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Abstract

In this study, first year commerce students in Australia were surveyed about their perceptions of their accounting studies and their perceptions of the attributes required of professional accountants. The paper specifically addresses the factors important in determining whether first year students intend to become accountants. The study uses a logistic regression model incorporating demographic and academic factors, as well as students' perceptions of the work of accountants, to predict intention to become an accountant. The results show that the perception of importance of generic skills, intrinsic interest in the discipline area, and course satisfaction were significant in determining intention to pursue a career as an accountant. As many students formed their judgments about the work of accountants from their accounting studies, the findings have implications for accounting educators in terms of the enthusiasm and motivation required in teaching accounting, as well as curriculum development that reflects the skill set required for an increasingly sophisticated business environment.     

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.     

Is it Shameful to be an Accountant? GenMe Perception(s) of Accountants' Ethics

The function that accountants fulfil in the economic system is dependent on their ability to maintain the perception of high ethical standards. Building on the idea that birth cohorts, otherwise known as generations, are a useful proxy for the socio‐cultural environment of different time periods, we focus on the so‐called ‘GenMe’, that is, students and young workers born in the 1980s and 1990s. In particular, combining the accounting and business ethics literature, the purpose of our paper is to contribute to an increased awareness of the GenMe perceptions of accountants, with special attention given to ethical aspects. We believe that the perceptions of this age group are particularly crucial for the future of the accounting profession as it is these young people who will either become professional accountants or the accountants' future clients. Using an extensive database of 1,794 questionnaires, results show that the impression of the accountant as a corrupt professional is not dominant among GenMe and seem to suggest the existence of a multifaceted perception of accountants' ethics. Specifically, the factors that contribute to influencing GenMe perceptions of accountants' ethics are level of education, having attended an accounting course at high school level, gender, and belonging to the accounting profession. Finally, our study indicates that there is room for improving public perceptions of accountants' ethics through university courses in ethics, continuing education programs, and focused communication strategies by accounting firms and professional bodies.     

University - profession partnership in accounting education: the case of Sri Lanka

This paper analyses accounting education in Sri Lanka with particular reference to the university-profession partnership. In terms of the establishment of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Sri Lanka (ICASL) in 1959, the availability of accounting degree programmes in the university, and the on-going British influence in accounting, one might expect to find a vigorous accountancy profession in place, actively seeking to produce highly competent accounting professionals in adequate numbers suitable for its country's economic needs. However, such a situation would be misplaced. Over the past four decades ICASL has produced only 1800 qualified accountants in a country of 18 million population. Drawing upon a theoretical framework of professional accounting education, this paper explains the lack of a proper partnership between the university and the professional body over the last four decades in Sri Lanka, and speculates as to whether ICASL purposely exerts control over the supply of accountants by limiting the membership only to those who complete its own examinations.     

Educational standards for management accountants: A critical need

The last five years have seen the development of a trend that may be characterized as “the professionalization of accounting education”. One major element of this movement has been the development of a formal recommended curriculum for students planning a career in public accounting. However, a similar proposed curriculum for management accounting students has not resulted. Although the management accounting profession has made great advances during the past few years, a single formal recommended curriculum has not been developed.This article expresses concern over the lack of such a curriculum, and urges the management accounting arm of the profession to join in developing a single recommended academic curriculum for management accountants.     

“Holier-than-thou” perception bias among professional accountants: A cross-cultural study

Theoretical conceptions of culture in accounting research are controversial, ranging from highly deterministic, quantified and componential perspectives (such as Hosfstede's five dimensional model) to those that suggest continual changes in cultural values brought about by forces of acculturation. This paper makes a contribution to cross-cultural accounting research by examining the influence of competing theoretical perspectives of culture and acculturation on “holier-than-thou” perception bias. “Holier-than-thou” perception bias leads to individuals perceiving themselves as acting more ethically than comparable others when confronted with ethically uncertain work-related behaviours. This study contributes to cross-cultural accounting research by surveying Australian and Indian professional accountants from big four accounting firms. We firstly seek to establish the prevalence of “holier-than-thou” perception bias in both cultural settings. Secondly, we examine the differential and competing influences of culture and acculturation on perceptions of accountants from the two countries on measures of this bias. Data was collected through a survey questionnaire administered to samples of senior accountants from the big accounting firms in Australia and India. The questionnaire comprised an auditor-client conflict and two whistle-blowing scenarios and used two questions to measure the magnitude of the bias. The results show that “holier-than-thou” perception bias exists among accountants within each of the two countries. However, the magnitude of the bias was not significant between the countries. The results support the theory of acculturation in big accounting firms. Our findings have implications for accounting research where the presence of “holier-than-thou” perception bias needs to be considered in cases where respondents are questioned on socially sensitive issues. The findings may be useful to accounting researchers, managers of multinational enterprises in general, and big-four accounting firms in particular. Our conceptual framework applied in this study is innovative and provides a template for assessing current controversies in cross-cultural accounting research.     

Dominant personality types in public accounting: selection bias or indoctrinated?

Prior studies concerning the personality type and preferences of accountants generally draw conclusions based upon the reports of either practicing accountants, or accounting students, at a single point in time. So while much is known about the personality type of accountants in general, left unexplored is the question of whether public accountants are selected or indoctrinated. Using a Jungian-based personality inventory administered to experienced public accountants, and to accounting students in both their final year of study and three years' postgraduation, we provide empirical evidence of hiring selection bias. Further, the personality preferences of recruits that remain in public accounting appear to evolve to more closely match the personality preferences of experienced public accountants, while the personality preferences of recruits that leave public accounting are unchanged. These results have important implications for individuals seeking to enter public accounting careers, recruiters, educators, and career counselors.     

Multi-disciplinary Professional Practice: Recent Developments and Attitudes of Accounting and Legal Practitioners

Recent developments in the professional accounting market and by the New South Wales legal profession indicate increasing pressure to consider multi-disciplinary professional practice in some form or other. Two of the Big Six accountants have launched new legal firms. In NSW, legislation has been amended to permit solicitors and other professionals, for the first time in Australia, to share their income. Australian legal and accounting professionals must seriously consider whether, and how, to facilitate the formation of multi-disciplinary partnerships (MDPs) where members of different disciplines combine to service clients' needs and share commercial profits.     

Perceptions and experiences of career success among aspiring and early career accountants and the role of organisational support

Positive perceptions of career success are critical among accounting professionals, given their connection with performance, turnover and organisational commitment. Drawing on career stage theory, this study explores the perceptions and experiences of career success among 475 aspiring (Accounting/Finance students), 305 early career accountants (ECAs) and 165 managers/recruiters in Australia. Findings reflected both objective and subjective dimensions of career success alongside notable differences between aspiring accountants and ECAs, highlighting shifting views across the career stages of exploration and establishment. While ECAs were largely positive about their access to career success, managers/recruiters identified ways to create further opportunities for ECAs' career success.     

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.     

Approved routes and alternative paths: The construction of women's careers in large accounting firms. Evidence from the French Big Four

Despite decades of gender-balanced recruitment and clear-cut criteria for promotion based on meritocracy, women in public accounting firms remain proportionally fewer in number in the highest levels of the hierarchy than men. This paper aims to explore the mechanisms fostering women's rarity in top positions within French accounting firms in terms of organizationally constructed approved paths. Drawing on 23 semi-structured interviews with both male and female accountants, the specificities of these approved paths, alongside the construction of alternative, feminized routes, lacking the legitimacy of the former and often implying a derailment of women's careers from a very early stage, will be explored. It is suggested that more than a matter of only lifestyle preferences or practical constraints, this rarity is constructed by the interplay between the two, often resulting in “unintended and unwanted consequences, which retroactively may become unacknowledged conditions of future actions” (Giddens, 1984: 76). The focus of this study is to understand how the discursive and practical components of daily routines contribute to the reproduction of Big Four's gendered culture. Furthermore, this paper challenges the concept of the glass ceiling and instead conceives of the construction of women's careers in the accounting profession in terms of a labyrinth.     

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.     

Accounting Education and the Prerequisite Skills of Accounting Graduates: Are Accounting Firms’ Moving the Boundaries?

The current requisite skills of accounting graduates guide the graduate attributes delivered by university learning outcomes. A recent trend by Australian accounting firms to outsource accounting services may impact on accounting graduates if entry‐level tasks normally completed by graduates are sent to offshore processing centres. This study examines the impact of the outsourcing of accounting services by Australian accounting firms and classifies the current requisite skills for accounting graduates identified by accounting firms. Following a review of the current academic literature, a positivist approach using empirical data is taken in this paper. The responses elicited from a survey questionnaire mailed to a random sample of Australian accounting firms provide information for the data analysis. One of the most widely outsourced services identified is the preparation of income tax returns, which has been identified as a key area where graduate accountants normally learn the basic skills required to phase them into the profession. Accounting firms that considered the outsourcing of accounting services would change the 12 ranked prerequisite skills for graduates presented in this paper in order of importance.     

The adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards in a non-colonized developing country: The case of Nepal

The purpose of this paper is to provide a systematic and rigorous analysis of the accounting environment in Nepal. Based on the accounting ecology framework developed by Gernon and Wallace (1995) and interviewing selected key stakeholders, it critically examines issues related to the adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) in Nepal. It contributes to the literature by examining issues associated with the adoption of IFRS in a non-colonized developing country. This study finds that the decision to adopt IFRS in Nepal is not driven by the needs of local organizations and is rather imposed by donor organizations such as the Asian Development Bank, International Monetary Fund and World Bank. The findings of this study provide evidence that the adoption of IFRS is likely to be problematic due to the country's contextual environment. Specifically, there is a severe lack of qualified accountants in Nepal and the accounting profession is not ready to adopt IFRS. The study also finds that social problems such as widespread corruption and fraud are likely to cause problems for the adoption of IFRS.     

An empirical study of factors affecting accounting students' career choice in New Zealand

This study examines the influence of intrinsic factors; financial and job-related factors; other factors such as parent and peer influence and work experience; exposure to high school accounting; and the students' perceived benefit-cost ratio to being a chartered accountant, on whether accounting students choose to pursue a chartered accountancy (CA) career or a non-accounting career. Based on a survey of 295 students from five universities in New Zealand, the results show that the students who intend to pursue a CA career place significantly greater importance on financial and job-related factors and perceived benefit-cost ratio than those who choose a non-accounting career. Intrinsic factors, other factors and exposure to high school accounting have no significant influence on the decision whether to select a CA career. A discriminant analysis revealed that financial and jobrelated factors have the highest explanatory power differentiating the two groups, followed by the students' perception of benefits and costs associated with a CA career. The results have important implications for recruitment into the accounting profession in New Zealand.     

Race and the development of career interest in accounting

Data from the AICPA (2009b) show that African–Americans comprise only 1% of CPAs and were only 4% of new hires by CPA firms in academic year 2007–2008. The current study uses social cognitive career theory to examine whether this shortage of diversity may be caused by differences between African–American and Caucasian students in factors that lead to career interest in accounting. Students were surveyed on two key personal variables: self-efficacy and outcome expectations. Results suggest that African–American students are more likely than Caucasian students to perceive accounting as providing outcomes that match their values. However, favorable perceptions may be countered by differences in self-efficacy. African–American students value outcomes provided by accounting, but they may have less confidence, compared to Caucasian students, that they can successfully complete the course of action necessary to enter the profession.     

Personalities of accounting students and public accountants: Implications for accounting educators and the profession

This study compares personalities of senior accounting students with public accountants using a rigorous personality instrument, the 16PF. Comparisons are made between accountants and students, between accountants and students by gender, between male and female students, and between students and junior accountants. For all comparisons made, the findings indicate significant differences exist, both overall and for individual personality factors. Implications of these findings for accounting educators concerning curriculum emphasis, content, and counseling of students are discussed, together with possible implications for the profession.     

ENCOUNTERS WITH NAZISM: BRITISH ACCOUNTANTS AND THE FIFTH INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS ON ACCOUNTING

In 1936 a committee of British accountants chose Nazi Germany as the venue for the Fifth International Congress on Accounting. This event was to constitute the most prominent encounter between the international accountancy profession and the Hitlerian state. The paper examines the reasons why the professional elite in Britain patronised a regime whose racist foundations were transparent and where the vocation of accountancy was being reprofessionalised on the basis of arayanisation and party-state control. The protection of advances into the German market for professional services by some of the major British and American accounting firms encouraged a conciliatory approach toward the National Socialist state. In attending the Congress in 1938 the accounting community entered a highly politicised arena, fraternised with future war criminals, succumbed to Nazi propaganda, and, during the zenith of `appeasement', made utterances which appeared to condone the activities of the fascist state in the realm of accounting and economics. The paper reveals the manner in which the early institutions of international accounting could be captured by an abhorrent regime.     

Modernity,space-based patriarchy and global capitalism: implications for Syrian women accountants

This paper contributes to the current literature on gender, modernity, patriarchy and accounting by bringing insights into the experiences of women accountants in Syria: an Arab and predominantly Muslim country. By doing so, this paper enhances understanding of women's interrelationship with accounting beyond the Anglo-American context that currently dominates the research agenda on gender and accounting. Face-to-face interviews with 20 women accountants were carried out in Syria in 2008. This study reveals that in the context of global capitalism and patriarchy, factors of class, alienation, tradition and economic difficulties are contributing to the subordinated role of women in society in general and in the accounting profession in particular. The increased commercialisation of the accounting profession in the Arab world, including Syria, has resulted in socio-economic hierarchies and discriminatory practices, where interviewees spoke of discrimination based on class, sex and on the knowledge held. Further, despite advances to Syrian women's access to the public space, the public space for Syrian women accountants often operates based largely on how men act in this space. Men (and socially/financially advantaged women) often occupy aspects of the public (accounting) space that are perceived to be more significant and better financially rewarded. Thus, the dichotomy of public/private spaces in this study is understood in a broader sense to incorporate the symbolic as well as spatial aspects. This paper concludes that the accounting profession's aspirations need to be challenged through critically evaluating and redefining work roles and values to ensure emancipation for women. Furthermore, in the Arab world, dominant patriarchal structures will only be challenged and changed when obstacles preventing women from enjoying their human rights and contributing fully in society are addressed and eliminated.     

Traditional accountants and business professionals: Portraying the accounting profession after Enron

Society’s perception of the legitimacy of the accounting profession and its members is grounded in the verbal and visual images of accountants that are projected not only by accountants themselves but also by the media. The paper uses the critical literature on stereotypes to examine how books written for a general readership on Enron and other recent corporate failures portray accountants and accounting, and the implications their authors draw for corporate governance and the survival of the financial system. The paper explores how commentators have analyzed the changing activities of accountants (including the rise of consulting) and have contrasted the personalities of “founding fathers” of the US accounting profession with their early 21st-century successors. The paper concludes that changing stereotypes of accountants are evidence of “negative signals of movement” for accounting as a profession.