The Impacts of Internship to Accounting Students of Holy Angel University

to their Academic Performance

In an empirical study done by Knechel and Snowball (1987), they

examined students who completed internships versus students who did not
to see if this affected the students academic performance. They found that
the results did not differ much between these two groups in terms of their
performance in the courses they took. However, these researchers did
suggest that students who interned focused more on courses associated with
their career field, and for auditing coursework, the interns academic
performance improved when compared to non-interns. Christine Lauber
(2004), who chaired the AICPA task force on internship issues and her
colleagues, explained that, the skills, knowledge and motivation that
internship students gain from their experience will influence their
performance in subsequent business courses.
The AICPA or American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (2007)
emphasizes that internship allows students the opportunity to translate
academic theories and principles to action, to test out career interests and to
develop skills and abilities through carefully planned and supervised
programs. This evidence therefore suggests that accounting internships
play a vital role in academic improvement. As noted by Dennis (1996)
Internship gives a lot of benefits to students. One is that job hunting would
be easier and secondly there will be improvements in their performance.
According to him, On-the-job training helps students to develop skills needed
in the business world.

The Impacts of Internship to Accounting Students of Holy Angel University

to their Academic Performance

Ultimately, the most important result of the internship should be better

job opportunities, because students have experienced the world of work.
Actually, Scott (1992) mentioned that a lot of students treat practicum
programs as the most effective way to learn the reality of the real world job
experience. Internship experiences should help students focus their career
choices, hone their job skills, personally focus their work values, and
decrease their anxiety about the job search (Hall, 1976: Kane et al., 1992)
According to Lynn (2007), there has been an increase in the number of
accounting students and surveys done by the National Association of
Colleges and Employees (NACE) showed that there is a high demand for
accountants among employers. There seems to be a discrepancy with the
increasing number of accounting students and those who shows an interest
in taking the CPA. In a study done by Albrecht and Sack (2001), their findings
showed that factors affecting enrolment in accounting programs could be
attributed to most students being misinformed in the areas of accounting
and accounting careers. They found evidence indicating that accounting
students were not knowledgeable about what constitute a career in
accounting and the opportunities it presents. They also indicated that
accounting leaders and practicing accountants are not in favour of the
current structure of accounting education. In their solution, the authors
suggested ways to improve accounting education after they compared
different accounting education models. Furthermore, they concluded that the

The Impacts of Internship to Accounting Students of Holy Angel University

to their Academic Performance

structure of accounting programs today (separating undergraduate or

graduate accounting programs) would not be fair to their model if they were
creating a new business school. It seems that students could benefit from an
educational program that will inform and prepare them for a career in
accounting.
Other researcher such as Mauldin, Zahcry, and Morris (2006)
conducted an experiment to find out if the types of different students work
experience affected CPA firms recruiting decisions. They explored four levels
of students job experience that they think would influence the hiring
decisions for entry-level accountants. The first level is noted as "nonaccounting experience. Second, on-the-job training in an accounting firm.
Then the third is accounting experience in an industrial company and lastly
no experience of any kind. The results of their study showed that Accounting
firm recruiters consider accounting internship experience as a major factor in
the hiring process when compared to the other levels mentioned. Similarly,
Hindley explained that those students who took up practicum are usually
being hired by the company they interned. Internship experience is very
important in obtaining a job prior to graduation; also having career-related
experience is used as the only condition for hire by many employers
(Plunkett, 2007).
In addition, many firms who hired interns stated that they were able to
hire the interns for a full-time position after they graduated (Merrit, 2005).

The Impacts of Internship to Accounting Students of Holy Angel University

to their Academic Performance

Evidence that demonstrated students positive feedbacks toward their

internship experiences after completing an accounting internship includes
Caldwell & Fesler, n.d.; Hindley, 2002; and Lynn, 2007

Accounting Internship is a way that students can acquire real world job
experience while in college. Interns are usually considered to be
inexperienced individuals, with only an understanding of the theories and
concepts of their major field, which is provided at school. Interns are likely to
have little or no professional or practical experience in their field; therefore,
participating in an internship gives them the opportunity to apply what they
have learned. In the present, accounting students in Holy Angel University
have their formal internship program unlike before not all of them
experienced on the job-training.
To know if the practicum program can prepare students, we decided to
do a research study on the impact of internship on accounting students in
Holy Angel University and to find out if there was a strong correlation
between accounting internships to their academic performance and better
job opportunities despite such criticisms of accounting education, methods
exist that help blend study and practice more effectively.
What are the benefits that the accounting students will get from the
implementation of an accounting internship program to their academic

The Impacts of Internship to Accounting Students of Holy Angel University

to their Academic Performance

performance? Do the accounting internship programs prepare the student of

Holy Angel University to real job experience and personality development?
This study aims to:
1. To determine the significance of internship to students and to measure
the usefulness of taking up on the job-training.
2. To assess if the skills that they can acquire in their practicum can help
them excel in their future career life and to identity the advantages of
it.
3. To be an instrument in improving the formal accounting internship
program in the Holy Angel University.

The findings generated in this study would be of great help to the following:
1. Accounting Students. This research will maximize the knowledge of
each student regarding the importance of the subject practicum in the
curriculum. To let the students get the most out of internship like
confidence in dealing with other people, to be more familiarized with
the process of their work in the business environment.
2. Academic Institutions. The research study will allow the University to
decide if it is necessary to offer the internship program. This will serve
as guidance for the school if the current program is effective.

The Impacts of Internship to Accounting Students of Holy Angel University

to their Academic Performance

3. Workplace. The Research will let the company know how to impart the
knowledge and experiences that the student needs and this will serve
as guidance in accommodating the trainees and the company will have
better job matching.

This study would focus on the impacts of internship in terms of

the effects in their academic performance. It will also talk about how
internship will affect the students personality development and job
opportunities for fourth year accounting students taking up their
practicum this semester.

From a variety of research available, internship programs, have tended

to benefit the student, the student`s institution and the employer. However,
for the student there is a positive effect to his academic performance and it
is the learning that is of utmost benefit. The student can apply the theories
he learned from the classroom to the field he chooses and gains knowledge
of the qualifications and duties of a position and can explore their interest in
a field. Holy Angel University set up internship program to offer it through
course-work to facilitate a practical learning experience for its students.
Some studies show little evidence of improved academic performance after
an internship experience, other studies showed a strong probability of being
hired after an internship. Many will agree that experience out in the field help

The Impacts of Internship to Accounting Students of Holy Angel University

to their Academic Performance

students gain practical skills and enable them to learn what the job requires
of them from observing or performing real tasks associated with the
discipline. We believe that the students can acquire deeper knowledge of the
importance of the internship in their course. They can also learn a lot of
things through their experiences in their field and can improve their physical
appearance, emotional, mental, social aspects and their communicational
skills.

Figure 1: Operational Framework showing the Variables of the Study

Operational Definition of Terms

The Impacts of Internship to Accounting Students of Holy Angel University

to their Academic Performance

1. HAU Internship this is the form practicum program of Holy

Angel University where it is the way that the accounting students
can acquire real world job experience.
2. Academic Performance We believe that it is the outcome of
education the extent to which the accounting student has
achieved their educational goals and being able to apply the
learned theories to reality/workplace.
3. Knowledge We believe that the students can acquire deeper
knowledge of the importance of the internship in their course.
They can also learn a lot of things through their experiences in
their field.
4. Personality Development We believe that the students can
improve their physical appearance, emotional, mental, social
aspects and their communicational skills.
5. Skills We believe that the student can improve and can acquire
more skills through the internship.
Hypothesis

Internship has no significant impact on learning and to

subsequent academic performance

Internship do not improve students skills, knowledge and

personality

Internships have no impact on accounting students, and has not

proven to be beneficial in the areas of job opportunities and
academic enrichment.

The Impacts of Internship to Accounting Students of Holy Angel University

to their Academic Performance

Methodology
Research Design

This study will employ a descriptive kind of research. The purpose of a

descriptive research is to describe variables and examine relationships
among these variables. The purpose of this study is to talk about the impacts
of internship. Its nature is not a non-experimental, since variables are not
manipulated.

Respondents of the Study

Regardless of the students gender, age or field of practicum the researchers

will be selecting all the fourth year accountancy students taking up on-the
job training in the first semester S.Y.2014-2015, this information will be
requested from the Registrars Office .The study will be conducted at HAU,
where we will be distributing it and encouraging the students to complete
the two-part questionnaire. The questionnaire contained a series of questions
based on evaluating students internship experiences.

The Impacts of Internship to Accounting Students of Holy Angel University

to their Academic Performance

Sampling Design

Since the group has a specific characteristic in common which is all the
respondents are trainees. The researchers will use Purposive sampling
technique since we will be only studying about students who are only taking
internship. Purposive sampling is essential for research that study specific
characteristic. This ensures that the research returns relevant information
and avoids wasting time taking samples that have nothing to do with the
research topic.

Data Analysis

Data that are gathered will be processed using Microsoft Excel in getting the
mean rating and Pearson Product moment of correlation (Pearson R) will be
used to determine the relationship between the two variables; the internship
and academic performance. The following will be utilized to interpret the
obtained r.
R

Indication

between .80 to 1.00

high correlation

between .60 to .79

moderate high correlation

between .40 to .59

moderate correlation

10

The Impacts of Internship to Accounting Students of Holy Angel University

to their Academic Performance

between .20 to . 39

low correlation

between .01 to .19

negligible correlation

Data gathering and instruments

A two-part survey was developed for the purpose of determining the benefits
of the accounting internship students receive from it. The questionnaire
includes criterion adapted from a survey done by Martin and Wilkerson, Jr.,
(2006) on students attitudes towards internships. This section was used as a
tool to find out the students reaction towards an internship before and after
the internship experience. This is important as it will help the practicum
department determine if internships will have a positive effect on accounting
students academically. First part of the survey will be distributed to all the
respondents and will be answered before they will take their OJT (Appendix
B, First Survey). The responses to this section were on a scale of one-to-five
(1-5) ranging from Strongly Disagree to Strongly Agree Then the second part
will be distributed and answered by the respondents once they finish their
practicum (Appendix B, Second Survey). The responses to this section were
on a scale of one-to-five (1-5) ranging from Strongly Disagree to Strongly
Agree. Researchers will administer the questionnaire to the students to
answer the validated questionnaire and also answer questions if the
respondents have clarifications. All information will be confidential. Then the

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The Impacts of Internship to Accounting Students of Holy Angel University

to their Academic Performance

questionnaire will be checked for validity and completeness so the

researchers can tabulate and process the data. The instrument to be used is
a survey questionnaire.

Appendix A

Ms. Maritess Dimalanta

Dean, College of Business and Accountancy
Holy Angel University
Angeles City

Dear Ms. Dimalanta,

We are writing to you to ask for your assistance in completing our research
paper requirement to distribute the questionnaires to conduct a survey to all
accounting students who is currently taking up their practicum this semester
about the impacts of internship to accounting students of Holy Angel
University to their academic performance.
With this, please grant us your permission to perform the said survey to
selected student from your college department. With the hope that this study
will help us determine the impacts of internship to accounting students of
Holy Angel University to their academic performance.
We are sending to you our deepest appreciation for the consideration you
have extended.

12

The Impacts of Internship to Accounting Students of Holy Angel University

to their Academic Performance

Sincerely Yours,
Antoco, Mia F.
Aquino, Jona S.
Cayanan, Myka C.
Valencia, Monique Lyndsei F.
Zita, Elia D.

Appendix B
First Survey

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The Impacts of Internship to Accounting Students of Holy Angel University

to their Academic Performance

Second Survey:

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The Impacts of Internship to Accounting Students of Holy Angel University

to their Academic Performance

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The Impacts of Internship to Accounting Students of Holy Angel University

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