VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL GRADUATION PROJECT RESEARCH THE FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE PEOPLE WHEN FOLLOWING THE ACCOUNTING CAREER Nguyễn Phan Việt Linh Hanoi - Year 2021 1 VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL GRADUATION PROJECT RESEARCH THE FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE PEOPLE WHEN FOLLOWING THE ACCOUNTING CAREER SUPERVISOR: Dr. Bùi Mỹ Trinh STUDENT: Nguyễn Phan Việt Linh STUDENT ID: 17071289 COHORT: AC2017A MAJOR: Accounting, Analyzing and Auditing Hanoi - Year 2021 2 LETTER OF DECLARATION I hereby declare that the Graduation Project “Research the factors that influence students when following the accounting career” is the results of my own research and has never been published in any work of others. During the implementation process of this project, I have seriously taken research ethics; all findings of this projects are results of my own research and surveys; all references in this project are clearly cited according to regulations. I take full responsibility for the fidelity of the number and data and other contents of my graduation project.
Hanoi, 08th June,2021 Linh Nguyễn Phan Việt Linh 3 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT I have great chance to receive the plenty of knowledge that they are truly noteworthy and valuable during the process of studying at the international faculty. In addition, the lectures with their dedication and inspiration have conveyed helpful knowledge in textbooks as well as practical lessons. Therefore, I am capable of finally manipulate what I have learned to complete this thesis. In all honesty, I would like to address my gratefulness to the international faculty members as well as the staff of the training and student affairs department.
In particular, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Dr. Bui My Trinh who guided and supported me enthusiastically during the thesis. Despite my best efforts, the empirical study will probably have shortcomings due to the lack of knowledge as well as the difficulty in collecting information sources related to the thesis. Therefore, I am looking forward to the feedback from lectures and counselors so that I can recognize my shortcomings and enhance the quality of the thesis.
Hanoi, 08th June,2021 Linh Nguyễn Phan Việt Linh 4 Table of Contents LETTER OF DECLARATION. 4 TABLE OF NOTATIONS & ABBREVIATIONS. 7 LIST OF TABLES. 8 LIST OF CHARTS AND FIGURE.
Background of the study. Research objectives and research question. Structure of the study. 14 CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW.
Definition of career choice. Accounting’s current situations in Vietnam. Prior empirical result on impact of factor to success in accounting career. Intrinsic motivation and career path.
Career dynamic and career path. Influence by third parties and career path. Conceptual framework of the research. 24 CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH METHOD.
Survey as a quantitative research method. Reliability and validity. Questionnaire and pilot test for the respondents. Sample and data collection.
29 CHAPTER 4: RESEARCH FINDINGS AND DATA ANALYSIS .3 An evaluation of the measurement model. Assessing reliability of the constructs. Assessing validity of the constructs. Structural model assessment for hypothesis testing.
44 CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION, CONTRIBUTION, IMPLICATION AND LIMITATIONS. Contribution and Implication of the study. Limitation of the study. 59 6 TABLE OF NOTATIONS & ABBREVIATIONS Abbreviation Meaning TRA Theory of reasoned action TPB Theory of Planned Behavior Association of Charted Certified ACCA Accountants Charted Institute of Management CIMA Accountants CPA Certified Public Accountant CFA Charted Financial Analyst Institute of Charted Accountants in ICAEW England and Wales Statistical Product and Services SPSS Solutions 7 LIST OF TABLES Number Page Description of tables Table 2.1 24 Describe of exogenous variables Table 3.1 30 - 32 Present measures of all constructs of the study Table 4.1 33 Gender of respondents Table 4.2 34 Age of respondents Table 4.3 35 Academic level of respondents Table 4.4 36 Job of respondents Table 4.5 37 Descriptive Statistic of Career Dynamic Table 4.6 38 Descriptive Statistic of Influence by third parties Table 4.7 38 Descriptive Statistic of Career Exposure Table 4.8 38 Descriptive Statistic of Intrinsic motivation Table 4.9 39 Descriptive Statistic of Career Path Table 4.10 39 t- Test value (Independent Samples Test) Table 4.11 41 Cronbach’s Alpha of the constructs.
Item loadings, composite reliability (CR) and average Table 4.12 41 - 42 variance extracted (AVE) of the constructs Table 4.13 43 Discriminant validity among the constructs Table 4.14 44 Model Summary Table 4.15 45 Collinearity Statistics (VIF) of items 8 LIST OF CHARTS AND FIGURE Number Page Description of tables Summary of the theory of Planned Behavior by Ajzen Figure 2.2 25 Conceptual framework of the study Figure 4.2 34 Age of respondents Figure 4.4 37 Job of respondents Figure 4.4 40 The measurement model 9 ABSTRACT Purposes: The purpose of this study is to find out the factors affecting students who are following accounting career in Vietnam. Currently, the number of students studying accounting is increasing, this subject ensures a low unemployment rate and is a job every company needs, the findings of the study will help lectures, accounting professionals have more insight into why students choose accounting as their path. In addition, the article will serve accounting theorists and researchers in learning about this field, so policymakers will implement many policies to attract more students. Then, there will be many bright accountants in the developing economy and technology, this is indispensable in every large or small company.
Design/ Methodology/ Approach: This survey uses data from the questionnaire design to reach the students in the fastest and most time-consuming way. The question surrounds the factors affecting career choice in order to have a clearer view of the current student situation. A total of 206 responses were collected to serve the data for the study. Moreover, Statistical Product and Services Solutions (SPSS) and Smart-PLS PLS-SEM 3.3 are used for data analysis.
Findings: This study contributes to the extant literature concerning factors impacting career path that students are choosing and following accounting major. Specifically, the research found that students with career dynamic, intrinsic motivation, influence by third parties and career exposure are more likely to choose accounting major for their career path. Besides, career dynamic, intrinsic motivation, influence by third parties and career exposure positively affect the career path through the decisions from his/her experiences. Implication: This research helps the readers to comprehend factors which influence students in Vietnam who are following the accounting and auditing career.
Originality/Value: This study provides a framework for evaluating impact of several factors on career path of students following accounting major. 10 Keywords: Accounting major, Vietnam, Career dynamic, Intrinsic motivation, Influence by third parties, Career exposure, Career path. Paper type: Research paper. 11 CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION This study report findings on the characteristics of students who are following accounting and auditing career in Vietnam.
This chapter consists of 5 sections. Initially, the chapter elaborates background for study (section 1.1) before the research objectives and research questions are presented (section 1. Subsequently, a brief description of the research methods is provided (section 1.3), which is followed by the presentation of research finding (section 1. The chapter closes with a presentation of the thesis structure (section 1.
Background of the study Currently, in Vietnam, there are about 7,000 people working in various types of audits: independent audit, state audit and internal audit; about 1,500 auditors; about 230 offices and branches of auditing organizations (author's estimate). With the current number of auditors and auditing organizations, it is undeniable that the development of the audit field, but that development is still not commensurate with the current needs and the roles and functions of the audit field. The quality of services provided by auditing firms is relatively good, but because Vietnam's financial environment is not professional and transparent, it also faces certain difficulties. The level of professional competence as well as professional ethics of auditors is increasingly improved as compared to advanced countries in the world, there is still a long distance.
The economy of our country is reaching the level of a full market economy, so auditing is considered an urgent requirement. Inviting audit firms to provide audit services for financial statements often follows the unique objectives of each entity. Therefore, the requirement to provide audit services always falls short of the conditions to achieve that goal. Auditor training is of great interest to many countries, such as the US, Europe, and Japan.
The auditors of these countries are numerous in quantity, good in quality, 12 experienced and capable of meeting requirements. job requirements and flexibility, high sensitivity. Moreover, the application of technology in the 4.0 era to the accounting and auditing industry is increasingly popular. This leads to a fairly high unemployment rate for this profession with an increasing number of students and accountants, leading to a high selectivity in skills and experience of auditors as well as incoming students.
In the current conditions, the availability of a scientific reasoning system in general as well as accounting and auditing science in particular is a necessity. However, to become a true and professional auditor, practical knowledge and professional experience are an indispensable factor. The application of scientific theory in auditing combined with practical knowledge and experience will bring valuable lessons for future auditors. In order for the field of auditing to develop, the key factor is to develop human resources for auditing.
Therefore, the training of human resources for auditing and fostering to improve professional knowledge, qualifications and skills for auditors is a necessary and urgent job in the present and future period. Research objectives and research question This study contributes to the extant knowledge concerning factors that make students in Vietnam willing to find their own direction in the process of following the path of accounting and auditing. In addition, it also creates an attraction for recruiters from big companies so that they know your heart, thereby creating more opportunities and events to increase experience and knowledge for employees who are interested in this job. In order to achieve these objectives, two research questions are addressed as follow: 1.
What are students’ characteristics that determine students’ choosing accounting career for his/her career path? 2. To what extent do those factors impact students’on choosing accounting major for his/her career path? 13 1. Research method A questionnaire survey is employed to investigate the factors impact on the students choosing and following accounting career in VietNam. Statistical Product and Services Solutions (SPSS) with support of Smart-PLS 3.3 is adopted to analyze the quantitative data obtained from 206 answers of students in Vietnam.
Smart-PLS enables the data to be sequentially analyzed through the measurement model and structural model. The former enables reliability and validity of constructs’ measures assessed while the latter is used for testing hypotheses of the study. Research findings This study contributes to the extant literature concerning factors impacting career path that students are choosing and following accounting major. Specifically, the research found that students with career dynamic, intrinsic motivation, influence by third parties and career exposure are more likely to choose accounting major for their career path.
Besides, career dynamic, intrinsic motivation, influence by third parties and career exposure positively affect the career path through the decisions from his/her experiences. Structure of the study The research project is organized in 5 chapters. Chapter 1, the present chapter provides a background of research, research objectives, research questions, research methods, research finding and the structure of the study. Chapter 2 reviews the literature on factors impacting students’ characteristics which is followed by a section of hypothesis formulation and the conceptual framework of the study.
Chapter 3 states the selected research method of study, which describes a comprehensive research procedure of the survey design. Chapter 4 presents the technique of data analysis and research findings. The study closes with chapter 5 where the research findings are discussed and the research 14 conclusion is drawn. Also, limitations of the study are addressed and suggestions for the future research are provided.
15 CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 2.