Communication Apprehension in Upper Level Accounting Students: An Assessment of Skill Development

Abstract The accounting profession and college accrediting bodies have placed major emphasis on the development of communications skills. Prior research has indicated that accounting students have a higher level of communication apprehension than students in other majors. In this study, accounting majors in two AACSB-accredited business programs were found to have significantly lower overall levels of communication apprehension than their non-accounting-major counterparts. However, further analysis indicated that, though accounting majors' apprehension level was lower in the area of public speaking, their group reticence was significantly higher compared with students not majoring in accounting.