This study explores the impediments and the pressures to establish the policy of introducing skills and competencies in the Greek Higher Education (HE) accounting studies. Soft skills may improve considerably accountants’ career prospects whether they work in industry or auditing. A mixed-method approach with two data collection phases was undertaken; survey research and semi-structured interviews. Survey research addressed a questionnaire to accounting teachers, Business Administration and Accounting (BAA) students and accounting professionals, while interviews explored the deeper views of stakeholders. 1626 responses were collected and statistically analyzed. Participants agreed that the lack of Higher Education Institutions’ (HEIs) effective partnerships with external organizations are the highest barrier to skills development, while the apparent pressure comes from the obligation to comply with European Union (EU) recommendations and Bologna Agreement. Interviews revealed challenges related to the views about ‘marketization’ of HE and the superficial compliance with policies enforced by supranational organizations.

Willingness to invest in renewable energy sources (RES) is predictable under data mining classification methods. Data was collected from the area of Evia in Greece via a questionnaire survey by using a sample of 360 respondents. The questions focused on the respondents’ perceptions and offered benefits for wind energy, solar photovoltaics (PVs), small hydro parks and biomass investments. The classification algorithms of Bayesian Network classifier, Logistic Regression, Support Vector Machine (SVM), C4.5, k-Nearest Neighbors (k-NN) and Long Short Term Memory (LSTM) were used. The Bayesian Network classifier was the best method, with a prediction accuracy of 0.7942. The most important variables for the prediction of willingness to invest were the level of information, the level of acceptance and the contribution to sustainable development. Future studies should include data on state incentives and their impact on willingness to invest.

This chapter explores diversity management as a strategic approach to address social inequalities in the context of globalization and demographic change. It focuses on the complexity of the concept of diversity, taking into account various aspects such as gender, race, age, nationality, sexual orientation, physical and mental abilities, cultural background, education, and life and work experience. The chapter explores the impact of diversity management in creating more equitable societies, promoting a broad understanding and acceptance of differences. It also analyses the challenges and barriers to implementing effective diversity management in organizations, highlighting its role in shaping equitable and inclusive work environments. The aim of the chapter is to inspire further research on diversity management as a tool to reduce social inequalities.