Ranking the Expected Utilities of Practical Training in the Employment of Qualified Workforce in The Field of Accounting with Fuzzy Swara

To overcome the challenges encountered in today's business world, a workforce with only professional and technical knowledge is not enough. For this reason, the business world needs a qualified workforce that has sufficient professional and technical knowledge as well as some personal competencies. Having a workforce with many competencies is a high preference for employers as it will help them cope with the various challenges of business life. In this framework, the basic indicator of the quality of education provided in higher education institutions depends on the fact that graduates are suitable for the demands of the business world and can be employed as qualified workforce in their fields. However, it is known that the accounting education given in the undergraduate programs of faculties of economic and administrative sciences in Turkey remains largely theoretical and does not meet the expectations of the business world. In this context, the benefits expected from practical training in accounting field should be identified and implemented in all higher education institutions. This study aims to identify the priorities of the business world by ranking the expected benefits of practical training for final-year university students from the practical training program in the field of accounting based on factors. The expected utilities are determined by a literature review and face-to-face interviews conducted with the managers responsible for the students in their workplaces. The data obtained from the interviews were analyzed with the fuzzy SWARA method and the expected utilities were listed based on identified factors. According to the results the most important expected benefit, with a weight of 20.44%, is “Improving the ability to master legal regulations”. This factor was followed by ‘’Improving Skills of Internal and External Reporting‘’ with 15.65%, “Improving the skills of social responsibility and ethics” with 13.49%, “Improving skills of control” with 11.53%, “Improving the skills of partnership and teamwork with 11.20%”; “Improving analytical thinking skills” with 10.99%;’’Improving skills in using Information Systems” with 8.77 and finally “Improving communication skills” with 7.92%.