IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/crpeac/v47y2017icp8-25.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Accountants and the pursuit of the national interest: A study of role conflict during the First World War

Author

Listed:
  • Walker, Stephen P.

Abstract

Historical and contemporary studies continue to question the accountancy profession’s commitment to the public interest. During periods of national trauma, such as total war, the extent of the profession’s pursuit of altruism is thrown into sharp relief. Drawing on role theory, the study examines the emergence and resolution of conflicting expectations of public accountants in Britain during the First World War. While it was initially assumed that the national interest was best accomplished by the enlistment of men from accounting practices for military service, practitioners complained that the resulting depletion of labour adversely impacted on the operation of their firms. This role conflict for leaders of the profession was successfully resolved by the construction of an expansive redefinition of accountants’ contribution to the national interest. The expertise of accountants in taxation and audit was deemed essential to the successful prosecution of the war. A role transition was achieved. Initially identified as contributors of physical manpower on the field of battle, professional accountants became suppliers of essential ‘brainpower’, exercised within the office space. In this way, the self-interest of practising accountants was reconciled to the nation’s object of winning the war.

Suggested Citation

  • Walker, Stephen P., 2017. "Accountants and the pursuit of the national interest: A study of role conflict during the First World War," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 47(C), pages 8-25.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:crpeac:v:47:y:2017:i:c:p:8-25
    DOI: 10.1016/j.cpa.2017.01.001
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1045235417300072
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.cpa.2017.01.001?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Preston, Alistair M. & Cooper, David J. & Scarbrough, D. Paul & Chilton, Robert C., 1995. "Changes in the code of ethics of the U.S. accounting profession, 1917 and 1988: The continual quest for legitimation," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 20(6), pages 507-546, August.
    2. Dale L. Flesher & Gary J. Previts, 2014. "Haskins & Sells during the First World War and its aftermath," Accounting History Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 24(2-3), pages 211-225, November.
    3. Everett, Jeff & Tremblay, Marie-Soleil, 2014. "Ethics and internal audit: Moral will and moral skill in a heteronomous field," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 25(3), pages 181-196.
    4. Burrell Nickell, Erin & Roberts, Robin W., 2014. "Organizational legitimacy, conflict, and hypocrisy: An alternative view of the role of internal auditing," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 25(3), pages 217-221.
    5. Parker, Lee D., 1994. "Professional accounting body ethics: In search of the private interest," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 19(6), pages 507-525, August.
    6. Hopper, Trevor M., 1980. "Role conflicts of management accountants and their position within organisation structures," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 5(4), pages 401-411, October.
    7. Viator, Ralph E., 2001. "The association of formal and informal public accounting mentoring with role stress and related job outcomes," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 26(1), pages 73-93, January.
    8. Mark Billings & Lynne Oats, 2014. "Innovation and pragmatism in tax design: Excess Profits Duty in the UK during the First World War," Accounting History Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 24(2-3), pages 83-101, November.
    9. Mitchell, A. & Sikka, P. & Willmott, H., 1998. "Sweeping it under the carpet: The role of accountancy firms in moneylaundering," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 23(5-6), pages 589-607.
    10. Jackson, Susan E. & Schuler, Randall S., 1985. "A meta-analysis and conceptual critique of research on role ambiguity and role conflict in work settings," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 36(1), pages 16-78, August.
    11. Zaini Ahmad & Dennis Taylor, 2009. "Commitment to independence by internal auditors: the effects of role ambiguity and role conflict," Managerial Auditing Journal, Emerald Group Publishing, vol. 24(9), pages 899-925, October.
    12. Laura Davenport & Steven Dellaportas, 2009. "Interpreting the Public Interest: A Survey of Professional Accountants," Australian Accounting Review, CPA Australia, vol. 19(1), pages 11-23, March.
    13. Roussy, Mélanie, 2013. "Internal auditors’ roles: From watchdogs to helpers and protectors of the top manager," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 24(7), pages 550-571.
    14. Dellaportas, Steven & Davenport, Laura, 2008. "Reflections on the public interest in accounting," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 19(7), pages 1080-1098.
    15. Chenhall, Robert H. & Brownell, Peter, 1988. "The effect of participative budgeting on job satisfaction and performance: Role ambiguity as an intervening variable," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 13(3), pages 225-233, April.
    16. Hall, Matthew, 2008. "The effect of comprehensive performance measurement systems on role clarity, psychological empowerment and managerial performance," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 33(2-3), pages 141-163.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Ballantine, Joan & Kelly, Martin & Larres, Patricia, 2020. "Banking for the common good: A Lonerganian perspective," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 67.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Jeff Everett & Constance Friesen & Dean Neu & Abu Shiraz Rahaman, 2018. "We Have Never Been Secular: Religious Identities, Duties, and Ethics in Audit Practice," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 153(4), pages 1121-1142, December.
    2. Céline Baud & Marion Brivot & Darlene Himick, 2021. "Accounting Ethics and the Fragmentation of Value," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 168(2), pages 373-387, January.
    3. J. Gregory Jenkins & Velina Popova & Mark D. Sheldon, 2018. "In Support of Public or Private Interests? An Examination of Sanctions Imposed Under the AICPA Code of Professional Conduct," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 152(2), pages 523-549, October.
    4. Al Shbail, Mohannad & Salleh, Zalailah & Mohd Nor, M. N., 2018. "Antecedents of burnout and its relationship to internal audit quality," Business and Economic Horizons (BEH), Prague Development Center, vol. 14(4), pages 789-817, August.
    5. Sargiacomo, Massimo & Everett, Jeff & Ianni, Luca & D'Andreamatteo, Antonio, 2024. "Auditing for fraud and corruption: A public-interest-based definition and analysis," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 56(2).
    6. Frémeaux, Sandrine & Puyou, François-Régis & Michelson, Grant, 2020. "Beyond accountants as technocrats: A common good perspective," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 67.
    7. Mélanie Roussy & Alexandre Perron, 2018. "New Perspectives in Internal Audit Research: A Structured Literature Review," Accounting Perspectives, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 17(3), pages 345-385, September.
    8. Adrien Bernard Bonache, 2022. "The stressors-performance relationship in accounting and auditing firms: Is there eustress out there?," Post-Print hal-03822731, HAL.
    9. Paisey, Catriona & Paisey, Nicholas J., 2012. "Whose rights? Professional discipline and the incorporation of a (human) rights framework: The case of ICAS," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 23(1), pages 17-35.
    10. Nordin, Ingrid Gustafsson, 2023. "Narratives of internal audit: The Sisyphean work of becoming “independent”," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 94(C).
    11. Laura Davenport & Steven Dellaportas, 2009. "Interpreting the Public Interest: A Survey of Professional Accountants," Australian Accounting Review, CPA Australia, vol. 19(1), pages 11-23, March.
    12. Alexandra ARDELEAN & Adriana TIRON-TUDOR, 2018. "Commitment to public interest in audit – an imperative of strengthening trust in the profession," The Audit Financiar journal, Chamber of Financial Auditors of Romania, vol. 16(152), pages 527-527.
    13. Dillard, Jesse & Vinnari, Eija, 2017. "A case study of critique: Critical perspectives on critical accounting," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 43(C), pages 88-109.
    14. Everett, Jeff & Shiraz Rahaman, Abu & Neu, Dean & Saxton, Gregory, 2024. "Letters to the editor, institutional experimentation, and the public accounting professional," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 99(C).
    15. Cäker, Mikael & Siverbo, Sven, 2018. "Effects of performance measurement system inconsistency on managers’ role clarity and well-being," Scandinavian Journal of Management, Elsevier, vol. 34(3), pages 256-266.
    16. James T. Mackey & F. Johnny Deng, 2016. "Examining the Role of Management Control Systems in the Creation of an Innovative Culture," International Journal of Innovation and Technology Management (IJITM), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 13(03), pages 1-27, June.
    17. Hall, Matthew & Smith, David, 2009. "Mentoring and turnover intentions in public accounting firms: a research note," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 28924, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    18. Parker, Robert J. & Kyj, Larissa, 2006. "Vertical information sharing in the budgeting process," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 31(1), pages 27-45, January.
    19. 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.
    20. Ranjith Appuhami & Faruk Bhuiyan & Christina Boedker, 2024. "Navigating frugality and creativity urgencies: the role of diagnostic use of budgets and goal clarity," Journal of Management Control: Zeitschrift für Planung und Unternehmenssteuerung, Springer, vol. 35(2), pages 235-264, June.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:crpeac:v:47:y:2017:i:c:p:8-25. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.journals.elsevier.com/critical-perspectives-on-accounting/ .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.