Theoretical Framework

Theoretical Framework

Careers are occupations that are characterized by inter-related training and work experiences, in which a person moves upward through a series of positions that require greater mastery as well as responsibility, and that provide increasing financial return (Inkson, Dries & Arnold, 2015).

According to AICPA, CPAs and potential CPAs have a variety of career paths to choose from. It can range from entry level positions up to executive level positions, depending on educational background, experience and other qualifications required by the job. It can be within the areas of public accounting, academe, corporate accounting, government, non-profit institutions and others. Some of the job positions available for accountancy degree holders are accounting clerk, accounting manager, comptroller, chief financial officer, tax accountant, accounting professor, auditor, and many others.

Career Development by a definition is a process that forms a person’s work identity (Mckay, 2016) and through this, an individual comes up with a particular career choice. Career choice, as defined in Psychology Dictionary, is the selection of a particular path or vocation in terms of career. This is usually influenced by parental guidance, vocational counseling, and training opportunities as well as personal preference and identification with figures and role models.

One theory relevant to career choice and development is the Social Cognitive Career Theory developed by Robert W. Lent, Steven D. Brown, and Gail Hackett in 1994. The Social Cognitive Career Theory (SCCT) focuses on several cognitive-person variables (e.g., self-efficacy, outcome expectations, and interesr), and on how these variables intermingle with other aspects of an individual and his or her environment (e.g., gender, ethnicity, values, social supports, and barriers) to aid in forming the course of career development. The three interrelated models of career development that SCCT seek to explain are (a) the development of academic and career interests, (b) how individuals make educational and career choices, and (c) how educational and career success is obtained. SCCT suggests that the career choice is a progressing process driven by the interaction among self-efficacy, outcome expectations and interests leading to the formation of goals and intentions that serve to sustain behavior over time.

Bandura (1986) defines self-efficacy as the judgments that individuals make about their abilities to perform specific actions. In other words, it refers to an individual’s personal beliefs about his or her abilities to perform particular behaviors or courses of action. For instance, it is how strong a CPA believes that his/her capabilities are valuable in variety of industries or are applicable with his/her job. SCCT assumes that people are more likely to engage in, and perform better at careers at which they have strong