CHAPTER 1 THE PROBLEM AND ITS BACKGROUND Introduction Accounting in business is very important and it has been greatly

emphasized in business schools. With a degree in business, a graduate is expected to possess the business accounting skills and knowledge that are regarded by any number of industries in the business world to be beneficial if not necessary. Competent and skilled business professionals are sought after and are in demand for employment and are assured of financial security. However, though the prospects for this course would be encouraging, many incoming and returning students have second thoughts to pursue a degree in business because they associate this degree with lots of accounting subjects. According to Mendoza (2008), the standpoint of accounting education in the Philippines nowadays deals with what should be the real concentration of accounting programs. Will it be the employment or entrepreneurship among the graduates? These were the questions posited in the study of Mendoza (2008). How are accounting principles reflective and responsive to specialized businesses like agricultural production, agribusiness, mining, software development, franchising, etc.? What areas provide better prospects for graduates of accounting programs: accounting, auditing, business consultancy, or tax practice and are they prepared to assume vital positions along these areas? How does accounting education ensure the marketability and competitiveness of graduates? Does accounting education regard the career plans of students and make them ready for possible career shift in the future? How important is liberal education and how is it kept in sync with technical education in accountancy program? These are few of the questions the accounting educators need to ask and find answers to. Though prospects are bright

for future graduates of business and accounting, the problem lies on the dwindling number of students who will likely pursue this course. In the past there has been studies that substantially support that students typically link accounting subjects with negative perceptions. perceptions of accounting are likely to affect students attitudes to pursue this course. The unpredictability of enrolment in business courses has been for some time the subject of studies with a view to find reasons for this. Prior studies suggest that accounting is generally regarded as high risk course that is characterized by high failure and withdrawals rates Widmar (1994);Etter et al. (2000). Similar studies Albecht and Sack (2000); AECC (1996); and Arendale (1994) came up with the same concern and called for ways to make introductory accounting courses more attractive in order to encourage and motivate students to become accounting majors. Questions as to where the problem lies had been raised. Studies in the past revealed that students typically link accounting subject to mathematics or vice versa with negative perceptions. Relatively business courses incorporate accounting in its curriculum. These These

perceptions of business students towards accounting may have an effect on students attitudes to pursue business course. Moreover, students may view a course of study from their interest in that subject differently. Researchers have looked at anxiety as one of the major hindrances to academic performance Malgwi (2004). Several studies in other disciplines such as computers,

mathematics, chemistry and medicine have been linked to anxiety. The closest anxiety study in accounting is the one about influence of accounting anxiety and student motivation to the academic performance of post graduate accounting students Ashraf (2008). According to Ashraf (2008), anxiety has been defined in the context in which it is used. For example, studies about anxiety among computer, math and chemistry students define anxiety respectively, as the fear

of computers when using computer, or when considering the possibility of computer use Heinssen et al. (1987). Venkatesh (2000) , noted too that computer anxiety affects the way individuals view a specific software package and their use of that software. Mathematics anxiety has also been defined as an irrational dread of mathematics that interferes with manipulating numbers and solving mathematical problems within a variety of everyday life and academic situations Buckley and Ribordy (1982). The researcher believes that accounting anxiety is a problem for many business students. This statement is gathered from informal interviews conducted and observation. Subsequently, anxiety has detrimental effects to college students such as feelings of nervous tensions, fears of rejection and stress Truttschel (2002). Students may have high levels of anxiety due to prior experiences with teachers and other influential persons Baylor, Shen and Warren (2000). This paper aims to investigate how accounting subjects are perceived by business students of PLT College Inc. ; its determinants and their relationship to accounting anxiety. This is one of the real and compelling motivation for the researcher to conduct this study.