Determinants of Salary Expectations – A Survey of Accounting and Controlling Students

RESEARCH OBJECTIVE: The aim of the paper is to identify and quantify selected salary expectations determinants (including gender) of Accounting and Controlling students at Cracow University of Economics. THE RESEARCH PROBLEM AND METHODS: We conduct a survey of expected salaries among students . We use Shapiro-Wilk W test and Wilcoxon signed-rank test for initial analysis. We then build econometric linear models in which salary expectations are dependent variables, whereas GPA, holding a foreign language certificate, gender and age are independent variables. We estimate these models by OLS. We use Huber/White robust standard errors to assess statistical significance of each parameter. THE PROCESS OF ARGUMENTATION: Graduates of accounting programmes are sought at the labour market. For cognitive purposes and educational policy implications it is of utmost importance to understand which observable factors differentiate students in their salaries’ expectations. RESEARCH RESULTS: We find a number of variables that are statistically significant and associated with the expected salary. Higher salaries for graduates of Accounting and Controlling major are expected by: students with lower GPA, holders of a foreign language certificate, male students, younger students. On the contrary, lower salaries are expected by students with higher GPA, students who do not hold a foreign language certificate, female students, older students. CONCLUSIONS, INNOVATIONS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS: Students differ among themselves – thus we observe various salary expectations. Nonetheless, some of the obtained results are puzzling. We find that female students demand lower salaries. Similarly it is surprising that students with lower GPA expect higher salaries. As a result, we recommend to further investigate determinants of salary expectations.