What influences accounting students attitudes towards accounting as a profession?

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Tracey Mc Dowall* School of Accounting, Economics and Finance Faculty of Business and Law Deakin University 221 Burwood Hwy Burwood Vic 3125 Australia Tel: + 61 3 9244 6367 Fax: + 61 3 9244 6283 E-mail: tracey.mcdowall@deakin.edu.au and Beverley Jackling School of Accounting and Law RMIT University 239 Bourke Street, Melbourne, Victoria Australia Phone: +61 +3 9925 5754 Email: beverley.jackling@rmit.edu.au

*Contact author: tracey.mcdowall@deakin.edu.au

Abstract
Several issues have been linked with the choice of an accounting major, and more specifically choice of accounting as a career path, including perceptions of the professional attributes required of accountants. The present study addresses two main themes: undergraduate students perceptions of the accounting profession and influences on decision to major in accounting. The study is motivated by the prior research of Marriott and Marriott (2003) that indicated exposure to accounting studies has a negative effect on attitudes towards the profession. The results show that students perceptions of the profession related to work activities and prestige of the profession. Further analysis examining the influences on choice of an accounting major revealed three major factors: intrinsic interest in the content of accounting courses, influences of parents and friends together with perceptions of job status of accounting related to career advancement and salary. When compared with the Marriott and Marriott (2003) study, the present study showed students had more positive attitudes to studying accounting. There were however significant differences between local and international students in attitudes to the accounting profession

Key words: perceptions, accounting major, accounting profession

1. Introduction The number of professional accountants in Australia is growing steadily, 100,000 in 1995-96 and 140,000 in 2005-06, (Birrell, 2006 p3). However, this is not attributed to the growth in domestic trained accountants but from recently arrived migrants, with the majority being former overseas students who have completed their course in Australia. The number of accountants who are former overseas students increased from 933 in 2001-02 to 6559 in 2005-6 (Birrell, 2006). Overall the number of students graduating in accounting courses at Australian universities is increasing, but the credit must once again go to an increase in international enrolments. The increase in numbers is due to the high propensity of these students to seek permanent residence on competition of their course. Birrell (2006) indicates that the number of overseas students who completed their degree in accounting has increased substantially in recent years. This is in contrast to prior research conducted in the United States over the last decade which has highlighted the decline in the number of students majoring in accounting has impacted on the supply of accounting graduates to the profession (Saemann and Crooker, 1999; Albrecht and Sack, 2000). The declining popularity of accounting majors amongst local students in Australia has been in part attributed to the negative views of the profession, particularly the stereotypical view that accountants require good number skills (Mladenovic 2000; Parker 2001). In order to understand students attitude towards the profession, one of the aims of this study is to investigate the factors that influence students choice of accounting at university level. A number of studies have examined the influencing factors that contribute to a students choice of major. These influencing factors include extrinsic and intrinsic interests in the discipline. Extrinsic factors such as perceived benefits, opportunities for advancement have been found to be important factors in students choice of major (Paolillo and

Estest 1982; Gul et al., 1989; Felton et al., 1995; Ahmed et al., 1997). Intrinsic factors in relation to the need to obtain an interesting job has been found to be important in choice of accounting as a career (Adams, et al. 1984; Linden, 1987). Educational experience, including prior studies in accounting together with personal characteristics such as gender have also been identified with a students choice of accounting major (Nelson and Vendrzyk, 1996; Byrne and Willis, 2005).

This paper aims to address two main themes: undergraduate students perceptions of the accounting profession and influences on decisions to major in accounting, given Marriott and Marriotts (2003) study that indicated exposure to accounting studies has a negative effect on attitudes towards the profession.

The following section of the paper reviews the literature related to the choice of accounting as a major and as a career choice. The subsequent section describes the research approach including research design, data collection and data analysis techniques. Section 4 presents an analysis and discussion of the results. The paper concludes with identifying limitations of the study and opportunities for further research.

2. Literature Review The influences of background characteristics, choice of accounting as a discipline and perceptions of the accounting profession are the 3 areas that will be highlighted in addressing the background literature for this study. Background Characteristics Gender

Various studies have investigated whether there are differences in the attitudes of males and females to accounting. Research undertaken by Nelson and Vendrzyk (1996) in the USA demonstrated that females had more favourable attitudes towards accounting than male students. This finding has more recently been supported by a study in Ireland by Byrne and Willis (2005) who found that female secondary school students viewed accounting as more definite, precise and compliance driven than males. In Marriott and Marriotts 2003 study, there was evidence to suggest that female accounting students in a university environment were more inclined to view accounting positively as they progressed through their undergraduate accounting studies. Their results showed that females in a social context viewed accountants as people focused (Marriott and Marriott 2003, p.125). This is consistent with the earlier work of Nelson and Vendrzyk (1996). In contrast Jackling and Calero (2006) did not find any significant difference in females and males in their interest in becoming an accountant. However this discrepancy in findings may in part be explained by the fact that Jackling and Caleros (2006) study was only aimed at first year level while Marriott and Marriott (2003) was a longitudinal study.

Overseas student versus local student Recent figures show that overseas students enrolled in accounting courses now make up around 47 per cent of all commencing students in the business field (www.cpaaustralia.com.au/cps/rde/xchg/). The growth in overseas student enrolments in accounting has been at the Masters level together with a change in the institutional location of accounting teaching. As of semester 1 2005, 14,427 overseas students were enrolled and 15, 696 local students were enrolled in an accounting major (DEST 2005). Birrell (2006) reported that the number of resident domestic students completing accredited accounting courses at Australian universities has only increased marginally

over the past decade. There has been an increase in the numbers studying accounting in Australian universities, but it is almost entirely attributable to expansion in the numbers of full-fee overseas students.(p.7) Other studies (Clikeman et al., 2001) have tried to link a students country of origin to student perceptions of particular accounting issues. However no significant relationship was found. This is supported by Jackling and Keneley (2007) who reported few differences between local and international students with respect to motivational influences on decision to major in accounting. Several issues have been linked with the choice of an accounting major. Educational experiences, including prior studies in accounting together with course experience and personal characteristics, such as gender (Nelson and Vendrzyk, 1996; Byrne and Willis, 2005) and socio-economic status (Pearson and Dellman-Jenkins, 1997) have also been identified with choice of major. Of significant value is the findings of Jackling and Calero, 2006, which supports the conclusions of earlier studies (AECC, 1992; Mladenovic, 2000; Byrne and Willis, 2005), that the experiences of the first course in accounting impact on students intention to pursue an accounting career.

Intrinsic interest A number of studies have indicated that job satisfaction is important in accounting students discipline choice (Paolillo and Estes, 1982; Gul et al 1989; Ahmed et al., 1997; Auyeung and Sands 1997). However Paolillo and Estes, 1982 and Ahmed et al., 1997 also found that accountancy students attach lower importance to intrinsic factors. This is in contrast to the findings of Linden (1987), Adams et al., (1994), Felton et al., (1994) and Jackling and Calero (2006), who demonstrate that intrinsic factors are very important in career decisions made by accounting students.

Studies conducted by Adams et al., (1994) and Mauldin et al., (2000) indicate that genuine interest in the subject is an important selection factor. Saemann and Crooker (1999) also found that students are more likely to choose an accounting major when they considered accounting interesting and enjoyable. This finding was further supported by results of Jackling and Calero (2006) where intrinsic rewards such as enjoyment of the study of the topics studied in accounting, were a predictor of intention to undertake a career in accounting.

Other studies have found that many students believe the accounting curriculum impacts on students perceptions of the work of the accountant and their desire to pursue a career in accounting (Zeff 1989).

Accounting as a discipline The way in which students as well as the public view accounting is an image that has persisted over time and is reinforced by the media. Typically accountants have been referred to as number crunchers, as bookkeeping and auditing work has been emphasised or been associated with, an emphasis upon numerical accuracy, routine recording and calculation methods, together with attention to detail (Parker, 2000). Rule based The study conducted by Cohen and Hanno (1993) and Allen (2004) suggest that the workload in accounting courses could hinder a students decision to major in accounting, and that students choose not to major in accounting because they perceived it to be highly numbers orientated and boring. This is consistent with the findings of Tan and Laswad (2006), who suggest that non-accounting majors may have not chosen

accounting as their intended major because they perceived accounting as too numbers orientated. Negative views of the profession have also been associated with the view that accounting requires good number skills (Mladenovic, 2000; Parker 2001). Zeff (1989) found that students viewed accounting as a rule-based type of educational experience characterised by courses consisting of collections of rules to be memorised. Similarly, Inman et al., (1989) found that many students views of accounting courses as consisting of mass production and rote-memorization. The perception held by students that accounting is rule-based and procedural activity is a problem as it may lead to the wrong type of student undertaken accounting courses. This is the view of Friedlan (1995) and Jackling (2002). They found that the wrong people may be choosing accounting majors, given that the accounting profession aims to ensure that students with qualities consistent with the demands of the profession are attracted to study accounting majors. Not only have students traditionally viewed the content of accounting courses negatively, more recently, Jackling (2002) found that greater than 50 per cent of first year students studying a core unit of accounting had negative perceptions of the profession.

Accounting as a profession Prior studies have shown that the perceptions and stereotypes that people hold are important factors that influence their career decisions (Holland, 1966; 1973). Students attitudes towards the accounting profession are in part, influenced by their perceptions that Marriot and Marriott (2003) term, pre entry attitudes or expectations based on societal stereotyping, childhood experiences and the imagery portrayed by the profession and their experiences when studying accounting at university. This section of

the literature review examines the underlying factors that impact on students perceptions of the accounting profession Work activities of the profession Perceptions of the work of accountants have developed over the years from several sources. In the media such as televisions, plays and films accountants are portrayed as unflattering images (DeCoster and Rhode 1971; Cory 1992; Murphy 2000.) For example the film industry has represented accountants as financial experts who are inept, dysfunctional misfits, with antisocial tendencies and a dowdy nerdishness (Beard, 1994; Bougen 1994; Smith and Briggs 1999; Parker 2001). This is an image that has persisted over time. Therefore it is important for the accounting profession to monitor public perceptions, including the perceptions of students so as to ensure that prospective students have an accurate perception of accounting (Nelson et al., 2002, p.282). Prestige of the profession In the past professional bodies and accounting educators have been concerned about the negative image of the profession and the likely impact that this will have on attracting high calibre students to study accounting ( Arthur Andersen & Co. et al., 1989; Geiger and Ogilby 2000). In the USA Lowe and Simons (1997) found that future earnings was the most important influence for accounting, finance and management majors. This is consistent with the findings of many other studies (e.g.Tan and Laswad 2006; Maudlin et al., 2000; Auyeung and Sands, 1997; Felton et al., 1994). These studies have shown that accounting students discipline choice has traditionally been heavily influenced by earnings potential and job market conditions or opportunities.

Influences of parents

Harrison (1998) points out that it is not only students own perceptions that affect their career decisions but also the perceptions of those around them. Therefore students may be influenced by their accounting teacher from either high school or university, parents, relatives or friends. However, prior research on the impact of teachers on a students decision to major in accounting has produced inconclusive and mixed results. Some studies have shown that teachers do not play a significant role in students choice of majors (Cangelosi et al., 1985; Gul et al., 1989). In contrast, other studies (e.g.Paolillo and Estes 1982; Hermanson and Hermanson 1995; Geiger and Ogilby 2000; Mauldin et al., 2000) have found referents to have an influence on students decision to major. The evidence regarding the influence of others, eg parents and friends is also inconclusive. Studies such as Inman et al., (1989); Mauldin et al., (2000) and Tan and Laswad (2006), found that parents, followed by instructors had a strong influence on students choice of majors. Tan and Laswad (2006) also found that international students in particular regarded the views of parents and career counsellors as important in their selection of intended major. These findings are consistent with the findings of Auyeung and Sands (1997), who found that Asian students tend to place more value on the opinion of important referents, particularly their parents, in their major intentions. In summary, this study investigates the various influences on undergraduate students decisions to undertake an accounting major and their perception of the accounting profession, taking into account the issues addressed in prior literature as outlined above. In particular the study conducted by Marriott and Marriott (2002) will in part be replicated to analyse attitudes towards the accounting profession.

Based on the existing literature discussed, this paper will examine four research questions: Q1 What are the attitudes of undergraduate accounting majors to the profession?

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Q2 Are there differences in attitudes between local and international students towards the profession? Q3 Are there gender differences between attitudes towards the accounting profession? Q4 Are the findings of Marriott and Marriott (2003) able to be replicated in an Australian environment? 3. Research Approach Research design and data collection The data set used in this study was collected via questionnaires completed by 131 students undertaking the second unit in the accounting major as part of their undergraduate studies in a Bachelor of Commerce course at a Victorian university in Australia. This unit of study represents the first unit of accounting studied in the undergraduate degree that is only completed by students pursuing an accounting major. The questionnaire collected background information relating to entry pathway, country of permanent residence and factors important in decision to major in accounting The present study replicated several aspects of prior study of Marriott and Marriott (2003) addressing perceptions of the accounting profession using the Accounting Attitude Scale (AAS) developed by Nelson (1991). The AAS measures the overall, global attitude of college students in the United States towards the accounting profession. The administration of the measure over a number of years and at a number of universities in the US indicate the reliability coefficient alpha has been 0.80 or above (Graves et al., 1992; Nelson and Deines, 1995: Nelson and Vendryzk, 1996). Data analysis techniques In addressing students perceptions of the work of accountants the study uses descriptive statistics to examine the attitude of undergraduate students towards the accounting profession. The first part of the analysis tests for differences in attitudes 11

between local and overseas students, together with any possible gender differences. The study explored students attitudes towards the work of accountants following the methodology by Marriott and Marriott (2003). The items measuring attitude to the profession include some items that need to be reversed in the scale. Items marked have been reversed coded so that the higher the score the lower level of agreement, hence the more positive the response. In addition, as in Marriott and Marriott (2003), all items have been re-keyed to a scale of 0 to 10. The analysis of each of the 14 items was tested by using independent group t-tests for residence and gender. The study also compares the mean student scores and the mean third year scores (t1 student scores presented in tables 4,6,7,8 and 9) of Marriott and Marriott, (2003) including comparison of differences of local (home) students and overseas students. The reliability coefficient of the AAS is 0.724 in the present study, which is slightly below the usual level of 0.8 but within acceptable limits (see Marriott and Marriott 2003). Results Descriptive statistics In this study, questionnaires were distributed to students studying the second unit of an accounting major. Of the 131 useable responses 74 were female and 57 were male. The distribution of students by place of residence showed that 78.6 % were overseas students and local students only made up 22.4% of the sample. The other interesting background characteristic is that a large proportion of overseas students (74.4%) completed their first year of university at another institution. That is only 25.6% had completed their first year at the same university as their second year of study. Table 1 provides details of the background characteristics of the sample.

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Insert Table 1 here As one of the main objectives of this study was to assess attitudes towards the profession by students studying an accounting major, this section of the results presents comparisons of the mean student scores on the AAS re perceptions of the accounting profession together with the differences in perceptions of local and overseas students. Table 2 shows the mean scores for each of the 14 variables addressing perceptions of the accounting profession. Insert Table 2 here The results shown in Table 2 indicate that overall respondents perceived that the accounting profession is well-respected (mean 7.85) and that they would enjoy being an accountant (mean 7.77) and liked studying accounting (mean 7.42). The scores on these items are consistent with Nelson and Vendrzyks study (1996) where scores ranged from 7.225 to 7.56 out of a possible score of 10. Marriott and Marriotts study (2003) had scores above eight on four of the statements: the accounting profession is well respected; I would enjoy being an accountant; accountants are not boring people; I like accounting. However, it should be acknowledged that these were the scores for students at the commencement of their studies whereas the results reported in the present study are for students who have completed at least two units of university accounting. Of interest is the finding in the present study that students overall did not perceive that accounting involved a great deal of rule-memorising (4.83). This may reflect the curriculum focus at the University where this study was conducted given that procedural approaches are de emphasised and there is a focus on concept development. Additionally, in the present study respondents were less likely to perceive that Accountants worked alone (mean 5.48), compared with the Marriott and Marriott (2003) study. 13

Differences between local and overseas student perceptions of the accounting profession Given the high numbers of overseas students enrolled in undergraduate accounting studies at Australian universities this study aimed to examine whether there were differences in attitude towards the accounting profession between local and overseas students. The results of the independent t tests are shown in Table 3. Insert Table 3 here The results show that there were significant differences between local and overseas students on three of the 14 items addressing attitudes towards the profession. The differences between the two cohorts are mixed in terms of attitudes. For instance, overseas students were of the view that Accountants were boring, more so than local students. However, the local students were more inclined to view Accountants as number crunchers and unlikely to work with people Overall there were no significant differences in the means for local and overseas students on the remaining 11 items in the AAS scale, suggesting that students regardless of country of origin had relatively uniform attitudes towards the accounting profession, when they had completed two units of an accounting major. Gender differences in attitudes towards the profession The test of independent mean differences based on gender revealed that there was no statistically significant difference in the responses of students to the perceptions of the profession by gender. The only exception was the item accountancy is a profession at par with medicine or law, where females score (7.43) was significantly higher than that for male students (6.39). This finding is to some extent supported by the prior work of Marriott

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and Marriott (2003) who found that females tended to have a more positive attitude towards accounting, particularly by the end of their university accounting programme. Comparisons with Marriott and Marriott findings An additional objective of this study was to compare the perceptions of students in this study with the mean third year results of Marriott and Marriotts study (t1student scores presented in tables 4, 6, 7, 8 and 9 in Marriott and Marriott study (2003)). (for new universities - see p.115 Marriott and Marriott,2003) Table 4 shows the mean of responses to the AAS in the current study and the mean for t1 reported by Marriott and Marriot (2003). Insert Table 4 here

Most of the mean scores of the present study and Table 4, Marriott and Marriott 2003 appear to be statistically the same. Nevertheless, the students in the present study appear to report a slightly more positive attitude than those in Marriott and Marriott study as shown by the mean scores in the items accounting is interesting, I would enjoy being an accountant, and I like accounting. Table 5 compares local students attitude towards the work of accountants with that of home students in the Marriott and Marriott study. It can be seen that overall home students scores are lower in present study than in the Marriott and Marriott study. However, it can also be seen that statistically both sets of findings are similar. Insert Table 5 here In comparing the international students in the present sample with the results of Marriott and Marriotts results, it needs to be acknowledged that there may be different cultural factors that influence the results. For example, the countries of origin of the 15

international students in Marriott and Marriotts study were mainly from India, Malaysia, Singapore and China (Hong Kong), whereas in the present study the overseas students were more frequently from mainland China, Indonesia and Sri Lanka. Table 6 provides the details of the attitudes towards the accounting profession for international students in the present study and Table 7 provides the results for international students in Marriott and Marriotts study. A comparison of the means shows that overall international students in the present study had less positive attitudes towards accounting than in Marriott and Marriotts study. However, overseas students in the present study had more positive attitudes to accounting as a discipline and as a career choice, as they viewed their accounting as more interesting and scored higher on I like accounting and in terms of career choice I would enjoy being an accountant. Insert Table 6 here Discussion and Conclusions Overall, the findings of this study suggest that students perceive that the accounting profession is well respected. This result is similarly to the findings of Tan and Laswad (2006) who revealed that accounting majors hold positive attitudes towards some of the perceptions of the accounting profession and the study of accounting (p183). Of particular interest was the finding that students did not perceive that accounting involved a great deal of rule memorising. This is in contrast to the findings of Zeff (1989) and Inman et al., (1989), that students viewed accounting as rule based.

The results indicated that there was significant difference between local and international students in some items addressing attitudes towards the profession.

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Overseas students were of the belief that accountants were boring, more so than that of local students. The reason for the difference in attitude may be explained by the exposure to local students of an advertising campaign by professional accounting bodies (e.g. CPA, ICAA). This advertising has occurred in the media, especially on television in Australia. The campaign promotes the idea of a CPA as an exciting career path that is challenging and can lead to many opportunities such as working overseas. Therefore international students would not have been previously exposed to the campaign before coming to Australia and this may explain the difference in attitude between the two groups (also curriculum differences). The profession should perhaps take this into consideration when promoting accounting to the overseas market. In addressing the gender differences in attitudes towards the profession there was no significant difference between male and females. This result is the opposite to the findings of prior studies such as Nelson and Vendrzyk (1996) and Byrne and Willis (2005). However there was one exception where female scores were higher than males. This was the item accountancy is a profession at par with medicine or law. Therefore given the approximate equal gender representation in recent times females perceptions of accounting are similar to males. The results of the study were also compared to the results of Marriott and Marriotts (2003) study. The results revealed that students in the present study appeared to report more positive attitudes for the three items, accounting is interesting, I would enjoy being an accountant and I like accounting. This may be attributed to in recent times the promotion of accounting by the profession in order to change the negative perception of the profession. In comparing local students in the present study with home students in the Marriott and Marriott study, statistically both sets of findings are the same. However when comparing international students, the international students in the present study had less positive attitudes towards accounting than in Marriott and

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Marriotts study, but had more positive attitudes to accounting as a discipline and as a career choice. The difference between the two groups may be attributed to the fact that the countries of origin for international students are different. However, this finding warrants further investigation with a larger sample of students across the three years of an undergraduate accounting degree.

This study has the following limitations. Firstly the study did not address the change of attitude over time. The study only examined students attitudes at one point in time and did not identify whether students attitudes change over the period of their study. Secondly the findings of the study indicated that there is a difference between local and international students in their attitude towards the accounting profession. However the study can only speculate as to why there is a difference between the two groups. Thirdly the questionnaire was only administered at one institution. The limitations of this study provide a pathway for further research in this area. A two staged approach, similar to that used by Marriott and Marriott (2003) could be used. This would involve a longitudinal study, preferably at the beginning and end of a students period of study. This could address the limitation of only analysing students attitudes at one point in time of their study. In order to validate the findings further research could use qualitative data. By undertaking qualitative work, this could help determine the factors that influence students attitudes and why such a difference exists between local and international students. Finally as the study was only undertaken at one university, further study at other universities would only strengthen the findings.

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DEST (Department of Education, Science and Training) 2005 Students 2004 Selected Higher Education Statistics, Commonwealth of Australia, Canberra. Felton, S., Burh, N. and Northey, M. (1994) Factors influencing the business students choice of a career in chartered accountancy, Issues in Accounting Education, 9(1), pp 131-141. Friedlan, J. (1995) The effects of different teaching approaches on students perceptions of the skills needed for success in accounting courses and by practicing accountants, Issues in Accounting Education, 10(1), Spring, pp 47-63. Geiger, M.A. and Ogilbly, S.M. (2000) The first course in accounting: students perceptions and their effect on the decision to major in accounting, Journal of Accounting Education, 18(2), pp 63-78. Graves, O.F., Nelson, I.T. and Davies J.R. (1992) Accounting student characteristics: a survey of accounting majors at federation of Schools of Accountancy (FSA) surveys, Journal of Accounting Education, 10(1), pp 211-225. Gul, F.A., Andrew, B.H., Leong, S.C. and Ismail, Z. (1989) Factors influencing choice of discipline of study-accountancy, engineering, law and medicine, Accounting and Finance, 29(2), pp 93-101. Hermanson, D.R. and Hermanson, R.H. (1995) Are Americas top business students steering clear of accounting? Ohio CPA Journal, 54(2), pp 26-30. Holland, J.L. (1966) The Psychology of Vocational Choice (Waltham, MA: Blaisdell). Holland, J.L. (1973) The Psychology of Vocational Choice (Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall). Inman B. C., Wenzler, A. and Wickeert, P.D. (1989) Square pegs in round holes: are accounting students well-suited to todayss accounting profession? Issues in Accoutning Education, 4(1), pp 29.47. Jackling, B. (2002) Are negative perceptions of the accounting profession perpetuated by tertiary accounting courses in? An Australian study, Asian Review of Accounting, 10(2), pp 52-80. Jackling, B. and Calero, C. (2006) Influences on undergraduate students intentions to become qualified accountants: evidence from Australia, Accounting Education: an international journal, 15(4), pp 419-437. Jackling, B. and Keneley, M. (2007) Influences on the potential supply of and demand for accounting graduates: a focus on the impact of international enrolments in tertiary accounting courses in Australia. Paper presented at AFAANZ Conference, July, Gold Coast.

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Linden, Y.V.D. (1987) An investigation into students motivation for selecting accounting as a career, Working Paper No.58,Department of Accounting and Finance, Massey University, New Zealand. Lowe, D.R. and Simons, L. (1997) Factors influencing choice of business majors some additional evidence: a research note, Accounting Education: an international journal, 6(1), pp 39-45. Mauldin, S., Crain, J.L. and Mounce, P.H. (2000) The accounting principles instructors influence on students decision to major in accounting, Journal of Education for Business, pp .142-148. Marriott, P. and Marriott, N. (2003) Are we turning them off: a longitudinal study of undergraduate accounting students attitudes toward accounting as a profession, Accounting Education: an international journal, 12(2), pp 113-133. Mladenovic, R. (2000) An investigation into the ways of challenging introductory accounting students attitudes towards accounting as a profession, Accounting Education: an international journal, 12(2), pp 113-133. Nelson, I.T. (1991) Accounting Attitude Scale, available from the author. Irv.nelson@usu.edu Nelson, I.T. and Deines, D.S. (1995) Accounting student characteristics: results of the 1993 and 1994 Federation of Schools of Accountancy (FSA) surveys, Journal of Accounting Education, 13(Fall), pp 393-411. Nelson, I.T. and Vendrzyk, V.P. (1996) Trends in accounting student characteristics: a longitudinal study at FSA schools, 1991-1995, Journal of Accounting Education 14(4), pp .453-475 Paolillo, J. and Estes, R. (1982) An empirical analysis of career choice factors among accountants, attorneys, engineers and physicians, The Accounting Review, 57(4), pp 785-793. Parker, L.D. (2000) Goodbye, number cruncher, Australian CPA, March, pp 50-52. Parker, L.D. (2001) Back to the future: the broadening accounting trajectory, British Accounting Review, 33, pp 421-453. Pearson, C. and Dellman-Jenkins, M. (1997) Parental influence on a students selection of a college major, College Student Journal, 31(3), pp 301-314. Saemann, G.P. and Crooker, K.J. (1999) Student perceptions of the profession and its effect on decisions to major in accounting, Journal of Accounting Education, 17(1), pp 1-22. Smith, M. and Briggs, S. (1999) From bean counter to action hero, Management Accounting, 77(1), pp 28-30.

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Tan, L.M. and Laswad, F. (2006) Students beliefs, attitudes and intentions to major in accounting, Accounting Education: an international journal, 15(2), pp 167-187. Worthington, A.C. and Higgs, H. (2001) Australian accounting enrolments and student load: an empirical note on tends and composition through the 1990s, Accounting Research Journal, 14(2), pp 186-189. Zeff, S.A. (1989) Does accounting belong in the university curriculum? Issues in Accounting Education, 4(1), pp 203-210.

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Table 1 Descriptive statistics N= 131 frequency Gender Male Female 57 74 43.5 56.5 %

Residence Australia Overseas 28 103 21.4 78.6

Study mode Full time Part time Missing Entry pathway first year studies Deakin MIBT Holmesglen TAFE Other TAFEs Missing 33 71 9 16 2 25.6 55.0 7.0 12.4 86 5 40 94.5 5.5

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Table 2 Mean scores - Attitude towards accounting profession

Statement The accounting profession is well-respected Accounting is just a lot of rule-memorising Accountants work alone more than work with people Peer agreement accounting a good career choice Accounting is interesting Being an accountant a lot of prestige Accounting is a lot of fixed rules doesnt involve conceptual skills or judgment Accounting a profession on par with medicine and law I would enjoy being an accountant Accountants are boring people My family would like me to become an accountant Accountants are number-crunchers; they seldom work with people I like accounting Professionally-qualified accountants interact with lots of people

Valid 131 130 130 131 131 130 131 130 131 128 131 130 131 131

Mean 7.85 4.83 5.48 6.41 6.92 6.89 6.14 6.98 7.77 6.70 6.69 6.14 7.42 7.56

Std Deviation 1.40 2.49 2.34 2.12 2.12 1.67 2.67 2.56 1.83 2.60 2.31 2.49 1.99 1.65

Note: Items marked with an on all tables have been reversed keyed, which means that the higher the score the less the respondents agree with the statement and hence the more positive their attitude.

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Table 3 Differences in attitude towards accounting profession: local and overseas students- Independent Samples Test Levene's Test for Equality of Variances F Sig. t df

t-test for Equality of Means Mean Std. Error Sig. (2-tailed) Difference Difference

95% Confidence Interval of the Difference Lower Upper .603 .590 1.142 1.283 1.012 1.208 .916 .959 1.186 1.353 .936 .978

The accounting profession is well-respected

.311

.578

.042 .044

129 45.297 128 36.271 128 34.513 129 41.375 129 36.226 128 40.951

.967 .965 .892 .903 .991 .992 .963 .965 .526 .586 .524 .542

.012 .012 .073 .073 .006 .006 .021 .021 .288 .288 .228 .228

.298 .287 .540 .597 .509 .592 .453 .465 .454 .525 .357 .371

-.578 -.565 -.995 -1.136 -1.001 -1.196 -.875 -.918 -.609 -.777 -.479 -.521

Accounting is just a lot of rulememorising

.722

.397

.136 .123

Accountants work alone more than work with people

4.405

.038

.011 .010

My peers would think I made a good career decision if I became an accountant

.290

.591

.046 .045

Accounting is interesting

.956

.330

.636 .549

Being an accountant has a lot of prestige

.259

.612

.639 .615

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Accounting is a lot of fixed rules; it doesn't involve conceptual skills or judgement

2.258

.135

.171 .150

129 36.767 128 44.503 129 36.842 126 32.776 129 37.984 128 34.292 129 35.201 129 41.185

.865 .882 .007 .006 .458 .517 .563 .643 .631 .665 .159 .235 .652 .707 .758 .766

.098 .098 1.469 1.469 .291 .291 -.328 -.328 -.238 -.238 .760 .760 .193 .193 .109 .109

.572 .652 .539 .506 .391 .446 .565 .701 .494 .546 .537 .629 .426 .509 .353 .364

-1.034 -1.224 .402 .450 -.483 -.612 -1.447 -1.755 -1.215 -1.343 -.302 -.518 -.650 -.840 -.590 -.626

1.230 1.420 2.535 2.487 1.066 1.194 .791 1.099 .739 .867 1.822 2.038 1.035 1.225 .807 .844

Accounting is a profession, on par with medicine and law

2.958

.088

2.724 2.904

I would enjoy being an accountant

.024

.876

.744 .654

Accountants are boring people

8.507

.004

-.580 -.468

My family would like me to become an accountant

2.184

.142

-.482 -.436

Accountants are numbercrunchers; they seldom work with people

6.325

.013

1.416 1.208

I like accounting

.016

.900

.453 .379

Professionally-qualified accountants interact with lots of people

.263

.609

.308 .299

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Table 4

New university students attitude towards accounting (Present study n = 130, MM203 n= 97) (Items marked are reversed keyed)
Ta le4 (Marrio & b t Marrio 2003) t Me n Std Erro a . r 7.9130 1.2761 5.8261 2.3287 7.0435 7.1304 5.9130 6.7826 7.0435 6.4348 6.4348 8.1739 7.1304 8.0870 6.7826 7.7391 7.0311 2.1633 1.6870 2.2139 1.4446 2.0775 2.1706 1.9960 2.2493 2.2422 1.5348 1.8819 1.9357 1.9430

The a ccounting profession is well-respected Accounting is just a lot of rule-m orising em Accounta work a nts lone m tha work with ore n people My peers would think I m de a good career a decision if I beca e an a m ccountant Accounting is interesting Being a accounta ha a lot of prestige n nt s Accounting is a lot of fixed rules; it doesn't involve conceptual skills or judgem ent Accounting is a profession, on pa with m r edicine a la nd w I would enjoy being an a ccountant Accounta a boring people nts re My fam would like m to becom a a ily e e n ccounta nt Accounta a number-crunchers; they seldom nts re work with people I like a ccounting Professionally-qua lified a ccountants interact with lots of people Avera a ge ttidtude towa a rds ccounting score

MAA203 Surv y e Me n Std Erro a . r 7.8473 0.1219 4.8308 0.2182 5.4769 6.4122 6.9160 6.8923 6.1374 6.9846 7.7710 6.7031 6.6870 6.1385 7.4198 7.5573 6.6982 0.2055 0.1848 0.1855 0.1466 0.2336 0.2241 0.1602 0.2301 0.2019 0.2186 0.1741 0.1442 0.1892

Table 5

Home students attitude towards accounting (Present study n = 28, M&M 2003 n = 72) (Items marked are reversed keyed)

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The a ccounting profession is well-respected Accounting is just a lot of rule-m orising em Accounta work alone m than work with nts ore people My peers would think I made a good career decision if I became a accountant n Accounting is interesting Being a a n ccounta has a lot of prestige nt Accounting is a lot of fixed rules; it doesn't involve conceptua skills or judgem l ent Accounting is a profession, on par with medicine and law I would enjoy being a accountant n Accounta are boring people nts My fa ily would like m to become an a m e ccountant Accounta are number-crunchers; they seldom work nts with people I like accounting Professiona lly-qualified accountants interact with lots of people Avera a ge ttidtude towa a rds ccounting score

MAA203 Surv y e Me an Std Erro . r 7.8571 0.2505 4.8889 0.5478 5.4815 6.4286 7.1429 7.0714 6.2143 8.1481 8.0000 6.4444 6.5000 6.7407 7.5714 7.6429 6.8666 0.5505 0.4160 0.4872 0.3330 0.6028 0.4392 0.4115 0.6609 0.5000 0.5861 0.4754 0.3262 0.4705

Ta le6 (Ma t & b rrio Marrio 2003) t Me an Std Erro . r 8.5278 1.1625 5.7500 2.1477 7.1944 7.5000 5.0833 7.2500 7.0833 6.8611 6.0563 7.8889 7.3239 7.9167 6.1944 7.5278 7.0113 1.8587 1.6359 2.7463 1.4413 1.8366 2.1709 2.2417 2.0933 2.1097 1.7259 2.2806 1.7278 1.9414

Table 6 and Table 7 International students attitude towards accounting (Present study n = 100, M&M 2003 n = 25) (Items marked are reversed keyed)
MAA203 Surv y e Me an Std Erro . r 7.8447 0.1399 4.8155 0.2365 5.4757 6.4078 6.8544 6.8431 6.1165 6.6796 7.7087 6.7723 6.7379 5.9806 7.3786 7.5340 6.6535 0.2172 0.2072 0.1963 0.1635 0.2496 0.2507 0.1710 0.2337 0.2190 0.2284 0.1810 0.1614 0.2040 Ta le7 (Ma t & b rrio Marrio 2003) t Me an Std Erro . r 8.5600 1.3565 5.2000 2.9439 6.3200 7.6000 5.4400 7.3600 6.8000 7.1200 7.0400 7.6800 7.5200 7.9200 6.8800 8.4800 7.1371 2.9257 1.6330 2.3466 1.4967 2.3805 2.4549 2.3180 2.4953 1.9391 1.8690 2.7129 1.3266 2.1571

The a ccounting profession is well-respected Accounting is just a lot of rule-m orising em Accounta work alone m than work with nts ore people My peers would think I made a good career decision if I became a accountant n Accounting is interesting Being a a n ccounta has a lot of prestige nt Accounting is a lot of fixed rules; it doesn't involve conceptua skills or judgem l ent Accounting is a profession, on par with medicine and law I would enjoy being a accountant n Accounta are boring people nts My fa ily would like m to become an a m e ccountant Accounta are number-crunchers; they seldom work nts with people I like accounting Professiona lly-qualified accountants interact with lots of people Avera a ge ttidtude towa a rds ccounting score

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