What influences accounting student’s attitudes towards the accounting profession - a north west experience

摘要

This study explores several issues which have been linked with influencing audstudent’s attitude toward the accounting profession. These issues include theudfactors that influence their choice of career, their decision to pursue a career inudaccounting, perceptions of the accounting profession and timing of the careeruddecision.udThe study will also take into consideration the criticisms of accounting educationudwhich have received a lot of attention in related literature, and the decline in theudpopularity of accounting for leaving certificate.udThe results show that three main factors influence the student’s decision to pursueuda career in accounting, namely long term earnings, job market conditions, and audgenuine interest in the subject. This finding is the same regardless of gender. Withudregard to accounting education, the findings of this study support the argument thatuda gap has emerged between academic study and professional practice and as audresult accounting education is no longer serving the needs of it graduates. Theudstudy also concluded that the majority of students still hold the traditional view ofudthe profession as ‘bookkeeping’ and ‘number crunching’ orientated, howeverudfemale students did have a much more favourable view of the profession than maleudstudents.