Opportunities For Under Graduate/Graduate In Accounting Majors

Opportunities abound for under graduate/graduate in accounting majors. In the accounting field, there are many job opportunities offered like accounting clerk, accounting manager, bookkeeping, budget analyst and many more. Prior studies document that there are several reasons for applying to employment accounting and reasons like, accounting nowadays is the in demand job to apply for. As the needs for the accounting undergraduate/graduate increases, the perceptions of the accounting undergraduate/graduate themselves about future opportunities is important. Their perceptions on the job may be used to mitigate the restoration of the accounting profession as one of integrity.

Furthermore, this study may resolve some problems on the job and may also contribute to the body of knowledge in the study of accounting. In line with that, it is anticipated that this research would generate interest among students join the accounting profession when they graduate and this would not only benefit the students, but also the general public. The intent of this study is to supplement this limited research on student perceptions about employment opportunities in the fields of accountancy. This study aims to determine the level of perception of accounting students of Saint Mary’s University towards employment opportunities in the field of accountancy.

This also aims to investigate whether there is a difference on our respondents’ perception based on their profiles. Our purpose in conducting this study is that we want to consider our respondents perception that will help us in choosing our jobs in the future in the fields of accountancy and business. Our purpose also in conducting this study is that we want to help them (respondents) to realize and to be aware of their level of perceptions towards employment opportunities in the field of accountancy so that after they graduate in college they have now a final decision on what employment opportunities in the fields of accountancy they will take. Through distributing questionnaire that will serve as our survey tool, we will be able to know the level of perception of our respondents as we conduct our study at Saint Mary’s University.

The Philippine Accountancy Act of 2004 Section 2 of Article 1, Republic Act No. 9298 states that “The state recognizes the importance of accountants in nation building and development”. Professional accountants, one of the important roles in our society, need to be competent. They are guided by the preceding act in their practice of accountancy in the Philippines. The mission of professional accounting education is to prepare students for careers in accounting and to make them ready to deal effectively with the problems they will face as professional accountants and responsible citizens. To be able to become an accountant, a student of accountancy schools should pass the certified accountant (CPA) board examination first.

Research of student perceptions of employment opportunities generally consists of rating job attribute. (Carpenter and Strawser 1970) studied students’ perceptions on job attributes to help local firms to understand how they might compete with the much larger national firms in recruiting employees. They found that students ranked nature of the work, opportunities for advancement, starting salary, working conditions, and job security, respectively as the top five attributes. The (AICPA 2005) Survey identified the placement of 57.15% of undergraduate and graduate accounting majors into the categories of public accounting (34.96%), private accounting (19.39%) and governmental accounting (2.8%). A Large group of graduates’ schools (17%).These findings show a strong tendency for graduates to pursue public accounting with little attention directed toward governmental accounting. This study also supports finding from previous studies on student perceptions about future career path by (Shivaswamy and Harls 1985), (Mc Kenzie 1992), and (Nelson et al. 2002).

Students preferred the opportunities offered by public, private and governmental accounting. Looking to the attribute of accounting positions and students’ inherent interests will help in providing insight to understanding student acceptance of jobs.In a research entitled “Accounting students perception on employment opportunities” by Watrick et al. a research on higher education. For the data examined, students prefer public accounting as their first choice of career while private industry accounting and working for the federal government offer desirable jobs as well. In choosing long –term career paths private accounting and public accounting lead the way. One interesting analysis reveals that the students perceived no difference in the work- life balance issues offered between public, private and governmental accounting. One other interesting analysis reveals that the three groups are considered comparable in offering financial security from holding those jobs.

With all the related literature and studies shown above, it can be concluded that employment opportunities of an institution can be beneficial. It is beneficial because it prepares the students to know what opportunities they will choose and students perception on job attributes to help accounting students in choosing the right career. The studies enumerated above reinforce this current study in its significance and provide reason to conduct it. The related studies reviewed are similar to this current study in the sense that they also focused on determining the level of perceptions of accounting students on a particular topic. For example, the study conducted by Watrick et.al entitled “Accounting students perception on employment opportunities”. This study also supports finding from previous studies on student perception about future career paths by Shivaswamy and Hanks, (1985), Mckenzie (1992), and Nelson et.al (2002).

REFERENCES:

1. Albrecht, W.S. and Sack, R.J. (2000). “Accounting Education: Charting the course through a perilous future”. Accounting Education Series, Volume No. 16.
2. Sarasota F.L: American Accounting AssociationAmerican Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) (2000). “The supply of accounting graduates and the demand for public accounting recruits” for the academic year 1998-1999, New York: AICPA
3. Bundy P. and Norris D. (1992). “What accounting students consider important in the job selection process”.
4. Jones G. & Abraham A. (2009). “The Value of Incorporating Emotional Intelligence Skills in the Education of Accounting Students”.
5. McCann J.T., Offoha, E. & Bryant R. (2005). “Students Perceptions of Accounting and Business on the Accounting Profession”
6. Mustapha M. and Hassan M.H. (2012). “Accounting Students’ Perception on Pursuing Professional Examination” Robert Half International and CareerBuilder.com.” Employment Dynamics and Growth Expectations (EDGE) Report”. United States Department of Labor, “Tomorrow’s Job”. Occupational Outlook Handbook: 2006-2007 Edition.