Rita Amoah Bekoe, Godfred Matthew Yaw Owusu, Charles Gyamfi Ofori, Anthony Essel-Anderson and Edem Emerald Welbeck
The purpose of this paper is to examine the attitude of business students towards the accounting profession and investigate the relationship between students’ attitude and their…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the attitude of business students towards the accounting profession and investigate the relationship between students’ attitude and their intention to pursue a degree in accounting.
Design/methodology/approach
A self-administered survey was used to collect data from students from the University of Ghana Business School (UGBS). A total of 457 questionnaires were used in the empirical analysis. A binary logistic regression analysis technique was employed to analyse the data.
Findings
The logistic regression analysis demonstrates that intrinsic interest in the accounting discipline, prior exposure to accounting at the senior high level and the desire to pursue professional accounting qualification in future are good predictors of students’ intention to major in accounting. The results also indicate family members, course instructors and other referent group play a crucial role in influencing students’ intention to pursue a career in accounting.
Practical implications
The findings of this study have important implications for the professional accountancy body and business educators interested in addressing the skill shortage in the accounting profession.
Originality/value
This study does not only examine students’ attitude towards the accounting discipline but also investigates how such attitudes influence intentions to major in accounting.
Details
Keywords
Godfred M.Y. Owusu, Anthony Essel-Anderson, Teddy Ossei Kwakye, Rita Amoah Bekoe and Charles Gyamfi Ofori
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the factors that influence Ghanaian tertiary students’ career choices. The paper explores the dimensionality of the career choice…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the factors that influence Ghanaian tertiary students’ career choices. The paper explores the dimensionality of the career choice factors within the Ghanaian context and also ascertains their degree of influence on students’ career choices.
Design/methodology/approach
The study employs survey method of research and a set of questionnaire was used to examine the factors that influence students’ career choices. A total of 354 undergraduate students from the Ashesi University College in Ghana participated in the study. Factor analysis was conducted on the career choice factors and differences in response between science and business students were ascertained by means of independent sample t-test.
Findings
The findings of this study indicate that university students in Ghana place much premium on intrinsic value and employability/financial prospect in their career choice decisions than such factors as prestige and desired working conditions.
Research limitations/implications
The findings of this study are relevant for policymakers and tertiary education providers interested in making the study of science an attractive option for university students in Ghana.
Originality/value
The findings of this paper highlight some of the underlining reasons for the unpopularity of the study of sciences among university students in Ghana.