Factors influencing accounting students under-performance: A case study in a Malaysian public university

Abstract

This study examines the factors influencing students’ under-performance in an advanced financial reporting course. Specifically, this study examines four factors which may influence the accounting students’ under-performance in an advanced financial reporting course, namely class attendance, curricular activities, internship experience and English language proficiency. This study conducted a questionnaire survey on 83 final year accounting students who had failed the advanced financial reporting course at least once. The results indicated that class attendance, curricular activities and internship experience are associated with students’ under-performance in this course. However, English language proficiency is not a significant factor influencing students’ under-performance in the advanced financial reporting course. This indicates that understanding the content rather than the language used to teach the course is more important for student success in this field. However, further analysis shows that English language and curricular activities are significant factors for success in the advanced financial reporting course when regressed with other factors. These findings could assist academics in understanding the factors influencing students’ under-performance in the advanced financial reporting course and subsequently help develop strategies to improve results in the classroom.