Résumé
Accounting is often unfairly perceived as a dull and boring career choice by the general public and young students starting out on their professional journey. In this article, we examine the effect of teaching methods on students’ perception of the soft skills demanded by employers. We do this by conducting a quasi-experiment comparing the effects of two different teaching methods on student perceptions. In one case, the course was taught using the format of standard tutorials (application of knowledge through exercises with corrections by the teacher) and, in the other, it was taught through business simulations (applying knowledge to make decisions and manage a fictitious company). Our results show that business simulations gave first-time accounting students a better understanding of the soft skills required by practitioners and recruiters. These findings highlight the importance of giving a realistic representation of the profession (unencumbered by stereotypes), so that accounting becomes more attractive as an education option.