Students' perceptions of the auditing profession

• Main Authors: Liang, Hien Fung, Tan, Hui Cheng, Tay, Teck Siang
• Other Authors: Nanyang Business School
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: 2014
• Subjects: DRNTU::Business::Accounting
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10356/59317
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

It is not uncommon for an average accountancy undergraduate to have a distorted perception of the auditing profession when he first enrolls into the Bachelor of Accountancy degree course. In the curriculum of the three-year course, the students are introduced to auditing in AC205 Auditing and AC304 Advanced Auditing. This study aims to investigate the perception of students towards the auditing profession before and after AC205, by conducting a survey on second year Accountancy students at the beginning and towards the end of the course. To ensure validity of the results obtained, a similar survey is conducted on a group of students not takingAC205 currently. The survey attempts to determine the students' knowledge on four areas of the auditing profession--namely: the roles and responsibilities of auditors, the concept of true and fair, rules and regulations governing the profession (in Singapore), and legal liability of the profession. The results revealed that the students, towards the end of theAC205 course, had a less skewed understanding of the auditing profession. This suggests that AC205 may be an effective tool in molding the perceptions the students have of the profession.