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Accounting professionals and the accounting profession: linking conduct and context

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  • Fiona Anderson-Gough
  • Christopher Grey
  • Keith Robson

Abstract

Recent years have seen an upsurge in published research concerned with the daily conduct of accounting professionals in Big Five firms. However, in general, these studies have given scant consideration to the institutional setting within which accountants work. In this paper we analyse the UK accounting profession in terms of the fragmentation of its professional bodies and the diversification of its markets, and link this to empirical findings from a detailed qualitative research project examining the professional socialisation of trainees in the UK regional offices of two Big Five firms. These findings confirm earlier studies in terms of the key relationship between professionalism and forms of self-conduct, but extend the earlier studies by exploring trainees' accounts of their professional expertise, qualification and examination. We conclude by arguing that these conceptions reinforce, albeit in unintended ways, the changing institutional context of the accounting profession.

Suggested Citation

  • Fiona Anderson-Gough & Christopher Grey & Keith Robson, 2002. "Accounting professionals and the accounting profession: linking conduct and context," Accounting and Business Research, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 32(1), pages 41-56.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:acctbr:v:32:y:2002:i:1:p:41-56
    DOI: 10.1080/00014788.2002.9728953
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Matthews, Derek & Anderson, Malcolm & Edwards, John Richard, 1998. "The Priesthood of Industry: The Rise of the Professional Accountant in British Management," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780198289609.
    2. Haring, John R, Jr, 1979. "Accounting Rules and "The Accounting Establishment"," The Journal of Business, University of Chicago Press, vol. 52(4), pages 507-519, October.
    3. Grey, C., 1998. "On being a professional in a "Big Six" firm," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 23(5-6), pages 569-587.
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    Cited by:

    1. 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.
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    3. Shelagh Campbell & Yingqi Li & Junli Yu & Zhou Zhang, 2016. "The Impact of Occupational Community on the Quality of Internal Control," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 139(2), pages 271-285, December.
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    5. 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.
    6. Beau, Pauline & Jerman, Lambert, 2024. "Working apart: Remote working and social bonding in the Big Four audit firms," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 99(C).
    7. Torbjörn Tagesson & Sven-Olof Yrjö Collin, 2016. "Corporate governance influencing compliance with the Swedish Code of Corporate Governance," International Journal of Disclosure and Governance, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 13(3), pages 262-277, August.
    8. Kelly Thomson & Joanne Jones, 2017. "Precarious Professionals: (in)Secure Identities and Moral Agency in Neocolonial Context," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 146(4), pages 747-770, December.
    9. Guo, Ken H., 2018. "The odyssey of becoming: Professional identity and insecurity in the Canadian accounting field," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 56(C), pages 20-45.
    10. Sebastien Stenger & Thomas J Roulet, 2018. "Pride Against Prejudice? The Stakes of Concealment and Disclosure of a Stigmatized Identity for Gay and Lesbian Auditors," Work, Employment & Society, British Sociological Association, vol. 32(2), pages 257-273, April.
    11. Adriana Tiron-Tudor & Widad Atena Faragalla, 2018. "Women Career Paths in Accounting Organizations: Big4 Scenario," Administrative Sciences, MDPI, vol. 8(4), pages 1-16, October.
    12. Faragalla Widad Atena & Adriana Tiron-Tudor, 2019. "Gender as a Dimension of Inequality in Accounting Organizations and Developmental HR Strategies," Administrative Sciences, MDPI, vol. 10(1), pages 1-24, December.
    13. Mara Del Baldo & Adriana Tiron-Tudor & Widad Atena Faragalla, 2018. "Women’s Role in the Accounting Profession: A Comparative Study between Italy and Romania," Administrative Sciences, MDPI, vol. 9(1), pages 1-23, December.
    14. Suddaby, Roy & Cooper, David J. & Greenwood, Royston, 2007. "Transnational regulation of professional services: Governance dynamics of field level organizational change," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 32(4-5), pages 333-362.
    15. Pernilla Broberg & Torbjörn Tagesson & Daniela Argento & Niclas Gyllengahm & Ola Mårtensson, 2017. "Explaining the influence of time budget pressure on audit quality in Sweden," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 21(2), pages 331-350, June.
    16. Haynes, Kathryn, 2008. "Transforming identities: Accounting professionals and the transition to motherhood," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 19(5), pages 620-642.
    17. Rob Jones, 2017. "Enlightenment through engagement? The potential contribution of greater engagement between researchers and practitioners," Accounting Education, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 26(5-6), pages 414-430, November.
    18. Paisey, Catriona & Paisey, Nicholas J., 2006. "Cutting to the core? A reflection upon recent education policy debates within the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 38(1), pages 31-61.
    19. Carrington, Thomas, 2010. "An analysis of the demands on a sufficient audit: Professional appearance is what counts!," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 21(8), pages 669-682.
    20. Elaine Doyle & Jane Frecknall Hughes & Barbara Summers, 2013. "An Empirical Analysis of the Ethical Reasoning of Tax Practitioners," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 114(2), pages 325-339, May.
    21. Haynes, Kathryn, 2008. "(Re)figuring accounting and maternal bodies: The gendered embodiment of accounting professionals," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 33(4-5), pages 328-348.
    22. Fabien Cerruti & Christelle Richard, 2008. "Qualité de l'audit et Satisfaction de l'audité : Chronique d'une Innovation Ordinaire," Post-Print halshs-00522438, HAL.
    23. Andrew C G Cook & James R Faulconbridge & Daniel Muzio, 2012. "London's Legal Elite: Recruitment through Cultural Capital and the Reproduction of Social Exclusivity in City Professional Service Fields," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 44(7), pages 1744-1762, July.

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