Attitudes towards accounting: differences between Australian and international students

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to identify the underlying motivations of Australian andinternational students for studying accounting and entering the accounting profession.Design/methodology/approach – The study reports results from a cohort of second-yearaccounting students drawing on the...

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Main Authors: Jackling, B., De Lange, Paul, Phillips, J., Sewell, J.
Format: Journal Article
Published: Emerald 2012
Subjects:
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/35061
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author Jackling, B.
De Lange, Paul
Phillips, J.
Sewell, J.
author_facet Jackling, B.
De Lange, Paul
Phillips, J.
Sewell, J.
author_sort Jackling, B.
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to identify the underlying motivations of Australian andinternational students for studying accounting and entering the accounting profession.Design/methodology/approach – The study reports results from a cohort of second-yearaccounting students drawing on the theory of reasoned action (TRA) to assess intentions andbehaviours in making decisions, particularly in relation to employment choice. The study utilises avalidated attitude to accounting scale (AAS) which measures how the accounting profession is viewedby students generally, and more specifically, differences in attitudes towards accounting and theaccounting profession between Australian and international students.Findings – The study finds that students have a positive attitude towards accounting as aprofession. However, there are significant differences between Australian and international students’levels of interest in accounting and attitudes towards the work of accountants.Research limitations/implications – It is recognised that the differences in attitudes towardsaccounting between Australian and international students may be linked with motivations to pursueaccounting based on personal, cultural and social influences. A limitation of the study is thatinternational students are treated as a homogeneous group.Practical implications – The findings of the study have implications for marketing accountingeducation internationally; in particular, acknowledging the impact of different attitudes towardsaccounting by international students.Originality/value – The study not only addresses motivation to study accounting but also attitudestowards the accounting profession. By applying the TRA, the study has identified that governmentpolicy may influence motivation of international students towards accounting and the accountingprofession.
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institution Curtin University Malaysia
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last_indexed 2025-11-14T08:39:42Z
publishDate 2012
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spelling curtin-20.500.11937-350612017-09-13T15:32:25Z Attitudes towards accounting: differences between Australian and international students Jackling, B. De Lange, Paul Phillips, J. Sewell, J. International students Intrinsic motivation Attitudes - Attitudes to accounting Accountants’ work Motivation (psychology) Australia Students Universities Accounting Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to identify the underlying motivations of Australian andinternational students for studying accounting and entering the accounting profession.Design/methodology/approach – The study reports results from a cohort of second-yearaccounting students drawing on the theory of reasoned action (TRA) to assess intentions andbehaviours in making decisions, particularly in relation to employment choice. The study utilises avalidated attitude to accounting scale (AAS) which measures how the accounting profession is viewedby students generally, and more specifically, differences in attitudes towards accounting and theaccounting profession between Australian and international students.Findings – The study finds that students have a positive attitude towards accounting as aprofession. However, there are significant differences between Australian and international students’levels of interest in accounting and attitudes towards the work of accountants.Research limitations/implications – It is recognised that the differences in attitudes towardsaccounting between Australian and international students may be linked with motivations to pursueaccounting based on personal, cultural and social influences. A limitation of the study is thatinternational students are treated as a homogeneous group.Practical implications – The findings of the study have implications for marketing accountingeducation internationally; in particular, acknowledging the impact of different attitudes towardsaccounting by international students.Originality/value – The study not only addresses motivation to study accounting but also attitudestowards the accounting profession. By applying the TRA, the study has identified that governmentpolicy may influence motivation of international students towards accounting and the accountingprofession. 2012 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/35061 10.1108/10309611211287305 Emerald restricted
spellingShingle International students
Intrinsic motivation
Attitudes
- Attitudes to accounting
Accountants’ work
Motivation (psychology)
Australia
Students
Universities
Accounting
Jackling, B.
De Lange, Paul
Phillips, J.
Sewell, J.
Attitudes towards accounting: differences between Australian and international students
title Attitudes towards accounting: differences between Australian and international students
title_full Attitudes towards accounting: differences between Australian and international students
title_fullStr Attitudes towards accounting: differences between Australian and international students
title_full_unstemmed Attitudes towards accounting: differences between Australian and international students
title_short Attitudes towards accounting: differences between Australian and international students
title_sort attitudes towards accounting: differences between australian and international students
topic International students
Intrinsic motivation
Attitudes
- Attitudes to accounting
Accountants’ work
Motivation (psychology)
Australia
Students
Universities
Accounting
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/35061