AN EMPIRICAL INVESTIGATION OF FACTORS RELATED TO STUDENT PERFORMANCE IN ACCOUNTING INFORMATION SYSTEMS

Abstract

This study examines the association between several motivation, distraction, effort, and prior-ability factors and student performance in an undergraduate Accounting Information Systems (AIS) course. The study aims to identify motivation and distraction factors with the purpose of emphasizing the former and discouraging the latter in the AIS course. It also aims to expand on the scare literature that exists on student performance in AIS courses. In this study, the intended grade in the course and the intention to take the CPA exam or to attend graduate school do not appear to motivate students to improve their performance in the AIS course. The number of work hours, and work type or course load do not show any significant negative association to student performance. The effort that students exert studying for the course has some significant positive association with student performance. Overall GPA and the grade obtained in the prerequisite Management Information Systems course are strong predictors of student performance in the AIS course. Keywords: Accounting Information Systems; AIS; motivations; efforts; distractions; prior abilities; student performance.