High School Student's Perception of Accounting - Assignment Example

Most students prefer accounting as a major before graduating from high school or soon after entering college. In the Giladi survey, students are inquired to rate the importance of the following factors in their decision to major in accounting: The survey results show the most important factors are earnings prospects and prospects for a job. The least significant factors are the suggestions of counselors and family/friends. High schoolers choose accounting as a major for the reason that students believe it will lead to a professional chance with noteworthy earnings potential.

Accounting majors want to work for companies that offer viable remuneration and development opportunities. Pritchard (2004, pp154-155) conduct a student survey determining the role that perception of the accounting profession plays in the high schoolers' choice to major in accounting. The pessimistic perceptions that most pressurize business students to not major in accounting are: Recruiters in the accounting profession should boost their efforts to get more high school students interested in accounting careers.

They should launch mentoring and ad campaigns in an effort to offset the dot.com world's lucrative lure in the minds of high school students.  They should launch mentoring and ad campaigns in an effort to offset the dot.com world's lucrative lure in the minds of high school students. They also have to encounter the cliched perception of accountants as nerdy number crunchers. The accounting professionals should get back to the schools and let students know what the profession is all about.

Accounting, the industry should inform high schoolers, is all about decision-making and advising clients and developing personal and professional relationships with top companies. The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants began a program more than a year ago to mail educational materials about the profession to more than 4,100 high schools in the USA. The tutorial plans expressions for students to incorporate accounting techniques into a variety of subjects, from chemistry to history.

In one of the most admired lesson plans, students study to read and examine real companies' annual reports and find out if they are good investments. Another provides students with a hypothetical accounting problem and asks them to solve it. That problem-solving aspect is key to selling the profession to students of high schools. Today the whole emphasis is on making decisions. The role of the accountant has changed, as one has to understand the business first and accounting second and know how to leverage information to make decisions.

But unfortunately, it is not the way high schoolers are trained.Accounting firms should also use business-education programs to get more face time with high schoolers.