Overseas accounting students in Australia and performance in literary work : an empirical test

This study compared the performance of local and overseas students, studying in a Western Australian university, in respect of both a literary and practical component of an examination question associated with a second year accounting unit. An analysis of the results, using an analysis of variance, indicated that language background for these two groups of students was a significant discriminating variable. This result lends support for the claim by the large Australian-based major public accounting firms that overseas accounting graduates lack language skill, which is, in turn, cited by the firms as a basis for not employing the graduates. Notwithstanding the extreme importance and implications of this research for concerned stakeholders, including educators, educational institutions, graduates and employers, and government migration policy, the research findings should be treated as tentative and further research is suggested