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FeatureFigure 2Sources of career choice influenceNote: Based on Likert scale of 1 to 5, where 1= No influence; 2 = Unlikely influence;3 = Indifferent; 4 = Somewhat influence; 5 =Strong influenceStudentsʼ perception towards job as aChartered AccountantWe asked the students what they think about ajob as a CA. Eighteen factors that have beenidentified by Sugahara and Boland (2005) werereplicated and asked. Students were requiredto rate their agreements based on the Likertscaleof 1 to 5, where ʻ1” represents ʻstronglydisagreeʼ and ʻ5ʼ indicates ʻstrongly agreeʼ.Eight out of 18 attributes were rated above4 points – suggesting studentsʼ strongagreement. Among these attributes, studentsseem to view accountants as having high socialprestige and making a positive contribution tosociety. Students also view a career as anaccountant as intellectually challenging.Figure 3Perception towards job as a CAWhile students tend to think the job wouldrequire them to work overtime, they also agreethat it offers them a good salary, be it atentry level or over the long-term. Inaddition, they also believe that workingas an accountant will provide themwith good career advancementopportunity. Even though within thisperiod of economic uncertainty,students agree that job availability isnot a problem.As for the restof the othera t t r i b u t e s ,despite havebeen ratedbelow 4 points, themean scores indicatethat the respondentsare leaning moretowards ʻagreeʼ thanʻindifferentʼ. Thelowest score (mean =3.66) is on thestatement that theaccounting professionis dominated largely by men.Factors that deter students frombecoming a Chartered AccountantIt is interesting to note that students wereasked to rate certain attributes that mightdiscourage them from joining the profession.Many students rated ʻtoo much time to gain CAqualificationsʼ the most. Possibly, moststudents are of the opinion that the three yearsexperience requirements are discouraging. Itwas not unexpected that students also agreethat ʻchallenge to the workʼ, ʻtoo many hurdlesʼand ʻno time to relax in the first few yearsʼ areamong the factorsthat distance themfrom becoming anaccountant. It isinteresting to notethat students tend tothink that it isimportant to mastermathematics inorder to become aCA, although thescore is just slightlybelow ʻ4ʼ (i.e. agree).This indicates thatsome accountingstudents are stillNote: Based on Likertscale of 1 to 5, where1 = Strongly disagree;2 = Disagree;3 = Indifferent;4 = Agree;5 = Strongly agreevague as to what skills are needed to be anaccountant. Students also tend to agree (3< mean score < 4) that a job as an accountanthas a dull image but would cost a lot of moneyto become one. Recent businessdevelopments might also cause students tothink of the view of a lawsuit against anaccountant as a deterrent.Figure 4Factors that deter students from being aChartered AccountantConclusionThis paper has examined studentsʼ perceptionof a career as a Chartered Accountant. Wefind that the majority of respondents make theircareer choice decision during high school. Ourstudies reveal that parents are the main sourceof influence on their career choice decision.Studentsʼ perception towards a job as a CA isthat it provides good advancementopportunities and has a high social prestige.However, too much time to gain the CAqualification and challenges in the work in thefirst few years, are among factors thatdiscourage them from joining the profession.Selected ReferencesAbdullah, M. (2001). Akauntan profesional: PelajarMelayu bertanggapan lapuk, Pendidikan, UtusanMalaysia, 25 June, p.6.Hermanson, D.R., Hermanson, R.H. & Ivancevich,S.H. (1995), Are Americaʼs top business studentssteering clear of Accounting? Ohio CPA Journal,54(2):26-30.Paolillo, J.G.P. & Estes, R.W. (1982), An empiricalanalysis of career choice factors among accountants,attorneys, engineers, and physicians. AccountingReview, 57(4):785- 793Sugahara, S. & Boland, G. (2005), Perceptions of thecertified public accountants by accounting and nonaccountingtertiary students in Japan, Asian Reviewof Accounting, 14(1/2), 149-167.About the AuthorsShamharir Abidin and Nurwati Ashikkin hold aPhD degree in Accounting, and Accounting &Finance, respectively, from the University ofStirling, UK. Nadji Salmi holds a MSc degreein International Accounting.Please give feedback and comments toadmin@maref.org or directly to the authorMAREF REVIEW • 5