Reversing the decreasing trend of students majoring in accounting

Abstract

Purpose

To provide accounting practitioners and educators some of the reasons for the decreasing trend of students majoring in accounting and describe some of the activities that can be undertaken by accounting educators and practitioners to reverse the trend.

Design/methodology/approach

A range of published (1995‐2005) publications, which aim to show the reasons for the decreasing trend of students majoring in accounting, are reviewed. A study was conducted at a regional US university identifying – when student made the decision to major in accounting; the influence accounting instructors had on their decision to major in accounting; and the influence of the courses Managerial and Financial Accounting on their decision to major in accounting.

Findings

The majority of students majoring in accounting decide their major prior to their first university accounting course. A significant percentage of accounting majors rate accounting instructors as having no or minimal influence on their decision to major in accounting. A majority of students rate the Managerial and Financial Accounting courses as significantly impacting their decision to major in accounting.

Originality/value

This paper identifies the importance of accounting practitioners and educators working together to more actively recruit students to major in accounting. The paper provides suggestions for accounting practitioners and educators to become more active in recruiting students to major in accounting.

Citation

Smith, G. (2005), "Reversing the decreasing trend of students majoring in accounting", Managerial Auditing Journal, Vol. 20 No. 9, pp. 936-944. https://doi.org/10.1108/02686900510625280