A survey of the chief academic officers at comprehensive colleges and universities in the United States reveals a move toward more rational budgeting systems in higher education over the last 20 years. Systems with a traditional approach to budgeting are still one of the major systems, but they no longer dominate. Three other major systems found in higher education are rational systems: planning, programming, and budgeting systems (PPBS); combination PPBS and zero-base systems; and combination PPBS, zero-base, and performance systems. These three systems are more prevalent, appropriate and satisfactory than traditional systems.
Purpose
– The purpose of this study is to consider the effect of an internship experience on tax accountants’ professional performance.
Design/methodology/approach
– It uses survival analysis, a dynamic methodology that allows for more precise modeling than static traditional methods used to study promotion and turnover rates in the past. The hypotheses were tested using a longitudinal database obtained from the human resource departments of regional Certified Public Accountant firms located in the southeastern and mid-south areas of the USA.
Findings
– Results were mixed. As in previous studies on the effects of internships on subsequent professional performance, tax accounting professionals with a master’s degree and prior internship experience had significantly faster promotion rates than those professionals with a master’s degree and no internship experience. However, tax professionals with a master’s degree and prior internship experience did not demonstrate a significant difference in turnover rate when compared to the no-internship group.
Practical implications
– This research provides evidence that students, employers and institutions of higher education can use to guide them in their decisions regarding the effects of structured internships on professional performance – in this case, the professional performance of tax accountants.
Originality/value
– Previous research on tax professionals’ performance and internship experience made use of static research methodologies. This study uses the more dynamic methodology of survival analysis to see if different findings result.
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpFirst" style="line-height: normal; text-indent: 0in; margin: 0in 0.5in 0pt; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><strong><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">The social interaction preferences of tax professionals working in U.S. accounting firms are analyzed and compared with other public accounting firm personnel. Social skill preferences are analyzed using the FIRO-B methodology which has been widely validated and applied to accounting professionals.</span></strong><strong><span style="font-size: 10pt;"> </span></strong><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Considering the high cost of turnover and the nominal cost of using the FIRO-B instrument, it makes sense for businesses and educational institutions to use FIRO-B analysis as an aid in counseling, training, and assisting individuals entering the accounting profession. The findings of this study indicate that tax professionals have significantly higher social interaction preferences than other accounting professionals employed in public accounting. This makes sense in light of the demands put on tax accountants to work with a wide range of other professionals within, and external to, the firm. </span></span></p>
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