Accounting or Finance? The Role of Differential Career Beliefs on Undergraduate Students’ Choices of Major

Abstract

This study examines the role of four differential career beliefs on students’ decisions to major in accounting or finance. Differential career beliefs were calculated as the belief about an accounting versus a finance career for the following four career beliefs: interesting work, job security, job variety, and high earnings potential. Students’ background characteristics (such as age, gender, etc.) were included as control variables. A survey was administered to 271 accounting and finance majors enrolled in the first intermediate accounting course. Results indicate that the differential career belief about interesting work had the greatest impact on choices of major and that differential career beliefs about job security and high earnings potential were also significant. Our findings suggest that finance students would be more likely to choose accounting as a major if their beliefs about accounting involving interesting work could be increased.