Is There Working Professionals’ Support for Recommending Students Double Major in Accounting and Information Systems?

This paper examines current accounting and finance professionals’ preferences regarding the type of degree acquired by beginning professional accounting staff prior to employment within their organization. Specifically, we investigated to what extent a double undergraduate degree in accounting and information systems was identified as a desired degree for entry level in the field. The survey population was 2,300 individuals who were members of a large, regional CPA society in south Texas, members of the Institute of Management Accountants in the same area, or employers who had interviewed prospective employees on St. Mary’s University’s campus during the previous three years. While accounting was the preferred single major, 39% of 104 respondents who identified a second discipline, preferred the double major of accounting and information systems. Of this set of respondents, 75% were employed in industry, finance, government, or “other” rather than in public accounting firms.