The Nature and Origins of Students' Perceptions of Accountants

In this research, the authors examined accounting and nonaccounting majors' impressions of accountants through a survey listing 58 characteristics. The results show that many students stereotypically perceived accountants as numbers crunchers and that nonaccounting majors held more negative perceptions of accountants than did accounting majors. Accountants generally were seen as professional but not particularly personable. The authors also examined the sources of those impressions. Among all majors, impressions formed from exposure to movies, television, and accounting courses were more negative than impressions based on relationships with accountants whom they knew. The authors discuss ways to improve the image of accountants.