The impact of introductory accounting courses on student perceptions about the purpose of accounting information and the objectives of business: a comparison of the UK and Japan

This paper is concerned with the impact of introductory financial accounting courses on student perceptions of business objectives. The paper reports the results of a questionnaire survey of UK and Japanese university students which investigated their views at the start and end of an introductory financial accounting module. The views of Japanese students, in comparison with those from the UK, are of particular interest given evidence in the literature that traditional 'social market' traditions in Japan are being influenced by Anglo-American 'stock market' values. Our results are consistent with such a phenomenon in that Japanese students' values regarding business objectives show significant changes that are not mirrored by changes in the perceptions of their Western counterparts. We suggest that accounting education is acting as a conduit for views more commonly held in Anglo-American societies.