Accounting practitioners and academics are reexamining the core skills that are taught in undergraduate accounting education. We report the results of two studies that investigate the relationships among knowledge, skill, self- efficacy, and computer anxiety in an accounting education setting. In the first study, some participants received both software-specific training and accounting systems knowledge (SSTASK), while others received only accounting systems knowledge (ASK). In the second study, all participants received accounting systems knowledge (ASK) for eight weeks, followed by eight weeks that combined software-specific training and accounting systems knowledge (SSTASK). The results of both studies suggest that: (1) SSTASK generates larger increases in certain types of accounting-related self-efficacy than ASK, (2) self-efficacy measures (e.g., spreadsheet, database, and computer self-efficacy) may be more relevant to accounting education than computer anxiety measures, and (3) measures of self-efficacy may be increasingly useful as diagnostic tools as accounting education places more emphasis on skills relative to knowledge. We conclude by arguing that recent educational reforms in accounting suggest a need to more clearly delineate the relationships among accounting instruction, knowledge, skill, self-efficacy, and anxiety.

JEL Classifications: M40, A20

Accepted Paper Series
Date posted: April 14, 1998
Suggested Citation

Stone, Dan N., Arunachalam, Vairam and Chandler, John S., An Empirical Investigation of Knowledge, Skill, Self- Efficacy, and Computer Anxiety in Accounting Education. ISSUES IN ACCOUNTING EDUCATION, Vol 11, No 2, Fall 1996. Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=2737


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Contact Information
Dan N. Stone (Contact Author)
University of Kentucky - Von Allmen School of Accountancy ( email )
Lexington, KY 40506
United States
859-257-3043 (Phone)
859-257-3654 (Fax)

Vairam Arunachalam
University of Missouri at Columbia - School of Accountancy ( email )
420 Cornell Hall
Columbia, MO 65211
United States

John S. Chandler
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign - Department of Accountancy ( email )
1206 South Sixth Street
Champaign, IL 61820
United States

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