Empirical evidence examining the academic performance of students in the first two accounting subjects

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the academic performance of students in their first full year of accounting at Monash University to determine the variability in the marks in the second accounting subject that can be explained by performance in the first. Monash University has a number of campuses in Australia and internationally, and analysis is also undertaken on the variability by campus. Design/methodology/approach – Data for this paper are obtained from the end of semester marks in the first and second accounting subject. The variability in the marks is analysed using the co‐efficient of determination. Findings – The findings show there is some relationship between the marks obtained in first two accounting subjects, however the results show that the variability in the marks in the second subject that can be explained by the knowledge in the first subject accounts for between 25 and 28 per cent. The analysis by campus also shows wide discrepancy. Practical implications – The results of this paper have implications for academics teaching the first two introductory subjects and students. Originality/value – While the advantage of prior knowledge is well documented, this paper provides more insight on the conflicting research findings on the value of the prior knowledge of the first accounting subject on the second. It also provides a statistical measure of that accounts for the variability. The paper also examines the results of students in the first and second accounting subject at various campuses as very little prior research has addressed this issue.