An investigation into students’ perceptions of accountants

Abstract

Prior accounting education literature documents that stereotypical images abound of the accountant as introverted, systematic, antisocial and boring. Although these stereotypes clash with the skills required of modern professional accountants to be problem solvers who regularly interact with people, the question is whether students wishing to become accountants still have these stereotyped perceptions. The purpose of this article is to investigate the preconceived notions of students in South Africa about accountants and whether these perceptions differ because of gender, home language or ethnical differences. A comparison is also made of the perceptions of school‐leavers and final‐year students to determine whether these perceptions change during students’ formal period of study at universities. This research, which is currently highly relevant, given the shortage of students pursuing careers as accountants, could contribute to the debate surrounding the concerns of the future of the accounting profession and the implications for contemporary accounting education. It was found that students perceive accountants as structured, precise and solitary individuals. However, students considered it to be an interesting profession. Significant differences were found between the perceptions of different ethnic groups. No significant differences were found between the perceptions of male and female students, or between Afrikaans‐ and English‐speaking students.

Examining Students’ Feelings and Perceptions of Accounting Profession in a Developing Country: The Role of Gender and Student Category

“…Solomon, A. Solomon, Joseph, & Norton, 2013). Some of the job requirement perceptions include the perception that accounting job is quite challenging or demanding, requires a lot of mental energy in terms of managing complex accounting problems and conforming to accounting regulations, requires much intelligence, education and training, and is a nonstop activity that can be dull, routine and monotonous in practice (Wessels & Steenkamp, 2009). Wrong perception about accounting job requirement can result in over ambition and unrealistic job expectations for the profession (Solomon et al, 2013).…”

“…Prior research shows that first-year accounting students usually have negative perceptions about the subject (Hunt et al, 2004;Parker, 2000;Siegel, 2000;Wessels & Steenkamp, 2009) which are likely to affect their interest for the accounting profession (Ferreira & Santoso, 2008;G. White & M. White, 2003).…”

“…This study also examines differences in students' perception of accounting profession between males and females, and between undergraduate and graduate accounting students. (Wessels & Steenkamp, 2009). Prior research has established that people tend to perceive accountants as rigid, people who are too structured and often follow strict regulatory requirements (Parker, 2000;Hunt et al, 2004).…”

“…They also noted that much of the research of accounting students perceptions of the profession has been done in Europe and the US. Only a few have explored this research problem in developing countries and SSA (Fatokun & Ojo, 2004;Myburgh, 2005;Wessels & Steenkamp, 2009). In Ghana, only one study by Awayiga, Onumah, and Tsamenyi (2010) examined the accounting knowledge and skills required by graduates.…”

Positive and Negative Perceptions of Bumiputra And Non-Bumiputra Students on Professional Qualification

“…Literature also shows that there are limited studies that compare various ethnicities or racial groups in Malaysia, although there are several in other countries [17,18,19]. Nevertheless, there are studies that compare the differences between the perception of Malay and Chinese accounting students [20], Malaysian students and international students [21], and Malaysian Chinese accounting students and English students [22].…”