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Tax professionals at work in Silicon Valley

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  • Mulligan, Emer
  • Oats, Lynne

Abstract

This paper analyses a previously unexamined but nonetheless important facet of modern society – the nature and impact of the relationship between in-house tax professionals in large multinational organizations, and the external business, tax and regulatory environments within which they operate. Drawing on face-to-face interviews conducted with senior tax executives in US multinational enterprises (MNEs), we uncover the social reality of the world in which MNEs’ tax executives operate, and find that these tax professionals are a powerful, elite group of knowledge experts who can significantly shape tax law and practices. We analyze the activities of these experts who, although working largely in the shadows of their organizations, are very much engaged in constructing and shaping the wider institutional environment. From a theoretical perspective that brings together institutional work and the endogeneity of law, we find these elite professionals engaging in subtle and diffuse exercise of power at a micro level within their organizations, a meso level between organizations within the field and at a macro level within the wider external environment. This has important implications for our broader understanding of the tax and regulatory environments which corporate actors inhabit.

Suggested Citation

  • Mulligan, Emer & Oats, Lynne, 2016. "Tax professionals at work in Silicon Valley," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 52(C), pages 63-76.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:aosoci:v:52:y:2016:i:c:p:63-76
    DOI: 10.1016/j.aos.2015.09.005
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    4. Darius Fatemi & John Hasseldine & Peggy Hite, 2020. "The Influence of Ethical Codes of Conduct on Professionalism in Tax Practice," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 164(1), pages 133-149, June.
    5. Prianto Budi Saptono & Ismail Khozen & Gustofan Mahmud & Sabina Hodžić & Intan Pratiwi & Dwi Purwanto & Lambang Wiji Imantoro, 2024. "Flourishing MSMEs: The Role of Innovation, Creative Compliance, and Tax Incentives," JRFM, MDPI, vol. 17(12), pages 1-50, November.
    6. De Widt, Dennis & Oats, Lynne, 2024. "Imagining cooperative tax regulation: Common origins, divergent paths," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 99(C).
    7. Löhlein, Lukas & Müßig, Anke, 2020. "At the boundaries of institutional theorizing: Individual entrepreneurship in episodes of regulatory change," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 83(C).
    8. Raitasuo, Santtu, 2024. "The conflict of interest in tax scholarship," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 99(C).
    9. Mayer, Maryse & Gendron, Yves, 2024. "“Fly alone, die alone”? The clan and the production of tax expertise," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 56(3).
    10. Neba Bhalla & Rakesh Kumar Sharma & Inderjit Kaur, 2023. "Effect of Goods and Service Tax System on Business Performance of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises," SAGE Open, , vol. 13(2), pages 21582440231, June.
    11. AnnMarie Bennett & Breda Murphy, 2017. "The Tax Profession: Tax Avoidance and the Public Interest," Economics Department Working Paper Series n286-17.pdf, Department of Economics, National University of Ireland - Maynooth.
    12. Closs-Davies, Sara C. & Bartels, Koen P.R. & Merkl-Davies, Doris M., 2024. "How tax administration influences social justice: The relational power of accounting technologies," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 100(C).

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