Abstract
It is suggested that certain psychological attributes of accounting graduates are significant predictors of the later success of trainee accountants in the work environment. Since selection is a key human resources function in public accounting firms the present study investigated the relationship between academic performance, specific personality traits, examination pass rate and the work performance of a sample (N = 77) of trainee accountants from
an international, mid-sized firm. The results indicate that the majority of cases could be correctly predicted as successful or not by a verbal ability variable and that the criterion measure developed for this study (Cronbach alpha = 0,95) can be used successfully to measure the work performance of trainee accountants. The importance of academic performance as well as the pass rate in the qualifying examinations are also discussed.