Evaluating the Impact of the VITA Program on Attitudes and Motives Regarding Volunteering and Civic Engagement

The accounting profession has recognized the need to increase pro bono (free) tax preparation services. Increased pro bono tax preparation services by accountants may address a growing unmet need for free tax preparation services by low-income taxpayers in the United States. One way to foster commitment to free services in the profession is by equipping accounting students with the knowledge and skills necessary to effectively serve low-income taxpayers in preparing their returns. We examined whether accounting students who provided free tax preparation services to low-income taxpayers as part of a service-learning course would experience significant changes in volunteering attitudes and motivation to offer free representation of low-income taxpayers in the future. The service-learning course was tied to the federal Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program. Results from traditional pretest/posttest and retrospective pretest/posttest found participants reported significant increases in volunteering attitudes, the role of accounting in addressing social issues, attitudes toward helping others, and motivation and competence to offer future free representation of low-income taxpayers. Also, most participants reported positive experiences in the VITA clinic and further developed skills important to the accounting profession. Qualitative data supported the quantitative results.