Factors influencing interest in pursuing tax-related career among accounting students in Universiti Utara Malaysia

This study examines the factors influencing accounting students’ interest in pursuing tax-related careers in Malaysia, focusing on the role of attitude towards tax career, attitude towards tax compliance and regulations, attitude towards tax career across ethnicities, subjective norms (social motivation), and perceived behavioural control particularly labour market consideration. The study applies the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) to explore how attitudes, social norms, and perceived behavioural control shape their career intentions. A quantitative research approach was utilised, involving a survey of 222 accounting students from a selected higher education institution in Malaysia. The results reveal that attitude towards tax career, social motivation, and labour market considerations have significant positive influences on interest in pursuing tax-related careers. Nevertheless, attitude towards tax compliance and regulation as well as attitude towards tax careers across ethnicities did not show a significant influence on their career interest in tax. The results reflect that the interest on tax related career is solely depends on the interest towards the career itself including the concern over the growth of the labour market in tax-related employment market. Addressing these factors could strengthen the pipeline of future tax professionals and enhance the overall attractiveness of tax careers in Malaysia