Perceptions of accounting:a qualitative New Zealand study

Sue MalthusSchool of Business and Computer Technology,

Nelson Marlborough Institute of Technology, Nelson, New Zealand, and

Carolyn FowlerSchool of Accounting and Commercial Law, Victoria University of Wellington,

Wellington, New Zealand

Abstract

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to ascertain the perceptions of New Zealand high school andtertiary students regarding accounting and accountants, as well as the perceptions of high schoolaccounting educators and career advisers who potentially influence these students.

Design/methodology/approach – The methodology used here is qualitative, includingsemi-structured interviews and focus groups.

Findings – The paper finds that the majority of the high school students and first-year tertiarystudents have little understanding of the tasks accountants perform, and their image of an accountantwas the typical “boring” stereotype. However, the final year tertiary students have a goodunderstanding of what accounting entails and do not have a negative image of an accountant. Thehigh school accounting educators have a favourable view of accounting and are positive about a careerin accounting, in contrast with the career advisers who view an accounting career as dull and boring ora backstop to other more exciting careers.

Practical implications – Recently, there has been a decline in the number of New Zealandaccounting graduates, which may in part be caused by negative stereotyping and limited accurateknowledge about accountants. The challenge for the local professional accounting body is to attemptto change this stereotype and find new ways of promoting accounting careers to the current generationof New Zealand high school and tertiary students.

Originality/value – The paper integrates the study of students’ perceptions of accounting inNew Zealand with that of the high school accounting educators and career advisers to provide acomprehensive qualitative study of the current New Zealand situation.

Keywords Accounting, Perception, Careers, New Zealand

Paper type Research paper

1. IntroductionThe future viability of any professional body is dependent on continuously attractingnew members, ideally the best and the brightest new tertiary graduates. This isundoubtedly the case for New Zealand’s professional accounting body, theNew Zealand Institute of Chartered Accountants (NZICA). From recent newspaperand journal articles and government-prepared skill shortage lists, it is apparent thatprofessional accountants are in high demand. However, many students are reluctant tomake chartered accountancy their first career choice (Dyer, 2005; Raman, 2005).

The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at

www.emeraldinsight.com/0114-0582.htm

The authors would like to thank the students, teachers and career advisers who participated inthis study. They would also like to thank the anonymous referees for the AFAANZ/IAEERConference 2008 and the Pacific Accounting Review.

PAR21,1

26

Pacific Accounting ReviewVol. 21 No. 1, 2009pp. 26-47q Emerald Group Publishing Limited0114-0582DOI 10.1108/01140580910956849

In the past few years, NZICA has worked hard to promote the chartered accountant(CA) brand and change some of the negative perceptions held about the accountancyprofession (Ahmed et al., 1997; Tan and Laswad, 2006). Nonetheless, the number ofdomestic students graduating from accounting degree programmes in New Zealandhas decreased (Ahmed et al., 1997; Wells, 2006; Tan and Laswad, 2006). Research inAustralia (Jackling and Calero, 2006), Canada (Felton et al., 1994), Japan (Sugahara andBoland, 2005), Ireland (Byrne and Willis, 2005) and the USA (US) (Albrecht and Sack,2000) also identified a similar decline in accounting graduate numbers. Suggestions forthis decline include a negative perception of accounting, increasing academicrequirements, a misunderstanding of accounting and the skills required, and narrowcurricula at the secondary (high school) and tertiary education levels[1] (Wells, 2006;Albrecht and Sack, 2000).

The impact of declining professional accountant numbers in New Zealand isexacerbated by competitive factors. Although NZICA is the only New Zealand-basedprofessional accounting body it does not have a monopoly over the use of the word“accountant” or provision of accounting services. Anybody may set themselves up asan accountant in New Zealand in direct competition with members of NZICA and hencethere is a market for accounting graduates to work as accountants without having tobecome NZICA members. Consequently, it is hugely important to accounting bodiessuch as NZICA, that professional accounting is seen as an attractive career to highschool leavers and tertiary students.

Prior research overseas has examined high school and tertiary students’ perceptionsof the accounting profession and their intentions to pursue an accounting career, as thechoice to major in accounting can be made at either educational level. However, thereare many inconsistencies in the findings. Research has been carried out in New Zealandon the perceptions of tertiary students and high school teachers; however as will beseen in Section 2 of this paper, this is the first qualitative study of the perceptions ofhigh school students or career advisers in New Zealand.

The vast majority of these prior studies are quantitative surveys whose results arestatistically analysed using a variety of methods including univariate, multivariateand factor analysis. A small number of these papers also utilize a theoreticalframework based on the Theory of Planned Behaviours[2] (Cohen and Hanno, 1993;Felton et al., 1995; Allen, 2004; Tan and Laswad, 2006). As such, there has been noattempt to determine the reasons behind the perceptions and intentions or to provideany insight into why there are differences. Some accounting education researcherssuggest a need for further research that considers these areas, conceivably by usingqualitative research approaches (Hardin et al., 2000; Byrne and Flood, 2005; Sugaharaet al., 2006).

Another possibility not considered by prior research is that the decline inaccounting graduates and inconsistencies in research findings could, in part, be due tochanges in student characteristics with much being made in the media aboutGeneration Y (people born between 1980 and 1994). The majority of this generation arethe current high school and tertiary level students. The stereotype of GenerationY is that they focus on achieving a work/life balance and look for careers that arecreative, innovative, fun, and provide a sense of community. Money is not a strongmotivator for Generation Y, who in essence “work to live” not “live to work”(McCrindle Research, 2007).

Perceptionsof accounting

27

Consequently, based on the above, the objective of this study is to both qualitativelyvalidate the recent prior New Zealand-based quantitative studies (Ahmed et al., 1997;Wells and Fieger, 2006; Tan and Laswad, 2006) and to provide insights into accountingcareer choice by ascertaining the perceptions of tertiary and high school students, andaccounting teachers and career advisers, who potentially influence these students.

The rest of this paper is as follows. It first discusses the prior literature in the areaby comparing the results of the three recent New Zealand-based quantitative studies tosimilar international research. The paper then outlines the research objectives andmethod. This is followed by the results, analysis and related discussion. The paperlastly presents the conclusions of the study, its limitations and opportunities for futureresearch.

2. Previous studiesThere have been many previous studies overseas that have examined the choice ofaccounting as a career by high school and tertiary students, including the factors andpeople (referents) that influence their choice, their level of interest in accounting, andtheir perceptions of the accounting profession. In New Zealand, studies have beencarried out on the perceptions of accounting as a career held by tertiary students andhigh school teachers.

2.1 Perceptions of the accounting professionAlbrecht and Sack (2000) suggested one reason accounting graduate numbers weredeclining was because of misinformation about what accounting is and whataccountants do. This is perpetuated by an accounting stereotype with accountants seenas doing “boring, tedious and monotonous number crunching” (Albrecht and Sack,2000, p. 28). Some studies have focused specifically on the stereotypical image ofaccounting. They suggest that the traditional accounting stereotype is “alive and well”(Coate et al., 2003, p. 52) and that it is essentially a negative one with accountants beingseen as boring and unimaginative (Cory, 1992; Bougen, 1994). Other research hasexamined whether tertiary students hold the traditional perception of accountants andthe accounting profession.

US-based studies on the perceptions of tertiary students identified that manyperceive accounting as being boring and difficult, with a high workload, a focus onnumbers and precision, and less prestige than other professions. Those not planning anaccounting major considered the nature of accounting work unappealing and had nointerest in choosing it as a career (Cohen and Hanno, 1993; Hermanson and Hermanson,1995; Saemann and Crooker, 1999; Francisco et al., 2003; Allen, 2004). Nonetheless,other research suggests that first-year Australian accounting university students donot hold a significantly negative perception of accounting (Jackling and Calero, 2006),while final year Canadian students have a positive perception of accounting as a career(Felton et al., 1994).

In New Zealand, Ahmed et al. (1997, p. 333) found that final year students in accountingdepartments at five universities viewed the profession as “dull and boring”. A later 2005study of business students, who were studying a compulsory first year accounting paperat Massey University, also considered the perceptions of accounting as a career (Laswadand Tan, 2005; Tan and Laswad, 2006). The results of their study suggest that generallybusiness students have the impression that “accountants are dull, boring,

PAR21,1

28

number crunchers” (Laswad and Tan, 2005, p. 61). These New Zealand-based findings arelargely consistent with the above overseas studies. Therefore, it appears the accountants’image problem is global rather than unique to the New Zealand environment.

Another New Zealand study by Wells and Fieger (2006) suggests high schoolteachers[3] hold similar perceptions and have an unfavourable view of accounting andmisunderstand its nature and importance. They believe the accounting profession hasrelatively easy entry requirements, does not require excellent communication skillsand is less challenging and interesting than other professions (Wells and Fieger, 2006).Irish and US-high school students also hold this traditional view of accounting as beingboring, precise, and numbers and compliance driven (Byrne and Willis, 2005; Hartwellet al., 2005).

Wells and Fieger (2006) also identified that New Zealand high school teachersbelieve the accounting profession is of a lower social status to the professions of law,medicine and engineering. High school teachers in the USA (Hardin et al., 2000) andJapan (Sugahara et al., 2006) also hold this view. Furthermore, Irish high schoolstudents rank accountants behind doctors, lawyers, dentists and architects asprofessionals (Byrne and Willis, 2005). However, in the Byrne and Willis (2005) studythe ranking of accounting as a profession varied between accounting students(who ranked it fifth) and non-accounting students (who ranked it seventh), suggestingthat students who study accounting at high school perceive accounting as a moreattractive career than those students who do not choose to study accounting.

2.2 Level of interest in accountingResearch has also indicated that those studying accounting at the high school andtertiary level perceive it less negatively or have a more positive attitude towardsaccounting or becoming a CA than those students who do not study accounting (Feltonet al., 1995; Hermanson and Hermanson, 1995; Byrne and Willis, 2005; Sugahara andBoland, 2005; Hartwell et al., 2005; Tan and Laswad, 2006). Jackling and Calero (2006)suggest those studying accounting at Australian high schools are more likely to studyit at university, while Felton et al. (1994) argue that exposure to accounting at the highschool level in Canada had some influence on those that choose a CA career. However,the New Zealand-based study by Ahmed et al. (1997) concludes the study of accountingat high school does not have a significant influence on the students’ career choice.

Other research suggests that internationally at the high school and tertiary levelthose students who have a high level of interest or aptitude/skills in mathematicsand/or accounting were also more likely to choose an accounting major or career(Paolillo and Estes, 1982; Cohen and Hanno, 1993; Allen, 2004; Byrne and Flood, 2005;Hartwell et al., 2005). In contrast, the New Zealand-based study of Tan and Laswad(2006) conclude that skills and a background in mathematics are not a strong indicatorof performance in accounting courses.

It is also suggested in some international studies that the first or introductoryaccounting course can have a significant impact on tertiary students’ decision to majorin accounting and it has been argued as being the most effective place to make adifference in interest levels or change perceptions (Cohen and Hanno, 1993; Felton et al.,1995; Chen et al., 2005; Jackling and Calero, 2006). Nonetheless, Saemann and Crooker(1999) found that despite attempts to change perceptions in a US introductoryaccounting course students did not see accounting as interesting. This possibly relates

Perceptionsof accounting

29

to students’ perceptions of the nature of accounting that have been influenced by avariety of factors.

2.3 Intrinsic and extrinsic career related factorsOther research has found alternative reasons why tertiary students do not choose tomajor in accounting. Albrecht and Sack (2000) suggest that declining accountinggraduate numbers may be related to a wider choice of attractive career options and ahigher degree of willingness to choose risky majors, such as those that have limited jobopportunities. Therefore, intrinsic and extrinsic career related factors might also affectthe choice of accounting as a career.

Intrinsic factors are those related to job satisfaction. People find a career moresatisfying if it encourages creativity and autonomy, is intellectually challenging,interesting and glamorous and the work environment is dynamic. Early US-basedresearch by Paolillo and Estes (1982) indicated that intrinsic factors were notimportant. Research that is more recent has contradictory findings with significantdifferences identified between accounting and non-accounting majors. Some of theresearch suggests that intrinsic rewards are less important to accounting majors orthose choosing a CA career than non-accounting students (Felton et al., 1994; Chen et al.,2005). Other research suggests the opposite with Japanese tertiary accounting studentsrating intrinsic factors highly (Sugahara and Boland, 2005) and Australian tertiaryaccounting students being influenced more by intrinsic rewards than extrinsic ones(Jackling and Calero, 2006). New Zealand studies also have contradictory findings withthe 1990s study of Ahmed et al. (1997) finding that intrinsic factors were not important.However, Tan and Laswad (2006) suggest that tertiary accounting students viewaccounting as more challenging and less boring than other tertiary students do.The latter contradictory findings may be as a result of the place where the study wasconducted, chronological differences, and/or the nature of the questions asked.

Extrinsic factors such as the job market, financial and career considerations, thecosts of becoming a CA and the image portrayed in the media have also been examinedin prior research. Job variety, availability, security and opportunities have all beenproposed as possible factors that influence the choice of accounting as a career.Between 27 and 33 per cent of US high school students rate these factors as important(Hartwell et al., 2005). Nonetheless, there are inconsistencies in the results of theinternational tertiary-based studies with some students identifying them as important(Paolillo and Estes, 1982; Felton et al., 1994; Allen, 2004; Chen et al., 2005; Sugahara andBoland, 2005) and others not important (Jackling and Calero, 2006). In New Zealand,Ahmed et al. (1997) found extrinsic factors to be unimportant, but Tan and Laswad(2006. p. 182) suggest that market related factors are “perceived very favourably by allstudents”. As above, these contrasting results may be for geographical, chronologicalor research design reasons.

Albrecht and Sack (2000) suggest financial factors like lower perceived initialsalaries may be a reason for declining accounting graduate numbers. Other financialand career considerations investigated in prior research include potential long-termearnings, opportunity for promotion/advancement, social status and prestige, andgeneral career prospects. For US high school students approximately 40 per centconsidered opportunities for career promotion or advancement important, but only 10per cent valued financial rewards (Hartwell et al., 2005).

PAR21,1

30

Tertiary students in the USA, Ireland and Japan were also attracted by careerprospects and social status and prestige (Francisco et al., 2003; Byrne and Flood, 2005;Sugahara and Boland, 2005). However, social status or prestige is not so important toAustralian tertiary students (Jackling and Calero, 2006). The research on financialrewards is mixed with some studies finding these to be influential factors (Paolillo andEstes, 1982), but others suggest they are not as important as intrinsic factors(Francisco et al., 2003; Jackling and Calero, 2006). If financial rewards are separatedinto initial and long-term earnings the results vary, with most studies finding thatperceived long-term earnings are influential (Felton et al., 1994; Allen, 2004; Chen et al.,2005). However, although initial earnings were important to US and Japanese tertiarystudents (Allen, 2004; Sugahara and Boland, 2005), they were not important to finalyear Canadian students (Felton et al., 1994). In New Zealand, a similar pattern emerges.Tertiary students value the opportunity for promotion (Ahmed et al., 1997; Tan andLaswad, 2006) and the social status or prestige offered by a career in accounting(Tan and Laswad, 2006). New Zealand tertiary students also perceive that both initialand long-term earnings are important (Ahmed et al., 1997; Tan and Laswad, 2006).

Accounting education researchers have also suggested that another influentialfactor may be the perceived costs versus benefits of becoming a CA. This can bemeasured as a ratio with international studies suggesting there is a difference betweenaccounting and non-accounting students with accounting majors perceiving anaccounting career to have a higher cost/benefit ratio (Felton et al., 1995; Chen et al.,2005). Other researchers have considered cost and time factors individually. The cost ofeducation has been found to be important in New Zealand (Ahmed et al., 1997) and inJapan, where although Japanese accounting students recognised the opportunity costsof an accounting career, this did not prevent them from choosing it as a career(Sugahara and Boland, 2005).

Nonetheless, Albrecht and Sack (2000) argue that students may perceive theincreased costs due to the change in the USA to a five-year (150 hours) requirement astoo high, and this could be contributing to the declining number of accountinggraduates. Francisco et al. (2003) conclude the 150 hour requirements is not important,but Mauldin et al. (2000) suggest the length of curriculum is important, and Allen(2004) found that US non-accounting majors perceive the extra year due to the150 hours requirement as negative. The impact of the change from the requirement ofthree years to four years of degree level study by NZICA in 1996 has not beeninvestigated in the three most recent studies. However, Wells (2006) and Malthus andFowler (2003) suggest that the move from three years of degree level study to fouryears may be a reason for declining numbers of domestic accounting graduates inNew Zealand.

It is also possible that the image of accounting and the accounting profession asportrayed in film and other media and the impact of recent accounting scandals couldinfluence career choice. In Ireland, Byrne and Willis (2005) indicate that high schoolstudents’ perceptions of accounting are influenced by the factual media, while in theUSA, recent accounting scandals have not deterred high school students’ interest inaccounting and have potentially increased it (Hartwell et al., 2005). Similar results havebeen found with tertiary students with Coleman et al. (2004) finding that accountingscandals did not cause US students to rethink their career choice or change their major,and Jackling and Calero (2006) suggest the images portrayed in the media had no

Perceptionsof accounting

31

significant influence on Australian students’ career intentions. The influence of themedia has not been investigated in New Zealand studies.

2.4 Major human influencers or referentsAnother factor that potentially influences the choice to major in accounting or tobecome a CA is human or normative expectations. The research that utilizes theTheory of Planned Behaviour as its theoretical framework have identified that tertiarystudents make a choice of major, in part, based on what their relevant referents thinkthey should do (Cohen and Hanno, 1993; Allen, 2004). This was also the case in the Tanand Laswad (2006) study, but the earlier Ahmed et al. (1997) study suggests thatreferents had no influence. A closer examination of the literature surrounding potentialinfluencers or referents indicates there are five possible groups: parents/caregivers,friends, accounting/business professional members, university instructors and highschool teachers/career advisers.

There are inconsistencies in the results regarding the importance of parents. SomeUS, New Zealand, Irish and Japanese studies have found parental influence to be themost important or significant (Cohen and Hanno, 1993; Allen, 2004; Byrne and Flood,2005; Sugahara and Boland, 2005; Tan and Laswad, 2006). However, other US studieshave found them to be less important (Paolillo and Estes, 1982; Hermanson andHermanson, 1995; Mauldin et al., 2000). When combined with friends, family was foundto be significant (48 per cent) by Hartwell et al. (2005). However, friends on their ownwere seen to be less important in the US-based studies by Paolillo and Estes (1982) andHermanson and Hermanson (1995).

Members of accounting or business professions were found to be the mostinfluential referent for Japanese students (Sugahara and Boland, 2005) and the secondmost influential one for US accounting majors (Cohen and Hanno, 1993; Hermansonand Hermanson, 1995; Allen, 2004). US research has further demonstrated thataccounting professionals can have an impact on the perception of accountants andthe accounting profession when they make planned presentations to introductoryaccounting courses (Fedoryshyn and Tyson, 2003). Nonetheless, Jackling and Calero(2006) suggest that in Australia, general promotion by professional bodies is notsignificant in influencing career intentions. Another person that has been shown tohave significant influence in two US-based studies (Hermanson and Hermanson, 1995;Mauldin et al., 2000) was the university instructor, especially the person(s) involved inthe accounting principles course; the impact of whom has not been investigated in aNew Zealand context.

The final group of potential influencers examined in previous studies is the highschool teacher and high school career adviser. Some research such as Hermanson andHermanson (1995) and Hartwell et al. (2005) argue that in the US, high schoolteachers/career advisers only influence 5-12 per cent of their students’ career choice.They were also found to have a weak influence on Japanese students (Sugahara andBoland, 2005). However, other research has identified that high school teachers may bean important influence of students’ perceptions of accounting in the USA and Ireland(Paolillo and Estes, 1982; Mauldin et al., 2000; Byrne and Flood, 2005; Byrne and Willis,2005). The Byrne and Willis (2005) paper highlights the need to make clear to highschool students that the study of high school accounting is not necessary for tertiarylevel accounting study.

PAR21,1

32

Even though the results are inconsistent, any negative perceptions of accounting bythese high school teachers and career advisers has the potential to change a student’smajor or career choice. Wells and Fieger (2006) in a New Zealand-based survey of highschool teachers found that there was a mismatch between high school teachers’perceptions of accounting and accountants’ actual duties and that the teachers had alow opinion of accounting as a career option for students. These results are similar totwo other studies that utilize the same survey instrument, those of Hardin et al. (2000)and Sugahara et al. (2006). These two research studies suggest that high schoolteachers consider accounting “monotonous and boring” (Sugahara et al., 2006, p. 416)and that “the accounting profession has a serious perception problem among highschool educators” (Hardin et al., 2000, p. 216) when compared to other professions suchas medicine, law and engineering.

Furthermore, the Wells and Fieger (2006) results support those of Francisco et al.(2003) who conclude that, in addition to the boring image of accounting, some highschool teachers in the USA are not encouraging their brightest students to consideraccounting as a career. High school career advisers’ perceptions of the accountingprofession have also been investigated. Pollock et al. (2002), in a US-based studysuggest that career advisers thought that the accounting profession was uninteresting,stressful, time consuming and not that financially rewarding, with accounting overallbeing viewed as boring. They were also not familiar with the certified publicaccountants (CPA) requirements. However, the perceptions of high school careeradvisers, as a separately identifiable group, have not been examined in a New Zealandcontext.

2.5 Summary of the results of the prior New Zealand-based studiesOverall, the recent New Zealand-based studies of Ahmed et al. (1997), Tan and Laswad(2006) and Wells and Fieger (2006) have concluded that tertiary students and highschool teachers perceive accounting as dull and boring. Furthermore, high schoolteachers believe accounting has a lower status as a profession than medicine, law andengineering. An interest in accounting has been shown by Tan and Laswad (2006) toresult in a more positive attitude to accounting as a career, but the study of accountingat high school (Ahmed et al., 1997) or skills in mathematics (Tan and Laswad, 2006)appear not to be a significant influencer.

The results relating to intrinsic factors are contradictory with Ahmed et al. (1997)finding these unimportant, but Tan and Laswad (2006) suggest this may not be thecase. Extrinsic factors relating to promotion/advancement opportunities, social statusand financial rewards were all important to New Zealand tertiary students. However,there is no research regarding the value of intrinsic or extrinsic factors to secondarystudents, how the change to a four-year degree requirement by NZICA or the influenceof media have affected the views of students. Furthermore, the Ahmed et al. (1997)study concludes that referents such as parents, members of the accounting professionor tertiary and secondary teachers had no influence at all. In contrast, Tan and Laswad(2006) argue that parents are the most important referent.

Some of the research results relating to New Zealand are contradictory inthemselves and inconsistent with some of the overseas research findings. This paperexamines these inconsistencies and the validity of the recent New Zealand research byinterviewing tertiary level students and high school educators. High school students

Perceptionsof accounting

33

and career advisers are also interviewed to ascertain if their perceptions are similar ordifferent to overseas students and career advisers. The objective of the research andthe related questions are outlined next.

3. Research objectivesAs a result of reviewing the above literature, the first objective of this study is toqualitatively validate the recent prior New Zealand-based quantitative studies of theperceptions of tertiary students and high school teachers (Ahmed et al., 1997; Wells andFieger, 2006; Tan and Laswad, 2006). The second objective of the study is to provideinsights into accounting career choice by ascertaining the perceptions of highschool students, and career advisers who potentially influence these students.The perceptions of high school and tertiary level students are considered as they canmake the decision to pursue an accounting career either in high school or during thefirst years of tertiary study. In the USA, research indicates that between 22 and 31 percent of students make their choice to major in accounting at high school, while between40 and 62 per cent make it during their first or second year of tertiary study (Paolilloand Estes, 1982; Hermanson and Hermanson, 1995; Mauldin et al., 2000; Hartwell et al.,2005).

This study will first ascertain the perceptions of high school and tertiary studentsregarding accountants and accounting as a career by investigating:

. their intention to study or not study accounting at high school and/or tertiarylevel;

. their intention to become or not become a CA or NZICA member; and

. their perceptions of accountants and what they do.

In addition, it will consider the influence of two key referent groups, that of high schoolaccounting teachers and career advisers by examining:

(1) their perceptions of accounting as a career; and

(2) whether they promote accounting as a good subject to study or career to follow.

The method employed in the study to achieve the research objective is described next.

4. MethodThe prior research discussed above was all questionnaire based, with the exception ofFelton et al. (1994) and Albrecht and Sack (2000) who used interviews and/or focusgroups in addition to questionnaires. However, questionnaires have a problem in that“no interviewer intervention is available for probing or explanation” (Cooper andSchindler, 2006, p. 253). Furthermore, the three most recent published New Zealandstudies (Ahmed et al., 1997; Wells and Fieger, 2006; Tan and Laswad, 2006) reuse othersurvey instruments based on Canadian or US research without thought to the age ofthe instrument or culture that the instrument was developed. For example, Wells andFieger (2006) in a New Zealand study and Sugahara et al. (2006) in a Japanese studyfound that their results differ in some aspects from those of the US study (Hardin et al.,2000), whose instrument they used, suggesting that perceptions differ betweencountries. It has also been suggested that there appears to be scope for further work

PAR21,1

34

adopting methods such as interviews and focus groups in this research area (Paiseyand Paisey, 2004).

The priority of this research project is to examine the perceptions of students andsome of their career choice influencers by using qualitative methods to provide supportto the prior statistically based New Zealand survey studies. Qualitative approachessuch as semistructured interviews and focus groups can be used to provide “more indepth explanations of statistical relationships” (Moll et al., 2006, p. 377) and are mostappropriate to use when the research’s purpose is to obtain “rich descriptions andexplanations from organizational actors on their perceptions” (Moll et al., 2006, p. 378).However, qualitative-based research tends to be limited in geographic coverage as it iscostly in terms of time and money. Hence, this study focuses only on one provincialcentre[4] in New Zealand.

To obtain the required information a number of semistructured interviews andfocus groups were conducted with:

. Year 13 high school students[5] who were studying accounting and year13 students who were not studying accounting.

. Bachelor of commerce (BCom) students at a tertiary institution who wereenrolled in the compulsory first year accounting course required for all businessstudents.

. Tertiary students who were enrolled in a compulsory final year accountingcourse for accounting majors.

. Career advisers and accounting teachers at the high schools.

There were a total of ten focus group meetings held with students, as part of the study.The groups of students comprised all those present at the scheduled class, lecture ortutorial on the day that was agreed between the researcher and the teacher or lecturer.The focus groups were run in the classrooms with the teacher or lecturer present.Details of these focus groups are provided in Table I.

Each focus group meeting or interview was recorded and electronic transcripts wereproduced to enable analysis to be performed.

Focus group Size of group Length of meeting (minutes)

Year 13 accounting studentsMeeting one 12 36Meeting two 12 22Meeting three 11 41Meeting four 9 25Year 13 non-accounting studentsMeeting one 17 32Meeting two 9 33Meeting three 18 40Meeting four 6 19First year accounting students 16 26Final year accounting students 15 38

Table I.Details of focus groups

Perceptionsof accounting

35

During the analysis stage, the transcripts were organised into files of informationbased on the categories or themes developed from the prior literature. This enabled theevidence collected from the various sources to be analysed (Creswell, 1998). To aid inthis process a coding scheme was developed based on the categories, such as intrinsicfactors and key referents, and refined as the transcripts were analysed. Each electronictranscript was reviewed and tagged with a colour index tag that represented eachtheme; any sub-themes were denoted by a letter. The coded material was thenreorganised electronically into themes so that synthesis could take place andconclusions be drawn (Creswell, 1998). The results or themes are presented next.

5. Results and analysis5.1 Perceptions of accounting and the accounting professionPrior New Zealand research has concluded that tertiary students and high schoolteachers perceive accounting to be dull and boring; a finding supported by the manyoverseas studies and also this study.

It would appear from the focus groups with the year 13 high school students whowere not studying accounting that accountants continue to have a mostly negativeimage. The most prevalent image of accounting was that it is boring. When askedto describe a “typical” accountant the majority of the participants described anaccountant as “male, middle-aged, balding, white and wearing a suit”. This imageappeared to be consistent for male and female students. When asked what a “typical”accountant was like and what he or she did at work, the responses were generallynegative. The students’ perceptions included:

. “they are dull and introverted and not very fun to be around”;

. “they sit down at a desk all day and calculate numbers”;

. “they have poor social skills and do not do many things outdoors, not outdoorsypeople”; and

. “they lack a sense of humour”.

The high school students studying year 13 accounting had a better understanding ofwhat accountants actually did; their responses included:

. “they prepare financial statements for use in decision making”;

. “they do the cash flow and budget”; and

. “they look into businesses’ affairs, their financial stability and what they couldbe doing wrong, and write up their accounts to work it all out”.

In addition, they had a slightly less negative image of an accountant, although thetypical stereotype was still “a male wearing a suit and tie”. Even the female year13 accounting students thought that the vast majority of accountants were male.

The first year tertiary accounting students not planning to complete an accountingmajor also thought accounting was boring because it was “just about numbers” and itwas “like too much hard work”. Those first year students planning to major inaccounting had a much more positive image of accounting and accountants. Most ofthe final year tertiary accounting students were going to pursue a career in accountingand had a positive perception of accounting as a career. Additionally, they mostly hada good understanding of what work CA typically did, for example:

PAR21,1

36

[. . .] they help businesses financially and also they offer other business advice such hashuman resources. It’s not just about pumping out financial statements it’s about helpingclients to understand them.

The majority of the accounting teachers at the high schools thought, not surprisingly,that accounting was a good career; however, the majority of career advisers hadnegative perceptions of accounting as a career and thought that it was dull and boring.One career adviser (at a boys’ high school) said:

I think a lot of young men just can’t visualise themselves sitting in an office playing withfigures all day. I’ve had a couple in the last years, but they tended to be very introvertedstudents.

Two of the career advisers described accounting as a good “backstop” career, if thestudents could not get into the degree programme they really wanted. One said:

I think that accounting should be looked on as a backstop. It’s a place that you can go to if youdon’t get into the programme that you really want.

Another of the career advisers responded that they thought that the accountingqualification is not perceived as being as high as other qualifications such as teaching,medicine, law or “even doing business studies or marketing”. They said:

[. . .] accounting is just not perceived as being one of the higher ranked careers anymore.It used to be up there with becoming a lawyer but it has slipped down the pathway.

These negative perceptions of accounting may impact on the advice given to highschool students and need to be investigated further. They may also indirectly influencethe level of interest a student has in accounting.

5.2 Level of interest in accountingResearch has suggested that at high school, the study of accounting, an aptitude formathematics and/or an interest in the subject impacts on the choice of accounting as acareer with this choice potentially being influenced by the students’ teachers and careeradvisers. The high school and tertiary students who were studying accountinggenerally had a more positive attitude towards accounting and accountants. However,the majority of students studying accounting at year 13 did not plan to studyaccounting at tertiary level or to pursue accounting as a career. The possible reasonsfor this are discussed below in Sections 5.3-5.5.

It should be noted that in New Zealand high school students can commence accountingas a subject at year 11 (aged 15) and can continue to study it in years 12 and 13.When asked what sort of students were attracted towards studying accounting at year 11most of the career advisers and accounting teachers thought that they were “methodicaland organized” and “definitely someone who loves maths”. One career adviser describedtypical accounting students as:

[. . .] quieter people, studiers, with a real head for figures, into systems and extremelyorganized.

The perception as to what skills and characteristics are required for an accountingcareer potentially affects the type of student the career advisers may encourage to

Perceptionsof accounting

37

study accounting at high school and at a tertiary level. Nonetheless, the results alsoindicate that other factors played a role in the career decisions the students made.

5.3 Intrinsic and extrinsic career related factorsPrior New Zealand research has indicated that although extrinsic factors such asfinancial rewards, prestige and other market related factors are perceived as importantwhen choosing an accounting career, they are inconclusive as to whether intrinsicfactors such as job satisfaction are also important. As mentioned previously, there wasa relatively small percentage of year 13 high school students studying accounting whowant to study accounting at tertiary level. For example, at one high school, there were atotal of 12 students studying year 13 accounting, and nine were present for the focusgroup. Of these nine, eight want to study a BCom next year; however, none of them isconsidering majoring in accounting or looking at accounting as a career. They areconsidering majors in management, marketing, finance or international business,which are perceived as more exciting majors than accounting.

The declining interest in accounting is supported by the interviews with the careeradvisers who indicate that there is less interest in accounting as a career than there wasa few years ago. One career adviser (at a boys’ college) said:

I see far fewer boys interested in accounting as a career. Most of them now see it as one smallaspect of what they’re going to do, like they’ll be interested in a tourism degree or accountingas part of a marketing degree. They’re just not going to specialise in accounting anymore.Now that’s a huge change from even five to seven years ago.

When asked what they thought was the reason for this the career adviser responded:

I think they see it as dry and dull, really.

Most high school students initially seek career advice in year 10, at age 14 or 15, whenthey are choosing their year 11 subjects. The career advisers do not “promote”particular careers as better than others, rather the students are advised to seek advicefrom appropriate web sites and decide for themselves which career would suit thembest. One of the most popular web sites is that of careers services, a New ZealandGovernment organization that provides career advice. The students usually complete acareers quest survey, which they download from the careers services web site, whichresults in an exhaustive list of possible careers, and as a career adviser said:

[. . .] it may spit out up to a hundred different types of employment that the student can thengo and look at. Well, you’re not going to worry about following the link to the accounting oneare you because you already know what that job entails.

The impact of the careers quest survey and internet-based careers advice on careerchoice is an area for future research.

In addition to greater competition from a larger range of more “exciting” careers,another reason given for the recent decline in high school students studying accountingat year 13 is the increase in the options available at high school, for example mediastudies, tourism, communications, marketing, recreation and human resources whichare often perceived as “more exciting” than accounting. One year 13 student who wasnot studying accounting said that he preferred to study economics to accountingbecause it was:

PAR21,1

38

[. . .] more like a social science, combined with business. Accounting is too boring and notrelevant by itself.

Two of the accounting teachers who were interviewed have observed a decline over thelast ten years in the number of “very bright” students studying accounting. It wouldappear that these students now tend to choose to study science subjects at year 11 andhigher, in preference to accounting. Note that a possible reason for this is that at year12 science separates into three subjects (physics, chemistry and biology) which arerequired to be taken if science is to be continued at tertiary level, and as accounting canbe studied at tertiary level without any high school level business subjects, then mostare encouraged to take the science subjects so as not to limit their tertiary choices. Insome smaller high schools, accounting classes clash with some of the science subjectsat the upper levels.

The first year tertiary accounting students not planning a career in accounting wereattracted to other more “exciting” careers, such as merchant banking or stock broking.In addition, a number of students were put off by the time and cost to qualify as a CA,and one student was planning to become a member of CPA Australia because hethought that it had a better reputation than NZICA.

The high school students and the first year accounting students who were keen tobecome CA were attracted to it mainly because it was perceived to have internationalrecognition and hence could lead to jobs overseas. In addition, the relatively highsalaries that were perceived to be available in accounting also appeared to be amotivating factor. One career adviser thought that the students perceive that theextrinsic benefits of an accounting career outweigh the intrinsic benefits. He said:

[. . .] I have a feeling that accounting is looked on as a money making job rather than a job thathas a huge amount of job satisfaction.

The final year tertiary accounting students were split fairly evenly between those whowant to become CA and those who do not. Those who wanted to become CAs weregenerally those who were keen on a career in public practice, or were keen to workoverseas and who value the international recognition and prestige of the qualification.The final year students who did not want to become CAs were interested in careers inaccounting but not in public practice, such as becoming a teacher or working in thecorporate sector. Some of these students were more interested in NZICA’s alternativequalifications, i.e. accounting technician or associate chartered accountant (ACA),which have less stringent admission requirements, because they perceive that the costand the time taken to qualify as a CA outweigh the benefits of membership.

Another extrinsic factor that influenced the students’ perceptions of accountantswas their portrayal in the media. None of the students in any of the focus groups couldrecall a positive portrayal of an accountant in the media; in fact, the only accountantsthat the students could recall were stereotype (extremely boring) accountants in atelevision advert and in a film.

5.4 Other factorsSome other factors or points not covered by the previous research were also uncoveredduring the interviews and focus groups relating to the structure of the accountingcurriculum at high school level and the impact of Generation Y thinking.

Perceptionsof accounting

39

In New Zealand, accounting at high schools is different from other subjects such aseconomics because accounting can be studied at year 11. However, students can onlychoose it at year 13 if they have studied it at years 11 and 12, i.e. students cannotchoose to study accounting at year 13 unless they have completed the pre-requisites atyears 11 and 12. Economics in contrast can be picked up at year 13 by students whohave not studied it before because it does not have the prerequisites that accounting atyear 13 has. Hence, generally there are larger numbers of students studying economicsthan accounting at year 13.

From the interviews with the accounting teachers, it is apparent that there tends tobe a large dropout of students studying accounting from years 11 to 13 at all of the highschools that were visited. For example, at one of the high schools it was typical to havetwo classes (approximately 50 students) studying accounting at year 11, but thisnumber dropped to one class of approximately 10-12 students at year 13. The mainreasons given by the year 13 non-accounting students for this high-dropout rate wasthat the subject was “boring” One of the accounting teachers interviewed agreed withthe students’ view and was critical of some of the achievement standards in theaccounting curriculum, which the students found really uninteresting. He said:

[. . .] the school is bogged down with what I would just call mundane book keeping, or recordkeeping.

Another observation from some of the students (both high school and tertiary), most ofwhom were from the Y Generation of youngsters aged 17-21, was that the financialrewards of a job were not as important as having fun at work; and although accountingjobs were perceived to provide good incomes, accounting was not perceived as a funoccupation. One high school student who was studying year 13 accounting but had nointention of pursuing a career in accounting said:

[. . .] you have to balance it; the money and the enjoyment. If the enjoyment is not there thenthe money doesn’t really matter.

Other generational impacts may also be related to the influence key referents have overthe students’ career choice.

5.5 Major human influencers or referentsPrevious New Zealand research suggests that the most important referent forNew Zealand students is their parents (caregivers). However, overseas researchsuggests other groups may also be important. It was apparent from all the studentfocus groups that the main referents were the students’ parents and family members,teachers and career advisers. Other referents mentioned were friends, and universityand industry representatives, for example at career expos. Those students whose closefamily members were CA tended to be either positively influenced/steered in thatdirection or had been put off a career in accounting because, as one student said, “Ihave seen the long hours my dad works”.

One observation made from visiting the high schools was that it appeared thestudents chose to study accounting at year 13 not necessarily because they wanted tocontinue with it at tertiary level but because of the charisma and perceived“competence” of the accounting teacher. For example, the only high school that wasexperiencing a growth in students studying accounting at years 11-13 had a young

PAR21,1

40

(female) accounting teacher who was passionate about accounting and teaching. Theimportance of high school teachers’ perceived competence and enthusiasm needs to beexamined in future research, along with the potential influence of the first year tertiaryaccounting course lecturers, who despite being identified as an important referent inUS studies were not mentioned by the New Zealand tertiary level participants, andhence were not included in this study.

6. DiscussionThe results of this study confirm that first year tertiary students studying businesshave a limited understanding of what accountants do and the stereotype of anaccountant as dull and boring is as strong as ever; this offers some validation to theprevious New Zealand study of Tan and Laswad (2006). However, the final yeartertiary students have a good understanding of what accounting entails and do nothave a negative image of an accountant; which contradicts the findings of Ahmed et al.(1997). This contradiction is possibly because of more than ten years’ difference in thestudies, the geographical differences and/or is related to changing perceptions ofaccountants by society.

The majority of the high school students also have limited knowledge of whataccountants actually do, and their image of an accountant was the typical “boring”stereotype. The students studying accounting at year 13 have a slightly more positiveview of accounting yet they still hold the stereotypical view of accountants as male.

Even though the majority of the high school student participants were not intendingto pursue accounting as a career, those year 13 students studying accounting weremore interested in continuing their accounting studies at tertiary level than those year13 students not studying accounting. This supports the results of Felton et al. (1994)who argue that exposure to accounting at the high school level had some influence onthose that choose a CA career. First year tertiary accounting students, as suggested byJackling and Calero (2006), also had a much more positive image of accountants andaccounting. Furthermore, the final year tertiary accounting students, not surprisingly,have a more positive view of accounting as a career and a significantly more accurateunderstanding of what accountants actually do. This also equates with the results ofFelton et al.’s (1994) Canadian study.

The accounting teachers who were interviewed have a favourable view ofaccounting and are positive about a career in accounting, which potentially contradictsprevious New Zealand studies such as Wells and Fieger (2006). However, it should benoted that the Wells and Fieger (2006) survey was of those high school teachers mostlikely to influence career decisions and hence this may not have included theaccounting teachers. The more positive view of accountants and accounting expressedby those studying or teaching accounting supports previous suggestions that decliningaccounting graduate numbers is the result of an image problem, that is, other subjectsare seen as more exciting, rather than a problem with accounting as a subject per se.Moreover, it is acknowledged that accounting teachers are more likely to be supportiveof a career in accounting than teachers of other subjects, who were not interviewed aspart of this study.

Nevertheless, the views of the accounting teachers were more positive than theviews of the career advisers who, in the main, view an accounting career as dull andboring or a backstop to other careers, and thought that it had a lower social status than

Perceptionsof accounting

41

medicine, law and other business studies. These perceptions along with their views ofthe skills required to be an accountant may result in the wrong type of student beingencouraged to study accounting at a tertiary level.

The views of career advisers are particularly important, as one of the main reasonsgiven by all the participants in the study for students not choosing to study accountingat high school or at tertiary level is the large number of choices that students now have.Accounting is facing competition from an increasing number of more “exciting”subjects at high school and a larger choice of majors at tertiary level. The increasingchoice of attractive subjects and career options for students appears to be a global issuefacing the accounting profession and is having a significant impact on the number ofstudents choosing to study accounting at high school and at tertiary level (Albrechtand Sack, 2000).

Although extrinsic factors such as financial rewards appear to motivate a numberof students to pursue accounting as a career (as per the results of the New Zealandresearch by Tan and Laswad (2006)), a relatively new and unresearched factor was theimportance of having a “fun” career and of achieving a work/life balance suggestingthat intrinsic factors are becoming more important as per the recent Sugahara andBoland (2005) and Jackling and Calero (2006) studies. A number of Generation Ystudents were not attracted towards a career in accounting because they perceive thatthe hours are long and the work is tedious. This poses a huge challenge for theaccounting profession which needs a better understanding of the expectations ofGeneration Y, who will be the accounting professionals of the future, to be able toattract them into the profession.

Another issue of importance in particular to NZICA is that there is support from thisstudy for the view that some tertiary accounting students perceive that the costsof becoming a CA outweigh the benefits of membership. In particular, a number oftertiary students are considering becoming ACAs instead of CAs because the length ofdegree level study required to become a member is only three years, versus four yearsto become a CA. While this may lead to a decrease in the number of people becomingCAs in New Zealand, it could lead to an increase in the overall number of members ofNZICA as the attractiveness of becoming an ACA increases.

It is very apparent from this study that one of the biggest challenges facing theaccounting profession is the negative image of accountants in the media, both inNew Zealand and globally, and this negative image may be influencing students’perceptions of accounting. Although the accounting profession may have littleinfluence over the portrayal of accountants in films and adverts, it is imperativethat any promotional material aimed at the Y Generation feature positive andappealing role models, to try to counter the typical stereotype accountant that appearsin the media.

Finally, it appears from this study that the most influential referents were thestudents’ parents/caregivers and family members, teachers and career advisers. Thedecision to study accounting at high school is taken early on in the students’ education,during year 10 when the students are only about 14 years of age and the perceptions ofthese groups about accounting as a career can have a major impact on the students’choices. If a student does not decide to study accounting in year 11, the results of thisstudy suggest that the student is highly unlikely to study accounting at high school atall or to pursue a career in accounting. Hence, there is a need for accounting bodies and

PAR21,1

42

accounting educators in New Zealand to focus on changing the perceptions of these keyreferent groups. In addition, the importance of the “perceived” competence andenthusiasm of the accounting teachers cannot be emphasised enough as this may makeor break a student’s decision to study accounting and hence to pursue it as a career.

7. Summary and conclusionsThe vast majority of the overseas studies and all of the previous New Zealand studiesrelevant to this paper are quantitative questionnaire-based, while this study isqualitative in nature. This approach is not without its limitations. As with any researchthere is the possibility of selection and response bias by the participants, interviewerbias and the selective interpretation of results.

Notwithstanding these limitations the results, in summary, indicate that whencomparing the results to the recent New Zealand study of Tan and Laswad (2006), thisstudy supports their conclusions that in the main first year tertiary business studentsperceive accounting as dull and boring. However, as demonstrated in the Tan andLaswad (2006) study, but not the Ahmed et al. (1997) studies, those studyingaccounting at the final year level have a more positive view of the subject area.

This study found that most high school students and career advisers have a limitedknowledge of what work accountants actually do and have a negative image of anaccountant. It was found, however, that those students studying accounting at year 13and the high school accounting teachers have a more positive view of accounting andaccountants.

Intrinsic factors relating to the need for a work/life balance and the need for thecareer to be fun were found to be important, which contradicts the Ahmed et al. (1997)finding that they were unimportant to tertiary students but supports Tan andLaswad’s (2006) suggestion that this may not be the case. Extrinsic factors relating tofinancial rewards, along with perceived international recognition were important toNew Zealand tertiary students (Ahmed et al., 1997; Tan and Laswad, 2006), as well asto high school students. The costs of the change to the requirement of four years ofdegree level study by NZICA are perceived as high with many students consideringalternatives to becoming a CA. Furthermore, the negative image of accountants andaccounting in the media has influenced the perceptions of the students.

Other factors relating to the structure and content of the high school accountingcurriculum and the impact of Generation Y have had an influence on the choice ofaccounting as a career. Other key influencers were parents/caregivers, family, highschool teachers and career advisers. This contradicts the findings of the previousNew Zealand study where Ahmed et al. (1997) conclude that referents had no influenceat all.

These findings may not be surprising to accounting bodies such as NZICA who arelikely to be aware of the importance of using young role models to promote theaccounting profession in an attempt to rectify and update the accounting stereotype.However, there are a number of factors that are influencing students’ choice ofaccounting as a career which are not under NZICA’s direct control. These include theaccounting curriculum at high schools, which has been criticized by students andteachers as being too repetitive and monotonous and hence is turning students offstudying accounting beyond year 11. Another reason given by students for notchoosing to study accounting at year 13 or beyond is that accounting at year 13 has

Perceptionsof accounting

43

pre-requisites of years 11 and 12 and any student who did not choose to studyaccounting at year 11 would be unable to pick it up at year 13. Further, accounting as asubject is facing competition from an increasing number of more “exciting” subjects athigh school and a larger choice of majors at tertiary level.

A further point that no accounting body has any input into or control over is whoteaches accounting at the high schools. The results of this study, whilst based on theresults from a very small sample of high schools studied, highlight the importance ofcompetent and enthusiastic high school accounting teachers as they have a significantinfluence over the students’ choice of subjects studied at high school and their desire tocontinue to pursue accounting as a career after leaving school.

One possible solution to the above dilemma facing the accounting profession inNew Zealand could be to suggest that accounting is not taught at high schools, or atleast only at year 13. There is no reason why accounting cannot be taught fromintroductory level at university or polytechnic, as is currently the case, to students whohave not studied it before, or who have only studied it for one year at high school.

The further investigation of this possible solution along with that of the impact ofweb-based career advice services, and the importance of the role of competent andenthusiastic high school and tertiary level accounting educators are future researchopportunities. Future research could also include the interviewing of tertiary studentsat other tertiary institutions or a longitudinal study of one group of accounting highschool students to observe how or if they change their career intentions over time andthe factors that influenced their decisions. Other research could explore in more detailthe impact of and perception of accounting as a career by parents, friends andaccounting professionals.

Overall, the accounting profession in New Zealand continues to have a negativeimage and a career in accounting is perceived as being dull and boring. There appearsto be significant misunderstandings about what accountants actually do andthis presents significant promotional challenges to the accounting profession inNew Zealand as it seeks to compete for new members in an ever increasinglycompetitive careers market.

Notes

1. In New Zealand, secondary students attend high school or colleges, while tertiary studentsattend universities, polytechnics or institutes of technology.

2. The Theory of Planned Behaviour proposes that “intention is assumed to be the antecedentof behaviour. It is influenced by: beliefs about the likely consequences or other attributes ofbehaviour (personal beliefs); beliefs about the normative expectations of other people such asparents and friends (referents); and beliefs about the presence of factors that may further orhinder performance or the behaviour (control factors)” (Tan and Laswad, 2006, p. 168).

3. The high school teachers surveyed in this study were those that school principals consideredto be the “most influential in providing career advice to university-bound students”(Wells and Fieger, 2006, p. 6).

4. The provincial centre that the study was based in cannot be identified due to aconfidentiality agreement with the study participants.

5. Year 13 students are in their final year of high school and are on average aged 17.

PAR21,1

44

References

Ahmed, K., Alam, K. and Alam, M. (1997), “An empirical study of the factors affectingaccounting students’ career choice in New Zealand”, Accounting Education, Vol. 6 No. 4,pp. 325-35.

Albrecht, W. and Sack, R. (2000), Accounting Education: Charting the Course through a PerilousFuture, AICPA, New York, NY.

Allen, C. (2004), “Business students’ perceptions of the image of accounting”, ManagerialAuditing Journal, Vol. 19 No. 2, pp. 235-58.

Bougen, P. (1994), “Joking apart: the serious side to the accountant stereotype”, Accounting,Organizations & Society, Vol. 19 No. 3, pp. 319-35.

Byrne, M. and Flood, B. (2005), “A study of accounting students’ motives, expectations andpreparedness for higher education”, Journal of Further & Higher Education, Vol. 29 No. 2,pp. 111-24.

Byrne, M. and Willis, P. (2005), “Irish secondary students’ perceptions of the work of anaccountant and the accounting profession”, Accounting Education, Vol. 14 No. 4, pp. 367-81.

Chen, C., Jones, K. and McIntyre, D. (2005), “A reexamination of the factors important to selectionof accounting as a major”, Accounting and the Public Interest, Vol. 5, pp. 14-31.

Coate, C., Mitschow, M. and Schinski, M. (2003), “What students think of CPAs: is the stereotypealive and well?”, The CPA Journal, Vol. 73 No. 8, pp. 52-5.

Cohen, J. and Hanno, D. (1993), “An analysis of underlying constructs affecting the choice ofaccounting as a major”, Issues in Accounting Education, Vol. 8 No. 2, pp. 219-38.

Coleman, M., Kreuze, J. and Langsam, S. (2004), “The new scarlet letter: student perceptions ofthe accounting profession after Enron”, Journal of Education for Business, Vol. 79 No. 3,pp. 134-41.

Cooper, D. and Schindler, P. (2006),BusinessResearchMethods, 9th ed., McGraw-Hill, New York, NY.

Cory, S. (1992), “Quality and quantity of accounting students and the stereotypical accountant:is there a relationship?”, Journal of Accounting Education, Vol. 10 No. 1, pp. 1-24.

Creswell, J. (1998), Qualitative Inquiry and Research Design: Choosing among Five Traditions,Sage, Thousand Oaks, CA.

Dyer, J. (2005), “Make chartered accountancy sexy”, Chartered Accountancy Journal ofNew Zealand, February, pp. 34-6.

Fedoryshyn, M. and Tyson, T. (2003), “The impact of practitioner presentation on studentattitudes about accounting”, Journal of Education for Business, Vol. 78 No. 5, pp. 273-84.

Felton, S., Buhr, N. and Northey, M. (1994), “Factors influencing the business student’s choice of acareer in chartered accountancy”, Issues in Accounting Education, Vol. 9 No. 1, pp. 131-41.

Felton, S., Dimnick, T. and Northey, M. (1995), “A theory of reasoned action model of thechartered accountant career choice”, Journal of Accounting Education, Vol. 13 No. 1,pp. 1-19.

Francisco, W., Noland, T. and Kelly, J. (2003), “Why don’t students major in accounting?”,Southern Business Review, Vol. 29 No. 1, pp. 37-40.

Hardin, J., O’Bryan, D. and Quinn, J. (2000), “Accounting versus engineering, law and medicine:perceptions of influential high school teachers”, Advances in Accounting, Vol. 17,pp. 205-20.

Hartwell, C., Lightle, S. and Maxwell, B. (2005), “High school students’ perceptions ofaccounting”, The CPA Journal, Vol. 75 No. 1, pp. 62-7.

Perceptionsof accounting

45

Hermanson, D. and Hermanson, R. (1995), “Are America’s top business students steering clear ofaccounting?”, Ohio CPA Journal, Vol. 54 No. 2, pp. 23-30.

Jackling, B. and Calero, C. (2006), “Influences on undergraduate students’ intentions to becomequalified accountants: evidence from Australia”, Accounting Education, Vol. 15 No. 4,pp. 419-38.

Laswad, F. and Tan, L. (2005), “Charting a course into accountancy”, Chartered AccountancyJournal of New Zealand, April, pp. 59-61.

McCrindle Research (2007), “Bridging the gap – an employer’s guide to managing and retainingthe new generation of workers”, available at: www.mccrindle.com.au/resources (accessed11 December 2007).

Malthus, S. and Fowler, C. (2003), “Becoming a chartered accountant in the New Zealandprovinces”, New Zealand Journal of Applied Business Research, Vol. 2 No. 1, pp. 13-29.

Mauldin, S., Mounce, P. and Crain, J. (2000), “The accounting principles instructor’s influence onstudents’ decision to major in accounting”, Journal of Education for Business, Vol. 75 No. 3,pp. 142-8.

Moll, J., Major, M. and Hoque, Z. (2006), “The qualitative research tradition”, in Hoque, Z. (Ed.),Issues in Accounting Research: Theories and Methods, Spiramus, London, pp. 235-79.

Paisey, C. and Paisey, N. (2004), “An analysis of accounting education research in accountingeducation: an international journal – 1992-2001”, Accounting Education, Vol. 13 No. 1,pp. 69-99.

Paolillo, J. and Estes, R. (1982), “An empirical analysis of career choice factors amongaccountants, attorneys, engineers and physicians”, The Accounting Review, Vol. 62 No. 4,pp. 785-93.

Pollock, K., Papiernik, J. and Slaubaugh, M. (2002), “High school guidance counselors’perceptions of the profession”, The CPA Journal, Vol. 72 No. 5, pp. 73-4.

Raman, V. (2005), “Global standards heat hunt for accountants”, The National Business Review,18 February, pp. 39-41.

Saemann, G. and Crooker, K. (1999), “Student perceptions of the profession and its effecton decisions to major in accounting”, Journal of Accounting Education, Vol. 17 No. 1,pp. 1-22.

Sugahara, S. and Boland, G. (2005), “Perceptions of the certified public accountants byaccounting and non-accounting tertiary students in Japan”, Asian Review of Accounting,Vol. 14 Nos 1/2, pp. 149-67.

Sugahara, S., Kurihara, O. and Boland, G. (2006), “Japanese secondary schoolteachers’ perceptions of the accounting profession”, Accounting Education, Vol. 15 No. 4,pp. 405-18.

Tan, L. and Laswad, F. (2006), “Students’ beliefs, attitudes and intentions to major inaccounting”, Accounting Education, Vol. 15 No. 2, pp. 167-87.

Wells, P. (2006), “The supply of accounting graduates in New Zealand”, New Zealand Journal ofApplied Business Research, Vol. 5 No. 1, pp. 53-62.

Wells, P. and Fieger, P. (2006), “High school teachers’ perceptions of accounting: an internationalstudy”, Australian Journal of Accounting Education, Vol. 12 No. 1, pp. 29-51.

Further reading

Colman, G. (2006), “Trans-Tasman transformation”, In the Black, Vol. 76 No. 1, pp. 35-6.

PAR21,1

46

About the authorsSue Malthus is a Senior Accounting Lecturer specializing in auditing. Her research interests areaccounting education and the accounting profession in New Zealand. She is a member of theNZICA, and sits on their admissions board; she has been the Chair of the Institute’s AcademicCommittee. Sue Malthus is the corresponding author and can be contacted at:sue.malthus@nmit.ac.nz

Carolyn Fowler is a senior Lecturer in Accounting at Victoria University of Wellington,New Zealand. She principally teaches in the management accounting, accounting informationsystems and accounting history areas and her research interests cover accounting education,nineteenth century accounting history and developments in technology and managementaccounting.

Perceptionsof accounting

47

To purchase reprints of this article please e-mail: reprints@emeraldinsight.comOr visit our web site for further details: www.emeraldinsight.com/reprints