Abstract
This study has the following goals: to analyse the image of and the interest in the accounting profession; to identify any possible differences in perception among the respondent groups; to identify the individual characteristics influencing the perception; to propose an explanatory model of the interest in the profession. The respondents were the members of three social groups composing the profession's value chain: 105 financial officers of the biggest 500 Portuguese companies; 412 chartered accountants; 235 students majoring in accounting. The data collected show that there are no significant differences in perception regarding the image of and the interest in the accounting profession. Regarding the influence of the individual characteristics, the results obtained lead to the following conclusion: the third-year students with a higher average perceive a higher level of interest in the profession; the professionals with a higher academic degree and college graduates perceive a lower level of interest in the profession.
Highlights
The accounting profession's image continues to be a concern for researchers, but there are, contradictory results in the different studies already conducted (Carnegie and Napier, 2010; Enis, 2010; Jeacle, 2008; Parker, 2000; Pekdemir et al, 2013; Stivers and Onifade, 2014)
Given the literature reviewed that implements the Perceptions of Accounting Profession Instrument (PAPI) questionnaire to different groups of students (Byrne and Wills, 2005; Saemann and Crooker, 1999; Sugahara et al, 2008; Worthington and Higgs, 2003; 2004) and that suggests that the image of the accounting profession may vary depending on the group being surveyed (Dimnik and Felton, 2006), this study aims to conduct a more thorough research that examines the perception convergence on the accounting profession among three social groups that make up its value chain: the students being trained for the profession; the accountants themselves; and the managers of the organizations benefiting from the work of these professionals
5 – CONCLUSION This study was operationalized by formulating three research questions that aim to meet the following objectives: to analyse the perception of the image of and the interest in the profession; to identify any perception differences among the respondent groups; to identify the individual characteristics influencing the perception of the profession; to propose an explanatory model of the interest in the profession, depending on its image
Summary
The accounting profession's image continues to be a concern for researchers, but there are, contradictory results in the different studies already conducted (Carnegie and Napier, 2010; Enis, 2010; Jeacle, 2008; Parker, 2000; Pekdemir et al, 2013; Stivers and Onifade, 2014). To measure the perceptions about the accounting profession an instrument called Perceptions of Accounting Profession Instrument (PAPI) can be used. It was developed by Saemann and Crooker (1999), and subsequently used by other authors, but only on research work with student populations (Byrne and Willis, 2005; Sugahara et al, 2008; Worthington and Higgs, 2003; 2004). Prior research suggests the influence of the respondents’ individual characteristics in the perception of the profession (Askary et al, 2014; Flynn et al, 2015; Genç and Çal, 2015; Linnhoff et al, 2015; Murugesan and Dominic, 2013; Özkürkçüler et al, 2014; Pekdemir et al, 2013; Qasem and Abdullatif, 2014; Stivers and Onifade, 2014)
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