Why some students choose to become chartered

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MEDAR 19,1/2

Why some students choose to become chartered accountants (and others do not)

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Cilliers van Zyl Department of Accounting, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa and SizweNtsaluba & Gobodo, Pretoria, South Africa, and

Charl de Villiers Department of Accounting and Finance, The University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand and University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa Abstract Purpose – South Africa, like many countries in the rest of the world, is currently facing a shortage of chartered accountants (CAs). The purpose of this paper is to examine the factors influencing the career choice of accounting students in South Africa. Design/methodology/approach – A questionnaire survey was used to assist professional institutes of CAs, universities, audit practitioners and other interested parties to understand the factors that influence students’ career choices. The respondents were first-year business students at a leading South African university. Findings – The results indicate that CA students’ choice is driven mainly by job security, job satisfaction, aptitude for accounting and potential future earnings. Although a high percentage of non-CA students have considered becoming a CA (61.6 per cent), they cite job satisfaction as one of the key reasons why they decided against a CA qualification. The two groups clearly have different views on job satisfaction. Another important reason the non-CA group mentioned against CA studies, was the strenuous nature of this field, including the technical difficulty of the subjects and the lengthy period of study required. Significant differences between the CA and non-CA group were evident when the means of the ratings of career choice factors were compared. All mean scores, for each of the 12 career choice factors, were higher for CA stream students, compared with the non-CA stream students. A possible reason is that CA students are more career oriented than their non-CA student counterparts. Originality/value – This study extends the literature. It investigates and rates the career choice factors influencing accounting students to become a CA and the factors that influence business students not to pursue CA studies. These results could potentially be used to develop a strategy to influence students’ career choice of the CA profession in an effort to increase the number of CAs in South Africa. Keywords South Africa, Skills shortages, Accountants, Careers, Undergraduates, Accounting students, Business students, Career choice, Chartered accountants Paper type Research paper

Meditari Accountancy Research Vol. 19 No. 1/2, 2011 pp. 56-74 q Emerald Group Publishing Limited 1022-2529 DOI 10.1108/10222521111178637

The authors would like to thank: the Editor; two anonymous reviewers; Stephen Coetzee, Petri Ferreira, Denice Pretorius, and Richard Wilson for helpful comments on earlier drafts of the papers; and Thinus Gerber, Juliana Friedrichs, and Madelyn Cloete for assistance with data collection. The authors are also grateful to Gerrit Prinsloo, Alex Philippou, Kobus Viviers and SizweNtsaluba & Gobodo for making it possible for the authors to invest the necessary time into this article. Lastly the authors are indebted to Idonette van Zyl, Abrie Oberholster and CW Pieterse for assistance in the data capturing as well as additional suggestions.

1. Introduction The decline in quantity and/or quality of students majoring in accounting and entering the profession has been an issue of concern for several decades, particularly in Canada, the UK, and the US (Tan and Laswad, 2006, p. 167).

In South Africa, South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (SAICA) indicated that South Africa’s financial management and auditing sector need 22,030 more qualified accountants (Mail & Guardian, 2008): A concerning fact is that the output of qualified CTA students attending South African universities is not growing in relation to the demand from local accounting firms – this gap is expected to continue to widen into the future (KPMG, 2008).

Audit firms are finding it increasingly difficult to employ suitably qualified students to work as trainee accountants (De Clercq and Venter, 2009). Such under-qualified trainee accountants are not equipped to adequately identify potential audit risks, and increased reliance on their work has the potential to undermine the integrity of audit opinions and thereby of the audit profession as a whole. The audit profession therefore needs more students to pursue chartered accountant (CA) studies. Several studies in the accounting literature address the factors influencing students’ career choices (Myburgh, 2005; Bundy and Norris, 1992; Auyeung and Sands, 1997; Felton et al., 1994). However, few of these studies examine the factors influencing the career choice of accounting students in South Africa, and none consider the reasons why non-CA students do not pursue CA studies. Where previous studies surveyed only students studying towards the CA profession, the current study focused on students who chose to become CAs and business students who did not choose to become CAs. This study relies on the 12 career choice factors described by Paolillo and Estes (1982) and Auyeung and Sands (1997), because these factors have been found, in these and in prior studies, to influence accounting students’ choice of career. The current study thus consists of 12 questions with a seven-point Likert scale to rank the importance of each factor. The respondents were first-year business students at a leading South African university. The findings of this research study and future endeavours to attract more students to the CA profession will be to the advantage of local universities, which, in turn, will benefit from students studying to become CAs; audit practitioners, who will have access to more trainees studying part-time and/or students with a CTA degree; SAICA, which will be able to register more CA members and thus increase its member base; and the broader South African economy, which will benefit from the skills of more qualified professional accountants. The layout of the article is as follows: Section 2 deals with the literature review, Section 3 the research design, Section 4 the results of the study and Section 5 the conclusions and recommendations. 2. Literature review Myburgh (2005) focused on the most important career choice factors, to enable universities to improve and develop areas of the specific accounting curriculum responsible for attracting students to accounting. Five years after the Myburgh (2005) study, it has been noted that there is still a significant shortage of CAs in South Africa (SAICA, 2010).

Why some students become CAs 57

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Since the early 1980s, the accounting profession has expressed concern about the shortage of talented university graduates who choose a career in accounting (Kullberg et al., 1989). Many factors have been found to influence an individual’s career choice. Paolillo and Estes (1982) reported that the three highest ranked factors influencing accountants’ choice of profession are parental influence, job satisfaction and cost of education. Parents, in particular, appear to have a stronger influence on students’ intentions to major in accounting (Tan and Laswad, 2006). The parents’ perception and the students’ view of the profession as a whole therefore influence students’ career choice. A society’s perception of the trustworthiness of the accounting profession is based on past and present publicity and images portrayed, not only by accountants themselves, but also by the media (Carnegie and Napier, 2009). After the Enron and World Com debacles in 2006, the audit profession enjoyed much negative publicity. Since these accounting and auditing failures, the public’s trust in the profession, built up over many years, has largely waned (Carnegie and Napier, 2009). According to Fedoryshyn and Tyson (2003), “a change in perceptions is the preliminary step needed to induce a behavioural change that would result in an increase in the number of accounting majors”. Myburgh (2005) found that, for first-year accounting students at the University of Pretoria (UP) in South Africa, the factors that had the greatest influence on their choice to become a CA were accounting performance (aptitude) at school level as well as the advice and guidance of parents, relatives and school teachers. The number one factor, according to the students, was that their career choice was “their own decision”. If one could say that students make up their “own mind”, the perception of the profession as viewed by these students would play a vital role in their final choice of career. Wessels and Steenkamp (2009) found that students perceived accountants to be precise, structured and solitary individuals. The students, however, viewed accounting to be an interesting profession. Wells and Fieger (2005) reported that, similar to the situation in the USA, New Zealand high school teachers’ opinion of accounting as a career option is extremely low. This implies that there are significant issues for educators and the profession. This would include a possible mismatch between the required skills perceived by teachers and those required in the profession. Jackling and Calero (2006) reported the following to be significant factors determining an Australian student’s intention to pursue a career as an accountant: “the perception of importance of generic skills, intrinsic interest in the discipline area, and course satisfaction”. The perception of students is of utmost importance, owing to the fact that individuals may select a career on the basis of the perceptions they have formed from individuals in specified lines of profession (Ferreira and Santoso, 2008, p. 210). A study of Irish students by Byrne and Willis (2005), found that students’ perceptions are influenced by teachers, the study of the subject at school and the factual media. This study also suggests that if the profession would like to be successful in attracting students with the necessary skills and attributes to become accountants, students’ perceptions need to be influenced. It also suggests that students should be given a realistic portrayal of the work of an accountant. A survey conducted by Bundy and Norris (1992) found that job security was the primary factor in the career choice of accounting students at Iowa State University in the USA. The different career choice factors identified in previous literature are summarised, in one way or another, in the 12 factors listed in Table I, as adopted by Auyeung and Sands (1997) and Paolillo and Estes (1982). The current study used the same 12 factors used in the two previous studies:

Factors as grouped by Auyeung and Sands (1997) Classification group Career choice factor

Consolidated factors identified grouped into four categories Classification group Career choice factor

Significant others

External influence

Materials

Beliefs

(1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) (8) (9) (10) (11) (12)

Association with other professionals in the field

(1a) Association with other professionals in the field Teachers’ influence (1b) Teachers’ influence Parents’ influence (1c) Parents’ influence Friends’ influence (1d) Friends’ influence (2a) Remuneration Remuneration Employment (2b) Employment Educational cost remuneration and availability security Years required to complete Educational influence (3a) Educational cost education and requirements Social status (3b) Years required to complete education and requirements Employment availability (3c) Aptitude for accounting Aptitude for accounting Personal wellbeing (4a) Social status Job satisfaction (4b) Job satisfaction Previous work experience (4c) Previous work experience

the influence of other professionals (Ferreira and Santoso, 2008, p. 210); the influence of parents (Tan and Laswad, 2006); the influence of educational cost (Paolillo and Estes, 1982); the influence of teachers on choice (Auyeung and Sands, 1997); potential earnings (Auyeung and Sands, 1997); employment availability (Bundy and Norris, 1992); the influence of the number of years of study required (Paolillo and Estes, 1982); the influence of aptitude (Myburgh, 2005); the influence of friends (peers) (Auyeung and Sands, 1997); the influence of social status (Carnegie and Napier, 2009); the influence of job satisfaction ( Jackling and Calero, 2006); and the influence of work experience (Auyeung and Sands, 1997).

Table I indicates the 12 factors that were identified as having an impact on an individual’s career choice, as grouped by Auyeung and Sands (1997) into three categories, that is, significant others, materials and beliefs. An investigation of the three categories reveals that they have certain limitations. It is not clear why aptitude for a subject matter was categorised into the belief category and why the material factors were grouped together. Hence, in the current study, the 12 factors were grouped into the four more explanatory categories indicated in Table I as external influence, employment remuneration and security, education influence and personal wellbeing.

Why some students become CAs 59

Table I. Career choice factors grouped into classification categories

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3. Research design 3.1 The instrument Appendices 1 and 2 show the questionnaire survey instruments. A seven-point Likert scale was used to ask the students to rank the importance of the 12 factors identified as having a possible influence on their choice of career. A rating of seven was indicated as being very important, and one as the least important (Torgerson, 1958). This research method has been widely used in the accounting field (Auyeung and Sands, 1997; Gul et al., 1992; Huang, 1992). The instruments were tested on students by means of two focus groups. Four students from the CA stream and five from the non-CA stream were randomly selected. Students were asked to indicate whether any of the questions were unclear and give their constructive input. The feedback was used to improve the questionnaire. 3.2 The subjects The respondents were full-time first-year business students enrolled at UP. UP is regarded as being representative of a leading South African university. Accounting at first-year level is a requirement for the BCom degree at UP. UP has two streams of accounting students, namely the “commercial stream” and the “CA stream”. The CA stream is self-explanatory, while the commercial stream comprises other business students. At UP, accounting is taught in both English and Afrikaans. There are several classes in each language group – hence one English and one Afrikaans class were selected randomly to represent each language group. Students in each of the selected classes were asked to complete the questionnaire at the end of a class at the end of their final semester of university in 2010. The lecturer ensured that each student handed in a completed questionnaire before he or she left the lecture hall. This research design ensured that there could be no non-response bias. The number of respondents can be summarised as in Table II. See Section 4 for additional details of the respondents. 3.3 The research question Although the survey included 12 questions/factors, the study focused on obtaining evidence for two questions: RQ1. What influences students to become CAs? RQ2. What influences students not to become CAs? These questions provide valuable information on addressing the problem of the shortage of CAs in South Africa. A question was also included in the questionnaire, for both groups, asking the respondents to state the profession of their mother and father, if applicable. Students in the commercial stream group were also asked whether they had ever considered studying to become a CA.

Table II.

CA stream Commercial stream

Total

Afrikaans

English

441 151

185 25

256 126

3.4 Career choice factors Career choice factors have been identified in earlier studies. The variables range from six (O’Connor and Kinnane, 1961) to 15 (Super, 1957). The current study adopted 12 factors of career choice influence (Auyeung and Sands, 1997). These factors were interpreted as follows: (1) Influence of other professionals (Ferreira and Santoso, 2008, p. 210) relates to the influence/impact on career choice (positive or negative) that a certain individual or individuals had on the student at a certain stage of his or her lifetime. (2) Influence of parents (Tan and Laswad, 2006) concerns the influence/impact on career choice (positive or negative) that parents exercise to encourage their child to study towards a certain career for one or more specific reasons. (3) Influence of educational cost (Paolillo and Estes, 1982) has a bearing on the actual monetary cost of the education. (4) Influence of teachers on choice (Auyeung and Sands, 1997) relates to the influence/impact on career choice (positive or negative) that a teacher or teachers had on the student at a certain stage in his or her lifetime. (5) Potential earnings (Auyeung and Sands, 1997) concerns the earning potential (after qualification), namely cost to company remuneration, including incentives. (6) Employment availability (Bundy and Norris, 1992) entails the change and turnaround time of finding employment in South Africa or worldwide. (7) Influence of required years (Paolillo and Estes, 1982) involves the years it takes to qualify as a CA (education and articles). (8) Aptitude influence (Myburgh, 2005) entails the natural ability or skill of the student in accounting. (9) Influence of friends (peers) (Auyeung and Sands, 1997) concerns the influence/impact on career choice (positive or negative) that a friend or friends had on the student at a certain stage of his or her lifetime. (10) Influence of social status (Carnegie and Napier, 2009) has to do with the influence that social acceptability and status have on the student, that is, being respected and accepted in a personal and professional environment. (11) Influence of job satisfaction ( Jackling and Calero, 2006) involves work enjoyment and day-to-day satisfaction. (12) Influence of work experience (Auyeung and Sands, 1997) entails the influence of previous work experiences (positive or negative) on the student’s choice of career. The researchers deemed these 12 factors to be sufficient to address the two main research questions. However, the respondents were afforded an opportunity to indicate any other reason that may have influenced their choice to become or not become a CA.

Why some students become CAs 61

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4. Results 4.1 Demographic profile of respondents Table III indicates the classificatory information of the respondents, including a comparison of respondent demographics with South African demographics. Further demographical information is provided in Table IV. A total of 441 students were surveyed for the CA stream and 151 for the commercial stream. All students in the class were requested to complete the questionnaire. A comparison of the racial demographics of the two streams with those of Statistics SA’s 2010 mid-year population estimates in Table III, indicates that the percentages for the racial spread among the two groups are nowhere near the spread for South Africa. Only the two main representative groups, namely Africans and Whites, will be discussed. The percentage of African candidates studying towards a CA is noticeably lower (19.91 per cent) than those studying towards commercial stream careers. Mokgabudi (2002) has the following to say in this regard: Young black people aspiring to become CAs enter the system at a significant disadvantage. Studying part-time is not a solution to entering the CA profession and unfortunately that is where most of our aspiring black CAs are found.

Although South Africa is in the process of transforming, it still has a long way to go in the transformation process in order to align the population group representation at various levels and specifically at the CA level, with SAICA (2010, 2011) currently having 14 per cent non-White (African, coloured and Indian) CA representation. As far as White students are concerned, with Black Economic Empowerment (BEE[1]) currently being enforced in most companies, it could be argued that many White candidates study towards the CA qualification mainly for job security. This is underscored by the results discussed in Section 4.2. A study conducted by Solidariteit Navorsingsinstituut (2010) on the number of CAs in South Africa, indicates that South Africa is indeed in the process of transformation. From 2002 to 2010, the number of African CAs increased from 301 to 1,738 (477.4 per cent), the number of coloured CAs from 208 to 764 (267 per cent) and the number of Indian CAs from 986 to 2,701 (174 per cent). There was a 37 per cent increase, from 18,998 to 25,957, in the number of White CAs. A comparison of the ages of the two streams indicates that for the CA stream respondents, the mean age was 19.16 and for the commercial stream, 19.32. Table IV indicates the tuition groups in which the respondents were divided. As mentioned earlier, UP has two tuition groups, English and Afrikaans. Table IV further indicates the number of respondents with bursaries. The results indicate that 31 per cent of the CA stream students had bursaries, compared with

Table III. Respondents’ demographic comparison

Population group

CA (%)

Non-CA (%)

South African population (%)

African Coloured Indian/other White Not answered Total

31.75 1.13 8.16 58.05 0.91 100.00

51.66 2.65 4.64 40.40 0.65 100.00

79.40 8.80 2.60 9.20 N/A 100.00

Note: Not answered – the respondent left this part of the questionnaire blank

256 (58.05) 114 (68) 141 (53) 76 (30) 180 (98) 47 (34) 209 (69) 61 (40.40) 27 (50) 32 (34) 36 (29) 25 (100) 1 (13) 60 (42)

140 (31.75) 36 (21) 104 (39) 140 (54) 0 (0) 78 (57) 62 (20) 78 (51.66) 22 (41) 55 (59) 78 (62) 0 (0) 7 (88) 71 (50)

White

0 (0) (0)

7 (6) 0 (0)

3 (6) 4 (4)

7 (4.64)

6 (4) 22 (7)

28 (11) 0 (0)

11 (7) 16 (6)

28 (6.35)

Indian

0 (0) 4 (3)

4 (3) 0 (0)

2 (4) 2 (2)

4 (2.65)

4 (3) 1 (0)

4 (2) 1 (1)

3 (2) 2 (1)

5 (1.13)

Coloured

0 (0) 7 (5)

0 (0) 0 (0)

0 (0) 0 (0)

0 (0.00)

2 (1) 6 (2)

5 (2) 3 (2)

4 (2) 4 (1)

8 (1.81)

Other

0 (0) 1 (1)

1 (1) 0 (0)

4

1 (0.66)

4 (1)

4 (2) 0 (0)

6

4 (0.91)

Not answereda

Notes: a The respondent left this part of the questionnaire blank; values within braces denote percentage

CA stream Number of respondents Gender Male Female Not answered Tuition group English group Afrikaans group Bursaries Students with a bursary Students without a bursary Commercial stream Number of respondents Gender Male Female Not answered Tuition group English group Afrikaans group Bursaries Students with a bursary Students without a bursary

Black

58 42 31 69

257 (100) 184 (100) 137 (100) 304 (100)

36 62 3 83 17 5 95

54 (100) 93 (100) 4 126 (100) 25 (100) 8 (100) 143 (100)

151 (100.00)

38 61 1

Total (%)

168 267 6

441 (100.00)

Total

Why some students become CAs 63

Table IV. CA and non-CA stream demographic information

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5 per cent of the commercial stream students. The large number of bursaries available to CAs clearly acknowledges the fact that businesses are aware of the shortage of CAs. In the CA stream, 64 per cent of non-White students had bursaries, while in the commercial stream, 88 per cent had bursaries. This could arguably indicate that transformation in terms of education is indeed progressing. Table V indicates the professions of the students’ parents as rated by a frequency percentage. The results indicate that for both CA and commercial stream students, the mother’s profession was mainly teacher or educator. The students’ fathers had a wider spread of professions, with managers rating the highest in the CA stream students and engineers rating the highest in the commercial stream students. Figure 1 shows the professions chosen by the commercial stream students. The results indicate that investment management (10 per cent), law (11 per cent), economics (21 per cent) and financial management (23 per cent) were the professions represented the most by the commercial stream students. Profession

Table V. Profession of parents

Mothers Accountant/CA Businesswoman Manager Nurse Teacher/educator N/A Fathers Accountant/CA Businessman Doctor Engineer Manager Teacher N/A

CA stream (percentage of students) Non-CA stream (percentage of students) 4.6 2.3 5.4 0.5 18.8 30.8

2.7 2 2.6 6.6 17.9 23.2

7.9 6.6 2.0 6.6 9.8 3.9 25.4

4.0 2.0 3.3 4.6 4.0 3.3 34.4

25% 20% 15% 10% 5%

C En FA tre pr en eu O th r er va rio us

Figure 1. Non-CA stream students’ chosen profession/specialisation

La w Ec on om ic s M ar ke In te tin Fi rn g na al nc au i al di In tin m ve an g st ag m en em tm en Bu an t si ag ne em ss en m To an t ur ag is e m m en m an t a ge Q ua m en nt ity t su rv ey or

0%

The results of the 13th question included in the questionnaires (Appendices 1 and 2) were as follows. The CA stream students were requested to indicate why they wanted to become a CA. A total of 10 per cent indicated a wide area of working opportunities and/or job security, 0.7 per cent indicated that the career is financially rewarding, 1.6 per cent indicated that having a CA is a prestigious qualification and 4.5 per cent indicated that they loved accounting and/or had a passion for numbers. A total of 76.4 per cent did not give a reason. A question was also included (Appendix 2) for the commercial stream students to indicate why they did not wish to become a CA. A total of 11.3 per cent indicated that they perceived the field to be too difficult and/or they had not been allowed to study to become a CA, 2.6 per cent indicated that they perceived the profession to be too boring, while 7.9 per cent indicated that they did not like accounting. A total of 68.2 per cent did not give a reason. In the questionnaire (Appendix 2), a question was put to the commercial stream students asking whether they had ever considered studying to become a CA. Of the respondents, 61.6 per cent indicated that they had considered this option. This indicates that definite factors had contributed to their changing their minds. These factors were not explored in this study, but could be researched in a future study.

Why some students become CAs 65

4.2 Results: career choice factors Figure 2 (CA stream) shows that the main three factors for respondents studying to become a CA were as follows: (3c) aptitude for a subject matter, with a mean rating of 5.64; (4b) job satisfaction, with a rating of 5.83; and (2b) the availability of employment, rated as the most influential factor, with a mean score of 6.20. This finding correlates with the findings of Bundy and Norris (1992), who reported that job security was the most important factor for career choice for accounting students at Iowa State University in the USA. Figure 3 (commercial stream) shows that the main three factors for respondents not studying towards a CA qualification were as follows: (3c) aptitude for subject matter, with a mean rating of 3.87; (3b) years of formal education required, with a rating of 4.06; and (4b) job satisfaction rated as the most influential factor, with a mean score of 5.66. Career choice factors - CA Stream 7.00 6.20

6.00 5.00

5.83 5.64

5.41 4.94 4.26

4.40

4.16

4.04

3.75

4.00 2.97

3.00

2.59

2.00 1.00 1a) 1b) Influence 1c) Influence Association of teachers of parents with other professionals in the field

1d) Influence of peers

2a) Potential of future earnings

2b) Availability of employment

3a) Cost of education degree

Note: Scale: 7 = very important, 1 = not important

3b) Years of formal education required

3c) Aptitute for a subject matter

4a) Social status

4b) Job satisfaction

4c) Previous work experience

Figure 2. Career choice factors: means (CA)

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Career choice factors - Commercial Stream 6.00

5.66

5.00 4.06

4.00 3.00

66

3.41

3.67

3.47

3.87

3.80

3.38 3.06

2.84 2.44

2.42

2.00 1.00 -

Figure 3. Career choice factors: means (non-CA stream)

1a) 1b) Influence 1c) Influence Association of teachers of parents with other professionals in the field

1d) Influence of peers

2a) Potential of future earnings

2b) Availability of employment

3a) Cost of education degree

3b) Years of formal education required

3c) Aptitute for a subject matter

4a) Social status

4b) Job satisfaction

4c) Previous work experience

Note: Scale: 7 = very important, 1 = not important

Table VI provides a comparison of the mean scores for the 12 career choice factors tested. The survey rated the factors by means of a seven-point Likert scale, with 1 as not important and 7 as very important. When the means of the two streams were compared, the results indicated significant differences for eight of the 12 factors. Three out of four (75 per cent) external influence factors differed significantly, and it is interesting to note that the means for the commercial stream students were lower than those for the CA students for all of these factors. Two out of three (66.67 per cent) personal wellbeing factors differed significantly, and it is again interesting to note that the means for the commercial stream students were lower than those for the CA students for all the factors in the group. Both employment remuneration and security factors differed significantly. Here, again the means for the commercial stream students were lower than those for the CA students for all the factors in the group. Regarding the educational influence factors, only one out of three (33.33 per cent) differed significantly. Again, all the means for the commercial stream students were lower than those for the CA students for all the factors in the group. All the mean scores for each of the 12 factors were higher for the CA students than for the commercial students. The reason for this is unknown. It could be argued that the views of the CA students towards the CA as a chosen profession were extremely positive. It could further be argued that these views were more positive (higher in mean value) than the factors that influenced the commercial students not to study to become a CA. It is also possible that the commercial students were not overly concerned about career choices per se. The means of the students’ ages when making their career choices were 16.57 and 17.37 for the CA and commercial streams, respectively. Owing to these mean ages being at high school level, one would think that, at such an age, teachers, peers and parents would have an influence on the career choices of students. The results in Table VI indicate that the influence of teachers, parents and peers were low in comparison with the other factors. 5. Conclusions and implications The aim of this paper was to obtain information on the career choice factors that have the most influence on decision of first-year accounting students to pursue (or not) CA studies. The results show that the three most important factors for CA students were

Influence of other professionals Influence of parents Influence of educational cost Influence of teachers on choice Potential earnings Employment availability Influence of required years Aptitude influence Influence of friends Influence of social status Influence of job satisfaction Influence of work experience 8 3 12 6 2 10

4.16 (1.79) 5.64 (1.29) 2.59 (1.57) 4.40 (1.70) 5.83 (1.20) 3.75 (2.01)

Educational influence

Personal wellbeing

7

4.26 (1.94) 4 1

9 11

4.04 (1.97) 2.97 (1.80)

5.41 (1.19) 6.20 (1.15)

5

Ranking .

4.94 (1.65)

CA stream mean (SD)

Employment remuneration and security

External influence

Group

3.06 (1.92)

5.66 (1.62)

3.87 (1.88) 2.42 (1.58) 3.80 (1.85)

4.06 (1.85)

3.67 (1.86) 3.38 (2.06)

3.47 (2.05)

2.44 (1.79) 2.84 (2.02)

3.41 (1.89)

Non-CA stream mean (SD)

9

1

3 12 4

2

5 8

6

11 10

7

Ranking

0.69

0.16

1.77 0.17 0.60

0.10

1.74 2.82

0.79

1.61 0.12

1.53

Difference between means

3.670 0.000 *

1.136 0.257

10.699 0.000 * 1.152 0.250 3.496 0.001 *

0.578 0.564

10.710 0.000 * 15.631 0.000 *

4.085 0.000 *

9.205 0.000 * 0.663 0.508

8.805 0.000 *

t-stat. p-value

Notes: Significant at: *1 per cent level (two tailed); where: means represent the average of ratings (1-7) for each career choice variable; scale: 7 – very important and 1 – not important; rating as per the mean scores, with 1 the lowest and 12 the highest

4c

4b

3b 3c 4a

3a

2a 2b

1d

1b 1c

1a

No. Career choice factor

Why some students become CAs 67

Table VI. Mean comparison of career choice factors for CA students and non-CA students

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aptitude for accounting, job satisfaction and the availability of employment. The results further indicated that the three main reasons why non-CA students decided not to become CAs were aptitude for accounting, years of formal education required and job satisfaction. The means of all the career choice factors were higher for the CA stream students than for the commercial stream students. The researchers attribute this to the fact that CA students may, on average, be more career oriented than their non-CA student counterparts. The fact that their career choice factor scores were higher could also be a reflection of their focus on and their loyalty to the accounting profession. The fact that job satisfaction was an important reason for both CA and non-CA students in their career choice could mean that non-CA students believed they had made a positive choice to pursue another career or that they had a negative impression of the prospects of enjoying job satisfaction as a CA. This point could be clarified in future research on career choice. The non-CA students’ most important reason for not pursuing CA studies, at 11.3 per cent, was that they perceived this field to be too difficult. The number of years of formal education required was the second most important factor for the non-CA group not to pursue CA studies and this relates to the strenuous nature of the CA course, including technical difficulty and number of years of study. A small percentage (2.6 per cent) of the respondents indicated that accounting was too boring, while 7.9 per cent indicated that they did not like the subject. If SAICA wishes to overcome this obstacle, lowering standards and reducing the number of years of university study could be considered. Since the availability of employment was highly rated by CA students as a reason for their career choice, SAICA could consider further emphasising this factor in its marketing efforts. Since job satisfaction also featured prominently in CA students’ career choice, a campaign could be considered in which CAs could explain why they experience job satisfaction, be it as an accountant, auditor, academic, entrepreneur or manager. This study had some limitations. The sample in the study could arguably have been biased, because only one university’s first-year accountancy students were included in the survey. In addition, the particular classes surveyed could have been unique because of certain lecturer attributes. Future research could extend the sample to more classes, other universities and to non-business students. Note 1. BEE requires companies with more than 50 employees to ensure that Black South Africans are represented at all levels (especially the senior levels) of management in the company. Because Blacks are often not yet well represented at senior levels, this means they are promoted over similarly qualified Whites.

References Auyeung, P. and Sands, J. (1997), “Factors influencing accounting students’ career choice: a cross-cultural validation study”, Accounting Education, Vol. 6 No. 1, pp. 13-23. Bundy, P. and Norris, D. (1992), “What accounting students consider important in the job selection process”, Journal of Applied Business Research: Laramie, Vol. 8 No. 2, pp. 1-6.

Byrne, M. and Willis, P. (2005), “Irish secondary students’ perceptions of the work of an accountant and the accounting profession”, Accounting Education: An International Journal, Vol. 14 No. 4, pp. 367-81. Carnegie, G.D. and Napier, C.J. (2009), “Traditional accountants and business professionals: portraying the accounting profession after Enron”, Accounting, Organizations and Society, Vol. 9 No. 2, pp. 1-17. De Clercq, B. and Venter, J.M.P. (2009), “Factors influencing a prospective chartered accountant’s level of financial literacy: an exploratory study”, Meditari Accountancy Research, Vol. 17 No. 2, pp. 47-60. Fedoryshyn, M.W. and Tyson, T.N. (2003), “The impact of practitioner presentations on student attitudes about accounting”, Journal of Education for Business, May/June. Felton, S., Buhr, N. and Northey, M. (1994), “Factors influencing the business student’s choice of a career in chartered accountancy”, Issues in Accounting Education, Vol. 9 No. 1. Ferreira, A. and Santoso, A. (2008), “Do students’ perceptions matter? A study of the effect of students’ perceptions on academic performance”, Accounting and Finance, Vol. 48, pp. 209-31. Gul, F.A., Huang, A. and Subramaniam, N. (1992), “Cognitive style as a factor in accounting students’ perceptions of career choice factors”, Psychological Reports, Vol. 71, pp. 1275-81. Huang, A. (1992), “An integrated human information processing study of managers’ and auditors’ decisions on foreign currency translation methods”, unpublished PhD thesis, Griffith University, Brisbane. Jackling, B. and Calero, C. (2006), “Influences on undergraduate students’ intentions to become qualified accountants: evidence from Australia”, Accounting Education: An International Journal, Vol. 15 No. 4, pp. 419-38. KPMG (2008), Consulting web, available at: www.consultingweb.co.za/index.php?option¼com_ content&task¼view&id¼1095&Itemid¼117 (accessed 5 June 2010). Kullberg, D.R., Gladstone, W.L., Scanlon, P.R., Cook, J.M., Groves, R.J., Horner, L.D., O’malley, S.F. and Kangas, E.A. (1989), “Perspectives on education: capabilities for success in the accounting profession”, The Big 8 White Paper, New York, NY. Mail & Guardian (2008), “USA faces shortage of qualified accountants”, November, available at: www.mg.co.za/article/2008-11-05-sa-faces-shortage-of-qualified-accountants (accessed 23 March 2010). Mokgabudi, T. (2002), “Siyangquoba: a focus on quality”, Sowetan, 8 May. Myburgh, J.E. (2005), “An empirical analysis of career choice factors that influence first-year accounting students at the University of Pretoria: a cross-racial study”, Meditari Accountancy Research, Vol. 13 No. 2, pp. 35-48. O’Connor, J.P. and Kinnane, J.F. (1961), “A factor analysis of work values”, Journal of Counselling Psychology, Vol. 8, pp. 263-7. Paolillo, J.P. and Estes, R.W. (1982), “An empirical analysis of career choice factors among accountants, attorneys, engineers, and physicians”, The Accounting Review, Vol. 57 No. 4, pp. 785-93. SAICA (2010), SAICA Strategy, Transformation and Skills Shortage, South African Institute of Chartered Accountants, available at: http://mg.co.za/article/2008-11-05-sa-faces-shortageof-qualified-accountants (accessed 23 March 2010).

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SAICA (2011), “New data reveal a dramatic increase in black chartered accountants and pipeline continues to expand 2009-40-30”, South African Institute of Chartered Accountants, available at: www.saica.co.za/tabid/36/itemid/1448/New-data-reveal-a-dramatic-increasein-black-chart.aspx (accessed 19 January 2011). Solidariteit Navorsingsinstituut (2010), South African Transformation Monitor (SAT Monitor), September, available at: www.solidarityresearch.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/SATMONITOR-09-201021.pdf Statistics SA (2010), Statistical Release P0302, available at: www.statssa.gov.za/publications/ P0302/P03022010.pdf (accessed 18 January 2011). Super, D.E. (1957), Psychology of Careers, Harper & Row, New York, NY. Tan, L.W. and Laswad, F. (2006), “Students’ beliefs, attitudes and intentions to major in accounting”, Accounting Education: An International Journal, Vol. 15 No. 2, pp. 167-87. Torgerson, W.S. (1958), Theory and Methods of Scaling, Wiley, New York, NY. Wells, P. and Fieger, P. (2005), “Accounting: perceptions of influence high school teachers in the USA and NZ”, Research Paper Series, Paper 18-2005, Faculty of Business Auckland University of Technology, Auckland. Wessels, P.L. and Steenkamp, L.P. (2009), “An investigation into students’ perceptions of accountants”, Meditari Accountancy Research, Vol. 17 No. 1, pp. 117-32. Further reading Heiat, A., Brown, D. and Johnson, D.M. (2007), “An empirical analysis of underlying factors affecting the choice of accounting major”, Journal of College Teaching and Learning, Vol. 4 No. 8. Corresponding author Cilliers van Zyl can be contacted at: [email protected]

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Why some students become CAs

Appendix 1. Students’ choice to become a CA

Questionnaire Classificatory information Question

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Answer

What is your age? What race are you? (black, coloured, Indian, white, other) What is your gender? (male/female) Did you attend a private or a public school? Do you have a bursary? Y/N How old were you when you made your career choice? Please answer all the questions. No. 1

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Question On a scale of 1 to 7, how would you rate the influence of potential earnings on your choice to become a CA? (Please write down the number in the block supplied on the right.) Not important 1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5 – 6 – 7 Very important Would you still have chosen the career path of a CA if the potential earnings had not been as rewarding?-Y/N On a scale of 1 to 7, how would you rate the influence of other CAs on your choice to become a CA? (Please write down the number in the block supplied on the right.) Not important 1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5 – 6 – 7 Very important Did previous encounters with a CA influence your choice to become a CA? Y/N or N/A if no encounters are applicable. On a scale of 1 to 7, how would you rate the influence your parents had on your choice to become a CA? (Please write down the number in the block supplied on the right.) Not important 1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5 – 6 – 7 Very important Did your parents have an influence on your career choice to become a CA? Y/N What are your parents’ professions? or Mother (if applicable) N/A Father (if applicable) On a scale of 1 to 7, how would you rate the influence of educational cost on your choice to become a CA? (Please write down the number in the block supplied on the right.) Not important 1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5 – 6 – 7 Very important Do you think the financial cost of studying to become a CA explains why some students do not study to become a CA? Y/N On a scale of 1 to 7, how would you rate the influence of social status on your career choice? (Please write down the number in the block supplied on the right.) Not important 1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5 – 6 – 7 Very important

Answer

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On a scale of 1 to 7, how would you rate the influence of job satisfaction on your career choice? (Please write down the number in the block supplied on the right.) Not important 1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5 – 6 – 7 Very Important Did you choose the CA profession to ensure job satisfaction? Y/N On a scale of 1 to 7, how would you rate the influence of the required years of study on your choice to become a CA? (Please write down the number in the block supplied on the right.) Not important 1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5 – 6 – 7 Very important Do you think the years it requires to become a CA have an influence on others not studying towards the CA profession? Y/N On a scale of 1 to 7, how would you rate the influence of your aptitude on your choice to become a CA? (Please write down the number in the block supplied on the right.) Not important 1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5 – 6 – 7 Very important Did your aptitude (natural ability or skill at doing something) for accounting have an influence on your choice to become a CA? Y/N On a scale of 1 to 7, how would you rate the influence of teachers at school on your choice to become a CA? (Please write down the number in the block supplied on the right.) Not important 1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5 – 6 – 7 Very important Did your teachers at school have an influence on your career choice to become a CA? Y/N On a scale of 1 to 7, how would you rate the influence of your friends on your choice to become a CA? (Please write down the number in the block supplied on the right.) Not important 1 – 2 – 3 –4 – 5 – 6 – 7 Very important Did your friends have an influence on your career choice to become a CA? Y/N On a scale of 1 to 7, how would you rate the influence of work experience on your choice to become a CA? (Please write down the number in the block supplied on the right.) Not important 1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5 – 6 – 7 Very important If you have had previous work experience in the CA-related field, would you say that this work experience had an influence on your career choice to become a CA? Y/N or N/A On a scale of 1 to 7, how would you rate the influence of employment availability on your choice to become a CA? (Please write down the number in the block supplied on the right.) Not important 1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5 – 6 – 7 Very important Did the availability of employment have an influence on your career choice to become a CA? Y/N If there are any other reasons you would like to mention that influenced your choice to become a CA, please indicate them below. Alternatively, mark this section N/A. ______________________________________________________________________________ ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Thank you very much for completing this questionnaire

Why some students become CAs

Appendix 2. Business students’ choice not to become CAs

Questionnaire Classificatory information Question What is your age? What race are you? (black, coloured, Indian, white, other) What is your gender? (male/female) Did you attend a private or a public high school? Do you have a bursary? Y/N What profession are you studying towards? How old were you when you made your career choice? Have you ever considered studying to become a CA? Y/N

Answer

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On a scale of 1 to 7, how would you rate the influence of initial remuneration on your choice not to become a CA? Not important 1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5 – 6 – 7 Very important Would you have chosen the career path of a CA if the initial earnings were more rewarding? Y/N On a scale of 1 to 7, how would you rate the influence from other CAs on your choice not to become a CA? (Please write down the number in the block supplied on the right.) Not important 1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5 – 6 – 7 Very important Did previous encounters with a CA influence your choice not to become a CA? Y/N or N/A if no encounters are applicable. On a scale of 1 to 7, how would you rate the influence your parents had on your choice not to become a CA? (Please write down the number in the block supplied on the right.) Not important 1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5 – 6 – 7 Very important Would you say that your parents had an influence on your choice not to become a CA? Y/N What are your parents’ professions? or Mother (if applicable) N/A Father (if applicable) On a scale of 1 to 7, how would you rate the influence of educational cost on your choice to become a CA? (Please write down the number in the block supplied on the right.) Not important 1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5 – 6 – 7 Very important Do you think the financial cost of studying to become a CA is the reason why you did not chose to study towards becoming a CA? Y/N On a scale to 1 to 7, how would you rate the influence of social status on your career choice? (Please write down the number in the block supplied on the right.) Not important 1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5 – 6 – 7 Very important Do you think that the social status linked to the profession you have chosen is higher than the social status in the CA profession? Y/N

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On a scale of 1 to 7, how would you rate the influence of job satisfaction on your career choice? (Please write down the number in the block supplied on the right.) Not important 1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5 – 6 – 7 Very important Do you think that the profession you have chosen offers better job satisfaction than the CA profession? Y/N On a scale of 1 to 7, how would you rate the influence of years required to complete your studies on your current profession? (Please write down the number in the block supplied on the right.) Not important 1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5 – 6 – 7 Very important Do you think the approximate seven years required to become a CA, influenced you not to study towards a CA? Y/N On a scale of 1 to 7, how would you rate the influence of your aptitude on your choice to not become a CA? (Please write down the number in the block supplied on the right.) Not important 1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5 – 6 – 7 Very important Did your aptitude (natural ability or skill at doing something) or the lack there of in accounting-related matters have an influence on your choice not to become a CA? Y/N On a scale of 1 to 7, how would you rate the influence of teachers at school level or elsewhere, on your choice not to become a CA? (Please write down the number in the block supplied on the right.) Not important 1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5 – 6 – 7 Very important Did your teachers at school level or elsewhere, have an influence on your career choice not to become a CA? Y/N On a scale of 1 to 7, how would you rate the influence of your friends on your choice not to become a CA? (Please write down the number in the block supplied on the right.) Not important 1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5 – 6 – 7 Very important Did your friends have an influence on your career choice not to become a CA? Y/N On a scale of 1 to 7, how would you rate the influence of work experience on your choice not to become a CA? (Please write down the number in the block supplied on the right.) Not important 1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5 – 6 – 7 Very important If you have had previous work experience in the CA-related field, would you say that this work experience had an influence on your career choice not to become a CA? Y/N or N/A On a scale of 1 to 7, how would you rate the influence of employment availability on your choice not to become a CA? (Please write down the number in the block supplied on the right.) Not important 1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5 – 6 – 7 Very important Did the availability of employment have an influence on your career choice not to become a CA? Y/N If there are any other reasons you would like to mention that influenced your choice not to become a CA, please indicate them below (i.e. perceived to be too difficult, not worth the effort, too low pass rate at board exam level, etc. Alternatively mark this section N/A. _____________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________

Thank you for completing this questionnaire.

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