Student perceptions of the profession and its effect on decisions to major in accounting

Changes in the business environment have created a perceived need for more creative individuals in the accounting profession. This study asserts that to attract these people, we will have to change existing perceptions of the profession. To test this assertion, we examine the relationship between students' inherent creativity, perceptions of the accounting profession, and decisions to major in accounting. We also examine the extent to which experience in an introductory accounting course changed students' perceptions and major choices. Findings indicate that students hold traditional views of the profession and this deters interest. Business and accounting students tend to be less creative than the general university population. Experience in introductory accounting drew less creative students to the major despite changing perceptions toward more modern views. Overall, the results indicate that perceptions of precision and thoroughness in the profession and the heavy work load in the introductory course discouraged creative personalities from pursuing an accounting major.     

Student Perceptions of the Insurance Profession

To attract students to the risk management and insurance profession, strategies need to be developed to overcome biases in their perceptions of the profession. This study attempts to determine some of those perceptions of students—specifically a group of business career high school students and a group of college students enrolled in an introduction to business course—about the personality traits of insurance professionals. A Personality Factor Questionnaire previously used extensively in other research was used to measure differences in student perceptions of personality profiles of different professions. We also measured how student characteristics such as age, sex, and expected college major influence student perceptions of these traits. The overall general conclusion was that perceptions of the profession are not as negative as many imagine, but do require some substantive work to improve, even among students seeking business careers.     

Students' beliefs,attitudes and intentions to major in accounting

This study extends the literature that uses the theory of planned behaviour in examining the factors that impact on students' intentions to major in accounting and non-accounting disciplines. A survey of a sample of business students enrolled in an introductory accounting course in a New Zealand University was conducted to gather data about their intended academic majors, and their beliefs and attitudes towards majoring in accounting and non-accounting. The results show that three factors (personal, referents, and control) are determinants of students' intention to major in accounting or other business disciplines. Further analysis revealed that the students' major intentions are influenced by important referents' perceptions. In particular, parents appear to have a stronger influence on students' intentions to major in accounting. Comparisons of differential personal perceptions by accounting and non-accounting majors revealed that accounting majors hold positive perceptions of some of the qualities of the study of accounting and the accounting profession. Significant differences were also found in the control perception between accounting and non-accounting major students.     

Student career aspirations and perceptions: The case of Israeli accounting students

The study investigates changes in Israeli accounting students' career aspirations during their course of studies, and the relationship between these and their perceptions of professional accountancy firms. We employed a cross-sectional analysis of students across consecutive educational levels from the first year to the end of their formal education. We assumed that revealed differences between the accounting student cohorts, in terms of their perceptions of professional accountancy firms and their career aspirations, could be interpreted as reflecting changes over time in students' attitudes. Results from the sample show that accounting student' aspirations to pursue a career with a professional accountancy firm decline significantly between the first and postgraduate years, while their desire to work in the business sector increases. The results show the same trend with regard to the student's positive perceptions of the above firms as future workplaces. Non-parametric tests demonstrate significant relationships between students' career aspirations and their perceptions of professional accountancy firms. We suggest that the change in students' perceptions and aspirations is a symptom of something similar to a ‘reality shock’, and that it results from the students' exposure to the accounting profession. Professional accountancy firms need to implement innovative policies to meet the challenge.     

South African Career Guidance Counsellors' and Mathematics Teachers' Perception of the Accounting Profession

The shortage of accounting professionals is well-documented. To address this shortage, greater numbers of school students should be attracted and enrolled in undergraduate accounting programmes. Unfortunately, school students may have misperceptions of the accounting profession. These misperceptions may result in potential entrants to the profession being lost to other professions. Secondary school teachers play an influential role in students' perceptions of future careers. This survey assessed the perceptions of the secondary school career guidance counsellors and mathematics teachers' perceptions of the accounting profession in South Africa in comparison to the medical, engineering and legal professions. The findings suggest that the accounting profession is held in lower esteem than the engineering and medical professions, but in higher esteem than the legal profession. The findings confirm previous research conducted in the USA, Australasia and Japan. Marketing and recruitment programmes should educate secondary school teachers as to the true nature of the accounting profession.     

The Accounting Profession as a Career Choice for Tertiary Business Students in Japan-A Factor Analysis

This study aims to investigate the major factors that influence Japanese tertiary business students' vocational choice. A questionnaire-based survey was administered to both accounting and non-accounting students in Japanese tertiary institutions at the undergraduate and graduate levels. The results of two individualized factor analyses indicated significant differences between factors influencing the career profiles of both these groups of students. It further shows that the major influence affecting vocational choice for accounting students was based on intrinsic values. Non-accounting students indicated career prospects as the major contributing factor when choosing a career. These results are very important for accounting educators in Japan as they attempt to address the current unpopularity of the accounting profession.     

Evaluating Assessed Group-work in a Second-year Management Accounting Subject

Abstract

This paper discusses the perceptions on the part of a large cohort of Sydney-based second year university accounting students of the benefits of group-work in developing transferable skills in teamwork, self-management, and planning and organising. The Australian accounting profession and business employers have identified these skills as lacking in accounting graduates. A questionnaire was administered to obtain students' perceptions of assessed group-work and the results were compared with three other similar studies of smaller cohorts of students. Overall, students considered assessed group-work to be a positive experience and a vehicle to develop transferable skills. The paper elaborates on elements in effective group-work design and students' comments which raise the need to integrate and scaffold assessed group-work in the accounting curriculum.     

Gender differences in the first course in accounting: An achievement goal approach

We examine whether gendered patterns can be observed in first-year students' achievement goals in an introductory accounting course; a question largely overlooked by prior literature. This investigation is motivated by perceptions of accounting as a masculine field involving gender role stereotypes and business schools as competitive and performance-oriented environments. Our findings suggest that male students tend to adopt performance-approach goal, implying that they are more competitive than female students, and that their performance is thus driven by a desire to outperform others. Our findings further suggest that male students' expectations of learning accounting are higher than those of female students. The expectations explain the gender differences in the performance-approach goal. Finally, we find that this performance-approach goal mediates gender differences in course performance depending on the mode of assessment; male students received higher grades for exams but not for teamwork. Overall, our study highlights the importance of considering contextual aspects related to competitiveness, masculinity, and the mode of assessment on an accounting course when addressing students’ achievement goals and expectations of learning accounting. We thus contribute to the understanding of how learning environment, accounting pedagogy, and the broader field of professional accounting intersects with individual student attributes, creating differential learning outcomes.     

银保合作的现状及政策建议

银保合作经过10多年的发展,银行网点代理销售保险产品业务渐已成为保险公司重要的业务增长点和销售渠道,很多保险公司的保费收入中,50%以上来自银保销售渠道,有的保险公司甚至达到70%以上。同样,在商业银行中,代理销售个人保险业务,已成为个人金融的一项重要业务,更是成为带来中间业务收入的主要代理业务。本文就当前银保合作的现状和问题进行了分析,并提出相应的政策建议。     

中国银行业商业方法专利保护现状及战略分析

金融业尤其是银行业的商业方法是商业思想、商业运行模式、计算机软硬件的集合体,文章探讨了金融创新环境下商业方法专利对我国银行业发展的重要意义,以翔实的数据分析了当前我国银行业商业方法专利保护工作的整体形势与主要问题,指出我国商业银行应从战略上加强商业方法专利乃至知识产权保护意识,完善战略制定、战略实施以及战略评估,并通过构建制度和加大技术创新扶持来改善外部环境。     

中国影子银行发展成因实证分析——基于2002~2012年月度数据

综合运用格兰杰因果检验和分位数回归技术对我国影子银行的各种影响因素进行实证分析。结论表明,我国影子银行是在金融二元结构和利率管制格局下,金融活动主体为规避监管、分散风险以及投机套利而进行金融创新的产物。利率管制是促成我国影子银行发展的根本原因,经济结构变迁、经济周期运行及宏观调控政策在总量与结构层面作用于金融资源供求关系,通过扩大或收缩监管套利空间,也对影子银行规模变动产生了重要影响。     

The Impact of Enterprises’ Shadow Banking Activities on Business Performance: A Test Based on Mediator Effect of Investment Scale and Investment Efficiency

ABSTRACT

In recent years, China’s financial sector has gradually been alienated from the real sector, allowing financial innovation and regulatory arbitrage add their own value to finance. High interest rates in the financial industry have led to changes in the real sector, revealing a trend toward “financialization” and “quasi-financialization”; a typical example of this includes nonfinancial enterprises’ shadow banking activities. In this article, we use annual data from 2004 to 2015 of A share listed companies on the Shanghai and Shenzhen Stock Exchanges, to examine the influence of nonfinancial enterprises’ shadow banking activities on business performance. The results show that, overall, enterprises’ shadow banking activity improve operating performance. In addition, from the perspective of earning structure, nonfinancial enterprises’ shadow banking business increases financial benefits, but has a significantly negative effect on operating income. Further tests show that enterprises engaged in shadow banking activities will impact operating income through the two intermediary variables of investment scale and investment efficiency. However, the negative effect of investment in crowding out operating income is greater than that of the efficiency-improving effect on operating income. This article provides policy guidance in terms of recognizing diverse aspects of shadow banking system that divorce the real economy from the financial economy.     

政策性金融与开发性金融之辨析及其转型定位研究

政策性金融和开发性金融是本质上截然不同的两个逻辑概念,前者既不是后者的一个初级阶段,后者也不是前者的一个组成部分;政策性金融也必须讲求财务效益,实现非主动竞争性盈利。策性金融理论是发展中的科学理论。我国政策性银行改革的方向,应该是政策性业务与非主动竞争性盈利的有机统一。政策性银行的定位,应该是包括其性质定位和职能定位的有机统一。     

U.S. Banking Deregulation, Small Businesses, and Interstate Insurance of Personal Income

We estimate the effects of deregulation of U.S. banking restrictions on interstate personal income insurance for the period 1970 to 2001. Interstate income insurance occurs when personal income reacts less than one‐to‐one to state‐specific output shocks. We find that insurance improved after banking deregulation, with a larger effect in states where small businesses are more important and on proprietors' income than on other components of personal income. Our explanation centers on the role of banks as a prime source of small business finance and on the close intertwining of the personal and business finances of small business owners.     

商业银行业务创新的实践及加快创新步伐的建议

为借鉴发达国家,尤其是美国金融创新的成功经验,进一步加快我国银行业的创新步伐,本文在对美国银行业创新一般规律把握的基础上,从业务创新的主要表现、利率管理的影响、银行融资地位的变化及业务创新的结构等方面,系统分析了我国商业银行业务创新的特点与问题,认为国有商业银行的制度缺陷、分业经营的限制、利率管制的阻碍和监管政策的不匹配等是制约我国商业银行业务创新活动的主要因素,并从推进国有商业银行体制改革、改善监管方式、加快利率市场化进程、完善法律监督等方面提出加快我国商业银行业务创新步伐和提升创新水平的主要对策.     

Does the Holland model of occupational choice (HMOC) perpetuate the Beancounter-Bookkeeper (BB) stereotype of accountants?

This article investigates the Holland model of occupational choice's (HMOC) development, influence, and validity in relation to its classification of bookkeepers, accountants, and business professionals. Study 1 reanalyzes published data and provides evidence that the Beancounter-Bookkeeper (BB) stereotype, which is promoted in the HMOC, is partially predictive of the personality characteristics of individuals who choose to enter professional accountancy. Study 2 investigates the influence of HMOC training, and exposure to accounting education, on perceptions of the personality type needed for accounting work; results indicate that: (1) HMOC training is associated with perceptions that accounting work requires a BB personality, and (2) the importance of investigative skills to accounting work increase with accounting education. Following this, we review evidence that suggests low validity in the HMOC's claims of greater job success and satisfaction among BB accountants. Finally, we consider three possible processes that may explain Holland and colleagues’ conjoining of accountants with bookkeepers. Together, the analysis promotes skepticism regarding whether the HMOC's claim that professional accounting success demands a passive, compliant, subservient, i.e., BB, personality supports the public interest obligations of professional accountants.     

Evidence that independent research projects improve accounting students' technology-related perceptions and skills

Advances in technology require that accountants possess skills to obtain information from various sources, complete computer-based projects, and use computers as a tool to achieve other business-related objectives. Students not only need to develop skills to access information but, more importantly, they also need to improve their perceived ability to utilize computers successfully. This paper describes a project in which accounting students were required to independently analyse a publicly-traded company using text- and Internet-based resources. The goals were to concurrently develop students' computer-based skills and improve perceptions toward technology. In addition, since research using nonaccounting students has shown that self-efficacy and confidence in the use of technology differs between the genders, this study also analysed gender-related differences in perceptions towards computers. The results show that the project enhanced students' Internet knowledge and skills to access information from multiple sources. Students also improved their perceived ability to use computers to analyse technical problems, their computer-based project completion skills, and their understanding of the Internet. Furthermore, while female students indicated lower perceived ability to work on technology-related projects before the assignment, participation in the project elevated their confidence levels. In general, this paper demonstrates the value of designing assignments to improve students' perceived computer-related abilities, and provides insight into gender differences in perceptions towards technology.     

Accounting education research: a retrospective over ten years with some pointers to the future

Abstract

This paper proposes principles to guide accounting students' and accounting educators' use of Facebook as an educational resource to engage students with their learning. A body of cross-disciplinary research has investigated potential applications of Facebook to invigorate student engagement. Generic guidelines for educators who are contemplating integrating Facebook into pedagogical practice are a recent addition to this research. However, there is a lack of disciplinary-specific guidelines to inform both accounting educators' and accounting students' use of Facebook as a learning resource. Indeed, Facebook's pedagogical affordances are a generally overlooked field of enquiry in accounting education research. The principles proposed in the paper are informed by the literature on Facebook and student engagement, and the concept of digital citizenship, which illuminates the importance of the responsible and professional use of Facebook by accounting students and the development of online practices and behaviours that enhance students' appeal to the accounting profession.     

英国利率市场化的历史沿革与银行业应对策略

国际经验表明,一国利率市场化改革有力推进了银行业经营理念和发展模式革新,而商业银行利率定价管理能力的提高,也会对市场利率变化趋势产生影响。文章回顾了英国利率市场化改革的简要历程及其对银行业利率和利差水平变化的影响,重点考察了英国银行业的应对策略及其成熟的定价管理模式,并就国内银行业如何借鉴国际经验以有效应对利率市场化的机遇与挑战进行了思考。