Abstract:
The purpose of this study isto analyze
the perceptions of a future accountant’s
role in business and to understand
how education and the professional
practice of accounting should change
accordingly. This study comprised two
hundred undergraduates from four
different universities in Sri Lanka. The
areas of the study were leadership, ethics
and professionalism. Exploratory and
factor analysis were used to analyze the
collected data. The findings of the study
indicated that undergraduates perceive
that accountants should have an above
was done in an environment where the
accounting curriculum has substantially
changed within the last two decades.
The perception of accountants was
however positive due to the promotional
campaigns launched by professional
accounting firms. A study conducted
by Jackling et al. revealed that ethical
issues were likely to occur in accounting
practices, which perceptions have been
confirmed in current studies on the
perception of accounting.
