Journal of Finance and Accountancy Minority accounting student socialization, Page 1 Minority accounting students ’ socialization in AACSB-accredited minority colleges of business

Nearly one-quarter of a century has elapsed since Williams et al. (1988, 62) pleaded for additional research concerning minorities and the accounting profession. Subsequently, a number of academic and practitioner research studies have been undertaken in an effort to recruit and retain minorities in the profession. One area that has not been addressed is the effectiveness of the socialization process on minority undergraduate accounting students. This research has tremendous implications, in that accounting programs which effectively socialize minority undergraduate accounting students to the norms of the profession may contribute to higher minority accountant new-hire retention rates, especially in public accounting. The current research investigates whether the accounting curriculum in AACSB-accredited minority colleges of business effectively socialize senior minority undergraduate accounting students towards their responsibilities to the accounting profession. Clikeman and Henning’s (2000) survey methodology is adapted to conduct this research. The sampling frame consists of accounting majors and nonaccounting business majors enrolled at a minority southeastern university in the United States. The results indicate that no statistically significan