This study develops model to identify factors to explain student examination performance in the first-level tertiary accounitng course at the University of Malaya. The absence of Published Malaysian research on this area has been the prime motiviation for this study. In addition, the influence of urban-rural residential status of students is studied: this is a unique feature of developing economies, hence neglected in studies of developed countries. Using stepwise multiple regression analysis, three academic factors are found to significantly explain 66% of the variations in performance. Having studied high-school accounting, mathematics and grades in high-school econemics are important predictors of performance. However, the socio-demographic variables of gender and residential status do not contribute signficantly to performance variablilty. The study's model compares favourably with the resluts of other published findings in the USA, Australia and Hong Kong.