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(i) Educators, Students and Graduates

According to Ghauri and Grønhaug (2005), a sampling frame should be used when sampling a representative population. A sampling frame contains a list of the whole population, and the sample is drawn randomly from this list (Ghauri & Grønhaug, 2005; Hair, Money, Samouel, & Page, 2007).

At present, 34 universities in Saudi Arabia offer accounting degrees. Ten of these are private universities and the remaining 24 are government-sponsored. All universities offer a BA (Accounting) degree programme and two (KAU and KSU) offer both undergraduate and postgraduate (MA) level degree (AlMotairy & Stainbank, 2014). Some examples of accounting degree profiles in four different Saudi universities are provided in Appendix D.

For the purpose of this study, 14 universities were initially contacted for permission to collect data from their students, graduates and educators. These universities were chosen because they are big universities in Saudi Arabia with large number of students, graduates and educators. However, only nine out of the 14 universities gave permission. As a result, the samples of students, graduates and educators for this study were taken from nine universities: King Saud University (KSU), King Faisal University (KFU), Imam Muhammad Bin Saud Islamic

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University (IMAMU), King Fahd University for Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM), Princess Nora bint Abdul Rahman University (PNU), King Abdulaziz University (KAU), University of Dammam7, King Khalid University (KKU) and Prince Mohammad Bin Fahd University (PMU( (see Table 5.3). Some of these universities had only male students whereas others had both male and female. Only two of the nine universities teaches in English (i.e. KFUPM and PMU) and one university is private (i.e. PMU). However, not all of the nine universities allowed the collection of data from students, graduates and educators. For example, some universities only gave permission to survey graduates and educators but not students as the process of granting permission to survey students would take a longer time. The universities did not state any other reasons why permission to collect survey data would not be granted. The survey was carried out over a four month period.

The final year students were students who will graduate soon (i.e. within the next 12 months, assuming that they meet all the course requirements) from tertiary-level accounting courses provided by a tertiary educational institute. A total of 350 questionnaires were distributed and 256 students responded. They were selected randomly from the accounting department of only four universities as these were the only universities that gave permission to collect data from their students. As a few students who responded did not state their universities, they were placed under “Not stated” university group.

The recent graduates were those who have successfully completed a programme of study and been awarded a Bachelor degree or higher in accounting within the past 2 years from tertiary education providers in Saudi Arabia. A total of 200 questionnaires were distributed and 109 graduates responded. The graduates sample was selected randomly from the accounting departments of five universities as these were the universities that gave the permission to collect data from this group. As some graduates who responded did not state their universities, they were placed under the “Not stated” university group.

91 Table 5.3: List of universities sample

Students Graduates Educators

Universities Distribution Return Response (%)

Distribution Return Response (%)

Distribution Return Response (%) King Saud University 50 23 46% 40 14 35% 10 __ 0% King Faisal University 200 165 82.5% 40 22 55% 20 12 60% Imam Muhammad Bin Saud Islamic University 70 34 48.5% 20 8 40% 15 3 20% King Fahd University for Petroleum and Minerals 30 15 50% 10 __ 0% 10 3 30% Princess Nora bint Abdul Rahman University Permission not granted __ __ Permission not granted __ __ 5 1 20% King Abdulaziz University Permission not granted __ __ 50 26 52% 10 2 20% University of Dammam Permission not granted __ __ 30 13 43% 10 __ 0% King Khalid University Permission not granted __ __ Permission not granted __ __ 10 2 20% Prince Mohammad Bin Fahd University Permission not granted __ __ Permission not granted __ __ 10 2 20% Not stated in questionnaire by respondents __ 19 __ __ 26 __ __ 8 __ Total 350 256 73% 200 109 54.5% 100 33 33%

The educators’ sample consisted of academics who taught at tertiary educational institutes providing accounting education. Five to twenty educators were selected at random, from the accounting department of seven universities as these universities gave me permission to collect data from their educators. A hundred questionnaires were distributed and only 33 educators from seven universities responded, giving a response rate of 33%. As there were some educators who did not state their universities, they were placed under the “Not stated” university group.

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(ii) Employers

To obtain the perspectives of employers regarding generic skills, the sample was drawn from employers from a diverse range of Saudi organisations, government companies and companies listed on the Saudi stock exchange (see Table 5.4). A list of these organisations and their contacts’ details was obtained from the Ministry of Labour and the respondents were chosen via random sampling. As stated by Dawson (2002), simple random sampling means that all members of the population have an equal probability of being selected, thus reducing bias and subjectivity. Twenty companies from different organisations (government companies, accounting firms, industry and commerce, construction and investment management) were selected at random, so that a total of 100 companies were evenly spread among the different organisation types. Larger organisations were targeted because it is difficult to collect data from smaller organisations in Saudi Arabia. A response rate of 22% was achieved as many employers did not respond due to perhaps lack of time or a lack of interest in the topic. However, at least one employer from each organisation category participated in the survey. Table 5.4: Type and number of organisations represented in the study

Type of company Survey Distributed Return Response rate

(%)

Government 20 9 45%

Accounting firms 20 3 15%

Industry and commerce 20 7 35%

Construction 20 2 10%

Investment management 20 1 5%

Total 100 22 22%