Accounting stereotypes. Business and accounting students’ motivations and perceptions of accounting

Abstract

El papel del profesional de la contabilidad ha evolucionado incorporando un amplio abanico de tareas que requieren de los futuros profesionales (al menos a un cierto nivel) mucho más que conocimientos técnicos. Paralelamente a este incremento de los requisitos se percibe la existencia de problemas en cuanto a las características de los alumnos que optan por una carrera en contabilidad.
 Algunos autores han sugerido que en el origen de esta divergencia requisitos profesionales –características del alumnado está una concepción errónea, por parte de los estudiantes, de cuáles son las tareas de un contable y las capacidades necesarias para ello. Así, es posible que se perciba por los alumnos una imagen estereotipada de la profesión y la clase de trabajo que realiza: aburrido, definido, preciso y orientado al cumplimiento de normas. Esta imagen parece basarse y reforzarse por la ofrecida en distintos medios (p.e. las películas o series).
 En esta línea, el presente trabajo tiene como objetivos estudiar (I) la percepción que tienen los estudiantes de contabilidad sobre la profesión contable al comenzar sus estudios universitarios y (II) las motivaciones subyacentes y su posible relación con la imagen. La muestra se compone de estudiantes de los dos grados con más peso en esta materia (ADE y FICO) de la Universidad de Sevilla.
 Los resultados indican que no hay una visión claramente estereotipada, ni diferencias destacables por grado. Se confirma que la principal fuente de motivación en nuestros alumnos es la externa.
 La relevancia de determinadas facetas y sus implicaciones para el área se discuten. The role of today’s accountant has evolved including now a set of tasks that require from the future professionals (at least to reach higher level positions) much more skills than merely technical knowledge. At the same time the professional requirements are growing, there is a perception of lack of quality of entry level students.
 Some authors suggested that the origin of this divergence (professional requirements – students characteristics) is the students’ misconception about the real tasks an accountant must perform and the skills required for that. Therefore it is likely that some students have a stereotyped image of accounting: boring, precise, oriented to standards. This image appears to be due to, and reinforced by, the stereotype that appears in media (v.g. films or TV series).
 In this line, this paper aims to study (I) the perception about accounting of entry level accounting students, (II) the underlying motives, and the relationships between these motives and the perceptions. The sample is composed of first year students at the two relevant degrees in accounting (Finance & Accounting and Business Administration) at the Universidad de Sevilla.
 The results suggest that the students do not present an acute stereotyped view of the area, but external motivation is still the strongest source of motivation. The relevance of certain students’ views on accounting and their academic implications are discussed.

The importance of soft skills in accounting: student´s and employer´s expectations

“…However, some students do not attach too much importance to soft skills, as they do not match their vision of typical activities performed in accounting Arquero & Fernandez-Polvillo, (2019) or they are concerned about these qualities (for example, communication) according to (Arquero, Fernandez-Polvillo, Hassall & Joyce, 2017). Chandren & Yaacob (2016) discuss how to improve students' soft skills, especially oral communication.…”

Beliefs Influencing Career Choices of Indonesian Business Student’s and Reasons for Not Choosing Accounting Profession

“…In addition, the study is becoming more and more complex because during career selection, not only considering all the results of the decision, but students also consider their beliefs and what the reaction of the surroundings is [15]. However, upon entering higher education, many students may also already be convinced of what an accounting career refers [50], often also based on an adverse stereotypical perception of the accounting profession [4], [43]. This indicates that it is not only about students' belief of the accounting profession that may be predetermined, but also reveals that the accounting profession is facing problems with their image [20], [31], [32], [40], [50].…”

The effect of previous experience with working in groups on students’ academic performance in the accounting discipline

“…A compulsory assessed group work was introduced in accounting subjects belonging to the third course of the Business Administration Degree in three different universities (University of Zaragoza, Teruel Campus; University of Castilla-La Mancha, Cuenca Campus; and University of Almería). On the one hand, Business Administration is one of the degrees in which accounting has more relevance (Arquero & Fernández-Polvillo, 2019). Accordingly, there are numerous studies, both national and international, that analyse accounting teaching topics in the field of the Business Administration Degree (for example, Alonso-Almeida, Fernández De Navarrete & Rodriguez-Pomeda, 2015; Palazuelos, San-Martín, Montoya del Corte & Fernández-Laviada, 2017; Tormo-Carbó, Seguí-Mas & Oltra, 2016) 1 .…”

“…In recent years, a number of authorities, such as the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC), the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) or the Chartered Accountants Australia New Zealand (CAANZ) have called for the development of a broader range of required, and still lacking, professional skills (Dyball et al, 2007;Ramsay, Hanlon & Smith, 2000;Stanley & Marsden, 2012) or "soft skills" (Arquero & Fernández-Polvillo, 2019) in accounting graduates. In the current environment, intellectual, technical and functional knowledge is not enough.…”