Attitude of accounting undergraduates towards pursuing postgraduate studies in accountancy in Nigeria

1. Accounting is a dynamic field of study that offers different business and career openings. As an
astoundingly adaptable field of study, it has cost accounting, public sector accounting, financial
accounting, performance management, taxation, management consulting, forensic accounting
as all part of its component.
The constant changes in globalization as lead l to the emergence of new component of
accounting like water accounting etc. A profession which is said limited number of occupations
or vocations involving special learning and carrying a certain social prestige with high societal
position and portrayed by impressive aptitude and learning, a lot of which is hypothetical and
scholarly in nature." The ownership of such expertise and information is typically tried by formal
instruction affirmed by an approved body.
Accountancy provides both practice and academic open entry ways. In the area of practice, we
have auditors of companies, financial analyst, auditors, tax consultants and so on. These
individuals that carry out their professional duties in the industries are specialists in solitary or
the other. Their activities are monitored and regulated by some regulatory bodies such as,
Securities and Exchange Commission, Corporate and Affairs Commission, Association of National
Accountants of Nigeria (ANAN), Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) in order to
check them and also because of the nature of the profession. For the scholastics, these are
individuals who have settled on tending to in tertiary institutions those training in secondary
schools. The choice to be made by a man concerning career options is a segment of the
individual's perspective towards the behavior and his/her perception of social pressure to that
behavior.
An accounting graduate who needs to work in the business world, does not by any means need
to get a postgraduate examination in accounting. He can essentially choose to sit for the
examinations of the master bodies available, either Association of National Accountants of
Nigeria (ANAN) or Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) and after successful
completion of the examinations, he transforms into recognized qualified accountant which gives
him recognition both inside and outside the university environment.
The conviction also that accounting is unique among business considers that it could be seen as
a "profession," offering not only a comparable general business establishment as organization,
yet what's more a more specific road to the extent openings for work. It bodes well thusly, that
those looking for after an accounting degree have more broad occupation feature thoughts than
their accomplices who pick distinctive majors Many universities in Nigeria have advanced
postgraduate degrees in Accounting, for instance, MSc with significant majority of courses in
accounting. While these undertakings give all the all the more accounting direction, they don't
adequately address the readiness need of the master accountant in the 21st century. “This
impacts the attitude of graduates towards postgraduate examinations in accounting.
Accounting is often thought of as a “safe” field, offering employment opportunities and
reasonable compensations, however the work itself is consistently not seen as offering the

2. inherent satisfaction that is offered by various fields. Accounting students appear not willing to
purse higher degree studies in accounting field after graduation because it does not broaden
knowledge of students on the practical affairs of corporate governance as compared to other
disciplines like Business Administration. This is has been a challenge to the accounting profession,
the rigidity of the program in terms of its curriculum.
The global marketplace is changing. Most accounting undergraduates show up not willing to bag
higher degree in the accounting field after graduation since it does not broaden knowledge of
students on feasible issues of corporate organization, strategy, business analysis as compared to
other disciplines like Business Administration. This is has been a test to the accounting calling,
the rigidity of the program in terms of its curriculum. The overall business focus is advancing. The
companies, services and industries that fuel economic growth also are evolving. In this new
marketplace, traditional accountants are a dying breed. Technology has made preparing and
disseminating financial information so inexpensive anyone with the right software’s can produce
basic data and information for decision making. In any case, various accounting educators have
fail to modify accounting curriculum to fit graduates with the tools and capacity they require in
the present business world. Accounting educators have been slow to make the kind of changes
needed to reverse the loss of top students to other careers.
Recommendations
1.University Authorities/ regulators: The management of universities and regulators ought to
guarantee that appropriate consideration is set as far as the educational modules of the
undergraduate and postgraduate programmes in accounting, with a specific end goal to
guarantee that, they address more practical business circumstances in light of the dynamic
nature of business.
2.There should be a cordial relationship between professional accountants practicing in various
facets of the industries and the accounting educators to allow for knowledge transfer.