No statistically significant difference is found between Australian and international
students for the variable “reference groups”; thus (H4) is not supported. Although
collectively are were no differences between the two cohorts in terms of the perceived
influence of reference groups, it would appear from the factor loadings that parents
exerted the most influence on career choice for both Australian and international
accounting students followed by their peers. Overall, the results for this part of the study
are not consistent with previous studies that have identified the influence of reference
groups in the choice of accounting major ( Jack ling and Kelley, 2009; Tan and Laswad,
2006). The difference in the result for this study may in part be attributable to the
difference in the variables used to test for the influence of reference groups. The results
however appear to be more consistent with the work of Felton et al. (1995) where only the
attitudes component of theTRAwas employed. Similarly, the findings support previous
research of Silverstone and Williams (1979) and Pao lillo and Estes