IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/crpeac/v99y2024ics1045235424000133.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Professional bodies and professional closure strategies: The field of auditing for small and medium-sized enterprises in Italy☆

Author

Listed:
  • Antonelli, Valerio
  • D'Alessio, Raffaele
  • Lauri, Lucia
  • Marcello, Raffaele

Abstract

Professional bodies usually pursue domination objectives in their contexts of reference, by activating political, cultural, relational, and symbolic instruments to acquire and ensure economic or social benefits for their members. The current paper examines the role played by the national accounting professional body (Consiglio Nazionale dei Dottori Commercialisti e degli Esperti Contabili) in the field of statutory auditing for small and medium-sized enterprises in Italy.

Suggested Citation

  • Antonelli, Valerio & D'Alessio, Raffaele & Lauri, Lucia & Marcello, Raffaele, 2024. "Professional bodies and professional closure strategies: The field of auditing for small and medium-sized enterprises in Italy☆," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 99(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:crpeac:v:99:y:2024:i:c:s1045235424000133
    DOI: 10.1016/j.cpa.2024.102714
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1045235424000133
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.cpa.2024.102714?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. Bertrand Malsch & Yves Gendron, 2013. "Re-Theorizing Change: Institutional Experimentation and the Struggle for Domination in the Field of Public Accounting," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 50(5), pages 870-899, July.
    2. Walker, Stephen P., 1991. "The defence of professional monopoly: Scottish chartered accountants and "satellites in the accountancy firmament" 1854-1914," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 16(3), pages 257-283.
    3. repec:eme:aaaj00:aaaj-11-2017-3241 is not listed on IDEAS
    4. Sian, S., 2006. "Inclusion, exclusion and control: The case of the Kenyan accounting professionalisation project," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 31(3), pages 295-322, April.
    5. Walker, Stephen P., 1995. "The genesis of professional organization in scotland: a contextual analysis," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 20(4), pages 285-310, May.
    6. McPhail, Ken & Paisey, Catriona & Paisey, Nicholas J., 2010. "Class, social deprivation and accounting education in Scottish schools: Implications for the reproduction of the accounting profession and practice," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 21(1), pages 31-50.
    7. Duff, Angus & Hancock, Phil & Marriott, Neil, 2020. "The role and impact of professional accountancy associations on accounting education research: An international study," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 52(5).
    8. Dunne, Neil J. & Brennan, Niamh M. & Kirwan, Collette E., 2023. "How the Big Four maintain and defend logic equilibrium at concurrent performances," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 94(C).
    9. Zhu, Jingqi & Spence, Crawford & Ezzamel, Mahmoud, 2021. "Thinking like the state: Doxa and symbolic power in the accounting field in China," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 93(C).
    10. Andrea Melis, 2004. "On the Role of the Board of Statutory Auditors in Italian Listed Companies," Corporate Governance: An International Review, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 12(1), pages 74-84, January.
    11. Stephen P. Walker & Ken Shackleton, 1998. "A ring fence for the profession: advancing the closure of British accountancy 1957‐1970," Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 11(1), pages 34-71, March.
    12. Willmott, Hugh, 1986. "Organising the profession: A theoretical and historical examination of the development of the major accountancy bodies in the U.K," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 11(6), pages 555-580, October.
    13. repec:eme:aaaj00:aaaj-01-2015-1953 is not listed on IDEAS
    14. Prem Sikka, 2002. "The politics of restructuring the standard setting bodies: the case of the UK’s auditing practices board," Accounting Forum, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 26(2), pages 97-125, June.
    15. Ramirez, Carlos, 2001. "Understanding social closure in its cultural context: accounting practitioners in France (1920-1939)," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 26(4-5), pages 391-418.
    16. Chris Carter & Crawford Spence, 2014. "Being a Successful Professional: An Exploration of Who Makes Partner in the Big 4," Contemporary Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 31(4), pages 949-981, December.
    17. Michael J. Jones & Andrea Melis, 2021. "The Continuity of the Board of Statutory Auditors Across Social, Economic and Political Institutional Changes," European Accounting Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 30(2), pages 349-380, March.
    18. Robson, Keith & Humphrey, Christopher & Khalifa, Rihab & Jones, Julian, 2007. "Transforming audit technologies: Business risk audit methodologies and the audit field," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 32(4-5), pages 409-438.
    19. Power, Michael K., 1992. "From common sense to expertise: Reflections on the prehistory of audit sampling," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 17(1), pages 37-62, January.
    20. Annisette, Marcia, 2003. "The colour of accountancy: examining the salience of race in a professionalisation project," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 28(7-8), pages 639-674.
    21. Giuseppe Ianniello & Giuseppe Galloppo, 2015. "Stock market reaction to auditor opinions – Italian evidence," Managerial Auditing Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 30(6/7), pages 610-632, July.
    22. Richardson, Alan J., 1988. "Accounting knowledge and professional privilege," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 13(4), pages 381-396, June.
    23. Chua, Wai Fong & Poullaos, Chris, 1993. "Rethinking the profession-state dynamic: The case of the Victorian charter attempt, 1885-1906," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 18(7-8), pages 691-728.
    24. Davis Hammond, Theresa, 1997. "From complete exclusion to minimal inclusion: African Americans and the public accounting industry, 1965-1988," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 22(1), pages 29-53, January.
    25. Dermarkar, Simon & Hazgui, Mouna, 2022. "How auditors legitimize commercialism: A micro-discursive analysis," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 83(C).
    26. Dean Neu & Constance Friesen & Jeffery Everett, 2003. "The changing internal market for ethical discourses in the Canadian CA profession," Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 16(1), pages 70-103, March.
    27. Massimo Sargiacomo & Christian Corsi & Luciano D'Amico & Tiziana Di Cimbrini & Alan Sangster, 2020. "Monopolistic professional closure, family credentials and examination procedures in the Venetian college of accountants (16th−17th century)," Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 33(5), pages 965-989, April.
    28. Walker, Stephen P., 2004. "The genesis of professional organisation in English accountancy," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 29(2), pages 127-156, February.
    29. Mary Canning & Brendan O'Dwyer, 2001. "Professional accounting bodies' disciplinary procedures: accountable, transparent and in the public interest?," European Accounting Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 10(4), pages 725-749.
    30. Guénin-Paracini, Henri & Gendron, Yves, 2010. "Auditors as modern pharmakoi: Legitimacy paradoxes and the production of economic order," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 21(2), pages 134-158.
    31. Ramirez, Carlos, 2009. "Constructing the governable small practitioner: The changing nature of professional bodies and the management of professional accountants' identities in the UK," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 34(3-4), pages 381-408, April.
    32. Cooper, David J. & Robson, Keith, 2006. "Accounting, professions and regulation: Locating the sites of professionalization," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 31(4-5), pages 415-444.
    33. O'Regan, Philip & Killian, Sheila, 2021. "Beyond professional closure: Uncovering the hidden history of plain accountants," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 94(C).
    34. repec:dau:papers:123456789/10730 is not listed on IDEAS
    35. Stefano Coronella & Massimo Sargiacomo & Stephen P. Walker, 2015. "Unification and Dual Closure in the Italian Accountancy Profession, 1861-1906," European Accounting Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 24(1), pages 167-197, May.
    36. Christopher Humphrey, 2008. "Auditing research: a review across the disciplinary divide," Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 21(2), pages 170-203, February.
    37. Farjaudon, Anne-Laure & Morales, Jérémy, 2013. "In search of consensus: The role of accounting in the definition and reproduction of dominant interests," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 24(2), pages 154-171.
    38. Richardson, Alan J., 2009. "Regulatory networks for accounting and auditing standards: A social network analysis of Canadian and international standard-setting," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 34(5), pages 571-588, July.
    39. Derek Robert Matthews, 2017. "Accountants and the professional project," Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 30(2), pages 306-327, February.
    40. Holger Vieten, 1995. "Auditing in Britain and Germany compared: professions, knowledge and the state," European Accounting Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 4(3), pages 485-514.
    41. van Brenk, Herman & Renes, Remko & Trompeter, Gregory M., 2022. "Auditing in the public interest: Reforming the profession by building on the strengths of the existing accounting firms," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 83(C).
    42. Carlos Ramirez, 2012. "How Big Four Audit Firms Control Standard-Setting in Accounting and Auditing," Palgrave Macmillan Books, in: Isabelle Huault & Chrystelle Richard (ed.), Finance: The Discreet Regulator, chapter 2, pages 40-58, Palgrave Macmillan.
    43. Ballas, Apostoles A., 1998. "The creation of the auditing profession in Greece," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 23(8), pages 715-736, November.
    44. Crawford Spence & Marion Brivot, 2011. "'No French, no more': language-based exclusion in North America's first professional accounting association, 1879-1927," Accounting History Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 21(2), pages 163-184.
    45. Rodrigues, Lúcia Lima & Craig, Russell, 2022. "Using historical institutional analysis of corporatism to understand the professionalization of accounting in Latin America," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 97(C).
    46. Hammond, Theresa & Clayton, Bruce M. & Arnold, Patricia J., 2009. "South Africa's transition from apartheid: The role of professional closure in the experiences of black chartered accountants," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 34(6-7), pages 705-721, August.
    47. George W. Blazenko & William R. Scott, 1986. "A model of standard setting in auditing," Contemporary Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 3(1), pages 68-92, September.
    48. Uche, Chibuike U., 2002. "Professional accounting development in Nigeria: threats from the inside and outside," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 27(4-5), pages 471-496.
    49. Kirkham, Linda M. & Loft, Anne, 1993. "Gender and the construction of the professional accountant," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 18(6), pages 507-558, August.
    50. Sargiacomo, Massimo & Ianni, Luca & Everett, Jeff, 2014. "Accounting for suffering: Calculative practices in the field of disaster relief," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 25(7), pages 652-669.
    51. Alan Richardson, 2008. "Due Process and Standard-setting: An Analysis of Due Process in Three Canadian Accounting and Auditing Standard-setting Bodies," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 81(3), pages 679-696, September.
    52. Mitchell, Austin & Sikka, Prem, 2004. "Accountability of the accountancy bodies: the peculiarities of a British accountancy body," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 36(4), pages 395-414.
    53. Rizzotti, Davide & Greco, Angela M., 2013. "Determinants of Board of Statutory Auditor and Internal Control Committee Diligence: A Comparison Between Audit Committee and the Corresponding Italian Committees," The International Journal of Accounting, Elsevier, vol. 48(1), pages 84-110.
    54. B. Malsch & Y. Gendron & F. Grazzini, 2011. "Investigating interdisciplinary translations: The influence of Pierre Bourdieu on accounting literature," Post-Print halshs-00586846, HAL.
    55. 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.
    56. Daoust, Laurence, 2020. "Playing the Big Four recruitment game: The tension between illusio and reflexivity," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 66(C).
    57. Power, Michael K., 2003. "Auditing and the production of legitimacy," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 28(4), pages 379-394, May.
    58. Samsonova, Anna, 2009. "Local sites of globalisation: A look at the development of a legislative framework for auditing in Russia," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 20(4), pages 528-552.
    59. Zhen Ping Hao, 1999. "Regulation and organisation of accountants in China," Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 12(3), pages 286-302, August.
    60. Viola Burau & Lotte Bøgh Andersen, 2014. "Professions and Professionals: Capturing the Changing Role of Expertise Through Theoretical Triangulation," American Journal of Economics and Sociology, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 73(1), pages 264-293, January.
    61. Edwards, John Richard & Walker, Stephen P., 2010. "Lifestyle, status and occupational differentiation in Victorian accountancy," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 35(1), pages 2-22, January.
    62. Chua, W. F. & Poullaos, C., 1998. "The dynamics of "closure" amidst the construction of market, profession, empire and nationhood: An historical analysis of an Australian accounting association, 1886-1903," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 23(2), pages 155-187, February.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    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. Annisette, Marcia, 2017. "Discourse of the professions: The making, normalizing and taming of Ontario's “foreign-trained accountant”," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 60(C), pages 37-61.
    2. Napier, Christopher J., 2006. "Accounts of change: 30 years of historical accounting research," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 31(4-5), pages 445-507.
    3. 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).
    4. O'Regan, Philip & Killian, Sheila, 2021. "Beyond professional closure: Uncovering the hidden history of plain accountants," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 94(C).
    5. Sian, S., 2011. "Operationalising closure in a colonial context: The Association of Accountants in East Africa, 1949–1963," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 36(6), pages 363-381.
    6. Cooper, David J. & Robson, Keith, 2006. "Accounting, professions and regulation: Locating the sites of professionalization," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 31(4-5), pages 415-444.
    7. Ghattas, Peter & Soobaroyen, Teerooven & Marnet, Oliver, 2021. "Charting the development of the Egyptian accounting profession (1946–2016): An analysis of the State-Profession dynamics," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).
    8. Rodrigues, Lúcia Lima & Craig, Russell, 2022. "Using historical institutional analysis of corporatism to understand the professionalization of accounting in Latin America," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 97(C).
    9. Mihret, Dessalegn Getie & Alshareef, Mohammed Naif & Bazhair, Ayman, 2017. "Accounting professionalization and the state: The case of Saudi Arabia," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 45(C), pages 29-47.
    10. Yee, Helen, 2009. "The re-emergence of the public accounting profession in China: A hegemonic analysis," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 20(1), pages 71-92.
    11. Bottausci, Chiara & Robson, Keith, 2023. "“He Hears”: An essay celebrating the 25 year anniversary of The Audit Society," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 97(C).
    12. Joyce, Yvonne, 2014. "Knowledge mandates in the state–profession dynamic: A study of the British insolvency profession," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 39(8), pages 590-614.
    13. Sian, S., 2006. "Inclusion, exclusion and control: The case of the Kenyan accounting professionalisation project," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 31(3), pages 295-322, April.
    14. Golyagina, Alena & Valuckas, Danielius, 2020. "Boundary-work in management accounting: The case of hybrid professionalism," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 52(2).
    15. François Brouard & Merridee Bujaki & Sylvain Durocher & Leighann C. Neilson, 2017. "Professional Accountants’ Identity Formation: An Integrative Framework," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 142(2), pages 225-238, May.
    16. Chua, W. F. & Poullaos, C., 1998. "The dynamics of "closure" amidst the construction of market, profession, empire and nationhood: An historical analysis of an Australian accounting association, 1886-1903," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 23(2), pages 155-187, February.
    17. Mennicken, Andrea, 2010. "From inspection to auditing: Audit and markets as linked ecologies," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 35(3), pages 334-359, April.
    18. Hammond, Theresa & Clayton, Bruce M. & Arnold, Patricia J., 2009. "South Africa's transition from apartheid: The role of professional closure in the experiences of black chartered accountants," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 34(6-7), pages 705-721, August.
    19. 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.
    20. Hammond, Theresa & Clayton, Bruce M. & Arnold, Patricia J., 2012. "An “unofficial” history of race relations in the South African accounting industry, 1968–2000: Perspectives of South Africa's first black chartered accountants," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 23(4), pages 332-350.

    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:99:y:2024:i:c:s1045235424000133. 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.