An investigation of how the order effects of belief updating can bias perceptions of important qualities desired in accounting graduates

This study deals with the problem of identifying the most important characteristics that the Big Five accounting firms desire in accounting graduates.; A study by Moncada, Sanders, and Czyzewski (1997) reveals that accounting employers, accounting professors, and accounting students are not consistent in identifying the same qualities as being the most important. Although the American Accounting Education Change Commission (AECC) has established a composite summary of general criteria that meets the future needs of the accounting profession, hiring criteria typically adhere to guidelines established by the Big Five firms (MacCallum, 1997). Not only do the Big Five firms currently influence actions of accounting graduates, these firms also influence institutional prestige (Wyer, 1993). According to the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), large CPA firms have hired 37% to 44% of new accounting graduates since 1992.; The purpose of this research was to test Hogarth and Einhorn's (1992) theory of belief updating by presenting the top 7 characteristics chosen by accounting recruiters from the Moncada et al. (1997) study in a list of characteristics shown to different groups of recruiters in different orders. These 7 items were sent to 4 different groups in the following order: (1) randomly in a list of 20 items; (2) at the beginning of a list of 20 items; (3) at the end of a list of 20 items; and (4) as 7 items exclusively in a list. The purpose was to determine if their sequential ordering influenced the perceived important accounting graduate characteristics chosen by the Big Five accounting recruiters. It also tested the difference between high level experience recruiters (7 or more years) and low level experience recruiters (0--6 years) to determine if experience would eliminate a primacy or recency effect in the sequential order listing.; With a response rate of 37.3%, the sequential order listing did appear to influence the choices of characteristics between the four groups without consideration of experience. The high level experienced recruiters were generally affected by the sequential order listing of the top 7 items chosen in the Moncada et al. (1997) survey while the low level experience recruiters were generally unaffected by the sequential order listing. These findings have major importance to accounting educators when they are trying to determine the best way to prepare prospective students for Big Five accounting firms employment and for those accounting students who seek employment in the Big Five accounting firms. In addition, a current shortage of good accounting graduates predicates the importance of this study to college recruiters. Clear, concise guidelines and criteria should be established for accounting students and accounting educators to emphasize in the accounting education process. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)...