Category of Work
Article
Publication Title
Accounting Education
Abstract
The primary objective of this study is to explore whether data visualization, which combines analysis and communication, can stimulate students’ interest in accounting and, as a result, draw them to the accounting profession. The study measured college students’ intentions to choose accounting by focusing on three intrinsic factors within the concept of personal interest: self-efficacy in analytical skills, perceptions of the accounting profession and courses, and beliefs about post-graduate employability. We carried out a 2 × 1 between-subjects design experiment involving undergraduate students from two sections of Principles of Accounting classes. The two sections had similar enrollments and student demographics and followed the same syllabus. One section performed ratio analysis, and the other visualization analysis using the same financial data case. Results show that students in the visualization analysis section reported stronger perceptions of their analytical abilities and post-graduate employability compared to those in the ratio analysis section. Students’ perceptions of the accounting profession were not different, but students’ perceptions of accounting courses differed. There were no differences between groups on interest in accounting or intentions to major in accounting. Further research is needed to identify effective strategies for generating interest in accounting.
First Page
1
Last Page
19
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1080/09639284.2025.2592149
Publication Date
11-25-2025
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
Recommended Citation
Malik, B. F., Du, N., & Lin, H. (2025). Incorporating visualization into introductory accounting courses to increase students’ interests in accounting. Accounting Education, 1–19. https://doi.org/10.1080/09639284.2025.2592149
Appendix C demographics.docx (16 kB)
Accounting Edu Bar Charts.docx (670 kB)
Proposed Model (Accounting) .png (58 kB)
