Factors Affecting Audit Career Intention Among Post-Internship Accounting Students

Poh, Mao Hong (2025) Factors Affecting Audit Career Intention Among Post-Internship Accounting Students. Masters thesis, Tunku Abdul Rahman University of Management and Technology.

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Abstract

This research explores the factors influencing audit career intentions among post-internship accounting students in Malaysia, amid the profession’s ongoing challenges in attracting and retaining talent. Guided by Social Cognitive Career Theory (SCCT), the study examines the effects of auditing stereotypes, auditors work, job stress, and work satisfaction on students’ intentions to pursue auditing careers, and assesses the moderating role of ethical codes of conduct. A quantitative approach was employed through a structured self-administered questionnaire completed by 120 accounting students with audit internship experience. Data were analysed using SPSS version 29, applying descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, multiple regression, and moderated regression. Results show that auditing stereotypes, auditors’ work, and work satisfaction significantly influence students’ audit career intentions. In contrast, job stress does not have a significant impact. Ethical codes of conduct, although important to the profession, do not moderate the relationships between the variables studied. By focusing on post-internship students, a group with direct exposure to the auditing profession, this study fills a key gap in Malaysian audit career literature. The findings offer practical implications for educators, audit firms, and policymakers to improve audit internship design, address negative stereotypes, and foster greater work satisfaction, in support of Malaysia’s goal of producing 60,000 accounting professionals by 2030. Keywords: Auditing stereotype; Auditors work; Job stress; Work satisfaction; Audit career intention.