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Determinants of accounting students' decision to pursue career as ACCA-

certified accountants: a case study of Omani students

Article in Management & Sustainability An Arab Review · January 2023

DOI: 10.1108/MSAR-09-2022-0043

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Determinants of accounting Students’

decision to
students’ decision to pursue career pursue career

as ACCA-certified accountants:
a case study of Omani students
Mohd Abass Bhat Received 24 September 2022
Revised 21 December 2022
College of Economics and Business Administration, Faculty in Accounting, Accepted 22 December 2022
University of Technology and Applied Sciences, Muscat, Oman, and
Shagufta Tariq Khan
Department of Logistics, Tourism, and Service Management, Faculty in Accounting,
German University of Technology (GUtech), Muscat, Oman

Abstract
Purpose – The aim of this study was to examine the determinants of accounting students’ decision to pursue a
career path.
Design/methodology/approach – Quantitative approach was used to analyze the impact of independent
variables (career exposure, self-competence, financial award, work environment, social values and market
factors) on dependent variable (career path). Data were collected from 264 students of University of Technology
and Applied Sciences, Oman. Structural equation modeling technique was mainly utilized to determine the
causal relationship between the variables.
Findings – The most influencing factor is financial award followed by market factors and work environment.
However, other variables such as career exposure and self-competence though significantly determine career
path of the students but are the least contributors to the model. In addition, social value was found insignificant
and negative contributor to the model.
Practical implications – The findings of the current study confirm the propositions of the theory of planned
behavior that student’s decision to pursue career as ACCA-certified accountants is shaped by attitudinal factors as
well as subjective norms factors and perceived behavior control. This study’s theoretical findings can be used to
supplement empirical evidence on impact of career exposure, self-competence, financial awards, work environment,
social values and market factors to take the ACCA exam (career path). The implications of this research for academic
institutions include providing convenience for students, such as ACCA exam scholarship offers if they have
graduated with cum laude and obtained work experience because ACCA involves time and money to participate in.
Originality/value – There has been virtually little research in Oman on this subject though. Investigating
Omani accounting students’ aspirations to work in public accounting adds additional insight into the field.
Keywords Career exposure, Career path, Financial award, Market factors, Self-competence, Social value,
Work environment
Paper type Research paper

Introduction
The pace of technological and industrial growth is accelerating during the current era of
globalization, and there is fierce competition for employment (Genkin et al., 2020). One of the
most crucial considerations students have in their academic lives is which specialty to pursue
in order to get employment and develop a successful career. Business students typically have
the choice to specialize in a topic of interest at some point throughout their academic career
around the world. Even though most business schools do provide their students with a
variety of different career paths, most of which are in traditional business disciplines,
empirical studies show that the number of students choosing to major in accounting is Management & Sustainability: An
Arab Review
consistently declining in various regions of the world (Tang and Seng, 2016). Because © Emerald Publishing Limited
2752-9819
accountants are still in short supply in the majority of countries, the steady decline in DOI 10.1108/MSAR-09-2022-0043
MSAR enrollment in accounting programs has been a major source of concern for those involved in
the field (Billiot et al., 2004; Porter and Woolley, 2014; Drewery et al., 2020). The challenge of
luring students to pursue an accounting degree at the university level, as Jackling and
Keneley (2009) point out, is a significant factor in the shortages of professional accountants in
many regions of the world. The choice of a person’s career is typically thought to be a complex
process that is challenging to anticipate and understand (Lent and Brown, 2019). According
to Xu (2017), graduates typically choose careers that align with their academic
specializations. It follows that choosing a specialization is important for students’ career
goals, and it is therefore important for the supply of accounting professionals. This helps to
explain why the choice of specialization has become one of the most current topics to garner
major study attention in the field of accounting education in recent years.
Society has traditionally perceived accounting as a demanding, tiresome and repetitive
field of study and, consequently, job option. Prior accounting research has reported these
unfavorable impressions (e.g. Xue and Zan, 2022). While business students who have trouble
doing the necessary calculations and measurements are less likely to choose accounting as a
specialization to study, accountants often perform numerical accuracy, routine recording and
measuring skills. A new generation of professional accountants with a wide range of
knowledge, skills and talents that differ dramatically from those of previous decades is
unavoidably needed for the accounting profession of today (Praulins et al., 2022). According
to many surveys, first-year students around the world have trouble choosing a career path
(France et al., 2022). Each accounting degree has the option to choose which professional path
to take based on the various occupations that it may lead to. However, there are a number of
choices available to accounting graduates once they graduate, the most popular of which
being becoming an Association of Chartered Certified Accountant (ACCA). An ACCA works
for a public accounting firm that offers auditing, tax, consulting and other accounting
services to companies, organizations and individuals. The two most crucial factors that
significantly influence students’ decisions are specializations and the job market. Many
positions in the government, commercial sector, insurance industry, banking industry and
other specialties in accounting are available (Samsuri et al., 2016). In order to offer more career
sustainability and growth prospects, universities are now placing more focus on enhancing
graduates’ abilities to take charge of their own careers.
The research challenge is addressed in this study’s intriguing context of Oman, one of the
world’s fastest-growing economies with one of the highest-quality education systems, adding
to the body of knowledge (Neuchimidt et al., 2022). According to a UN report, Oman is leading
the GCC nations in reaching the sustainable education targets set by the organization for the
year 2022. (Times of Oman, June 26, 2022). Due to the Omani economy’s recent, rapid growth,
there is now a much greater requirement for qualified accountants than there are qualified
Omani workers to fill the available labor shortage. This study attempts to fill the enormous
gap in the literature by investigating the Omani educational system. Oman is fascinating
research setting for a number of other factors, such as globalization, transnational education
in developing nations and internationalization of education (Albusaidi, 2022). As a
component of the development of human capital and a cornerstone of the knowledge
economy, the national policy stated in Oman Vision 2040 also addressed the support of
high-quality education.
The literature on accounting education has largely focused in recent years on the factors
that may influence students in choosing accounting as their area of specialization and the
factors that motivate accounting students to pursue a career in accounting (Jackling and
Calero, 2006; Gill and Kawada, 2021; Bekoe et al., 2018; Awadallah and Elgharbawy, 2021).
Numerous studies have been done to look at crucial elements impacting accounting students’
career decisions in varied contexts (e.g. Abdo, 2016; Fernando and Ratnasari, 2022). However,
Oman has only done a tiny bit of research in this area. By analyzing Omani accounting
students’ plans to pursue the ACCA, we add something new to the body of accounting Students’
literature. The theory of planned behavior (TPB) model (Ajzen, 2020) is also used in this study decision to
to deepen our understanding of how accounting students in Oman choose their careers. The
findings of this study are anticipated to have significant significance for professional
pursue career
accounting businesses and accounting educators when developing strategies to draw
students from the GCC as well as Oman.
This study is unique from others because it may be the first empirical investigation on the
variables that may affect the intentions of students studying in Oman to choose an
accounting career. It was motivated by these reasons. Additionally, the study collected and
analyzed quantitative data to create more thorough understanding required supporting
theory and practice.

Literature review and development of hypotheses

Many academics have looked at what might persuade or deter students from pursuing
careers in accounting (Dalci and Ozyapici, 2018; Schoenfeld et al., 2017). These determinants
include the availability of employment, prestige, job-market conditions and opportunities,
employment security, career growth, lifestyle choices and partnership prospects (Wong et al.,
2017; Binder, 2016; Amaning et al., 2020). Along with these traits, others that could have an
impact on an accountant’s work include intelligence, self-concept, personal interest and
ambition, lack of encouragement, self-desire and philosophy (Gracia and Jenkins, 2002;
Van Wyk, 2011). We tried to investigate the important factors, which are briefly reviewed as
follows.

Career exposure and career path

In this study, the term “career exposure” refers to the pupils’ exposure to information on
careers. Majority of the accounting students acquire career exposure through professional
accounting groups (Tetteh et al., 2021). According to Ghani and Said (2009), it is crucial that
students learn about the nature of an accountant’s job and the kind of careers it offers. One
can choose a career more wisely with more exposure to career-related knowledge. According
to earlier studies, professional practitioners’ occupational exposure to students may have
influenced their decision to pursue a particular job (Jackson, 2015; Arthur and Nunes, 2014). In
one of the institutions in Malaysia, Ghani et al. (2008) conducted a study that resulted in the
collection of 802 questionnaires from first- and last-year students. The findings indicated that
just over half of the students had experienced exposure during their time in college. The
exposure came via lectures, career presentations offered by organizations of professional
accountants and counseling sessions. On the other hand, Hutaibat (2012) found that
accounting students prefer public accounting as their career choice over management
accounting area due to lack of seminars, workshops and tutorials organized by their
universities. The study examined factors influencing students to be interested in pursuing
management accounting careers. As a result, when it comes to job opportunities in the field of
management accounting, students are insufficiently informed and lack necessary
information. This study makes a case for the value of career exposure to students’
preferred career routes. Consequently, this results in the following hypothesis:
H1. There is a positive relationship between career exposure and career path as an
ACCA-certified accountant.

Self-competence and career path

According to Dias (2013), one of the elements influencing a student’s decision on a career
route is their personal interests. Compared to students who pick nonaccounting majors,
MSAR students who choose accounting as a specialization have a strong background in
mathematics and less developed writing abilities. This shows that, in contrast to students
who select nonaccounting majors, students who fall into this category seem to understand
that they have what it takes to pursue the accounting profession. Additionally, Ali and Tinggi
(2013) discovered that a student’s choice of major is significantly influenced by their prior
academic performance. Cox (2016) contends that majority of the students decide to major in
accounting after graduating from high school and before enrolling in college. Bouilheras et al.
(2021) discovered, on the other hand, that students in their final year of higher education have
a better understanding of what accounting entails and scarcely have a negative image of an
accountant. Self-motivation can be said to influence accountants’ careers (Ud Din et al., 2018).
Self-competence in accounting students has an impact on their career path because it
improves the quality of the profession and the employment options available to them, as well
as their perceptions of what it takes to be a public accountant (Alawattage, 2021). Further
study is necessary to determine the relationship between students’ major choice and their
individual interests and aptitudes in the light of the ambiguous data shown above. Therefore,
it is suggested that the students’ individual interests and aptitudes may serve as a guide to
their chosen major. The following hypothesis is developed in order to aid the empirical tests.
H2. There is a positive relationship between self-competence and career path as an
ACCA-certified accountant.

Financial awards and career path

Becoming a public accountant is a sporadic but relatively high-paying career, or a reaction to
become a public accountant can result in wages that are above average when compared to
other professions. This indicates that a growing number of accounting students and
graduates are choosing this career path due to the high pay (Raharja and Liany, 2020).
Maslow’s theory of the hierarchy of needs, specifically the physiological needs, which state
that a person must have enough food, drink and money to meet the level of basic needs, is
where the relationship between the theoretical underpinning and the variable of financial
rewards on accountant careers is found. The most significant influences on accounting
students’ decision to major in accounting were, according to Frankel et al. (2002), the
availability of accounting positions, decent salaries and interesting/exciting profession.
According to Nicol (2010), students’ opinions of accounting alter over the course of their
education and are differently related with costs and advantages. According to Dalcı et al.
(2013), accounting students place a greater emphasis on financial and job market variables,
and their perceptions significantly affect their decision to pursue a career in the profession.
According to Ramadhan and Hudiwinarsih (2015), salaries and the length of the labor market
are the two key criteria that students take into account while choosing an accounting job.
According to Laksmi and Al Hafis (2019), the desire of accounting students to work as public
accountants in Indonesia is favorably influenced by financial incentives and labor market
factors. Based on the above discussion, this study hypothesizes that:
H3. There is a positive relationship between financial awards and career path as an
ACCA-certified accountant.

Work environment and career path

One of the important factors that affect the productivity of public accountants is the
workplace environment (Sony and Naik, 2020). The whole of the equipment and supplies
used, the surroundings in which a person works, the work processes and the work
arrangements, both individually and collectively, make up the work environment (Setiawan
and Gintings, 2022). Companies frequently pay less attention to work environment variables,
but they might be one of the key aspects that determine employee productivity. Based on the Students’
working environment, interactions with coworkers and the availability of work facilities, this decision to
variable can be measured (Bhat et al., 2021). According to a study by Kusumaningtiar and
Anggraini (2020), elements related to the workplace have little bearing on students’ desire in
pursue career
pursuing a profession as a public accountant. However, the working environment affects
students’ desire in pursuing a career as a public accountant (Budiandru, 2021). This is
because a student considering a career in public accounting believes that it will have
numerous prospects for growth. Graduates from competitive accounting programs
frequently have demanding employment since they will be happier when they can
successfully complete these tasks. Therefore, the working environment has an impact on
graduates’ desire in becoming public accountants. The TPB states that when someone wants
to act, they will first consider whether the action will be done for their own profit or not. This
theory explains the interaction between the theoretical background and work environment
variables on the accountant’s career. The following is the hypothesis, which is based on the
justification.
H4. There is a positive relationship between work environment and career path as an
ACCA-certified accountant.

Social values and career path

Social values influence accountants’ careers, according to Darmayanti and Dientri (2020).
Accountants’ careers are influenced by their social values. This demonstrates that
accounting student graduates consider social values while deciding on a job as a public
accountant since the profession of public accountant is regarded to raise values and a sense of
community prestige, making it more attractive job. Accounting graduates believe that tasks
in public accounting involve greater interaction with clients or third parties. Public
accountants can make new friends and expand their knowledge outside of the accounting
field as a result of the interactions they have while working not only with other accountants,
but also with professional specialists in other disciplines (Anders, 2018). An overview of the
students’ impressions of the Romanian accounting industry’s reputation was presented by
Albu et al. (2014). The most crucial consideration for the students interviewed who chose the
accounting profession was their significant social status. According to Setianto and Harahap
(2017), professional recognition, social values and the chance to interact with others are the
primary considerations students take into account while choosing an accounting career.
The Chinese accounting students either agree or strongly agree that the CPA (Certified
Public Accountant) designation can increase earning potential and social standing, according
to Wen et al. (2015). Existing research suggests that other persons or groups, such as family
members, friends, instructors and career counselors, may have an impact on students’
decisions about their course of study and careers. For instance, Zakaria and Wan Ahmad
(2021) discovered that friends, teachers, parents and even strangers have a significant impact
on business students’ major course decisions. Their research shows that, in contrast to
nonaccounting students, the majority of accounting majors are significantly influenced by
referent groups. Owusu et al. (2019) conclude that majority of the students who choose
accounting as their course major are heavily impacted by their parents, other relatives,
friends, career advisors and counselors, also support this finding. Additionally, Omar et al.
(2020) discovered that parents’ advice had a significant impact on students’ job decisions.
However, according to certain findings from other studies, third parties don’t significantly
affect students’ main course decisions. The impact of friends and parents was among the least
preferred factors for selecting a course major (Downey et al., 2011). Similar findings were
reported by Alfraih and Alanezi (2016), who discovered that recommendations from friends
and family had the least impact on students’ decisions to study in accounting.
MSAR The public has a favorable opinion of the public accounting profession because it is
believed to be credible in providing services to service users and upholding a code of ethics
in their work, which gives the profession a high perceived value (Dibyaguna and Budiartha,
2020). In this approach, the more social values that are included into the workplace for
public accountants, the more accounting students and recent graduates will choose this
vocation. The TPB specifically attitudes toward behavior, where before taking any action a
person typically first assesses whether the action, he will take is profitable or not, can also
be used to understand the relationship between the theoretical foundation and the variable
of social values on the accountant’s career. Considering the discussion above, this study
proposes that:
H5. There is a positive relationship between social values and career path as an ACCA-
certified accountant.

Market factors and career path

Market considerations have an impact on accountants’ careers, according to Hasim et al.
(2020). Accounting students’ desire to pursue a career as a professional accountant has a
positive relationship with the availability of job opportunities, implying that the greater the
availability of job opportunities, the greater the desire of accounting students to pursue a
career as a professional accountant (Ebaid, 2021). That is, significant relationship exists
between the employment opportunities variable and accounting students’ decision to pursue
a career as a professional accountant. Majority of the accounting students claim that having
the title “professional accountant” would provide them with excellent employment chances
(Samsuri et al., 2016). Their choice of accounting career may be influenced by how they see
their potential employment chances in the sector (Jackson, 2015). The likelihood of course
enrollment rises when students believe a certain course component offers excellent
employment opportunities (Buser et al., 2014). A chartered accountant works for a
company that encourages professional growth, is psychologically stimulating and provides
satisfying prospects (Samsuri et al., 2016). A career at a large company, for instance, is an
excellent place to begin if one wants to keep professional strength. One gains employee status
according to the level of experience and knowledge he/she can bring to a corporation (De
Villers, 2020). Large corporations use business strategies that support high performers’
performance and career advancement (Ghani and Muhammad, 2019). Compared to other
industries, accounting professionals have a better chance of advancing their careers (Ahmad
et al., 2015). The chances give individuals the chance to demonstrate their ability to complete
jobs effectively (Tan et al., 2021). One of the top priorities for Malaysian students, especially
accounting students, is the availability of employment possibilities (Cheong et al., 2018). In
order to expand the number of future professional accountants, taking the lead from the
literature, career opportunities are the best approach to persuade students to major in
accounting (Mellado et al., 2020). Therefore, it is assumed that:
H6. There is a positive relationship between market factors and career path as an ACCA-
certified accountant.
We discovered that a variety of factors impact accounting students’ career paths,
including family and close friends, professional recognition, social values, self-
motivation, financial rewards/salary, passion, personality and job prospects.
Professional training, work environment, job market aspects, gender roles and
personality have no bearing on accountants’ careers in public accounting firms (Khan,
2019). Research also suggests that university programs must be adapted to students’ and
society’s desires, so that students would be familiar with the profession’s requirements
(Jackson and Tomlinson, 2021).
Conceptual framework Students’
To find out which characteristics have a substantial impact on accounting students’ decision to
selection for career routes, the model in this study incorporates variables that were not
previously included. The purpose of this research is to learn more about the factors that
pursue career
influence the careers of accountants in public accounting firms. As shown in Figure 1, the
predictor variables examined in this study include career exposure, self-competence,
financial awards, work environment, social values and market factors and a dependent
variable “career path”.

Research gap
Accounting instructors and accounting firms must better understand accounting
students’ motivations for obtaining ACCA certification in order to increase the number
of accounting students who want to become ACCA-certified accountants. To keep up with
the most recent breakthroughs in accounting research, accounting education must shift
from a theoretical and exploratory approach to research that is theory informed (Ulfah
et al., 2019). Theories produced in the field of career development appear to be well-suited
for implementation in the field of accounting education. This study adds to the body of
knowledge in the field by looking into key factors that encourage Omani students to
pursue careers in public accounting. A thorough investigation was conducted to determine
what factors influence accounting students’ career choices (Hasim et al., 2020). There has
been virtually little research in Oman on this subject, though. Investigating Omani
accounting students’ aspirations to work in public accounting adds additional insight into
the field. It is possible that professional associations and policymakers might learn from
this experience and take steps to encourage the next generation of accountants to work in
public accounting firms.

Research methodology
The objectives of this study are met through a quantitative approach. A quantitative research
approach is one that is based on the collection of numerical data (Mohajan, 2018). In this
study, the survey approach was used in conjunction with quantitative causality (Basias and
Pollalis, 2018).

Database
This study is conducted in one of the public universities namely University of Technology
and Applied Sciences (UTAS) in the Sultanate of Oman. The focus of this research is only on
accounting students from different branches of UTAS. Only those students who are studying

Figure 1.
Conceptual framework
MSAR accounting courses and have determined their professional choices were considered. UTAS is
a public university operated in nine governorates. It has 11 different branches spread over the
different part of the country. It is the first higher educational institution in Oman. Currently, it
is the largest higher educational institution in Oman, catering to over 46,000 students
studying in various programs. The institution was selected as it represents a reputable higher
learning institution which admits a huge number of accounting students annually for its
accounting program. The authors attempted to obtain the list of students for accounting
program from the university management. However, graduate students are also eligible for
ACCA professional qualification and entitled to exemption from seven course papers from
the examination. This motivates students to pursue an ACCA certification as this opens a
door for them to better employment and career prospects.

Sampling frame
Convenience sampling, which is one of the nonprobability sampling techniques, is applied in
this study. Convenience sampling refers to a sampling method where responses to
questionnaires are obtained from respondents who are conveniently available in providing it
(Sarker and AL-Muaalemi, 2022). According to Stockemer et al. (2019), as long as the
proportion of target population has insignificant influence toward the validity of result,
convenience sampling is suitable to be used. The questionnaires were administered to
students in their lecture rooms during the seventh week of the first semester for the academic
year 2021–2022. Before the questionnaires were distributed, a pilot test of 30 samples was
conducted to ensure that the questions are reliable and understood clearly by the
respondents. A five-point Likert scale, stating 1 5 strongly disagree, 2 5 disagree,
3 5 neutral, 4 5 agree and 5 5 strongly agree, was used to measure each item of the scale.

Sample size determination

The accounting students were the target of our research on the elements that their career
choices as ACCA stands specialized. The majority of the researchers believe that a sample
size of 200–500 respondents is sufficient, which would be based on the factors provided by the
majority of management and social science studies (Hill and Alexander, 2002). The number of
items in the questionnaire can also be used to determine the sample size, with 5–10
respondents being sufficient for each item (Henseler et al., 2015). A total of 311 questionnaires
were administered to the respondents, who were contacted via campus email and invited to
take the survey, out of which 289 were duly returned. However, 25 of the questionnaires were
excluded in the final analysis because respondents failed to fully complete the questionnaires.

Research instrument
According to Table 1, the job choice criteria employed in this study was synthesized from
prior studies, and the respondents were asked to select the career traits that they regarded to
be the most essential when deciding about their career. The survey questionnaire was written
in both English and Arabic (bilingually). In Part A, there were nine questions about
respondents’ career plans, reasons of choosing an accounting major, and intent to pursue
ACCA certification, in addition to the demographic questions about gender, nature of
admission, residential status and qualification. Part B consisted of 28 questions about their
perceptions of ACCA-certified accountant, which were developed based on the previous
studies. We prepared a questionnaire consisting of seven important constructs classified into
two categories: the first one is dependent variable that pertains to career path, and the second
is independent variable comprising career exposure, self-competence, financial awards, work
environment, social value and market factor to provide us with data for this research.
 Type of
Students’
No variables Definition Scale Indicators References decision to
pursue career
1 Career Students’ exposure to Likert 1. Professional Hutaibat
exposure career-related information organizations (2012),
in this study and qualifications exist Sugahara and
2. Case studies Boland (2006),
3. Seminars and workshops Aziz et al.
4. Job opportunities (2017), Ng et al.
5. Students are supported (2017)
by professional
organizations
2 Self- Set of forces that motivate Likert 1. Challenging job Omar et al.
competence someone to participate in 2. Fit of accounting (2019), Laksmi
one type of activity over 3. Compunction skills and Al Hafis
another 4. Team building (2019),
5. Having supervising Ramadhan and
skills Hudiwinarsih
(2015)
3 Financial Employee compensation Likert 1. Prepare for the ACCA Merdekawati
awards involves all forms of examination and
payment supplied to 2. Obtaining a better Sulistyawati
workers and comes from professional degree comes (2011)
their working connection at a high financial cost
3. The study of accounting
certification
4. The decisions on financial
costs
4 Work The aspect that makes up Likert 1. Routine, attractive, and Yao and Hong
environment an employees work often working overtime (2015), Aziz
environment and 2. Employee-to-employee et al. (2017)
have an impact on them competition
3. The pressure that is
applied
5 Social Social values while Likert 1. Friends’ advice to seek Hutaibat
values deciding on a job as a accounting job (2012),
public accountant 2. Family advice to seek Merdekawati
accounting job and
3. Importance of ACCA Sulistyawati
certificate for general (2011)
public
6 Market Employment Likert 1. Importance of job security Dalcı et al.
factors opportunities variables on 2. Interesting of accounting (2013),
accounting students’ 3. Securing a stable job is Sugahara and
career choice as a important Boland (2006)
professional accountant 4. Importance of making a
stable long-term income
5. Importance of making
good initial earnings
7 Career path Examine your career Likert 1. ACCA-certified Yusoff et al.
alternative by accountant accounting (2011), Yao and
determining which jobs courses Hong (2015),
can lead to 2. Organization to join Ahmad et al.
higher opportunity 3. Different employment (2015), Ng et al.
opportunities (2017), Dalci
€
and Ozyapici Table 1.
(2018) Instrument
Source(s): Developed based on previous literature development
MSAR Data quality and normality of data
To establish reliability and validity of the results, the data have been examined before
completing the required descriptive and analytical statistics. Missing data, including outliers,
have been taken care of during data screening. Data were subjected to normality tests before
being analyzed (Cuschieri, 2021).
Data normality was assessed through skewness and kurtosis. Kurtosis is related to the
distribution’s flatness, while skewness measures the symmetry. Overall, the data appear
to be normally distributed. As for skewness, a range of ±2 is considered acceptable (Wai
et al., 2019). The results presented in Table 2 show that constructs are normally distributed
as the skewness values are within the range of ±2 and the kurtosis values are within the
range of ±3.

Data analysis
To determine the relationship between the dependent and independent variables under
study, the data was analyzed using both descriptive analytical methods (frequency
distributions, percentage analysis, mean and standard deviation), as well as a causal
relationship tool (Structural equation modeling). Validity and reliability were also assessed
prior to SEM using Cronbach’s alpha, Rho-A, composite reliability and average variance
extracted (Cheah et al., 2018). The data were mostly analyzed using the statistical package for
social sciences (SPSS) version 21 and Smart PLS software.

Structural equation modeling (SEM)

SEM is applied when multiple co-linearity exists, wherein the partial least square approach
can handle a large number of independent variables (Hair et al., 2021; Bhat et al., 2022). An
alternative to using a regression model is to use a path model that models the relationship
between one or more dependent variables and an unobserved variable (or set of unobserved
variables). As a result of the PLS approach, the collection of several independent variables is
associated with several dependent variables.

Results and discussion

Sample characteristics
Table 3 shows the percentage and response count between the different genders for a total of
264 respondents. It should be noted that the male response count is 100, while the female
response count is 164. Females have a higher percentage than males, with 62.1% for women
and 37.8% for men. Further, the table represents the response count and percentage of
educational qualifications, nature of admission and residential position. It shows that in
educational qualifications most of the respondents (124) have a bachelor degree. However, the

Skewness Kurtosis
Constructs Mean SD Statistic Std. Error Statistic Std. Error

Career_exposure 3.66 0.817
0.083 0.150 0.768 0.299

Self_competence 3.80 0.825
0.925 0.150 0.659 0.299
Financial_award 3.66 0.721
0.666 0.150 0.113 0.299
Work_environment 3.81 0.701
0.813 0.150 0.550 0.299
Social_values 3.63 0.799
0.864 0.150 0.844 0.299
Market_factors 3.88 0.763
0.125 0.150 0.834 0.299
Table 2. Career_path 3.57 0.836
0.554 0.150 0.237 0.299
Descriptive statistics Source(s): SPSS output
number of respondents with advanced diploma is 100, whereas those respondents with a Students’
diploma degree are in the least number (40). Further, there were 174 respondents for the decision to
full-time admissions, with a percentage of 66%, and 90 respondents for part-time admissions.
Furthermore, with 180 respondents and a response rate of 68% for the residential position,
pursue career
residents/citizens were found the most frequent type of persons to fill out the questionnaire,
whereas there were 84 overseas respondents (see Figure 2).
Hypotheses were tested using PLS SEM in this study. Smart PLS M3 version 3.0 was used
to perform sophisticated statistical modeling. The degree of significance of the loadings,
weights and path coefficients were determined using the bootstrapping technique. The
measuring model represents the relationship between independent variables such as career
exposure, financial award, social value, self-competence, market factor and work
environment, and dependent variable, i.e. career path. Furthermore, we discovered that the
indication of factor loading is greater than 0.60, leading us to retain the items. It can also be
observed that there is a positive link between career path and other independent variables,
but each one is distinct. Financial award, market factor and work environment are also

Gender Nature of admission

Male 38% 100 Full-time 66% 174
Female 62% 164 Part-time 34% 90
Educational qualification Residential position
Diploma 15% 40 Resident/citizen 68% 180 Table 3.
Advanced diploma 38% 100 Overseas 32% 84 Demographic
Bachelor 47% 124 characteristics of the
Source(s): SPSS output respondents

Figure 2.
Measurement model
MSAR acceptable variables, with r values of 0.410, 0.267 and 0.120, respectively. However, the
insignificant contributors, on the other hand, are social value, career exposure and self-
competence with r values of
0.049, 0.022 and 0.008, respectively.
The high standardized factor loadings of each construct were used to test the measurement
model’s convergent validity (above 0.6) (Table 4). To assure internal consistency, the reliability
of each of the seven constructs was over 0.5. Construct-to-construct variance averaged over
all constructs above the 0.50 cut-off requirement (Khan et al., 2020) (see Table 5). In this

Career Career Financial Market Self- Social Work

exposure path award factors competence value environment

CE1 0.811
CE2 0.767
CE3 0.602
CE4 0.764
CE5 0.851
CP1 0.761
CP2 0.826
CP3 0.792
FA1 0.793
FA2 0.831
FA3 0.704
FA4 0.774
MF1 0.717
MF2 0.778
MF3 0.847
MF4 0.806
MF5 0.662
SC1 0.814
SC2 0.828
SC3 0.833
SC4 0.808
SC5 0.756
SV1 0.728
SV2 0.836
SV3 0.826
WE1 0.839
WE2 0.705
Table 4. WE3 0.744
Factor analysis Source(s): PLS output

Cronbach’s Composite Average variance extracted

alpha Rho_A reliability (AVE)

Career exposure 0.819 0.842 0.873 0.582

Career path 0.704 0.704 0.836 0.629
Financial award 0.779 0.781 0.858 0.603
Market factors 0.821 0.824 0.875 0.585
Self-competence 0.867 0.872 0.904 0.653
Social value 0.719 0.739 0.844 0.637
Work 0.643 0.655 0.808 0.585
Table 5. environment
Convergent validity Source(s): PLS output
study, the factor matrix, Cronbach’s alpha, Rho-A and composite reliability all exceed the Students’
0.7 reliability and validity standard. The value 0.5 average variance was also determined. decision to
Each diagonal AVE has its discriminant validity assessed using Radomir and Moisescu
(2019). This was done by comparing its square root to each construct’s off-diagonal
pursue career
correlation coefficient, suggesting establishment of discriminant validity shown in Table 6.
Because all these figures and measurements guarantee the reliability and validity of the
measurement items, this study used the same measurement methodology for further testing
of the structural model and hypotheses. The relationship between the independent and
dependent variables in this study, which include workplace exposure, financial reward, social
value and self-competence, as well as market factors and the workplace environment, can be
seen using a measuring model (See Table 7). Career path and other independent variables
except social value can be seen to be positively related, but each one is distinct. The most
influencing factor is financial award (r 5 0.412, p 5 0.003), indicating accounting students are
mostly inclined to career path in ACCA for the monetary benefits. The next significant
contributors to the model are market factors (r 5 0.267, p 5 0.048) and work environment
(r 5 0.128, p 5 0.015), meaning that accounting students choose a career in ACCA due to
market pressures and the expected work environment. However, other variables such as
career exposure (r 5 0.022, p 5 0.000) and self-competence (r 5 0.008, p 5 0.000) though
significantly determine career path of the students, but are the least contributors to the model.
In addition, social value (r 5 0.049, p 5 0.137) was found insignificant and negative
contributor to the model (see Figure 3).

Career Career Financial Market Self- Social Work

exposure path award factors competence value environment

Career 0.763
exposure
Career path 0.472 0.793
Financial 0.553 0.673 0.777
award
Market 0.652 0.633 0.716 0.765
factors
Self- 0.701 0.546 0.687 0.709 0.808
competence
Social value 0.452 0.412 0.507 0.597 0.516 0.798
Work 0.519 0.536 0.616 0.637 0.598 0.621 0.765
environment Table 6.
Source(s): PLS output Discriminant validity

Hypotheses Dimensions Path r p-value Decisions

H1 Career exposure → Career path 0.022 0.000 Supported

H2 Financial award → Career path 0.412 0.003 Supported
H3 Market factors → Career path 0.267 0.048 Supported
H4 Self-competence → Career path 0.008 0.000 Supported
H5 Social value → Career path
0.049 0.137 Rejected
H6 Work environment → Career path 0.128 0.015 Supported Table 7.
Note(s): p ≤ 0.01; significant at 99% confidence level, p ≤ 0.05; significant at 95% confidence Structural model and
Source(s): PLS output hypothesis testing
MSAR

Figure 3.
Path coefficients

Conclusion and discussion

This study examines some of the key factors that influence accounting students’ decision to
pursue public accounting rather than private accounting as a career in Oman. The findings of
this study show that dependent and independent factors have a significant relationship. In this
research, we collected data from 264 respondents belonging to different colleges of UTAS. The
results indicate that financial award is the most significant factor for accounting students to
choose their career path. Accounting students search for high starting salaries, pension funds,
faster pay increases, a variety of benefits and many incentives. This finding is in line with
Samsuri et al. (2016). According to the findings of the study, financial incentives have a
significant impact on students’ motivation to become ACCA-certified accountants.
Furthermore, the findings suggest a significant relationship between the availability of job
opportunities (market factors) and accounting students’ desire to pursue a career, implying that
the greater the availability of job opportunities, the greater the desire to pursue a career by
accounting students. This occurs because there are additional elements that impact accounting
students’ motives for choosing professional accountants as a career option in addition to the
ones addressed in this study. According to Jackson et al. (2021), students are more likely to
choose a field of study if they believe it will provide them with good job opportunities.
The work environment, it is noted, has a significant impact on accounting students’ career
choices at UTAS, and they are also concerned about a positive work environment. Furthermore,
a positive work environment can boost employee morale, resulting in increased output.
Working with motivated personnel, on the other hand, offers the advantage of ensuring that the
task is completed appropriately. Moreover, because public accountants usually work in groups,
the support and interaction provided by a pleasant project team environment will aid in the task
completion. These findings are supported by research conducted by Khan (2019). The findings
of this study, however, show that self-competence is not significantly linked to a student’s
desire to pursue an ACCA career. The findings show that students’ intentions to pursue a
challenging endeavor like the ACCA are not influenced by their confidence in their abilities. On
the other hand, social value has no significant relationship with the student’s desire to acquire Students’
ACCA certification. This suggests that graduating accounting students do not consider social decision to
values when deciding on a career as a public accountant because the profession is not valued
highly in society. This finding is in line with Ho et al. (2021). Further, it was found that
pursue career
accounting students in UTAS do not prefer career exposure. As a result, the students do not
believe that learning about the nature of an accountant’s job and the different types of
professions it offers was necessary (Lidyawati and Sahara, 2020). As a result, according to the
findings of this study, career exposure has no strong relationship with career path.
The way students perceive things has a big influence on their career choices. The
professions that students choose to have a significant impact on their perceptions of future
employment opportunities. The goal of this study was to see if there are any pertinent factors
that influence accounting students’ decision to become ACCA-certified accountants. Previous
research has found that a variety of factors influence people’s opinions toward the accounting
profession. The factors impacting accounting students’ career decisions at the UTAS have been
thoroughly investigated. There are seven factors that have been examined as classified into two
categories: the first one is a dependent variable includes career path, and the second
independent variables include career exposure, self-competence, financial awards, work
environment, social value and market factor. Although accounting students’ perceptions play a
significant role in determining their future choices, there are few empirical studies that look at
the phenomenon in universities in general. The Middle East is experiencing economic growth,
and over the next years, there will be a growing need for qualified accountants to manage the
region’s ambitious economic projects. Oman’s economy, which is thriving and expanding
quickly, will need to strengthen its sustainable economic model, and the contribution of a highly
educated, skilled and bright workforce will be crucial in attaining this aim. Business schools
must find qualified candidates for the accounting major, but they are unsure of the factors that
influence student decisions. Accounting educators will be able to concentrate on enhancing and
changing parts of the curriculum that are to blame for deterring students from choosing
accounting as a major after these variables have been identified.

Implications of the study

The findings of this study have both theoretical and practical ramifications. From the TPB
perspective, this study created a thorough model to assess and forecast whether students will
follow careers as ACCA-certified accountants. The study divided the elements influencing
students’ intentions to become ACCA-certified accountants into three categories: attitude-
related factors, subjective norms-related factors and perceived behavior control. The findings
of the current study confirm the propositions of the TPB that student’s decision to pursue
career as ACCA-certified accountants is shaped by attitudinal factors (influence by self-
competence), as well as subjective norms factors (social influence and financial rewards) and
perceived behavior control (influence by work environment, market and career exposure).
This study’s theoretical findings can be used to supplement empirical evidence of students
choosing ACCA-certified accountants’ profession. The positive impact of the factors
understudy on accounting students’ desire to take the ACCA exam demonstrates that
motivation, especially in the realm of education, can pique someone’s interest. Because ACCA
requires time and money to participate in, the implications of this research for academic
institutions include providing convenience for students, such as ACCA exam scholarship
offers if they have graduated with cum laude and obtained work experience. The benefits of
other studies for Oman academic institutions are expected to provide insight into appropriate
policies to make the profession more appealing to accounting graduates, such as cooperating
with companies and making the ACCA title one of the top criteria in company admission
selection.
MSAR Further, this study contributes to the body of knowledge by offering suggestions for how to
overcome Oman’s shortage of accounting experts. For seminars using real-world scenarios,
guest lectures about the profession and supporting mentoring, accounting departments and
business school faculties must employ expert accountants and invite the Omani professional
accounting bodies. This will encourage students to declare accounting as a major and go on to
work in the field, thereby addressing the shortage of professionals in the nation. To further
inspire pupils, the school curriculum ought to include required internships and seminars.
Teachers of accounting should use additional methodologies, such as focus groups or one-on-
one discussions with students, and they should be more practical in their instruction. To combat
harmful peer pressure, accounting departments and business school faculty members could
promote these initiatives on social media.

Recommendations
One suggestion made by this study is to forge strong linkages between academic institutions
and professional accounting groups, particularly those that deal with management accounting.
In lieu of being limited to a few countries, this might be accomplished through research
cooperation agreements, seminars and workshops that are held globally. On a bigger scale, it
might be necessary to realize that while procedures are used, they do not always clearly fit into
the job of the accountant (Otley, 2008). The results of this study confirm Otley’s (2008) belief that
management accounting does not currently play a significant role, but the author does not agree
that the conceptual category and its practices can be completely dismissed without a new
definition or explanation. Instead, by reuniting practice and academia, relevance should be
reintroduced (Johnson and Kaplan, 1987). Starting with the primary source of knowledge and
information for aspiring management accounting practitioners, this kind of relationship will
undoubtedly foster trust and devotion to the profession (i.e. students). It is really gratifying to
note that these accounting bodies have funded many of the management accounting articles
that have been published. Other crucial implications of this study can be summarized as under:
(1) For accounting student graduates to be more trained and focused on the public
accounting profession, higher educational institutions must improve work practice
collaboration (internships) with a variety of public accounting firms.
(2) Accounting student graduates must gain a better understanding of the characteristics
of the accounting profession, particularly the public accounting profession, which is
one of the preferred career options, in terms of the work environment.
(3) In response to public accounting job market concerns, UTAS is being urged to provide
more information about job openings so that the information reaches a wider audience and
increases the interest of accounting student graduates in becoming public accountants.
(4) In terms of gender roles in public accounting, female accounting graduates should
pursue their potential in accounting, particularly in the field of public accounting.
(5) In terms of personality in the public accounting profession, accounting student
graduates should comprehend and hone their psychological distinctiveness as a kind
of self-preparation for entering the world of work, which is unquestionably different
from the world of students or lectures.

Limitations and future directions

There are four limitations associated with the current study. Firstly, the study assessed
factors that affect the intention to pursue ACCA among accounting students in Oman, but the
generalization of quantitative survey results was limited. Therefore, it is recommended that Students’
future research accumulate longitudinal data to highlight the effects of factors that affect the decision to
students’ intention to pursue ACCA. Secondly, the academic adviser should assist
undergraduate accounting students with educational matters such as selecting
pursue career
professional courses and developing future career plans. Thirdly, future research should
extend the study’s reach to include students from additional universities with a good number
of male participants. The results could then be more easily applied to a larger population.
More research factors should be identified and examined by future researchers. Lastly,
personal inclinations significantly influence one’s intention to adopt a specific behavior.
Therefore, it is suggested for future research to incorporate personal inclination factors that
may influence the intention to pursue ACCA. Future researchers may also replicate the study
for other similar professional accounting qualifications.

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Further reading
Chen, L., Choy, Y.S., Wang, T.G. and Chiang, Y.K. (2020), “Fault detection of wheel in wheel/rail system
using kurtosis beamforming method”, Structural Health Monitoring, Vol. 19 No. 2, pp. 495-509.
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accounting higher education preparing the future of accounting”, Education Sciences, Vol. 12
No. 7, p. 432.
Hashim, H.H.N. and Ghani, E.K. (2020), “Belief, preference and constraint factors influencing
Malaysian accounting students’ intention to pursue professional qualification”, Universal
Journal of Educational Research, Vol. 8 No. 3, pp. 1078-1091.
Odia, J.O. and Ogiedu, K.O. (2013), “Factor affecting the study of accounting in Nigerian universities”,
Journal of Educational and Social Research, Vol. 3 No. 3, pp. 89-96.

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Mohd Abass Bhat can be contacted at: [Link].bhat788@[Link]

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