Professional Documents
Culture Documents
of Accounting as a Major
Sharifah Sabrina Syed Ali*and Michael Tinggi**
Introduction
Accounting program, a specialized professional program—including financial accounting,
accounting information system, cost and managerial accounting, taxation, auditing, financial
statement analysis, accounting theory and practices including professional standards such as
International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) or Generally Accepted Accounting Principles
(GAAP), financial management and public sector accounting—prepares the students to practice
the profession of accounting and perform any related business function.
Literature Review
There are several reasons that may influence students to choose accounting as a major. For
example, those who excel in playing with numbers or are good at mathematics would consider
choosing accounting as a major. Past studies show that personal interests, peer influence,
family background, career opportunity and job availability are some of the factors that influence
students’ decision.
* Lecturer, Faculty of Economics and Business, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak, 94300 Kota Samarahan, Sarawak,
Malaysia; and is the corresponding author. E-mail: sassabrina@feb.unimas.my
** Lecturer, Faculty of Economics and Business, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak, 94300 Kota Samarahan, Sarawak,
Malaysia. E-mail: tmichael@feb.unimas.my
Factors
© 2013 Influencing
IUP. All Rights
the Students’
Reserved.Choice of Accounting as a Major 25
Students’ perception towards their major was examined by Giladi et al. (2001), who found
that most of the students decide on their major during the high school years and the reason for
the selection is the job prospect. Thus, a large proportion of students are expected to opt for
accounting as major. Other studies like Sabot and Wakeman (1991) and Walstrom et al.
(2008) examined factors like job or income prospect as important criteria for the major selection.
Didia and Hasnat (1998) and Bauer and Dahlquist (1999) showed that personality plays an
important role in the choice of the major. Worthington and Higgs (2004) also observed that
the students choose the major that matches their personality and personal interest. In addition,
the role of characteristics may also be statistically significant in determining the choice of
major. Furthermore, many studies identified that various family members, peers, and other
significant persons also have an impact on an individual’s choice in many ways (Hanson,
1994). Kenny et al. (2003) showed that peers’ persuasion help students to decide whether to
study overseas or in their home country. It however, is effective only after the original intention
to study abroad is established. Further, Pearson and Dellmann (1997) found that the importance
of siblings, friends and the media combined was less than that of parents. According to Dynan
and Rouse (1997), media influence and past achievement lead to the students’ choice of
major.
Past Achievements
Savolainen et al. (2008) suggested that reading comprehension, vocabulary and spelling are
predictors of past achievement, which may influence the students’ choice of major. Using a
sample of 1,700 students, the authors examined through a related assessment their skills and
knowledge and then compared the results with the choice of major of those students. They
found that the previous achievement had strong influence on the students’ choice of major.
Olitsky (2009) also showed that individual academic achievement plays a significant role
in determining the choice of major among the students. Moreover, Turner and Bowen (1999)
and Montmarquette et al. (2002) used the Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT) as a measurement
of academic achievement to examine its influence on the choice of major among the students.
Personal Interests
Many studies showed that student’s interest in the subject is one of the significant factors that
influence their choice of major. Dynan and Rouse (1997) and Lewis and Norris (1997) identified
the importance of interest and perceptions of the profession as the factor determining the
choice of economics major, while Easterlin (1995) identified preferences as the key factor in
the generational switch to business studies. Fortin and Amernic (1994) concluded that “…interest
and aptitude for the subject matter appear to be the driving forces behind the students’ choice
of accounting as a major… intrinsic values such as independence in action and solving
challenging problems (intellectual stimulation) are also the key factors motivating students’
choice of concentration.” Other studies confirmed that personality plays a key role in the
choice of a major. Lawrence and Taylor (2000) found that students with sensing, thinking and
judging personality types were more likely to select accounting as major. Wolk and Nikolai
(1997) also obtained similar results. Further, Geiger and Ogilby (2000) and Mauldin et al.
26 The IUP Journal of Accounting Research & Audit Practices, Vol. XII, No. 4, 2013
(2000) found that the decision to major in accounting was made in the first accounting course.
Geiger and Ogilby’s analyses for selection of accounting as a major indicate that the decision
depended on initially intending to major in accounting, performance in the first course, and
individual instructors, but not on changes in perception regarding the first course, while Mauldin
et al. found that the largest percentage of students (41%) chose accounting as their major
during the first accounting course in college.
Job Prospect
Many studies indicated that students’ choice of business major is influenced by higher earnings,
prestige and career advancement (Kim and Markham, 2002). Montmarquette et al. (2002)
examined the previous studies on the determinants of the major choice, which linked it to the
expected earnings. Lowe et al. (1994) discovered that compensation, career opportunities and
prestige are significant factors that influence students’ choice of accounting as their major,
whereas students who choose business major are more influenced by personal and normative
factors. There should be a general awareness among students on the career opportunities available
in Malaysia and overseas and the level of compensation for accountants as it has been widely
publicized in the local newspapers. With the amount of news publicity given to a particular
profession, it would be interesting to find out if these job-related factors are the key factors
influencing students’ choice of accountancy as a major. Besides, Galotti and Kozberg (1987)
investigated five factors that may influence the choice of major among the students, i.e.,
qualification policies to enter the major field of study, employment opportunities, university
or college reputation, past academic experiences, and the characteristics of the courses. They
found that the job prospect or job opportunity is the most significant factor influencing the
choice of major. The students were aware of the growing salaries and potential in the related
field, which led them to enroll in the related field, i.e., finance.
Furthermore, the studies by Francisco et al. (2003) and Simons et al. (2003) also concluded
that factors such as future job opportunity, income potential, type of profession, earning perks,
bonuses and so on, play the most important role in determining the major of the students. Tan
and Laswad (2006) also inferred that the choice of students’ major is significantly influenced
by income prospects, prestige and job advancements due to earning potential and marketability
or scope of opportunities.
Media
Macionis (2000), in his study, also included the factor of mass media as a significant agent
influencing the student’s choice of major. He found that besides the influence of the family on
determining the choice of major among the students, mass media also showed significant
influence. Pearson and Dellmann (1997) also examined the impact of factors, including parents,
relatives, peers, teacher, and media, and found that the mass media has a positive influence on
student’s choice of major. Linda (2006), in her study explained how the media influences the
students’ choice of major. She stated that media in the form of television, advertisement,
Internet and so on affects the behavior of students, because the students usually browse through
media to access information about universities, courses offered and the potential fields before
choosing their major.
Past
Achievements
Personal Interests
Accepting the
Job or Income
Offer in Accounting
Prospect
Program
Family and Peers
Media Students’
Perception in
Choosing the
Program
28 The IUP Journal of Accounting Research & Audit Practices, Vol. XII, No. 4, 2013
The following hypotheses were formulated to identify the factors influencing students’
decision to accept the offer of accounting as a major.
Hypothesis 1:
H01: Past achievements do not have a significant impact on student’s choice of accounting
major.
Ha1: Past achievements have a significant impact on student’s choice of accounting
major.
Hypothesis 2:
H02: Personal interests do not have a significant impact on student’s choice of accounting
major.
Ha2: Personal interests have a significant impact on student’s choice of accounting
major.
Hypothesis 3:
H03: Job prospect does not have a significant impact on student’s choice of accounting
major.
Ha3: Job prospect has a significant impact on student’s choice of accounting major.
Hypothesis 4:
H04: Family members and peers do not have a significant impact on student’s choice of
accounting major.
Ha4: Family members and peers have a significant impact on student’s choice of
accounting major.
Hypothesis 5:
H05: Media does not have a significant impact on student’s choice of accounting major.
Ha5: Media has a significant impact on student’s choice of accounting major.
Part C – Student’s Perception in Accepting the Offer of Accounting Major: These factors are
also measured using the Likert scale ranging from 1 to 5 to indicate the respondent’s interest
that led them to accept the accounting program.
Note: ** Correlation is significant at 0.01 level; and * Correlation is significant at 0.05 level.
30 The IUP Journal of Accounting Research & Audit Practices, Vol. XII, No. 4, 2013
The equation is:
Dvavg i 0 1PAi 2PIi 3 JPi 4FMPi 5MPi i
where
Dvavg i = Dependent variable (accepting the offer in accounting program)
0 = Unknown parameter that, for example, minimizes the distance
between the measured and predicted values of the dependent variable
PAi = Past Achievements
PIi = Personal Interest
JPi = Job Prospect
Figure 2: Normal P-P Plot of Regression Standardized
FMPi = Family and Peers
Residual (Dependent Variable: Dvavg)
MPi = Media
i = Error term, and
the subscript i indexes a particular 1.0
observation
Expected Cum. Prob.
0.8
The results of the regression
analysis show that there is a fairly 0.6
strong linear relationship (Figure 2)
0.4
between the independent variables
and the dependent variable. 0.2
Table 2 shows that overall, there
0
is significant influence of the 0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0
independent variables on the
dependent variable as depicted by the Observed Cum. Prob.
F-statistic (6.790, p= 0.000 < 0.01).
Total 11.324 39
Note: a
Predictors: (Constant), AvgMP, AvgFMP, AvgPI, AvgJP, AvgPA; b Dependent Variable: Dvavg.
Table 3 indicates only job prospect has a significant influence (at p-value = 0.000 < 0.01)
over students’ accepting the offer of accounting as a major. Each one unit factor change in job
prospect may lead to 4.461 unit significant change in the choice for accounting as a major.
Coefficients
Model Unstandardized Standardized t-Value Sig. Collinearity Statistics
Coefficients Coefficients
B Beta Tolerance VIF
1 (Constant) 2.147 4.275 0.000
AvgPA –0.217 –0.222 –1.251 0.220 0.469 2.132
AvgPI 0.016 0.023 0.136 0.893 0.525 1.903
AvgJP 0.608 0.771 4.461 0.000 0.493 2.030
AvgFMP –0.063 –0.089 –0.677 0.503 0.856 1.168
AvgMP 0.096 0.150 1.035 0.308 0.704 1.421
Regression Summary
The correlation analysis (see Table 1) also showed a significant relationship between job
prospect and students accepting the offer of accounting as a major. Thus, the regression result
supports the ANOVA and correlation results. The Variance Inflation Factor (VIF) of all variables
is below 5, implying no collinearity exists among the independent variables. Thus, the
independent variables are considered suitable for the purpose of estimating the dependent
variable.
The R2 (= 0.500) value seems to be reasonable, implying that the independent variables
account for at least 50% of variation in the dependent variable as proxied by the students’
accepting the offer in accounting program in UNIMAS, Session 2012-2013, Semester 1.
Reliability Test
Cronbach’s is used to measure the reliability. Table 4 shows that the value of Cronbach’s
(0.856) is larger than the critical value of 0.5. Thus, the reliability of coefficients is fairly high.
Therefore, the internal measurement is consistent (Hair et al., 2006).
0.856 0.867 25
32 The IUP Journal of Accounting Research & Audit Practices, Vol. XII, No. 4, 2013
One-Way ANOVA
The one-way analysis of variance is a technique used to compare means of two or more
samples using the F distribution. This test is conducted as authors are of the opinion that the
students’ parents’ educational level may influence the decision-making process. To see whether
the influence is significant or not, ANOVA test is conducted.
It is observed from Table 5 that there is no significant difference between the means of
students’ parents’ education and the factors: past achievements (F = 2.087, p = 0.103),
personal interests (F = 1.069, p = 0.386), job prospect (F = 2.130, p = 0.098), family
members and peers (F = 0.629, p = 0.645) and media (F = 0.860, p = 0.497). Thus, from
the above analysis, it is concluded that parents’ education has no significant influence over the
independent variables influencing students’ choice for university program.
The findings reveal that there is a significant relationship between job prospect and students’
choice of accounting program. The Pearson correlation test results, however, show that other
than job prospect, factors such as past achievements and personal interest also have a strong
and significant relationship with students’ choice of accounting program. Based on the results
of hypotheses testing, job prospect is found to be the only factor influencing students’ decision
to accept the offer of accounting as a major. Thus, except null hypothesis H03, we fail to reject
the remaining null hypotheses. The findings of the present study is consistent with that of
Giladi et al. (2001).
References
1. Albrecht W S and Sack R J (2000), “Accounting Education: Charting the Course Through
a Perilous Future”, Accounting Education Series, Vol. 16, American Accounting
Association, Sarasota, FL.
2. Bauer R J and Dahlquist J R (1999), “Recognizing and Eliminating Gender Bias in
Finance Education”, Financial Practice and Education, Vol. 9, No. 1.
3. Cohen J and Hanno D M (1993), “An Analysis of Underlying Constructs Affecting the
Choice of Accounting as a Major”, Issues in Accounting Education, Vol. 8, No. 2,
pp. 219-238.
34 The IUP Journal of Accounting Research & Audit Practices, Vol. XII, No. 4, 2013
4. Didia D and Hasnat B (1998), “The Determinants of Performance in the University Introductory
Finance Course”, Financial Practice and Education, Vol. 8, No. 1, pp. 102-107.
5. Dynan K E and Rouse C E (1997), “The Under Representation of Women in Economics:
A Study of Undergraduate Students”, Journal of Economic Education, Vol. 28, No. 4.
6. Easterlin R A (1995), “Preferences and Prices in Choice of Career: The Switch to Business,
1972-87”, Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization, Vol. 27, No. 1,
pp. 1-34.
7. Fortin A and Amernic J H (1994), “A Descriptive Profile of Intermediate Accounting
Students”, Contemporary Accounting Research, Special Education Research Issue,
pp. 21-73.
8. Francisco W H, Thomas G N and Kelly J A (2003), “Why Don’t Students Major in
Accounting?”, Southern Business Review, Vol. 29, No. 1.
9. Galotti Kathleen M and Kozberg Steven F (1987), “Older Adolescents’ Thinking About
Academic/Vocational and Interpersonal Commitments”, Journal of Youth and
Adolescence, Vol. 16, No. 1.
10. Geiger M A and Ogilby S M (2000), “The First Course in Accounting: Student’s Perceptions
and their Effect on the Decision to Major in Accounting”, Journal of Accounting Education,
Vol. 18, pp. 63-78.
11. Giladi K, Amoo T and Friedman H H (2001), “A Survey of Accounting Majors: Attitudes
and Opinions”, National Public Accountant, Vol. 46, No. 2.
12. Hair J F, Black W C, Babin B J et al. (2006), Multivariate Data Analysis, Pearson
Prentice Hall, NJ.
13. Hanson S L (1994), “Lost Talent: Unrealized Educational Aspirations and Expectations
Among US Youths”, Sociology of Education, Vol. 67, pp. 159-183.
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Relational Support in the Educational and Vocational Lives of Urban High School
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No. 1, pp. 28-32.
16. Lawrence R and Taylor L W (2000), “Student Personality Type Versus Grading Procedures
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36 The IUP Journal of Accounting Research & Audit Practices, Vol. XII, No. 4, 2013
Appendix
Questionnaire
Please answer by placing a tick () or filling in the blank where necessary.
( ) Matriculation
( ) STPM
( ) Diploma
2. Gender
( ) Male
( ) Female
3. Age
( ) 18-19
( ) 20-21
( ) 21 and Above
4. Race
( ) Malay
( ) Chinese
( ) Indian
( ) Diploma
( ) Degree
( ) Master or Higher
6. Father’s Occupation
( ) Own Business
( ) Government Servant
7. Mother’s Occupation
( ) Own Business
( ) Government Servant
( ) RM1,000 or Below
( ) RM1,001-RM2,000
( ) RM2,001-RM3,000
( ) Parent(s)
( ) PTPTN Loan
( ) Self Financing
38 The IUP Journal of Accounting Research & Audit Practices, Vol. XII, No. 4, 2013
Appendix (Cont.)
1. Past Achievements
2. Personal Interests
It is my ambition to become an 1 2 3 4 5
accountant/auditor.
3. Job Prospect
40 The IUP Journal of Accounting Research & Audit Practices, Vol. XII, No. 4, 2013
Appendix (Cont.)
Part C: Students’ Perception with Regard to Accepting the Offer of Accountancy Program
Please circle the appropriate number that indicates your level of agreement with each
statement for Accounting program in Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS).
1 = Strongly Disagree
2 = Disagree
3 = Neutral
4 = Agree
5 = Strongly Agree
Reference # 09J-2013-10-02-01
42 The IUP Journal of Accounting Research & Audit Practices, Vol. XII, No. 4, 2013
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