The effect of students’ performance in introductory accounting on college duration

Purpose: This study aims to examine the effect of accounting students’ performance in the first part of introductory accounting on duration to successfully complete accounting program. Design/methodology/approach: Linear regression (ordinary least squares) with a sample of 127 accounting students, who were graduated during the 2015/2016 academic year from a business college in Kuwait, was used to test the study’s hypothesis. Findings: The results indicate that there was a statistically significant association between the grade earned in the first part of introductory accounting and the college duration, which explained the significant influence of the grade earned in the first part of introductory accounting on the college duration, with and without controls for other factors. Practical implications: The findings provide administrators, accounting educators and academic researchers with a useful benchmark for improving accounting programs and guidelines for future academic research. Originality/value: The value of this study would be twofold; it provided a foundation for future comparative studies, potentially leading to the harmonization of international accounting education, and it addressed some of the gaps in the existing regional accounting education literature resulting from the scarcity of prior studies. In addition, the college where data were collected has been recently approved to enter the candidacy for accreditation at the Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs. Given the accrediting bodies emphasis on academic performance and graduation on time, the study’s findings would help the college in enhancing its students’ performance and maximizing the chances of its accreditation application being successful.