Importance of Mathematics and English from Prior Education in a First Year Accounting Subject

The purpose of this study is to identify the factors that influence a student’s performance in a first year accounting subject in university. The data were collected from Western Sydney University (WSU) database for 3011 students who undertook the first year accounting unit - Accounting Information for Managers (AIM) during 2009 and 2010. The results reveal that students who had studied higher level mathematics (with calculus) and advanced English in the High School Certificate (HSC) were better equipped to undertake AIM. In contrast, students who had only studied general mathematics (without calculus) and standard English in the HSC were found to be disadvantaged.

Keywords: Education, Accounting, Mathematics, OLS