Accounting Information Systems course: perceptions of accounting and non-accounting students

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore how the delivery of an accounting information system (AIS) course affects the perceptions of accounting and non-accounting students, and whether these differences are important enough to suggest the separate the delivery of this course. Design/methodology/approach: A questionnaire was distributed during the last teaching weeks of the AIS course in a Cypriot University. A comparative analysis between the two study groups, i.e. accounting and non-accounting students, followed. Findings: The findings suggest that the successful delivery of the course reinforces the positive perceptions of the accounting group, and increases the interests and the positive perceptions of the non-accountants. Originality/value: Following the development of the enterprise resource planning and the hybridization of the accountants’ role, non-accountants are increasingly engaged in practices traditionally performed by financial or management accountants. That market development may motivate business schools to offer AIS courses to non-accounting students. This study addresses this unexplored topic.