Personality Profiles as a Guide to Selecting the Accounting Major

This study explores the factors that influence a student's choice of major along with students' perceptions of accounting classes and the accounting profession The results indicate that students are most strongly influenced in their choice of major by a genuine interest in the subject matter. This finding is the same regardless of major and gender. Other influential factors include availability of employment, starting pay, and the ability to interact with people. The factor with the least amount of influence on selection of a major is the expected ease of earning a degree.

SSRN Electronic Journal, 2015

This study investigated the relationship between student personality based on the Five Factors model, the extent to which they retained learning outcomes of a first course in accounting after completing the course, and their educational backgrounds (major at university, graduates of commercial high schools, and attendance to private preparatory schools for qualification examinations concerning accounting and bookkeeping). Data were collected from 121 students at two universities. The results found no significant direct relationships between the five personality traits and the extent to which learning outcomes were retained (i.e., academic performance). In addition, the effect of combined traits on performance was limited. However, some traits significantly influenced performance depending on educational background. This study contributes to knowledge on the complex relationship between academic performance, personality, and educational background. This study also contributes methodologically to prior literature by measuring personality and academic performance using new measures.

Proceedings of the 2008 AFAANZ/ …, 2008

In this paper we examine the perceptions of first year undergraduate students about the image of accountants, accounting as a profession and the work accountants perform. We shed light on how accountants and the accounting profession are perceived by first year university students, examine factors that impact on the decision to major in accounting and, identify personality traits of students majoring in accounting.. Results indicate that, overall, the students in the sample held a traditional view of accounting and the work of an accountant. There was evidence to suggest that accounting majors perceive accounting to be less boring and more interesting than non-accounting majors. Several variables were found to influence the students' perceptions of accounting. Furthermore, students who enjoyed their prior study of accounting, studied year 12 in 2006 and perceived accounting to be less boring were found to be more likely to study an accounting major. Finally, overall, the students reported a fairly average level of creativity, there was no significant difference in creativity between accounting and non-accounting majors and the evidence suggests that students who are more creative perceive accounting to be better described by adjectives such as accuracy, details and thorough.

The Accounting Educators' Journal, 2019

Demand for accounting professionals is currently strong and is expected to remain so into the foreseeable future. As accounting programs help satisfy demand, recruiting and retaining the best students is important. While existing research has examined what factors lead students to choose accounting as a major, research on the success of recruitment and retention efforts is minimal. This paper examines the success of recruitment and retention efforts by the accounting department at a state university in the southeast. Each semester the department recruits successful students enrolled in the first introductory accounting course, with the goal of encouraging high performing students to consider majoring in accounting. Once students become accounting majors, follow up occurs with out-of-the-classroom opportunities in students’ junior and senior years. A survey of graduates was conducted to determine the perceived usefulness of the recruitment and retention efforts. Results indicate that...

Birta-Székely Noémi (ed.): Tudás – Tanulás – Szabadság Neveléstudományi Konferencia – 2014, Babeş-Bolyai Tudományegyetem, Kolozsvár, pp. 223-227

This conference presentation aims to provide a deeper understanding of the contribution of personality to the academic performance. This effect, however, can be divided at least into two parts: (1) personality can enhance the performance in any educational institution independently of the curriculum (i.e. the personality fits the formal educational system); additionally (2) one’s personality can fit a profession, thus this person will show a better performance in the education if the curriculum is connected to the given profession. Our study tries to identify this two effects through the comparison of the contribution of the personality-profession match to the university admission scores (representing the performance not connected to a given profession) versus to the two semester average grade means (representing the performance connected to a profession) among students of the University of Debrecen Faculty of Economics and Business Administration. Our sample contained 372 students from BA in Business Administration and Management and BA in International Business Economics majors. Personality was measured with a written Myers–Briggs typology test. We used linear regression models for both the admission scores and the average grade means as dependents, where a dummy variable represented the personality-profession match. Our results supported the hypothesis that if a student’s personality type fits the economic or business career paths, it will positively contribute to the academic performance in the economic and business higher education, and this effect is independent of the personality’s possible impact on the general (not curriculum specific) academic performance.

Journal of Accounting in Emerging Economies, 2013

Purpose-The aim of this study is to explore whether there are statistically significant differences in the influence that various career-choice factors may have on a decision to choose accounting and non-accounting majors in Iran. The findings derived from this study could assist accounting educators and professional accounting bodies to understand the reasons why students may want to choose an accounting major. In this regard, the findings could help accounting academics and the policy makers in the accounting sector in Iran and in other similar countries develop appropriate strategies to attract proper students into the accounting programs and to recruit bright accounting graduates into the accounting profession. Design/methodology/approach-At the univariate level, t-tests of significant differences were performed in order to investigate the similarities and differences between the accounting and non-accounting students with respect to the importance placed on the career-choice factors. At the multivariate level, discriminant analysis was conducted in order to find out the important determinants of the choice of an accounting major. Moreover, t-test and ANOVA statistics were employed in order to explore whether differences in gender, age, and university affect each factor. Findings-The results reveal that the accounting students attach profound importance to financial and job-market factors and opinions of referents. Intrinsic factors, aptitude for and genuine interest in the subject, perception of the accounting course, and perception of the accounting profession are not found to have significant influence on students' decision to major in accounting. Originality/value-This study is unique in that it is the first empirical paper which explores Iranian students' perceptions of the career-choice factors in pursuing an accounting major.

Delhi Business Review, 2021

The study aims to investigate how the five dimensions of personality affect university students' choice of major. Design/Methodology/Approach: Big Five Inventory (BFI) was adopted with total 20 questions for the five dimensions. Through Convenience sampling, students were chosen from the departments of Criminal Justice, Nursing, Accounting, and Elementary Education. A t-test determined statistical differences by comparing the responses across various demographic categories. Findings: The results showed diverse findings about the Big Five Personality Dimensions and the choice of major. Female students were more conscientious, agreeable, and neurotic than male students. However, no significant difference was found in the openness to experience or extraversion dimension. Similarly, no remarkable difference is found among various age categories. Junior students were more agreeable than the senior students. Students with better academic performance were more conscientious and neurotic than others. Students taking more credits were more neurotic. Students showing childhood interests were found to be more open towards new experiences. Students of various majors also demonstrated different personality dimensions. Research Limitations: Future research may explore the possibility of using the complete instrument of BFI. This research limited its sampling to juniors and seniors only, which may not reflect the total student population. Managerial Implications: This study offered insights about the association of students' personality traits with their choice of major. The results can be taken as reference for higher learning institutions to select their prospective students and for students to choose their majors in certain institutions. Originality/Value: Future researchers may research and generalize findings beyond the current parameters of this study.

Personality and Individual Differences, 2015

Personality-performance research typically uses samples of psychology students without questioning their representativeness. The present article reports two studies challenging this practice. Study 1: Group differences in the Big Five personality traits were explored between students (N = 1,067) in different academic majors (medicine, psychology, law, economics, political science, science, and arts/humanities) who were tested immediately after university enrolment. Study 2: Six and a half years later the students' academic records were obtained, and predictive validity of the Big Five personality traits and their subordinate facets was examined in the various academic majors in relation to Grade Point Average (GPA). Significant group differences in all Big Five personality traits were found between students in different academic majors. Also, variability in predictive validity of the Big Five personality traits and facets was found between different academic majors; R 2 varied from .05 to .15 for the Big Five personality traits and from .16 to .57 for the Big Five facets. Complex patterns emerged; several Conscientiousness and Openness facets were good predictors of GPA in some majors, but not in others. The findings call for new directions in personality-performance research with broader sampling strategies and exploration of predictive validity of the Big Five facets.

Psychology and Education: A Multidisciplinary Journal, 2025

This study examines the predictors of academic performance among first-year accountancy students at the University of Eastern Philippines (UEP) to improve the program's admission policies. Utilizing a descriptive-correlational research design, the study analyzed demographic profiles, educational backgrounds, and academic performance across various subjects for 101 first-year students enrolled in the Bachelor of Science in Accountancy program during the academic year 2023-2024. Statistical tools such as Multivariate Analysis of Variance (MANOVA) were employed to explore relationships between variables and identify significant predictors of academic success. Results indicate that the majority of students are female and from the Accountancy Business and Management (ABM) strand in senior high school. Academic preparedness is evident in their outstanding high school grades, particularly in English, Science, and Math, yet significant variability exists in their performance across different accounting courses. Students excelled in foundational courses but faced challenges in advanced subjects like Intermediate Accounting 1 and 2. The comprehensive exam emerged as the most significant predictor of academic performance, highlighting the importance of cumulative assessments. In contrast, demographic factors such as sex, senior high school strand, and entrance exam results did not show a significant impact. These findings suggest a need for curriculum adjustments, enhanced student support, and refined admission criteria prioritizing comprehensive exam performance. By aligning entrance requirements with program demands, the BS Accountancy program can select candidates better equipped to excel academically, ultimately enhancing the program's quality and reputation.