The decrease in the number of people entering the accounting field raises a concern in both the higher education and professional industry. Only 36 percent of eighth graders possess adequate reading comprehensions skills and most do not improve before they enter college. Thirty-three percent of students entering community colleges have inadequate reading comprehension skills. The increase in non-traditional students entering community colleges is much higher than the increase in traditional students. The characteristics of non-traditional include delay in entering college among other characteristics such as family responsibilities and pursuit of employment. Poor performance in introductory accounting prohibits students from going on to advanced accounting courses and acquiring a degree in accounting. As the need for accountants grow, an understanding as to the root cause of the decline in accountants graduating from college bears further analysis. Accounting requires the ability to solve both math and word problems. The purpose of this quantitative study was to explore the relationship between reading comprehension and academic outcome in introductory accounting. The data was obtained from a northwest Louisiana Community College. The sample consisted of students taking the Introductory Accounting course. The dependent variable academic outcome in the accounting course and the independent variable was reading comprehension. The findings of this study resulted in reading comprehension having a direct relationship to academic success in the Introductory Accounting course. Colleges should assess the reading comprehension levels of students choosing to major in accounting to provide them with the needed academic support to increase their chances of academic success in accounting. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2222/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]