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Joined for the common purpose

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  • Marcia Annisette
  • Philip O'Regan

Abstract

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to investigate the emergence and endurance of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Ireland (ICAI) as an all‐Ireland body formed in the context of political and religious upheaval. It seeks to explore the motives for the north‐south accounting alliance and the strategies adopted by the institute to negotiate the destructive and divisive forces of the wider socio‐political environment. Design/methodology/approach - A multitude of archival material is used to reconstruct the post‐formation activities of the ICAI. Sources were drawn from: the ICAI archive in Dublin:Minute Books1 and 2 covering the period from 1888 to 1921, Annual Reports, 1888‐1922; minute books of other contemporary English accountancy bodies; contemporary professional press and census records stored at the National Library of Ireland in Dublin and the Public Records Office of Northern Ireland in Belfast. Findings - The early ICAI was an overwhelmingly Protestant/Unionist dominated body seeking to maintain Protestant hegemony at a time when the power of this class was being gradually eroded. Cognizant of the likely vulnerability of such a body existing in the catholic‐nationalist south, and the need to strengthen such a position through a northern alliance, the ICAI from its inception was envisaged by its southern architects as an all Ireland institution. The fact that there were only a relatively small number of members acted as an inducement, particularly for Protestant members, to maintain unity. Originality/value - The professionalization of accountancy in Ireland has been relatively under‐researched and the debates about the diffusion of the English professional model have virtually bypassed it.

Suggested Citation

  • Marcia Annisette & Philip O'Regan, 2007. "Joined for the common purpose," Qualitative Research in Accounting & Management, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 4(1), pages 4-25, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:eme:qrampp:v:4:y:2007:i:1:p:4-25
    DOI: 10.1108/11766090710732488
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. 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.
    2. 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.
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    Cited by:

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    2. Paul A. Griffin & David H. Lont & Yuan Sun, 2009. "Governance regulatory changes, International Financial Reporting Standards adoption, and New Zealand audit and non‐audit fees: empirical evidence," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 49(4), pages 697-724, December.
    3. Poullaos, Chris, 2016. "Canada vs Britain in the imperial accountancy arena, 1908–1912: Symbolic capital, symbolic violence," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 47-63.
    4. Annisette, Marcia & Trivedi, Viswanath Umashanker, 2013. "Globalization, paradox and the (un)making of identities: Immigrant Chartered Accountants of India in Canada," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 38(1), pages 1-29.
    5. O'Regan, Philip & Killian, Sheila, 2021. "Beyond professional closure: Uncovering the hidden history of plain accountants," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 94(C).
    6. Anderson, Malcolm & Walker, Stephen P., 2009. "‘All sorts and conditions of men’: The social origins of the founders of the ICAEW," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 41(1), pages 31-45.
    7. 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.

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