DEVELOPMENT MODEL FOR ACCOUNTING COMPETENCY OF GRICULTURAL COOPERATIVE ACCOUNTANTS IN THE LOWER NORTHERN REGION

Abstract

This research aimed to: 1) Examine the accounting competencies of agricultural cooperative accountants; and 2) Develop, pilot test, and evaluate a competency development model for agricultural cooperative accountants in the Lower Northern Region. A Research and Development (R&D) design was utilized. The study sample comprised 229 agricultural cooperative accountants selected through multi-stage sampling. Key informants included cooperative managers, cooperative auditors, accountants, and accounting and finance officers through an expert-based workshop, totaling 14 individuals. Additionally, 19 experts participated in the model evaluation phase. The research instruments included a questionnaire with an Item-Objective Congruence index of 0.80-1.00 and a Cronbach's alpha coefficient of 0.93, an agricultural cooperative accounting knowledge test, a manual for the agricultural cooperative accounting skill development process, and a model evaluation form. Data were analyzed using frequency, percentage, mean, standard deviation, and content analysis. The findings revealed that: 1) The overall accounting competencies of agricultural cooperative accountants in the Lower Northern Region were at a moderate level. Specific areas identified at this level included the use of accounting application software, financial statement preparation, bookkeeping, trial balance preparation, and account closing; 2) The accounting competency development model for agricultural cooperative accountants consisted of seven components: development model principles, development model objectives, inputs, the agricultural cooperative accountants' competency development process, outputs, outcomes, and implementation conditions; 3) Results from the pilot implementation phase showed that the agricultural cooperative accountants' competencies improved, enabling them to perform bookkeeping independently; and 4) The evaluation results indicated that the model achieved the highest level of appropriateness, accuracy, comprehensiveness, and utility.