MATHEMATICAL COMPETENCY AND THE

ABILITY TO SOLVE ACCOUNTING PROBLEMS OF

THIRD YEAR ACCOUNTING STUDENTS IN THE
UM TAGUM COLLEGE

A Thesis Presented to
The Research Committee
College of Accounting Education
UM Tagum College, Arellano St. Tagum City

In Partial Fulfillment of the

Requirements for the Degree of
Bachelor of Science in Accounting Technology

Joveth C. Candelario
Jerry John S. Galos
Ahlgielle D. Pitogo

October 2016
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APPROVAL SHEET

This thesis entitled MATHEMATICAL COMPETENCY AND THE ABILITY TO

SOLVE ACCOUNTING PROBLEMS OF THIRD YEAR ACCOUNTING

STUDENTS IN THE UM TAGUM COLLEGE, prepared and submitted by

Joveth C. Candelario, Jerry John S. Galos and Ahlgielle D. Pitogo, in

partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Bachelor of Science in

Accounting Technology has been examined and hereby endorsed.

ROSA MARIA T. PINEDA, Ed. D

Adviser

PANEL OF EXAMINERS

Approved by the Thesis Committee on Oral Examination with a grade

of_______

NOEL T. CASOCOT, Ed. D REY M. REGIDOR, Ed. D

Member Member

Accepted and approved in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the

Degree of Bachelor of Science in Accounting Technology.

MARCK LESTER L. NAVALES, CPA

Program Head

GINA FE G. ISRAEL, Ed. D

Dean of College
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The completion of this thesis is made possible through the encouragement of

other people and so with grateful appreciation, the authors would like to

acknowledge the following:

Dr. Noel T. Casocot, their subject teacher, for the pieces of advice and

for allowing them to conduct the research;

Dr. Rosa Maria T. Pineda, their adviser, for the guidance, untiring

support and in spending her time helping the researchers towards the

completion of the study;

Dr. Noel T. Casocot and Dr. Rey M. Regidor, members of the panel,

for sharing their expertise, opinions, invaluable suggestion and constructive

criticisms to improve the study;

Prof. Rex L. Sarvida, their statistician, for his patience in interpreting

and analyzing data, as well as the statistical knowledge he shared;

Dr. Jose Elmer S. Oficiar, their grammarian, for sharing his expertise

in research writing, monitoring, editing and providing assistance;

Their beloved parents, friends and relatives who have always been

very supportive both financially and emotionally, for the love and inspiration,

which served as a source of external strength for them to pursue their study;

and

Above all to Almighty God whose infinite blessings, patience and

love made this humble work a reality.

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Dedication

The accomplishment of this work is heartily dedicated to our

family especially to our supportive parents who gave us courage

and support in our studies.

To our mentors who molded us to become who we are today. To

our friends and classmates for the memorable moments,

experiences and knowledge we shared for years.

Above all to our Almighty God for the immeasurable gift that

provides us knowledge, wisdom, strength and courage

to carry on.

To them, we humbly and sincerely dedicate this work.

Joveth

JJ

Ahlg
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THESIS ABSTRACT

Title : MATHEMATICAL COMPETENCY AND THE

ABILITY TO SOLVE ACCOUNTING PROBLEMS
OF
THIRD YEAR ACCOUNTING STUDENTS IN THE
UM TAGUM COLLEGE

Researchers : Joveth C. Candelario

Jerry John S. Galos

Ahlgielle D. Pitogo

Publication : Date :

Place : Tagum City

Region : XI

Institution : Name : UM Tagum College

Type : Private

Subject Area : Reference No. :

Description : Educational Research

Degree Conferred : Bachelor of Science in

Accounting Technology

Specific location where copies can be found:

Library Locality Access

No.

UM Tagum College Tagum City

Statement of the problem:

Main Problem : MATHEMATICAL COMPETENCY AND THE

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ABILITY TO SOLVE ACCOUNTING PROBLEMS

OF THIRD YEAR ACCOUNTING STUDENTS IN

THE UM TAGUM COLLEGE

Sub-Problems :

1. What is the level of mathematical competency among third year

accounting students in terms of:

1.1 arithmetic;

1.3 percentage and proportions;

1.3 algebra?

2. What is the level of ability of third year accounting students to solve

accounting problems?

3. Is there a significant difference in the level of ability of third year

accounting students to solve accounting problems when grouped according

to:

3.1 gender?

4. Is there a significant relationship between mathematical competency

and the ability of third year accounting students to solve accounting problem

of the?

Hypothesis

The following null hypotheses were tested at 0.05 level of significance:

1. There is no significant relationship in the level of ability of third year

accounting students to solve accounting problems.

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2. There is no significant relationship between mathematical

competency and the ability to solve accounting problem of the third year

accounting students.

Procedure and Research Method

Method Research : Descriptive-Correlation Method

Respondents : Third Year BSA/BSAT students of UM Tagum College

Instrument used :Standardized Questionnaire and Research-Made

Questionnaire

Statistical Treatment of Data:

Mean

T-test

Pearson-r

Summary

The analysis of data had obtained the following statistical results:

1. The level of mathematical competency as perceived by third year

accounting students in terms of arithmetic is 4.69, in terms of percentages

and proportion is 4.00, in terms of algebra is 4.19. All with a general mean

score of 4.29 having a high mark of description.

2. The level of ability of third year accounting students to solve

accounting problems is high with a mean score of 7.09.

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3. There is no significant difference in the level of ability of third year

accounting students to solve accounting problems when grouped according to

gender since its t-value is 0.907 and the p-value is 0.371 at 0.05 level of

significance.

4. There is a significant relationship on the level of mathematical competency

and the level of ability of third accounting students to solve accounting

problems since its r-value of 0.603 is greater than the p-value of 0.000 at 0.05

level of significance, hence the null hypothesis was rejected.

Conclusions

Based on the findings of the study, the following conclusions are

drawn.

1. The level of mathematical competency as perceived by third year

accounting students is high.

2. The level of ability of third year accounting students to solve

accounting problems is high.

3. There is no significant difference in the level of ability of third year

accounting students to solve accounting problems when grouped according to

gender.

4. There is a significant relationship between the level of mathematical

competency and the ability of third year accounting students of UM Tagum

College to solve accounting problems.

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Recommendations

Based on the aforementioned findings and conclusions of the study,

the following recommendations are stated.

1. It is ideal that the mathematical competency of the third year

accounting technology students of UM Tagum College should possibly raised

into a very high level perhaps by seeking the help of math professors in the

university to conduct scheduled lessons to accounting students or by having a

planned mathematical test or possibly by including mathematical questions in

their accounting examinations. This should then maintained through learning,

reviewing and practicing mathematical problems, and students are

encouraged to engage themselves in such problems to enhance their

arithmetic, percentages and proportion and algebra skills.

2. The level of ability of third year accounting students to solve

accounting problems must be raised to excellent level through individual

tutoring (e.g. DySAS tutorial), monitoring their performance, providing detailed

information and committing themselves to their course. These will enhance

their capabilities to achieve much higher performance.

3. Other studies, which are related to this study, are encouraged and

can be conducted using different group of respondents of other locale of the

study in order to discover relevant information that will help improve future

research in this topic.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page

TITLE PAGE i

APPROVAL SHEET ii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT iii

DEDICATION iv

THESIS ABSTRACT v

TABLE OF CONTENTS x

LIST OF TABLES xiii

LIST OF FIGURES xiv

Chapter

1 THE PROBLEM AND ITS SETTING 1

Background of the Study 1

Statement of the Problem 4

Hypothesis 4

Theoretical and Conceptual Framework 5

Significance of the Study 7

Definition of Terms 8

2 REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE 10

3 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 23

Research Design 23
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Research Subject 23

Research Instrument 24

Data Gathering Procedure 27

Statistical Treatment 27

4 PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS OF DATA 29

Level of Mathematical Competency of

Third Year Accounting Students 29

Level of Ability of Third Year Accounting Students

To Solve Accounting Problems 31

Significant Difference on the Level of Ability of

Third Year Accounting Students to Solve
Accounting Problems When Analysed by Gender 31

Significant Relationship on the Level of

Mathematical Competency and the Ability of
Third Year Accounting Students to
Solve Accounting Problems 35

5 SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS AND

RECOMMENDATIONS 38

Summary of Findings 38

Conclusions 39

Recommendations 39

REFERENCES 41

APPENDICES

Appendix A Letter to conduct the study 45

Appendix B Letter of permission to the department chair 46

Appendix C Letter of request to the UMTC-Registrar 47

Appendix D Adapted questionnaire for assessment of

mathematical skills of BSA/BSAT students 48
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Appendix E Questionnaire for assessment of Third year

students ability to solve accounting problems 50

CURRICULUM VITAE 52
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LIST OF TABLES

Table

1. Distribution of Respondents 26

2. Level of Mathematical Competency of Third

Year Accounting Students 31

3. Level of Ability of Third Year Accounting Students

to Solve Accounting Problems 33

4. Significant Relationship on the Level of Ability to Solve

Accounting Problems When Analysed by Gender 35

5. Significant Relationship on the Level of Mathematical

Competency and the Ability of Third Year Accounting
Students to Solve Accounting Problems 37
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LIST OF FIGURES

Figure

1 The Conceptual Model of the Study 8