Effect of high school students’ perception of accounting on their acceptance of using cloud accounting

Abstract

ABSTRACT This study explores the role of the perceived image of accounting in determining key variables that influence high school accounting students’ acceptance of using cloud accounting as a new technology. We adopted the technology acceptance model (TAM) as its theoretical framework. High school accounting students enrolled in the ‘Kyoto Subaru High School Career Course Business Game (KCB)’ at a mid-sized commercial high school in Japan were the participants. During the KCB, the students engaged in learning interventions using business games that incorporated cloud accounting. We found that high school students’ image of accounting as a decision-making tool is important to strengthen the perceived usefulness of cloud accounting on their intention to use its technology. However, we could not demonstrate that students’ accounting perceptions moderate another significant TAM path between perceived ease of cloud accounting use and intention of its technology use. These results provide new insights regarding effective and relevant ways to offer students more opportunities to use the new technology and gain hands-on experiences in the accounting education curriculum.