Are negative perceptions of the accounting profession perpetuated by the introductory accounting course? An Australian study

This study investigates perceptions of the work of accountant:! held by first-year accounting students as part of a national survey of accounting students. First-year commerce students from five tertiary institutions were surveyed about their perceptions of the accounting profession as well as their intention to complete a major study of accounting at tertiary level. lnfluences on the formation of their perceptions formed an important part of the study. The results reported in this paper serve to illustrate that the majority of students surveyed had negative perceptions of accounting. The source of influences on perceptions indicated that perceptions were mainly derived from tertiary education experiences. As perceptions influence choice of major and career choice, the findings have important implications for accounting educators and professional accounting bodies

Sustainable development and environmental accounting: the challenge to the economics and accounting profession

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the role of natural resources accounting in sustainable development. Natural resource accounting is important because the welfare of a nation measured in terms of gross domestic product (GDP) has several weaknesses. Design/methodology/approach – This paper achieves this objective by identifying the present status, the constraints and the challenges for the economics and accounting professions. Findings – The main weakness of GDP as a measure of development is that it does not take into account damages to environmental resources. However, the improvement of the concept to include environmental resource use is made difficult because of the difficulties of measuring environmental damage. The challenge to the economics and accounting profession is to ensure interdisciplinary collaboration, development of a framework to explicitly include the environment, development of credible valuation procedures for the environment, and inclusion of the various ethical positions advanced by various groups on the value of the environment. Practical implications – Some headway has been made on these issues during the last decade but a major challenge still lies ahead in further improving these approaches so that sustainable development becomes an achievable goal. Originality/value – This paper brings together diverse views and fusing them together providing a future path for research in environmental accounting to achieve sustainable development.

Public interest, ethics, and the balanced scorecard: implications for the accounting profession

The accounting profession bos been grappling with the issue of public interest responsibility for a number of years. The aim of this paper is to examine how a balanced scorecard (BSC) model can be used by the accounting profession to more effectively incorporate a public interest responsibility in its strategic framework. By using a BSC model, the paper provides an integrated framework for translating strategic values into a comprehensive set of objectives, performance measures and improvement actions.

The accounting profession: a religious and community platform for change

Following the failure of large corporations in both Australia and the United States, considerable dialogue has been generated on the integrity and role of accountants. This focus of this study was to examine the role of the professional accounting community, which shapes, and is shaped by the value, religion and culture of accounting members. In view of the impetus towards internationalization of accounting standards it is suggested the accounting profession re-examine its position as part of the international human community
and re-examine its core values.

Re-emergence of the public accounting profession in China : a hegemonic analysis

This paper draws on Gramsci's concept of hegemony to examine and explain the circumstances leading to the re-emergence of the public accounting profession in China in the early 1980s. In particular, the paper attempts to understand the political and ideological influence upon the professionalisation process of the Chinese accountants. The paper not only highlights a major difference between the professionalisation process of the public accounting profession in China as compared to the West, but also the authoritative and dominant role assumed by the Chinese state in the whole societal set-up. Through effectively exercising its political and ideological leadership, the state successfully mobilised the Chinese accountants in the implementation of its economic-related agenda. The paper demonstrates that the state has clearly achieved hegemony within the accounting community, and further suggests that the state-accounting profession relationship could be likened to the father–son relationship as encompassed within the Confucian notion of wu lun.

Business ethics and the accounting profession

Business ethics emerged as a major public concern following a spate of corporate collapses during the 1980s and early 2000s, Corporate collapses such as HIH and Harris Scarfe in Australia; Enron, Worldcom and Global Crossing in the US; and Parmalat in Europe, have precipitated questions about the business and accounting practices of these firms and the role played by their accountants and auditors, According to Armstrong et al. (2003, p, 1), one can hardly pick up a business publication today without noting some reference to an accounting scandal....The sheer number of accounting abuses serves as prima facie evidence that something more is needed in terms of accounting ethics.

Outsourcing of core business functions : focus on the accounting profession

This study found that a majority of Australian accounting firms either currently oursource accounting services or are considering outsourcing, and identified the significance of outsourcing contracts. It established that most firms outsource their core services. The study provided important information regarding ethical issues and the relinquishment of professional status.

Attitudes towards the accounting profession : an Australian perspective

Purpose – This paper aims to examine undergraduate students’ attitudes towards the accounting profession, including accounting as a career, as a discipline, as a profession and perceptions of the work activities of accountants.

Design/methodology/approach – The data set used in this paper was collected via questionnaires. The present study compares several aspects of a prior study of Marriott and Marriott using the Accounting Attitude Scale developed by Nelson.

Findings – Overall, the paper supports the view that exposure to accounting at university does not enhance positive attitudes about accounting as a discipline, but reinforces rule-memorisation, and lack of involvement with conceptual skills or judgement.

Research limitations/implications – The paper only examines students’ attitudes at one point in time and does not attempt to identify whether students’ attitudes change over the period of their study. The paper can only speculate as to why there is a difference between local and international students’ attitude towards the accounting profession. Third, the questionnaire is only administered at one institution. There is a scope to extend this study across institutions as well as conduct a longitudinal study. In order to validate the findings, further research via in-depth interviews with students may help determine the factors that influence students’ attitudes.

Originality/value – The results from this paper are expected to contribute to the body of research by providing accounting educators with insights into how the curriculum may influence students’ attitudes towards the profession, together with implications as to how the profession should be promoted to undergraduate students.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People in the accounting profession : an exploratory study

The aim of this article is to explore the role that accounting skills and accounting qualifications may play in entering fields that have been virtually closed to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (ATSI) people. It is acknowledged in the literature that accounting processes and accountants have historically had a domineering and detrimental impact on marginalised groups, such as ATSI peoples. However, we propose an alternative viewpoint using a Bourdieun perspective and theorise that accounting skills and accounting qualifications (capital) can open doors to powerful organisations and institutions (fields). As this is an exploratory study, we have limited our analysis to one key aspect of the Bourdieun framework, namely that of field. To that end, we examine accounting and other organisations that have traditionally closed their doors to marginalised groups in society. Interviews were conducted with ATSI people who have successfully gained entry into the field of the accounting profession, in an effort to understand the experiences and barriers they faced and to investigate the role that accounting skills plays in enabling ATSI people access to fields and decision-making positions that have traditionally been inaccessible to them.

What influences accounting students' attitude towards accounting as a profession?

Several issues have been linked with the choice of an accounting major, and more specifically choice of accounting as a career path, including perceptions of the professional attributes required of accountants. The present study addresses two main themes: undergraduate students’ perceptions of the accounting profession and influences on decision to major in accounting. The study is motivated by the prior research of Marriott and Marriott (2003) that indicated exposure to accounting studies has a negative effect on attitudes towards the profession.

The results show that students’ perceptions of the profession related to work activities and prestige of the profession. Further analysis examining the influences on choice of an accounting major revealed three major factors: intrinsic interest in the content of accounting courses, influences of parents and friends together with perceptions of job status of accounting related to career advancement and salary. When compared with the Marriott and Marriott (2003) study, the present study showed students had more positive attitudes to studying accounting. There were however significant differences between local and international students in attitudes to the accounting profession.

Professionalisation and accounting in China: a historical and comparative review

While applied broadly within the setting of accounting and some other occupations, “a profession” is a particularly Western concept with peculiarly British origins. Additionally, the significance of such status and the process of “professionalisation” by which it is acquired remain beset by lingering uncertainties. Examination of the sociology of the accounting occupation within non-Western locations can contribute to exposing and clarifying these problematic and contingent aspects of occupational stratification, as well as assist in redressing the bias towards English-speaking and European countries within the accounting history literature. Proceeding from these theoretical premises, a historical and comparative study of the accounting occupation within China is undertaken. This seeks to integrate the world’s most populous nation into the historical narrative of the professionalisation of accounting, and reinforces – often vividly – that accountants’ work status is not bound to any predetermined trajectory which is innate to the occupation. Instead, the variety of localised and time-specific variables which constitute the occupational context are shown to exert a dominating influence.

The impact of enterprise resource planning systems on management accounting : an Australian study

Information technology is significantly changing the operating practices of an increasing number of companies globally. These developments have important implications for the accounting profession and in particular accounting practices in the twenty-first century. This study examines the development of enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems as a means of illustrating how changes in information technology allows all systems in a company to be linked to manage operations holistically.

The study investigates the change in accounting systems using a sample of Australian companies with emphasis on the adoption of ERP systems including the potential impact of ERP on capital budgeting processes. The results show that ERP systems are changing management accounting practices, although at this stage, the impact on capital budgeting techniques appears to be limited. The findings contribute to the emerging body of literature on the development of ERP systems and its impact on management accounting teaching and research.

Accounting graduates' perceptions of skills emphasis in undergraduate courses: an investigation from two Victorian Universities

This study investigated the emphasis placed on technical and generic skills developed during undergraduate accounting courses from the graduate perspective. It is motivated by two issues. First, calls by the accounting profession and international education committees regarding the professional adequacy of graduates. Second, the challenge facing educators and professional bodies to design accounting courses that address a diverse range of needs from students, the educational philosophy of the institution, and the changing dynamics of global business. Data obtained from 310 graduates from two Victorian universities provided insights into the types of skills development considered necessary for a successful accounting career.