Professional Documents
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Chapter 1 Draft
Chapter 1 Draft
INTRODUCTION
study that prepares students for a variety of careers in the field of accounting. This
program is being offered at Phinma- Cagayan de Oro College under the guidance of the
students such as but not limited to accounting. As defined by the American Association
not just in accounting firms but also in corporate finance, government agencies, non-
profit organizations, and more. Baysa and Lupisan (2011) also defined accounting as a
service activity and its main function is to provide quantitative information, primarily
economic decisions. Furthermore, there are four (4) major fields of accountancy that a
BSA graduate can pursue as a career, namely: public accounting, private accounting,
Accountancy one of the most in demand profession in today’s fast pacing and
globalized world.
outside the Philippines. For some universities in the country, it is a 4 – year course
The complexity of accounting tasks requires a high level of knowledge and skill.
In essence, the rigorous standards in accountancy are there to ensure that accountants
students might find the difficulty level more than they anticipated. Hence, this and along
with other factors could be the reason why accountancy students tend to shift to other
students shift to other programs contrary to their original one. The challenges in the
accounting program are not purely on the struggles of the students. There are other
factors worth considering. A few common factors in relation to this are academic
burnout, financial challenges, the retention policy set by the school, and the course
difficulties. By tackling this issue within the accountancy program, we can guarantee
that students receive the necessary assistance for their success. Hence, the
researchers took an interest in conducting this research to delve into this topic and run
down the problem to unravel the factors and reasons why there is a concerning
One factor to look into is the Academic Burnout. It is used in the study of Rana,
H. (2016) that burnout pressure leads to frustration and students become emotionally
exhausted and inefficient which lowers their academic performance. This can make
students feel like they are not suited to their current degree, prompting them to switch to
a different field where they believe they might perform better. Another factor worth
particularly the private colleges and universities, costs are highly anticipated to the point
that finishing degree/s on time is ultimately a goal. The difficulty of the course makes
students end up shifting to another program because they cannot withstand the
demands of accountancy or if they decide to continue, they incur additional cost &
additional years to retake the subjects that did not meet the required range of grades
and this affects the students' time to finish college. Northern, O’Brien, & Goetz (2010),
together with the academic workloads faced by students, pressure put by financial
retention policies could also be an underlying reason why accountancy students tend to
shift to other degree. The Retention policy is a set of guidelines by the department of a
course program usually for major subjects in order for students to comply with such
requirements and thrive to stay and to maintain one’s self in the program. Dr. Robert
Jones (April 2008) states that “Student retention refers to the extent to which learners
change of environment. Retention policies may prompt students to reassess their career
or academic interests. Lastly and probably the most obvious factor is the course
difficulties. As cited by Uy,Alenton, Zanoria & Etulle (2014) accountancy students have
to endure four to five years of highly technical groundwork and skills development in
switch their courses mainly because they find it tough to meet academic requirements,
especially struggling to pass their subjects. The difficulty of academic subjects is a big
With this information and the alarming low number of graduates of PHINMA-
Cagayan de Oro College and the rest of educational institution within the country, the
researchers decided to conduct a study of the factors that influence the decisions of
BSA students to shift to other programs. By giving attention to this, it allows for a closer
examination of factors that contribute to shifting and potential improvements that can be
made.
With the current development of the economy with many emerging businesses
that thrive for a large standing on the market and the business industry, accountants
play a very big role on helping companies on how they work well with their resources
and the assessment of their performances. With this, it makes accountant one of the
highest demand jobs that the companies sought for. According to the article entitled
Numbers that Count by Torres (2018), among the students in the Philippines, many
students show great interest in pursuing accountancy, data showed that in the span of
years from 2015-2017, there were about 160,622 enrollees in the Accountancy program
under the CHED-registered institutions. Sadly, on this the same period, only 23,225
this field of study has decreased and those who are credentialed have chosen to work
overseas. The Philippine Institute of Certified Public Accountants (PICPA) claimed that
non-certified public accountants were being hired by local accounting firms to address
the growing gap that began five years ago after they reached a tipping point. However,
and procedures while making sure regulations are followed and business ethics and
(2023) that lack of accountants is like playing sports without a referee, what those in
black-and-white striped jerseys are to sports, accountants and auditors are to business.
Accountants serve as the industry referees. The game has no rules without accounting
and finance, it's like playing a game where you make up the rules as you go along. With
the decreasing number of graduates and enrollees of the accountancy program all
across the Philippines and the alarming shortage of accountants in the country, this
study aims to sight factors and their influences on why accountancy student's decision
1. Which factor (personal and academic demand) have more significant effect in
Hypotheses
The hypotheses in the problems stated above are tested at 0.05 level of
significance.
H01: Academic burnout does not significantly affect the likelihood of accountancy
H02: Peer and parental pressure do not significantly affect the likelihood of accountancy
H04: Retention policy does not significantly affect the likelihood of accountancy students
H05: Frequent testing does not significantly affect the likelihood of accountancy students
H06: Course difficulties do not significantly affect the likelihood of accountancy students
Ha4: Retention policy significantly affects the likelihood of accountancy students shifting
to another program.
Ha5: Frequent testing significantly affects the likelihood of accountancy students shifting
to another program.
Ha6: Course difficulties significantly affect the likelihood of accountancy students shifting
to another program.
Theoretical Framework
College Major" (2005), and the study conducted by Maram Jaradat, Ed.D named
formulating the framework and the relevant survey questionnaires. The studies
Issues, and Job Issues) and with this, the researchers extracted relevant factors to use
in this study's own framework. Under these 3 factors presented, the researchers
formulated two relevant factors which is personal and academic demand factors that
includes 3 subfactors each. After the presentation of the 2 factors extracted from the
existing framework, the researchers would survey the student respondents on
discovering the weight of these factors on their decision to shift to another program by
using a Likert Scale. After these procedures, it will then be arranged from least
influential to most influential factor and subfactors (see chart 1.0 for visualization).
Academic Burnout
Financial Challenges
Presence of Job
Opportunities
Family’s Financial Capacity Rank
factors to
Retention Policy most to
least
Comprehensive Examination Influential
Cut-off grades
Course Difficulties
Level of difficulty
Influence of Instructors
CHART 1.0
Conceptual Framework
PERSONAL
Burnout
1. Loss of
Interest/Motivation
2. Introductory Courses
Peer and Parental Pressure
1. Parent/Guardian
Influence
2. Discussion with other
students
Financial Challenges
1. Presence of Job
Opportunities
2. Family’s Financial
Capacity
Student’s decision to shift to another
program.
ACADEMIC
Retention Policy
1. Comprehensive
Examinations
2. Cut-off Grades
Frequent Examination
1. Timing of Assessments
Course Difficulty
1. Level of Difficulty
2. Influence of Instructors
CHART 1.1
The figure above showcases the relationship of the variables of the study. It
interpreted the researchers' hypothesis regarding the causes and influencing factors
The conceptual framework draws inspiration from prior studies conducted by by Malgwi
et al. (2005) and Jaradat (2017), as cited in the study of Buenaventura et.al (2022),
which incorporated factors impacting students' decision to shift to another program.
Additionally, the researchers structured the factors into two categories: personal and
academic. These factors were further detailed into three subfactors each. Within the
personal factors category, the elements include burnout, peer and parental pressure,
and financial challenges. On the academic front, the factors encompass retention policy,
The researchers' main goal of this study is to examine the factors affecting the
change of program of the BSA students of PHINMA- Cagayan de Oro College. The BSA
students' perspective, experiences, and sentiments are highly valued. The outcome of
Incoming freshmen students - The results of the study will give them background
before pursuing the BSA program. It may aid their decisions and perspective about the
BSA program and will avoid them being indecisive of choosing the said program. This
study can also help them in adjusting in the first year of their college lives.
School administration - The results of the study will provide reasons as to where and
what aspect can the school help to support students in the Accountancy program to
The Researchers - The outcome of the study will serve them as guidance to enlighten
their knowledge about the BSA/BSMA program. It will also give them a grasp as to why
their fellow students and batchmates tend to shift and can also compare if the variables
Future Researchers - The outcome of the study will be beneficial to the future
researchers. This study could be used as their basis for their literature review and future
Bachelor of Science in Management Accounting. The research is limited and will only
focus to those enrolled 3rd year to 4th year former accountancy students of academic
program. This limitation was applied considering the limited or declined access of data
from the PHINMA-COC registrar's office that can provide the whereabouts of those
shiftees, first and second year shiftees are likewise not included in the target
respondents. Hence, the survey may or may not reach the whole population.
data and results from this study may or may not be the same to other academic
Academic burnout- it happens when students are suffering from many problems in
their institutes, due to the burden of work and technological changes they are getting
in the Philippines tasked to regulate the profession, that includes the accounting and
hereinafter referred to as Board, under the supervision and administrative control of the
Financial Factors - this term refers to the economic considerations that might influence
a student's decision to shift programs, such as tuition fees, living expenses, and
another. It's the benefits you could have had from the next best alternative. (Managerial
Peer and Parental pressure- Students were shifting programs because of their
discussions with other students and parents about their current majors. (Jaradat, 2017)
Program- The name or title of a program consists of the degree (e.g., BS) and the
Academic Information)
Retention policy- These are the required grades that need to be maintained.
Otherwise, the course subject will have to be retaken. (Lyceum of the Philippines, 2010)
valuable knowledge, skills, and abilities have been acquired. (Zapata-Rivera, 2010)
zero and must demonstrate their mastery of the material through assessments and