Accounting Students’ perceptions of delivery modalities during and after the COVID-19 pandemic

•Results suggest that accounting majors prefer face-to-face learning.•Associate degree-seeking students expressed higher satisfaction with online delivery.•Accounting majors indicate their online accounting instructors perceive less concern for their success, and they receive less effective feedback compared to a face-to-face accounting class.•Participants indicated possible issues with online instructional effectiveness.•Participants found video tutorials and computerized homework managers helpful.•Based on these findings, the authors recommend that academic institutions offer various delivery modes to meet student preferences and improve online delivery through course instruction training initiatives. The delivery mode of accounting education has become increasingly important, especially following the COVID-19 pandemic. This study employs General Systems Theory to examine accounting students’ satisfaction with various delivery modalities, comparing pre- and post-pandemic course delivery, effectiveness, and instructional support. A survey of 164 undergraduate and graduate students during Spring 2021 suggests a preference for face-to-face learning among four-year accounting majors. Associate degree-seeking participants showed higher satisfaction with online asynchronous delivery, while graduate students favored online synchronous modality. Accounting majors indicated that their online accounting instructors perceived less concern for their success and provided less effective feedback than a face-to-face accounting class. Based on these findings, academic institutions should continue offering face-to-face courses for accounting majors and enhance online delivery through targeted online course instruction training initiatives.