diff --git a/cpp/cmake_modules/ThirdpartyToolchain.cmake b/cpp/cmake_modules/ThirdpartyToolchain.cmake
index e1954418263..05cc642417a 100644
--- a/cpp/cmake_modules/ThirdpartyToolchain.cmake
+++ b/cpp/cmake_modules/ThirdpartyToolchain.cmake
@@ -620,8 +620,12 @@ endif()
 # ----------------------------------------------------------------------
 # ExternalProject options
 
-set(EP_CXX_FLAGS "${CMAKE_CXX_FLAGS} ${CMAKE_CXX_FLAGS_${UPPERCASE_BUILD_TYPE}}")
-set(EP_C_FLAGS "${CMAKE_C_FLAGS} ${CMAKE_C_FLAGS_${UPPERCASE_BUILD_TYPE}}")
+set(
+  EP_CXX_FLAGS
+  "${CMAKE_CXX_COMPILER_ARG1} ${CMAKE_CXX_FLAGS} ${CMAKE_CXX_FLAGS_${UPPERCASE_BUILD_TYPE}}"
+  )
+set(EP_C_FLAGS
+    "${CMAKE_C_COMPILER_ARG1} ${CMAKE_C_FLAGS} ${CMAKE_C_FLAGS_${UPPERCASE_BUILD_TYPE}}")
 
 if(NOT MSVC_TOOLCHAIN)
   # Set -fPIC on all external projects
diff --git a/r/R/arrow-package.R b/r/R/arrow-package.R
index 7696c47d98b..2515e7ac920 100644
--- a/r/R/arrow-package.R
+++ b/r/R/arrow-package.R
@@ -117,11 +117,14 @@ arrow_info <- function() {
   if (out$libarrow) {
     pool <- default_memory_pool()
     runtimeinfo <- runtime_info()
+    compute_funcs <- list_compute_functions()
     out <- c(out, list(
       capabilities = c(
         dataset = arrow_with_dataset(),
         parquet = arrow_with_parquet(),
         s3 = arrow_with_s3(),
+        utf8proc = "utf8_upper" %in% compute_funcs,
+        re2 = "replace_substring_regex" %in% compute_funcs,
         vapply(tolower(names(CompressionType)[-1]), codec_is_available, logical(1))
       ),
       memory_pool = list(
diff --git a/r/tests/testthat/helper-skip.R b/r/tests/testthat/helper-skip.R
index 2c885cafd97..6fb97da000d 100644
--- a/r/tests/testthat/helper-skip.R
+++ b/r/tests/testthat/helper-skip.R
@@ -15,25 +15,16 @@
 # specific language governing permissions and limitations
 # under the License.
 
+build_features <- c(
+  arrow_info()$capabilities,
+  # Special handling for "uncompressed", for tests that iterate over compressions
+  uncompressed = TRUE
+)
+
 skip_if_not_available <- function(feature) {
-  if (feature == "dataset") {
-    skip_if_not(arrow_with_dataset())
-  } else if (feature == "parquet") {
-    skip_if_not(arrow_with_parquet())
-  } else if (feature %in% c("string", "utf8proc")) {
-    skip_if_not(
-      "utf8_upper" %in% list_compute_functions(),
-      "Arrow C++ library not built with utf8proc dependency"
-    )
-  } else if (feature %in% c("regex", "re2")) {
-    skip_if_not(
-      "replace_substring_regex" %in% list_compute_functions(),
-      "Arrow C++ library not built with re2 dependency"
-    )
-  } else if (feature == "s3") {
-    skip_if_not(arrow_with_s3())
-  } else if (!codec_is_available(feature)) {
-    skip(paste("Arrow C++ not built with support for", feature))
+  yes <- feature %in% names(build_features) && build_features[feature]
+  if (!yes) {
+    skip(paste("Arrow C++ not built with", feature))
   }
 }