Abstract This study examines the correlation between the decision of business majors to choose a career as a chartered accountant (CA) and: (1) the importance attached to intrinsic rewards, financial remuneration, and job market factors in career selection; (2) the student's impression of chartered accountancy; and (3) exposure to high school accounting. Employing a survey of 897 business majors, t-tests were used to compare responses of students choosing the CA profession and those opting for nonaccounting careers. Discriminant analysis was used to assess the ability of six factors to distinguish between these two groups. Results indicate that, compared to other business majors, students choosing chartered accountancy: (1) place less importance on intrinsic factors and initial earnings; (2) more heavily emphasize long-term earnings and job market conditions; (3) perceive a higher benefit/cost ratio to being a CA (RATIO); and (4) have had more exposure to high school accounting. The most important variable for differentiating the two groups is RATIO.
Felton et al. (Tue,) studied this question.