The Effect of MBKM Mandiri Internship Program, Career Motivation, and Level of Accounting Understanding on Accounting Students’ Interest in Becoming Public Accountants

ABSTRACT: The rapid development in all fields requires society to create professional public accountants who are skilled and ready to work in the field. The purpose of this study was to obtain empirical evidence regarding the effect of the MBKM Mandiri internship program, career motivation, and the level of accounting understanding on students’ interest in becoming public accountants. This research was conducted at the Faculty of Economy and Business, Udayana University with a survey method using a questionnaire. Samples were taken using the nonprobability sampling method with a total of 165 respondents. The data analysis technique used is multiple linear regression. This study found that the MBKM Mandiri internship program and career motivation have a positive effect on accounting students’ interest in becoming public accountants. The better the MBKM Mandiri internship program, the higher the interest of accounting students in becoming public accountants. The stronger the student’s career motivation, the higher the interest in accounting students to become public accountants. Meanwhile, the level of accounting understanding does not affect accounting students’ interest in becoming a public accountant, which means that even though students have a good understanding of accounting, this does not influence students’ interest in becoming a public accountant. This research implies that students, universities and the government should pay more attention to the implementation of MBKM curriculum and programs so that Bachelor of Accounting graduates match the expected graduate profile, and increase their interest in becoming a public accountant.

KEYWORDS: MBKM Mandiri Internship Program, Career Motivation, Accounting Understanding, Interest in Career Choice.