Audit Knowledge, Self-Efficacy, and Career Motivation on Career Interest as a Public Accountant with Job Market Perception as a Moderating Variable
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.24256/kharaj.v8i2.9977Keywords:
Audit Knowledge, Career Interest, Career Motivation, Job Market Perception, Public AccountantAbstract
Although public accountants play a strategic role in maintaining financial transparency in Indonesia, their number is limited to around 2000 active people in the middle of KAP increasing from 472 in 2023 to 500 in 2026. This study analyzes the influence of audit knowledge, self-efficacy, and career motivation on accounting students' interest in pursuing a career as a public accountant with job market perception as a moderator, using an associative quantitative approach and Partial Least Squares (PLS-SEM) survey method. The population of accounting students at private universities in Lamongan Regency taking auditing courses was purposively sampled as many as 108 students (minimum fifth semester) through a five-point Likert scale questionnaire analyzed with SmartPLS 4.0 including descriptive statistics, validity/reliability tests, and bootstrapping. The results show that career motivation has a significant effect on career interest (β=0.494, p=0.004, t=2.920), while audit knowledge (β=0.150, p=0.222), self-efficacy (β=0.159, p=0.329), job market perception (β=0.056, p=0.692), and the moderating effect is not significant, the model explains 76.4% of the variance (R²=0.764). Universities need to increase career motivation through special programs to encourage public accounting interest.
References
Ajzen, I. (2020). The theory of planned behavior: Frequently asked questions. Human Behavior and Emerging Technologies, 2(4), 314–324.https://doi.org/10.1002/hbe2.195
Al-Hattami, HM (2025). Self-efficacy and career readiness in accounting education: The role of digital transformation. Journal of Accounting Education, 62, 100845.
Amalia, R., & Bakhtiar, A. (2024). The influence of academic ability and job market considerations on students' interest in becoming public accountants. Journal of Accounting and Finance, 12(2), 145–158.
Ariyani, D., & Jaeni, J. (2022). The influence of career motivation on students' interest in becoming public accountants. Journal of Accounting Science, 15(1), 55–66.
Arda, M. (2024). The role of public accountants in increasing the transparency of financial reports. Indonesian Accounting Journal, 10(1), 1–10.
Astuti, R., & Aji, S. (nd). Factors influencing students' interest in choosing the public accounting profession. Journal of Accounting.
Aurelia, V., & Pangaribuan, H. (2025). Competence and ethics of the public accounting profession in Indonesia. Journal of the Accounting Profession, 8(1), 23–34.
Avika Miya Olistya Depp, & Setiawati, L. (2025). Job market perceptions and their influence on accounting students' career interests. Journal of Accounting Research, 14(1), 77–89.
Azizah, N., & Hariyanto, E. (2022). The influence of job market considerations on accounting students' interests. Journal of Economics and Business, 9(2), 120–130.
Azmy, A., Rahmawati, D., & Sari, P. (2025). Analysis of job market perceptions on students' career choices. Journal of Management and Business, 11(1), 45–56.
Creswell, J. W., & Creswell, J. D. (2024). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches (6th ed.). Sage Publications.
Dewanti, R., & Anggraini, D. (2024). The influence of audit understanding on accounting students' work readiness. Journal of Accounting Education, 13(2), 101–112.
Emilia Kurniawati, & Sulastri Rini Rindrayani. (2025). Survey methods in quantitative research: A practical approach. Journal of Research Methodology, 5(1), 10–20.
Emzir. (2022). Educational research methodology: Quantitative and qualitative. RajaGrafindo Persada.
Fachruddin, R., Hidayat, T., & Lestari, S. (2025). The influence of self-efficacy on accounting students' career interests. Journal of Accounting and Auditing, 19(1), 88–99.
Falah, M., & Sarianti, R. (2025). Self-efficacy and its influence on students' career choices. Journal of Educational Psychology, 14(1), 34–45.
Fiorentina, A., Nugroho, B., & Prasetyo, E. (2024). Factors influencing accounting students' career interests. Journal of Modern Economics, 8(2), 210–220.
Grugulis, I. (2024). Human capital theory and practice. Palgrave Macmillan.
Isnaini Anniswati Rosyida, Masyhadi, & others. (2024). The influence of self-efficacy on career interests of accounting students. Scientific Journal of Accounting, 12(3), 201–213.
Juliasih, NW, & Mimba, NPSH (2024). The influence of professional understanding on interest in becoming a public accountant. E-Journal of Accounting, 34(1), 50–62.
Kenswary, B., & Rapina, R. (2025). Audit knowledge and its impact on auditor performance. International Journal of Accounting Research, 13(2), 67–79.
Kotte, R., Simanjuntak, L., & Putra, D. (2024). Labor market considerations and students' career interests. Journal of Business and Accounting, 16(1), 98–109.
Kwarteng, A., & Servoh, E. (2024). Self-efficacy and career decision-making among students. Journal of Career Development, 51(2), 155–168.
Meikhati, E., Wibowo, A., & Rahman, F. (2025). Professional competence and work readiness of accounting students. Journal of Economic Education, 18(1), 75–88.
Mushofa, A., Prasetyo, B., & Kurniawan, D. (2024). PLS-SEM analysis in social research. Journal of Applied Statistics, 6(2), 90–102.
Prastyatini, S., & Kaleka, M. (2025). Factors influencing students' interest in becoming public accountants. Journal of Contemporary Accounting, 17(1), 33–45.
Purwandika, A., & Putri, R. (2025). Work environment and career prospects in choosing the accounting profession. Journal of Financial Management, 11(1), 44–55.
Rachmawati, D., Sari, N., & Utami, P. (2023). The influence of job opportunities on students' career interests. Journal of Development Economics, 21(2), 134–145.
Ratily Pakpahan, R., & Nikmah, F. (2024). Accounting literacy and student work readiness. Journal of Business Education, 10(2), 66–78.
Rosida, L., & Rochmawati, R. (2024). Career motivation and its influence on professional choice. Journal of Industrial Psychology, 12(1), 23–35.
Schunk, D.H., & DiBenedetto, M.K. (2020). Motivation and social cognitive theory. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 60, 101832.
Setiawan, A., Nugraha, D., & Putri, S. (2023). Career motivation and interest in becoming an auditor. Indonesian Journal of Accounting and Finance, 20(1), 45–57.
Sugiyono. (2021). Quantitative, qualitative, and R&D research methods. Alfabeta.
Sudaryono. (2023). Research methodology. Rajawali Pers.
Sulung, N., & Muspawi, M. (2024). The use of Likert scales in social research. Journal of Research Methodology, 7(1), 12–20.
Suyanto, B., Raharjo, S., & Lestari, D. (2024). The influence of self-efficacy on career decision making. Journal of Psychology, 19(2), 140–152.
Ulma, R. (nd). Career motivation and its influence on students' professional choices. Journal of Economic Education.
Wahyuni, S., Putri, A., & Rahman, H. (2024). The role of audits in increasing the credibility of financial reports. Journal of Accounting and Auditing, 18(2), 90–102.
Wirianti, N., Dewi, P., & Lestari, M. (2021). The influence of audit knowledge on students' interest in becoming auditors. Journal of Accounting, 15(2), 120–130.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
Citation Check
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Nur Khoirotun Nasihah, Isnaini Anniswati Rosyida, Masyhadi
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. In line with the license, authors are allowed to share and adapt the material. In addition, the material must be given appropriate credit, provided with a link to the license, and indicated if changes were made. If authors remix, transform or build upon the material, authors must distribute their contributions under the same license as the original.
