The Relationship between Auditing Students' Anticipatory Socialization and Their Professional Commitment

ABSTRACT The accounting profession is suffering from a crisis of confidence caused by many ethics failures. Researchers have advocated that ethics education should start in the classroom by emphasizing the importance of financial reporting to users. The current study examines the relationship between auditing students' commitment to their profession, and their anticipatory socialization, as operationalized by perception of the importance of financial reporting. The results indicated a strong positive relationship between anticipatory socialization and professional commitment. Several demographic factors also emerged that emphasized the importance of socializing accounting students into the profession very early in their career. INTRODUCTION In the last few years, the accounting profession has faced several challenges. Among them were the bankruptcies of Arthur Anderson, the indictments and fines of KPMG and the conviction of several top accounting executives in bankrupt firms on fraud charges. The government has taken a more active role in accounting regulation, as exemplified in the Sarbanes Oxley act and increased audit requirements. Generally, the accounting profession has experienced a crisis of confidence in its ability to meet users' expectations. Several researchers (e.g. Madison (2002)) advocated that ethics education for accountants should start in the classroom, long before they join the professional workforce. The AAA Committee on the Future Structure, Content and Scope of Accounting Education (Bedford Committee Report 1986, 179) also stated: "Professional accounting education must not only emphasize the needed skills and knowledge, it must also instill the ethical standards and the commitment of a professional. " The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between accounting students' level of socialization before entering the profession (i.e. anticipatory socialization) and a desirable trait of accounting professionals: Professional commitment. Anticipatory socialization is the process of adopting professional values and beliefs even before obtaining professional membership (Merton & Rossi, 1968). Previous research found extensive evidence of the socialization experience of undergraduate students in many disciplines. The current study extends this research to the accounting field and examines whether accounting students' socialization experience influences their commitment to their chosen profession. The study also examines whether demographic factors such as age, gender, career choice and academic achievement determine the level of professional commitment or anticipatory socialization among accounting students. The paper is organized as follows: Following this introduction is a review of the relevant literature on professional commitment and anticipatory socialization, along with the limited research conducted on demographic influences. This is followed by an explanation of the study's methodology and sampling. Research results are presented next followed by a discussion of the results as they relate to accounting education in the aftermath of corporate scandals. BACKGROUND AND HYPOTHESES Professional Commitment Aranya et al. (1981, 272) defined professional commitment as the attachments that individuals form to their profession. It entails the belief in, and acceptance of, the goals of the profession. It also shows a willingness to exert significant effort on behalf of the profession. Lee et al. (2000) identified two reasons for the importance of studying professional commitment. First, a person's career represents a major focus of life. Second, professional commitment has important implications at the individual and organizational levels. Extensive research has investigated the consequences of professional commitment in several occupations. Professional commitment has been linked to positive outcomes such as improved work performance (Lee et al. …