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A Survey of Accounting Majors: Attitudes and Opinions

Article · January 2001

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 A Survey of Accounting Majors: Attitudes and Opinions

Kreindy Giladi, CPA

Associate Professor of Accounting
Brooklyn College of the City University of New York

Taiwo Amoo, Ph.D.

Associate Professor of Business and Quantitative Methods
Brooklyn College of the City University of New York

Hershey H. Friedman, Ph.D.

Professor of Business
Brooklyn College of the City University of New York

Abstract

A survey of 100 advanced accounting students was conducted to determine the opinions of

accounting majors regarding such areas as why students choose accounting as a major,

courses students felt were important and unimportant, and expectations regarding work and

salary. The Key findings include: (1) A significant proportion of students decide on

accounting as a major while still in high school; (2) Accounting is selected as a major

because students feel that it will lead to a job with good income potential; and (3) Only 32%

of accounting majors definitely expect to be working in accounting ten years after they

graduate.

Keywords: Accounting, survey of students, attitudes of accounting students.

Electronic copy available at: http://ssrn.com/abstract=2336548

The authors wish to thank Dmitriy Shmidt for his invaluable assistance with the survey.

Electronic copy available at: http://ssrn.com/abstract=2336548

 A Survey of Accounting Majors: Attitudes and Opinions

Brooklyn College is a public liberal arts college located in Brooklyn, New York and is

part of the City University of New York (CUNY). CUNY is one of the largest universities in the

country with over 200,000 students, and Brooklyn College has a total student enrollment of about

15,000 students. The accounting program, housed in the Economics Department, has about 535

majors.

The purpose of the current study was to determine the opinions of accounting majors

regarding such areas as why students choose accounting as a major, courses students felt were

important and unimportant, and expectations regarding work and salary. The student body at

Brooklyn College is quite similar to that found at many public colleges; therefore, the findings

should be of interest to accountants all over the United States.

The sample consisted of 100 advanced accounting students at Brooklyn College. Fifty-

six percent were male, 70.2% were between the ages of 20 and 25, 63% had family incomes

between $25,000 and $79,000, 44% were Caucasian, and 77% were single. Eighty-one percent

indicated that that they expected to take the CPA examination and 68% were working. The

average amount of time worked by those respondents who indicated they were working was

approximately 30 hours per week.

Questions: “When did you decide to become an accounting major?” “Was accounting

your first choice as a major?”

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 The results showed that 32% of respondents decided to major in accounting while still in

high school; 28% during the freshman year; and 19% during the sophomore year. Sixty-five

percent indicated that accounting was their first choice as a major. Apparently, a significant

number of students have decided on accounting as a field while still in high school.

Question: “How important was each of the following factors in your decision to major in

accounting?”

Subjects rated eight factors (“difficulty of courses,” “intellectual stimulation,”

“interesting courses,” “recommendation of counselors,” “recommendation of family/friends,”

“prospects for a job,” “quality of professors,” and “income potential”) on a 4-point importance

scale (1= “very important”… 4 = “not important”). The most important factors were “prospects

for a job” (mean=1.19) and “income potential” (mean = 1.43). The least important factors were

“recommendation of counselors” (mean = 2.86) and “recommendation of family/friends” (mean

= 2.47). Clearly, students choose accounting as a major because of the perceived financial

opportunities in this area.

Question: “What is the most important accounting course you took in college?”

Respondents felt that the most important accounting courses taken in college were the

first accounting course, Introductory Accounting (30%), and Income Taxation (22%).

Question: “What is the least important accounting course you took in college?”

Respondents felt that the least important accounting courses taken in college were

Introduction to Managerial Accounting, (10%), Cost Accounting (9%), and Business Law (8%).

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It should be noted, however, that 39% of subjects left this question blank and 9% explicitly said

“none.”

Question: “Other than accounting, what is the most important non-accounting course you

took in college?”

Eighteen percent indicated “none”; 12% felt that the computer literacy course was the

most important non-accounting course; and 7% indicated the course in Investment and Securities

Markets.

Question: “Do you expect to go to graduate school?” “If yes, what degree do you expect to

pursue?”

Sixty percent of respondents expect to go to graduate school. The degrees they expect to

pursue are: Business (28%), Accounting (15%), Finance (12%), Law (12%), and Computers

(3%). Thirty percent either indicated no response or were undecided.

Question: “How useful is each of the following courses for accountants?”

Respondents were presented with a list of 12 courses (Business Ethics, Computer

Science, Corporate Finance, Economics, English, Investments, Management, Marketing, Money

and Banking, Operations Management, Speech, and Statistics) and asked to rate each of them on

a 4-point usefulness scale (1=“very useful” … 4=“not useful”). The most useful courses to

respondents were Corporate Finance (mean =1.64) and Investments (mean=1.65). The least

useful course was Statistics (mean = 2.31).

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Question: “What annual salary do you expect to start at after you graduate?”

On average, respondents expect to start at a median salary of $40,000 (mean = $40,278).

Twenty-three percent of respondents expect starting salaries of $40,000 (mode) and 26% of

subjects expect starting salaries higher than $40,000.

Question: “What job do you see yourself working at ten years after you graduate?”

The major responses to this question were: Accounting (32%), No Response (20%)

Financial/Management/Consulting (21%), Own Business (11%), and Law (6%).

Question: “How important is each of the following factors in deciding where to work after

you graduate?”

Subjects rated 11 factors (“challenging work,” “effective and fair management,” “flexible

work schedules,” “freedom to express yourself,” “friendly coworkers,” “fringe benefits,” “job

security,” “opportunity for advancement,” “opportunity for self-actualization,” “salary,” and

“tuition reimbursement”) on a 4-point importance scale (1= “very important”… 4 = “not

important”). The most important factors were “opportunity for advancement” (mean=1.22),

“salary” (mean = 1.26), “effective and fair management” (mean = 1.41), and “job security” (mean

=1.43). The least important factor was “tuition reimbursement” (mean = 2.51).

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Question: “Would you recommend accounting as a major to someone looking for a

major?”

The rating scale employed for this question consisted of the following descriptors:

“Definitely” (16 respondents checked this category), “Probably” (46), “Maybe” (30), “Probably

Not” (4), and “Definitely Not” (3) and there was one missing value. It is somewhat surprising

that only 16.2% of accounting majors would definitely recommend accounting as a major.

Question: “If you were a freshman, and the accounting major required taking a total of

150 credits, would you major in accounting?”

The responses to this question were as follows:

“Definitely” (11 respondents checked this category), “Probably” (30), “Maybe” (25), “Probably

Not” (22), and “Definitely Not” (11) and there was one missing value. This may not bode well

for the industry. A significant proportion of potential accounting majors may opt for other

majors once requirements go to 150 credits. It seems that only 41% of accounting majors are

reasonably certain that they would remain accounting majors even if requirements were raised to

150 credits.

Conclusion

The major findings of this study are:

 A significant proportion of students decide on accounting as a major while still in

high school

 Accounting is selected as a major because students feel that it will lead to a job with

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 good income potential. Accounting majors, on average, expect annual salaries of

about $40,000. They want to work for firms that offer good salaries and opportunities

for advancement.

 Only 32% of accounting majors definitely expect to be working in accounting ten

years after they graduate. Many expect to be working in finance, management, or

their own business. This may explain why accounting majors feel that corporate

finance and investments are important non-accounting courses. A significant

proportion expect to go to graduate school and major in Business and Finance.

 Only 41% of accounting majors are reasonably sure that they would still choose

accounting as a major even if requirements were 150 credits.

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