Abstract:

The first course in accounting is a compulsory course in most business cores (i.e. majors). In most introductory accounting classes, non-accounting students occupy the most seats. This study investigates possible differences in perceptions among accounting and non-accounting students. The purpose is to examine whether these possible differences are good enough to suggest the need to separate the delivery of this course. A questionnaire with open and closed questions will be constructed in order to ascertain the students’ perceptions. The second stage involves the delivery of the questionnaire to all business students pursuing an undergraduate degree with a private Cypriot university. The authors have to face some research limitations due to the fact that they both work as faculty members at one of the four private universities and also because of the competitiveness of the market access to the other three was not feasible. For that reason, the sample will consist of undergraduate business students studying at the biggest private university of Cyprus during the academic year 2011-2012. All students will be compared prior to and after taking the course on the basis of their relative interest, the level of course importance, prior knowledge of the course, course load, and the number of courses registered. For the purpose of this study, accounting majors include those majoring in accounting, and non-accounting majors are those majoring in other business disciplines (i.e. finance, economics, marketing, management information systems, and management).