Determinants Of Accounting Anxiety In Business Students

Abstract

The identification of the level of anxiety, especially in accounting among business students, have not been directly explored and recognized. This empirical study was conducted to ascertain any significant determinants of accounting anxiety among business students. An online survey questionnaire was administered to all registered students at Bentley College, the largest business University in New England. A new accounting anxiety rating scale (AARS) was developed based on a modified computer anxiety rating scale (CARS) by Broome and Havelka (2002). A total of 1,112 responses were received and analyzed, indicating a response rate of 30 percent, which is relatively significant considering similar online survey responses. ANOVA tests were applied to determine the significance in accounting anxiety, controlling for four variables, academic majors, degree levels, experience and gender. The results show that there are significant differences in accounting anxiety levels in all four tests among students with different academic majors, degree levels, work experiences and significant difference in accounting anxiety between male and female students, contrary to recent and similar study of computer anxiety in business students.