How students perceive the value of accounting education: the case of a Portuguese HEI

The objective of this paper is to evaluate the perception of accounting/tax students of a Higher Education Institution (HEI) about the value of education in financial and cost accounting. The research highlights and distinguishes the relevance of financial and/or cost accounting to the labour market and to organisations from the perspective of students. The study is quantitative, and the data was collected through a questionnaire for students who are completing a course in accounting or taxation. Students consider accounting fundamental to the labour market and extremely important the information provided by financial and/or cost accounting for the fulfilment of legal obligations, to assist in internal decision-making and to provide information to all relevant audiences.