How employers perceive online accounting education: Evidence from Kentucky

This study expands upon employer preferences for job applicants with traditional (as opposed to blended or online) educational environment backgrounds. Completing more than one degree is preferable, even if one degree was completed online, and employers are equivalently favorable if the online degree was completed at the undergraduate or graduate level. Applicants who complete a second, online bachelor's degree in accounting are also favored. The reputation of the job applicant's educational institution is of greater importance to employers than the educational environment, and separate AACSB accounting program accreditation is less important than AACSB business accreditation. Finally, employers who are familiar with online education (i.e., have taken online courses themselves) are more likely to hire an online graduate, rate online education as more rigorous, and perceive a greater potential for soft skill attainment in the online environment (albeit with preference still towards traditional applicants), as opposed to those employers without online education experience.