The Importance of Mathematics as a Prerequisite to Introductory Financial Accounting

ABSTRACT

Mathematics has long served as a prerequisite to introductory financial accounting in the 4-year college business curriculum. However, 2-year colleges have been slower to adopt math as a prerequisite. Its usefulness in relation to achieving successful completion of accounting has not been demonstrated at either a 2-year or 4-year college. Using data from students who enrolled in introductory financial accounting at a 2-year college over a 13-year period, the research reported here consists of the generation of a logistical regression model to ascertain the role of mathematics in relation to improving the odds of success in introductory financial accounting. The results indicate that successful completion of introductory financial accounting improves when high school GPA (grade point average), collegiate maturity, as well as combined prerequisites of math and English are taken into consideration.

Acknowledgments

The authors express their appreciation to participants at a presentation of the working paper at the spring 2015 meeting of the Southeast Region of the American Accounting Association.