Professional accounting body affiliation: Shifting ... - RMIT...

Professional accounting body affiliation: Shifting priorities in the transition from the student to the practitioner

Shannon Sidaway*^, Paul De Lange*, Frederique Bouilheres*, Alan Sangster# ^Corresponding author: email: [email protected]

Telephone: +61 3 9925 0364.

*RMIT University, School of Accounting.

#Griffith University, Department of Accounting, Finance and Economics.

ABSTRACT

Extending the scope of prior research in relation to accounting as a career choice,

this study examines perceptions of the costs and benefits of professional accounting

body affiliation and the shifting priorities in the transition from the student to the

practitioner. The study employs data obtained from 275 accounting students and 508

practitioners and reports differences between each group in respect of the

importance placed on various costs and benefits associated with professional

affiliation. Notable findings show it is important that professional accounting bodies

do not attempt a “one-size-fits-all” approach to attracting and retaining members and

that the needs and aspirations of tomorrow’s accountants are significantly different

from those of experienced professional accountants. These findings have

implications for the professional accounting bodies in respect to their member

recruitment and retention strategies and brand development.

KEY WORDS: Professional accounting bodies, professional affiliation, career choice

recruitment, retention.

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Introduction

Although Australia is currently experiencing slow economic growth,

government and industry bodies continue to report shortages of qualified accountants

(CPA Australia, 2010; Carr et al., 2009; Lloyd Morgan, 2010; Mather, 2010; DEEWR,

2011). This shortage of suitably qualified accountants has implications for the

national economy and a broad range of stakeholders including the accounting

profession and governments who are concerned that there are not enough skilled

professionals in the financial services sector to accommodate development and drive

future economic prosperity: “addressing Australia’s long-term skill shortages is vital to

ensuring Australia’s economic growth and international competitiveness.”

(Universities Australia Report, 2008: 1)

Professional accounting bodies operate in a competitive space and as such

are understandably preoccupied with membership recruitment and retention. For

these bodies, membership numbers are critical as professional accountants are not

only faced with a range of choice in relation to professional affiliation between, for

example, ACCA, CPA Australia, and ICAA but, are also faced with evolving market

conditions such as corporate universities who may redirect potential members and

the Big 4, who are willing to recruit students without a business or accounting major,

so undermining the strength of the accreditation link between conventional

universities and the professional bodies (ICAA, 2010).

Some suggest the shortage of suitably qualified accountants can be

explained by the poor perceptions of the financial services sector which may drive

students to other professions (Felton et al., 1994; Byrne and Willis, 2005, ICAA,

2010). Issues concerning ‘career-choice’1 are not restricted to the accounting

profession. Researchers have examined many and varied related aspects across a

range of professions (Paolillo and Estes, 1982; Gul et al., 1989, Inglis et. al., 2011).

1 We use the term ‘career choice’ to refer to an area of enquiry that has examined the

relationship between factors that may influence any career choice.

3

Studies that examine accounting as career-choice report that students make

their decision in the later years of secondary school or while at university (Inglis et al.,

2011, Jackman and Hollingworth, 2005; Mauldin et al., 2000). The attraction of an

existing profession is vital in ensuring an ongoing stream of new members. For

accounting this includes its perceived status, job satisfaction (Adams et al., 1994;

West, 1996; Saemann and Crooker, 1999; Byrne and Willis, 2005) and perceived

extrinsic (e.g., salary) benefits associated with a long-term career in accounting

(Felton, 1995; Simons et al., 2004).

The present study is motivated, in part, by the findings presented in Inglis et

al., (2011). Their study was designed to investigate the importance of factors

influencing the intention to join a professional accounting body. In doing so, it

reported differences between the perceptions of near and recent graduates. More

specifically, in all questions which sought to establish the importance of factors in

influencing the choice of professional accounting body, the recent graduates

consistently awarded slightly lower scores for the importance of the various factors.

In order to further investigate the perceptions of the costs and benefits of

professional accounting body affiliation and the shifting priorities in the transition from

the student to the practitioner, the present study extends this initial investigation by

now including additional data collected from practitioners that are members of one or

more of the professional accounting bodies.

In doing so, it examines the importance of a range of costs and benefits

associated with the intentions of students to join a professional accounting body and

the decisions of practitioners to maintain professional affiliation. In addition, it

examines whether the attributes identified as being important shift in priority during

transition from student to practitioner. Both descriptive and inferential statistical

analysis is used in order to examine survey data from both undergraduate accounting

students and accounting practitioners.

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In the next section, literature relating to the sociology of the professions and

career choice are reviewed in the context of joining a professional accounting body.

This is followed by a description of the research method, including development of

the questionnaire and sample selection. The results are then presented before the

final section, where the summary and conclusion are provided.

Literature review and development of the research objective

Accountants form a subset of what Abbott (1988) describes as “the system of

professions” (Sikka and Willmott, 1995). Within this system, various professional

groups seek to both defend and expand their area of jurisdiction while competing

against rival professions. West (1996) asserts that accounting is recognised as a

highly professionalised area and, while it is expected that the professional

associations will lay claim to such status, a number of independent commentators

have also confirmed the professional nature of accounting. In addition, accountants

receive privileges that are typically associated with professional status, such as high

financial rewards and this further suggests that accountants are regarded as

professionals (West, 1996). These privileges include operating within a monopoly,

the opportunity to self-regulate, and the exclusivity and prestige associated with

membership of the profession.

With consideration given to the aforementioned benefits associated with

membership of the accounting profession, this study is underpinned in both research

design and analysis by consumer decision theory as advocated by Simons (2004).

Essentially, this study is based on the premise that consumers will evaluate

economic and non-economic costs and benefits and will employ a serial decision-

making process when making a decision in relation to professional affiliation

(Stockmans, 1991). More specifically, potential members will engage in a process

which involves obtaining and evaluating information regarding various professional

accounting bodies and then making a decision in relation to which body, if any, to

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join. Although the precise process of obtaining and evaluating information will vary for

each potential member, common sources of relevant information for their decision

include work, higher education, information events and online communications (see,

for example, charteredaccountants.com.au; Inglis, et al., 2011).

The evaluation process of Stockmans (1991) is consistent with Simons et al.’s

(2004) consumer decision theory, where the decision to join or maintain membership

of a professional accounting body is influenced by the level of importance that the

consumer places on the perceived costs and perceived benefits associated with the

service or product. The relationship between this serial decision-making process and

consumer decision theory is depicted in Figure 1.

Insert Figure 1 Here

Prior research concludes that the goals of the major professional accounting

bodies in Australia include promoting the reputation and integrity of professional

accountants (Allen, 2004). This is largely achieved through the promotional activities

of each body (see for example, www.cpaaustralia.com.au). It is from within this

context that the present study considers these professional bodies as a means to

promote the accounting profession. In this way, professional bodies may be seen as

a fundamental component of the larger accounting profession in which educators,

industry, practitioners and government also play a pivotal role.

The professional accountancy bodies stimulate both the supply and demand

of accounting services, through promotional activities and provision of information. In

terms of ‘supply’ the professional bodies promote both the benefits of an accounting

career generally, as well as the advantages of professional affiliation with a specific

body, such as CPA Australia, IPA and the ICAA (Scott et al., 1996). The literature in

the area of ‘accounting career-choice’ which investigates the principal factors which

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influence a decision to select accounting as a career is applicable to the present

study in a number of specific areas.

Previous studies have suggested that decisions made with respect to career

choice can be affected by the perception of the associated costs and benefits. Felton

et al. (1995: 139), in a study which investigated career choice and why individuals

chose to study a business major, suggest that the most influential variable affecting

the choice to pursue a chartered accountancy (CA) career is the, “perception of the

relative benefits and costs of being a CA.” In addition, ‘good initial earnings’ were

identified as an important consideration when choosing a CA career with emphasis

also placed on ‘good long-term earnings and promising job opportunities’.

Much of the ‘career choice’ literature has identified job opportunities and

earnings potential as important factors in influencing the decision to pursue

accounting as a career (Paolillo and Estes, 1982; Gul et al., 1989; Adams et al. 1994;

Mauldin et al., 2000). These studies span approximately two decades and relate to

earlier generations when compared to the predominant demographic studying at

University today. With close to 85 per cent of the student participant in this study

being aged between 20 and 29 years of age, it is particularly relevant to note that

more recent studies have also found that ‘Generation Y’2 is considerably influenced

by salary prospects and career opportunities when choosing accounting as career

(Dennis, 2006). Using a theory of planned behaviour to investigate students’

perceptions and intentions, the research by Tan and Laswad (2006) provides

additional evidence of market related influences (initial and future earnings, greater

career prospects) as important factors in the decision to become a professional

accountant. Findings from this study motivate the authors to propose that the

accounting profession “should perhaps promote the positive aspects of an

2 ‘Generation Y’ typically refers to the generation born between circa 1980 and the mid-

1990’s. Previous generations include ‘Generation X’ (mid-1960’s to circa 1980) and ‘Baby Boomers’ (mid-1940’s to mid-1960).

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accounting career” (Laswad, 2006: 183), in order to enhance the perception of the

accounting profession. The provision of information relating to employment

opportunities associated with an accounting career is therefore considered to be

important if students are to be able to make an informed decision in relation to

entering the accounting profession.

The comparison of costs and benefits associated with career choice has been

researched across a range of professions (Chen, Jones and McIntyre, 2008).

Wheeler (1983) considered both economic and psychological aspects in research

which studied the influence of labour market variables such as salary and job

availability on the choice of occupation for students majoring in the areas of

education, psychology and business. The associated psychological and economic

costs that were measured as part of this study included the time, effort and costs

necessary to prepare for employment in the occupation. Wheeler also found

significant correlation between the ‘salary/costs ratio’ and the choice of occupation,

indicating an emphasis on extrinsic benefits among students pursuing a major in

business.

In an effort to bring together the existing knowledge within the career-choice

literature at the time of his research, Ekehammar (1976, 1977) tested three cost-

benefit models in order to develop a conceptual framework. The ‘traditional

economic’ model incorporated calculations of continued education costs and the

future returns of higher earnings. However, this model was deemed too complex and

did not produce reliable results. An alternative model introduced an individual’s

expectations and perceptions of the economic benefits and costs with the subjective

cost-benefit ratio influencing the decision in relation to career choice. Using this

model, an individual’s ‘unique social-economic-psychological situation’ is presumed

to influence the perceptions of cost and benefits. However, Ekehammar (1977: 247)

concluded, that a third model based entirely on (non-economic) psychological scales,

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was optimal since it addressed the, ‘insoluble evaluation problems’, of monetary units

that were employed in the earlier models.

In Ekehammar’s psychological cost-benefit model, the array of costs were

developed to incorporate ‘psychological sacrifices and strains’ within the context of

the decision whether to continue into post-secondary education. Although an

emphasis is placed on the psychological construct of the various cost components,

Ekehammar (1977: 250) encourages the incorporation ‘if possible’ of ‘expected

economic costs’. This initial research by Ekehammar was greatly influential in the

development and modification of models in later studies on career decisions related

to the accounting profession (see, for example, Chen et al., 2008).

While much of the prior literature focuses on the initial intention of an

individual to join a professional accounting body (see, Inglis et al., 2011), the current

investigation also considers the choice to either maintain an existing affiliation with a

professional body or transfer to another body. These decisions are influenced by the

level of importance that the consumer places on the perceived costs and perceived

benefits associated with the service or product (Simons et al., 2004).

In his seminal works, Lancaster (1966, 1971) examined the notions of benefit,

and more specifically, ‘utility’, and considered these not to result from the product

alone, but rather from the ‘attributes’ or ‘characteristics’ which are provided to the

consumer. Although this presents a conventional economic approach which typically

measures such attributes in an objective manner, the concept of ‘attributes’ has

expanded to encompass intangible benefits and more subjective measurement

techniques (Anderson, 1981; Zeithaml, 1988; Day, 1990; West, 1996; Huber et al.,

2001). The intangible benefits include those dimensions that make up the profession

and may include exclusivity and prestige associated with membership (West, 1996).

Likewise, costs include monetary factors, such as initial and on-going membership

fees, as well as non-monetary costs, such as the time and effort expended in

acquiring the product/service (Treacy and Wiersima, 1995). Such ‘consumer

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decision’ models which focused on benefits received by the consumer are congruent

with the psychological-economic cost-benefit model advocated by Ekehammar

(1976, 1977).

The decision-making process in relation to professional affiliation with an

accounting body is the main focus of this study (see Figure 1). The research

questions to be addressed are:

RQ1. Which attributes are important to students in influencing the intention to

join a professional accountancy body?

RQ2. Which attributes are important to practitioners in influencing the

decision to continue membership with a professional accountancy body?

RQ3. Do the attributes of importance in RQ1 & 2 shift in priority during

transition from student to practitioner?

The identification of influential factors in the decision to join and maintain

membership of a professional body would provide these bodies with information from

which they can optimize marketing communications and promotional activities to

increase professional membership and promote the accounting profession overall.

They would also inform the decision-making processes of those considering entering

the profession and of those who are already members and, would also enable

accounting faculty to better understand and relate to the needs of their students in

pursuing their choice of career.

Method and data collection

In order to gather data, a questionnaire was developed and administered in

two phases. First, a member of the research team was involved in the data collection

from final-year accounting students which sought to examine important factors

influencing their intention to join a professional accounting body. All students were

enrolled in a degree course which is designed in such a way that upon completion,

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students will meet the entrance requirements to continue with further study at the

professional accountancy bodies in Australia. The course is offered as either a full-

or part-time program (which may include a one-year co-operative work experience

component).

As prior studies have reported that 80 per cent of accounting graduates

intend to continue studying with a recognised accounting body for the purpose of

obtaining full professional accreditation (De Lange, Jackling and Gut, 2006), final-

year students were considered the most appropriate group to involve in this study.

In phase one, 305 students were asked to participate in the survey. From this,

a total of 275 complete responses were received and this data was used to inform

this investigation. Both the number of participants and the response rate of 90 per

cent add rigour to the present investigation (Sekaran 1992, Zikmund and Babin,

2009).

The second phase of data collection involved administration of an on-line

version of the same questionnaire to accounting practitioners identified through the

membership database of one the main Australian professional accounting bodies.

Emails were sent to approximately 5,000 practitioners inviting them to complete the

questionnaire on-line. This yielded 508 completed responses, which equates to a 10

per cent response rate. All respondents were members of the participating

professional body, which may have biased the sample to a particular member type.

However, a noteworthy observation is that 30 per cent of practitioner respondents

were also members of other professional bodies, which limits the impact of any

single body member bias. As a result, the practitioner sample included members of

all Australia’s peak accounting bodies: CPA Australia, the Institute of Chartered

Accountants Australia, and the Institute of Public Accountants Australia.

The questionnaire for all respondents (students and practitioners) consisted

of two main sections. Section A included questions relating to factors influencing the

intention to join or maintain membership of a professional body while section B

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included a number of categorical questions relating to respondent demographics

including age, gender and place of work/study.

In relation to those factors influencing the intention or decision to join or

maintain membership of a particular accounting body, respondents were required to

specify the importance of selected attributes using a five-point scale ranging from 1

(not important) to 5 (very important). Sample questions included ‘How important is

the following in influencing your choice to join a professional accounting body?’:

“Reputation/Brand of the professional accounting body” and “Current and future

salary of members of the accounting body”.

The questionnaire was first developed by Inglis et al. (2011) where the

attributes were selected based on the findings of studies in areas including

accounting career choice and the history of the accounting profession. In addition,

attributes were also drawn from information provided to the public by each of the key

professional accounting bodies (e.g. CPA Australia, Institute of Chartered

Accountants in Australia, and the Institute of Public Accountants). This information is

often conveyed via media such as websites and marketing materials and consistently

refers to an array of member benefits as well as providing information relating to the

costs and requirements in order to join and the ongoing costs of maintaining

membership.

Prior to administering it, the questionnaire was tested using a group of

members from professional accountancy bodies and final year accounting students.

Based on the feedback received through this process, the factors of importance were

refined and the modified questionnaire became the final instrument.

To ensure that the data obtained provided a representative ‘snap shot’ of the

targeted population, a comparison of broader participant profiles was undertaken.

More specifically, for the student participants, an examination of university student

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profile descriptors and the participant’s demographic characteristics indicated that the

sample was consistent with the ‘typical’ population of near-accounting graduates3.

These participant characteristics (Table 1) reveal that the majority are female

(65 per cent) and are largely within an age range of 20 to 29 years (84 per cent).

Interestingly, 42 per cent of respondents indicated that they had already joined a

professional association as a student member. This is consistent with reports from

De Lange et al.’s (2006) study who reported that 80 per cent of accounting graduates

have the intention of joining a professional accounting body.

With respect to the practitioner group, an examination of overall member

demographics showed consistency with known member attributes from the

participating member body. Participant characteristics (Table 1) reveal that the

majority are male (72 per cent) and are largely within an age range of above 45 years

(73 per cent). Data from the questionnaire was analysed using statistical software

including SPSS.

Insert Table 1 Here

Results

Data was analysed in order to respond to each of the aforementioned

research questions:

RQ1. Which attributes are important to students in influencing the intention to join a

professional accounting body?

In relation to the first research question, students were asked to rate the

importance of a range of attributes relating to professional body affiliation in terms of

the importance each has on their decision to join. The rank, mean score and the

percentage of respondents who rated each factor as important is reported in Table 2.

Career opportunities, international recognition and brand or reputation were identified

3 In this paper we use the words ‘near-accounting graduate’ to describe students who are

studying an accounting major and have completed more than 60 per cent of their course.

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as being the factors that are most important to students in their choice to join a

professional accounting body. Membership costs and whether the employer pays the

associated fees were considered to be of least importance.

Insert Table 2 Here

RQ2. Which attributes are important to practitioners in influencing the decision to

continue membership with a professional accounting body?

In relation to this research question, practitioners were asked to rate the

importance of a range of attributes relating to professional body affiliation in terms of

the importance each has on their decision to maintain affiliation with a professional

accounting body. The rank, mean score and the percentage of respondents who

rated each factor as important is reported in Table 2. Brand or reputation, perceived

expertise and member benefits were identified as being the most important factors to

practitioners in their choice to maintain affiliation with a professional accounting body.

The associated salary of members and whether the employer pays these

membership fees were considered to be the least important factors.

RQ3. Do the attributes of importance in RQ1 & 2 shift in priority during transition from

student to practitioner?

In order to address this question, independent t tests were carried out on the

mean scores presented in Table 2. Significant differences were found in respect of

the importance placed on all items (excluding member benefits) between students

and practitioners indicating that the importance of various factors shifts during the

transition from student to practitioner. The significance level of each of these factors

is presented in Table 2. Interestingly, although the mean score representing the level

of importance placed on member benefits does not significantly differ between

students and practitioners, the ranking is substantially different with students ranking

member benefits as the seventh most important factor and practitioners ranking

member benefits as the third most important factor.

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It is acknowledged that the underlying demographics of the student and

practitioner samples are vastly different. Table 1 shows that the student sample is

comprised of predominantly females aged less than 30 years and the practitioner

sample is comprised of mainly males aged over 45 years. In order to explore whether

gender and age could explain the significant differences in the mean scores

presented in table 2, a number of sensitivity tests were conducted.

An investigation was also carried out concerning gender. The practitioner

sample was split into males and females and independent t tests were conducted to

identify any significant differences in the mean scores. The results are presented in

Table 3. The only significant difference identified relates to membership costs which

are considered to be more important by female respondents. No other significant

differences were found which indicated that the results are largely homogenous

between males and females.

Insert Table 3 Here

Analysis was also conducted in relation to age with the practitioner group

being split into respondents aged 39 years and older and respondents aged less than

39 years. A number of significant differences were found and are reported in Table 4.

Career opportunities, international recognition, salary, place of work and employer

paying membership fees were considered more important by younger practitioners

compared to their more mature counterparts. Interestingly, the two most important

factors for practitioners, brand or reputation and perceived expertise continue to rank

in number one and two position across the two age groups and there are no

significant differences found between the level of importance placed on these factors.

Insert Table 4 Here

Summary and Conclusions

This study broadens the scope of previous accounting career-choice literature

by examining professional accounting bodies and the factors that influence the

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recruitment of new entrants and the retention of members by professional bodies that

are free to resign and/or join another body should they wish to do so. Not

surprisingly, the findings have important implications for the professional accounting

bodies.

Currently (2012), the accounting profession has a pattern of ongoing job

vacancies for well-qualified accountants. These vacancies provide challenges for

government and professional accounting bodies alike regarding how to stimulate the

supply of accounting professionals to better suit the needs of the financial services

industry. As many professional accounting bodies, such as ACCA, for example, seek

to broaden and globalise their membership base, this investigation is timely as it

reports on data, not just from a sample of near-accounting graduates but, also from a

sample of Australian practitioners. The results should provide valuable insights to

those professional bodies seeking greater market penetration.

The results show that recruitment and retention strategies require

differentiation so as to focus on the specific needs of these disparate groups. Some

of these differences appear to be related to age, where career opportunities and

international recognition are viewed as being especially important for younger

aspirants. This observation suggests young people may be more ambitious, less

settled, and have a desire to travel. Thus, professional accounting bodies should

avoid adopting a “one-size-fits-all” approach and their recruitment and retention

strategies should differ based on the different priorities of those they seek to

recruit/retain as members. It is intuitive business reality that it is more expensive to

recruit new members than to retain existing members, and this is surely something

these bodies would be wise to note.

This study highlights the need for professional accounting bodies to enhance

the reputation and promote the international recognition of a professional

membership which offers employment and career opportunities. Moreover, the

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findings provide a practical insight into where, when and to whom the marketing of

the accounting profession may best be disseminated. Future research might further

examine the relationship (and direction) between career, reputation and international

recognition in which, for example, enhanced reputation has a positive impact on

international recognition and career opportunities.

When considering the findings in this study, it is important to note its

limitations. The respondents in this study were final year students from one university

who had selected to undertake a business degree with a major in accounting. Given

this limited sampling frame, it may well be that affiliation with the professional

accounting bodies is influenced by other factors, notwithstanding the fact that these

students self-selected their degree programme and over 40 per cent confirmed, by

virtue of their already having joined a professional accountancy body as a student

member, that they are interested in a career as an accountant.

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21

Figure 1

The serial decision making process (adapted from Stockmans, 1991)

Join or continue affiliation of

selected Professional Accounting

Body

Evaluation of costs and benefits in

accordance with consumer decision

theory (Simons, Lowe and

Stout, 2004)

Research Questions Which attributes are important in influencing the intention to join or

continue membership with a professional accounting body and how

do these priorities shift during transition from student to practitioner?

Professional Affiliation

Which Body (if

any)?

Examples may include: Peers,

colleagues, higher

education, information

events, marketing,

online

22

Table 1

Sample characteristics of respondents

Students Practitioners

Numbers of Respondents 275 Number of Respondents 508

Gender: Male Female

35% 65%

Gender: Male Female

72% 28%

Age: 20-24 25-29 30-34 35-39 40+

65% 19% 9% 4% 3%

Age: 18-24 25-31 32-38 39-45 45+

1% 4% 7% 15% 73%

**Significant at the 5 percent level.

***Significant at the 1 percent level.

Table 2

The importance of various Items in influencing the intention to join or maintain affiliation with professional accounting bodies (scale 1 = not important to 5 = very important)

Students Practitioners

Item Rank Mean score

Percentage rating item as 4 or 5


Percentage rating item as 4 or 5

Career opportunities 1 4.55*** 93 Brand or reputation 1 3.96*** 72

International recognition 2 4.38*** 86 Perceived expertise 2 3.62*** 61

Brand or reputation 3 4.33*** 85 Benefits 3 3.50 56

Place of work 4 4.01*** 75 Career opportunities 4 3.50*** 55

Perceived expertise 5 3.89*** 66 Membership cost 5 3.28** 47

Salary 6 3.89*** 67 International recognition 6 3.02*** 38

Benefits 7 3.52 49 Place of work 7 2.92*** 37

Employer pays 8 3.42*** 46 Salary 8 2.88*** 32

Membership cost 9 3.03** 34 Employer pays 9 2.28*** 19



23

Table 3

The importance of various Items in influencing the decision to maintain professional accounting body affiliation (scale 1 = not important to 5 = very important)

Males Females



Brand or reputation 1 4.00 Brand or reputation 1 3.89

Perceived expertise 2 3.62 Perceived expertise 2 3.65

Career opportunities 3 3.51 Membership cost 2 3.65***

Benefits 4 3.50 Benefits 4 3.52

Membership cost 5 3.16*** Career opportunities 5 3.48

International recognition 6 3.09 International recognition 6 2.90

Place of work 7 2.95 Place of work 7 2.89

Salary 8 2.90 Salary 8 2.85

Employer pays 9 2.31 Employer pays 9 2.23



Table 4

The importance of various Items in influencing the decision to maintain professional accounting body affiliation (scale 1 = not important to 5 = very important)

<39 years of age >=39 years of age



Brand or reputation 1 4.17 Brand or reputation 1 3.94

Perceived expertise 2 3.83 Perceived expertise 2 3.60

Career opportunities 3 3.81** Benefits 3 3.48

International recognition 4 3.71*** Career opportunities 4 3.46**

Benefits 5 3.70 Membership cost 5 3.27

Membership cost 6 3.48 International recognition 6 2.95***

Salary 7 3.45*** Place of work 7 2.89**

Place of work 8 3.29** Salary 8 2.81***

Employer pays 9 2.90*** Employer pays 9 2.21***



Professional accounting body affiliation: Shifting ... - RMIT...

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