The determinants of performance in an accountancy degree programme

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Abstract
Earlier research into determinants of academic success in accounting has been conducted primarily in the USA, and has produced inconclusive results. The objective of this study is to investigate the impact of six variables (namely, gender, prior accounting knowledge, academic aptitude, mathematics background, previous working experience and age) on the performance of students in a three-year accountancy degree programme. It is conducted in another educational context, and with control over conditions that may account for the variable results of previous research. The sample comprises 526 students who enrolled in and successfully graduated at the end of a three-year accountancy degree programme in 1990. All the data (i.e., the six variables being investigated and three sets of yearly examination results) have been obtained from official university records. Descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, t-tests, and regression analysis are used to analyse the data. Generally, at the 0.05 significance level, the results show that males and those with previous working experience, and better academic aptitude and mathematics background, as well as younger students performed significantly better in the accountancy degree programme. However, it is found that students with prior (high school) accounting knowledge did not perform as well as students without prior knowledge. Implications of the findings are then discussed.