformed the accounting profession, automating transactional compliance and shifting the role of accountants to strategic, data-driven business advisors. Traditional accounting education has relied on Human Capital Theory (HCT) to emphasise individual technical proficiencies. However, this perspective overlooks the relational and network-based resources that graduates must activate to translate their expertise into employability outcomes. Hence, this study addresses this gap by proposing that digital communication competencies function as a critical form of social capital or enabling resources that promote access to relational networks in a virtual professional environment. Drawing on Social Capital Theory (SCT), we outline the theoretical mechanisms by which digital communication skills enhance the three interrelated dimensions of social capital, namely structural, relational, and cognitive. We present a conceptual framework with three testable propositions to guide future empirical research, arguing that the current accountant’s employability and career development depend not solely on human capital, but on how effectively they mobilise their expertise through digitally mediated social relationships.

Accounting Employability, Digital Communication, Social Capital Theory, 4IR

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