A Comparative Study of Students' Motivation for Accounting Education between the United States and Japan

• In Event: Accounting Issues in Japan

Abstract

This paper is an empirical analysis of what motivates students to study accounting, comparing students from the United States and Japan. The expansion of the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) as a common business language requires significant changes in accounting education. In addition, the globalization of the markets has brought to light various accounting frauds by big global firms, which shocked the global financial market. These show the need for auditors with more sophisticated knowledge to understand and apply the IFRS and more experience to detect and combat the frauds. Meanwhile, teachers have a difficult time motivating their students to learn accounting or to raise their ethical thinking. The reasons for this lack of motivation or willingness to learn accounting come from several factors. Through our empirical outcomes, we discovered some interesting findings about the following: (1) the difference in students’ motivation between students from the United States and students from Japan, (2) the positive impact of their self-efficacy and self-concept on their motivation, (3) the negative impact of where they are on their degree plan on their motivation, and (4) the moderation by perceptions of mastery, performance, and society goals in the relationship between self-efficacy and self-concept affecting motivation.

Authors

• Masako Saito, Osaka Sangyo University

• Allison M McLeod, University of North Texas