IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/taf/acctbr/v34y2004i3p247-265.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Conflict, collaboration, fuzzy jurisdictions and partial settlements. Accountants, lawyers and insolvency practice during the late 19th century

Author

Listed:
  • Stephen Walker

Abstract

Inter-professional conflict over insolvency work in Victorian England and Wales is often considered a formative instance of jurisdictional competition between accountants and lawyers. The paper explores this episode in the context of Abbott's theory of The System of Professions. It is shown that the Bankruptcy Act, 1869 disturbed inter-professional relations and unleashed competition between accountants and lawyers for insolvency work. However, the resultant hostility was substantially conducted through the professional media and did not engage unified occupational communities. In everyday practice accountants and lawyers maintained relations of mutual dependency rather than conflict. Some elements of a jurisdictional settlement between accountants and lawyers over bankruptcy work was achieved during the 1870s and 1880s through an intellectual division of labour, judicial decision making and organisational change. However, these forms of settlement seldom proved conclusive and statutory changes effectively perpetuated inter-professional competition for insolvency work into the 20th century.

Suggested Citation

  • Stephen Walker, 2004. "Conflict, collaboration, fuzzy jurisdictions and partial settlements. Accountants, lawyers and insolvency practice during the late 19th century," Accounting and Business Research, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 34(3), pages 247-265.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:acctbr:v:34:y:2004:i:3:p:247-265
    DOI: 10.1080/00014788.2004.9729967
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1080/00014788.2004.9729967
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1080/00014788.2004.9729967?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. 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. Dezalay, Yves, 1995. "Turf battles" or "class struggles": the internationalization of the market for expertise in the "professional society," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 20(5), pages 331-344, July.
    3. 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.
    4. Mills, Patti A. & Young, Joni J., 1999. "From contract to speech: the courts and CPA licensing laws 1921-1996," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 24(3), pages 243-262, April.
    5. Peter Boys, 2004. "The mystery of the missing members: the first 600 chartered accountants in England and Wales," Accounting History Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 14(1), pages 29-52.
    6. Lester, V. Markham, 1995. "Victorian Insolvency: Bankruptcy, Imprisonment for Debt, and Company Winding-up in Nineteenth-Century England," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780198205180.
    7. Walker, Stephen P., 2004. "The genesis of professional organisation in English accountancy," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 29(2), pages 127-156, February.
    8. Martens, S. C. & McEnroe, J. E., 1998. "Interprofessional conflict, accommodation, and the flow of capital: The ASB vs The securities industry and its lawyerS," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 23(4), pages 361-376, May.
    9. 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.
    10. Josephine Maltby, 1999. "'A sort of guide, philosopher and friend': the rise of the professional auditor in Britain," Accounting History Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 9(1), pages 29-50.
    11. Cooper, Christine & Taylor, Phil, 2000. "From Taylorism to Ms Taylor: the transformation of the accounting craft," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 25(6), pages 555-578, August.
    12. Lembke B., 1918. "√ a. p," Journal of Economics and Statistics (Jahrbuecher fuer Nationaloekonomie und Statistik), De Gruyter, vol. 111(1), pages 709-712, February.
    13. Sikka, Prem & Willmott, Hugh, 1995. "The power of "independence": defending and extending the jurisdiction of accounting in the United Kingdom," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 20(6), pages 547-581, August.
    14. Walker, Stephen P., 2000. "Benign sacerdotalist or pious assailant. The rise of the professional accountant in British management," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 25(3), pages 313-323, April.
    15. Peter Walton, 1993. "Company law and accounting in nineteenth-century Europe," European Accounting Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 2(2), pages 286-291.
    16. Wootton, Charles W. & Kemmerer, Barbara E., 1996. "The Changing Genderization of Bookkeeping in the United States, 1870–1930," Business History Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 70(4), pages 541-586, January.
    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. Edwards, John Richard & Anderson, Malcolm & Chandler, Roy A., 2007. "Claiming a jurisdiction for the "Public Accountant" in England prior to organisational fusion," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 32(1-2), pages 61-100.
    2. Chandler, Roy A. & Fry, Nadine, 2008. "Regulating a reluctant profession: Holding solicitors to account," Accounting forum, Elsevier, vol. 32(4), pages 303-312.
    3. Kotb, Amr & Roberts, Clare & Sian, S., 2012. "E-business audit: Advisory jurisdiction or occupational invasion?," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 23(6), pages 468-482.
    4. Anderson-Gough, Fiona & Edgley, Carla & Robson, Keith & Sharma, Nina, 2022. "Organizational responses to multiple logics: Diversity, identity and the professional service firm," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 103(C).
    5. Thomas A. Lee, 2009. "British public accountants in America," Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 22(2), pages 247-271, January.
    6. Channuntapipat, Charika & Samsonova-Taddei, Anna & Turley, Stuart, 2020. "Variation in sustainability assurance practice: An analysis of accounting versus non-accounting providers," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 52(2).
    7. 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.
    8. Ramirez, Carlos & Zicari, Adrián, 2024. "Between a corporatist past and a globalised future: Argentina's accounting profession and the social balance sheet," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 98(C).
    9. 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.
    10. O'Regan, Philip & Killian, Sheila, 2021. "Beyond professional closure: Uncovering the hidden history of plain accountants," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 94(C).
    11. 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.
    12. Fox, Kenneth A. & Lefsrud, Lianne M., 2021. "The ecology of regulatory change: The security and exchange commission’s modernization of oil and gas reserves reporting," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 72(C).
    13. Gebreiter, Florian, 2022. "A profession in peril? University corporatization, performance measurement and the sustainability of accounting academia," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 87(C).

    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. Edwards, John Richard & Anderson, Malcolm & Chandler, Roy A., 2007. "Claiming a jurisdiction for the "Public Accountant" in England prior to organisational fusion," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 32(1-2), pages 61-100.
    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. Dragos Zelinschi, 2012. "Une loi suffit-elle ? Le mouvement des comptables roumains dans les années 1920," Post-Print hal-00691074, HAL.
    4. John Edwards & Malcolm Anderson & Roy Chandler, 2005. "How not to mount a professional project: the formation of the ICAEW in 1880," Accounting and Business Research, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 35(3), pages 229-248.
    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. 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.
    7. 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.
    8. Noguchi, Masayoshi & Edwards, John Richard, 2008. "Harmonising intergroup relations within a professional body: The case of the ICAEW," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 40(2), pages 123-147.
    9. Stephen Walker, 2002. "'Men of small standing'? Locating accountants in English society during the mid-nineteenth century," European Accounting Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 11(2), pages 377-399.
    10. Haynes, Kathryn, 2017. "Accounting as gendering and gendered: A review of 25 years of critical accounting research on gender," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 43(C), pages 110-124.
    11. Kotb, Amr & Roberts, Clare & Sian, S., 2012. "E-business audit: Advisory jurisdiction or occupational invasion?," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 23(6), pages 468-482.
    12. 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.
    13. Power, Michael, 1997. "Expertise and the construction of relevance: Accountants and environmental audit," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 22(2), pages 123-146, February.
    14. 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.
    15. 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.
    16. 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.
    17. Walker, Stephen P., 2004. "The genesis of professional organisation in English accountancy," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 29(2), pages 127-156, February.
    18. 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).
    19. 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.
    20. Haynes, Kathryn, 2008. "Transforming identities: Accounting professionals and the transition to motherhood," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 19(5), pages 620-642.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    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:taf:acctbr:v:34:y:2004:i:3:p:247-265. 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: Chris Longhurst (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.tandfonline.com/RABR20 .

    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.