IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/hal/journl/hal-01902594.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

L'identité négative de l'auditeur

Author

Listed:
  • Lambert Jerman

    (HEC Montréal - HEC Montréal)

  • Alaric Bourgoin

    (HEC Montréal - HEC Montréal)

Abstract

In this paper, we develop the concept of "negative identity" to enlighten the identity work of auditors in major firms. It refers to the tension by which individuals create their professional identity through a continuous and fragile rapport with their difficulties and own weaknesses. To do so, individuals strive to create a coherence between their personal identity and their social identity, i.e. between their intrinsic qualities (and weaknesses) and the professional roles expected from them in the firm. Based on a six month ethnographic study, we illustrate the mechanics of auditor's negative identity around three core sets of practices and discourses: experimenting, confessing and administrating difficulties and weaknesses. By tracing these sets of practices, we investigate a lesser known aspect of auditor's work, and show that the difficult rapport that an individual can have with his own weaknesses might not be an undesirable effect of the job, but one of its main drivers.

Suggested Citation

  • Lambert Jerman & Alaric Bourgoin, 2016. "L'identité négative de l'auditeur," Post-Print hal-01902594, HAL.
    • Handle: RePEc:hal:journl:hal-01902594
    Note: View the original document on HAL open archive server: https://hal.science/hal-01902594
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://hal.science/hal-01902594/document
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Anderson-Gough, Fiona & Grey, Christopher & Robson, Keith, 2005. ""Helping them to forget..": the organizational embedding of gender relations in public audit firms," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 30(5), pages 469-490, July.
    2. 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.
    3. Guénin-Paracini, Henri & Malsch, Bertrand & Paillé, Anne Marché, 2014. "Fear and risk in the audit process," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 39(4), pages 264-288.
    4. Pushkala Prasad & Anshuman Prasad, 2000. "Stretching the Iron Cage: The Constitution and Implications of Routine Workplace Resistance," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 11(4), pages 387-403, August.
    5. Hicham Sebti & Benoît Gerard & Ludivine Perray-Redslob, 2015. "Utilisation identitaire des dispositifs de contrôle par les membres d’un groupe professionnel : le cas des acheteurs," Post-Print hal-01398784, HAL.
    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. Kornberger, Martin & Justesen, Lise & Mouritsen, Jan, 2011. "“When you make manager, we put a big mountain in front of you”: An ethnography of managers in a Big 4 Accounting Firm," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 36(8), pages 514-533.
    8. Martin Kornberger & Lise Justesen & Jan Mouritsen, 2011. "“When you make manager, we put a big mountain in front of you” : An ethnography of managers in a Big 4 Accounting Firm," Post-Print hal-02311997, HAL.
    9. Andrew Sturdy, 1997. "The Consultancy Process — An Insecure Business?," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 34(3), pages 389-413, May.
    10. Chrystelle Richard, 2006. "Why an auditor can't be competent and independent: A french case study," European Accounting Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 15(2), pages 153-179.
    11. Hicham Sebti & Benoît Gérard & Ludivine Perray-Redslob, 2015. "Utilisation identitaire des dispositifs de contrôle par les membres d’un groupe professionnel : le cas des acheteurs," ACCRA, Association francophone de comptabilité, vol. 21(2), pages 13-32.
    12. Anderson-Gough, Fiona & Grey, Christopher & Robson, Keith, 2001. "Tests of time: organizational time-reckoning and the making of accountants in two multi-national accounting firms," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 26(2), pages 99-122, March.
    13. Ioana Lupu & Laura Empson, 2015. "Illusio and overwork: playing the game in the accounting field," Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 28(8), pages 1310-1340, October.
    14. Martin Kornberger & Lise Justesen & Jan Mouritsen, 2011. "“When you make manager, we put a big mountain in front of you” : An ethnography of managers in a Big 4 Accounting Firm," Post-Print hal-02276736, HAL.
    15. repec:dau:papers:123456789/2426 is not listed on IDEAS
    16. Hicham Sebti & Benoît Gérard & Ludivine Perray-Redslob, 2015. "Utilisation identitaire des dispositifs de contrôle par les membres d’un groupe professionnel : le cas des acheteurs," Comptabilité - Contrôle - Audit, Association francophone de comptabilité, vol. 21(2), pages 13-32.
    17. Caroline Lambert & Samuel Sponem, 2009. "La fonction contrôle de gestion : proposition d'une typologie," Comptabilité - Contrôle - Audit, Association francophone de comptabilité, vol. 15(2), pages 113-144.
    18. Morales, Jérémy & Lambert, Caroline, 2013. "Dirty work and the construction of identity. An ethnographic study of management accounting practices," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 38(3), pages 228-244.
    19. Gendron, Yves & Spira, Laura F., 2010. "Identity narratives under threat: A study of former members of Arthur Andersen," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 35(3), pages 275-300, April.
    20. Caroline Lambert & Samuel Sponem, 2009. "La fonction contrôle de gestion : proposition d'une typologie," Post-Print halshs-00465673, HAL.
    21. Michel Anteby, 2013. "PERSPECTIVE —Relaxing the Taboo on Telling Our Own Stories: Upholding Professional Distance and Personal Involvement," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 24(4), pages 1277-1290, August.
    22. Jérémy Morales & Caroline Virginie Lambert, 2013. "Dirty work and the construction of identity. An ethnographic study of management accounting practices," Post-Print hal-01097571, HAL.
    23. Mats Alvesson & Hugh Willmott, 2002. "Identity Regulation as Organizational Control: Producing the Appropriate Individual," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 39(5), pages 619-644, July.
    24. Christelle Chaplais & Yves Mard & Sylvain Marsat, 2016. "L’auditeur face aux dilemmes éthiques : l’impact d’une formation à l’éthique sur la conformité au code de déontologie," Comptabilité - Contrôle - Audit, Association francophone de comptabilité, vol. 22(1), pages 53-83.
    25. Grey, C., 1998. "On being a professional in a "Big Six" firm," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 23(5-6), pages 569-587.
    26. Chrystelle Richard, 2006. "Why an auditor can't be competent and independent: a French case study," Post-Print halshs-00153454, HAL.
    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. Beau, Pauline & Jerman, Lambert, 2022. "Bonding forged in “auditing hell”: The emotional qualities of Big Four auditors," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 83(C).
    2. Durocher, Sylvain & Bujaki, Merridee & Brouard, François, 2016. "Attracting Millennials: Legitimacy management and bottom-up socialization processes within accounting firms," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 39(C), pages 1-24.
    3. Lambert Jerman & Pauline Beau & Claire Garnier, 2016. "Le « dividual professional »," Post-Print hal-01902409, HAL.
    4. Daoust, Laurence, 2020. "Playing the Big Four recruitment game: The tension between illusio and reflexivity," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 66(C).
    5. Claire Garnier, 2018. "L'associé est-il un auditeur comme les autres ? La construction de l'identité de l'associé dans les cabinets Big 4 en France," Post-Print hal-01907933, HAL.
    6. 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.
    7. 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.
    8. repec:mth:ijafr8:v:8:y:2018:i:2:p:166-178 is not listed on IDEAS
    9. Dermarkar, Simon & Hazgui, Mouna, 2022. "How auditors legitimize commercialism: A micro-discursive analysis," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 83(C).
    10. 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).
    11. 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.
    12. Daoust, Laurence & Malsch, Bertrand, 2019. "How ex-auditors remember their past: The transformation of audit experience into cultural memory," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 77(C), pages 1-1.
    13. Guénin-Paracini, Henri & Malsch, Bertrand & Paillé, Anne Marché, 2014. "Fear and risk in the audit process," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 39(4), pages 264-288.
    14. Bitbol-Saba, Nathalie & Dambrin, Claire, 2019. "“It’s not often we get a visit from a beautiful woman!” The body in client-auditor interactions and the masculinity of accountancy," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 64(C).
    15. Claire Garnier, 2017. "Comment devient-on associé d'audit ? Le fonctionnement des réseaux informels de promotion dans les cabinets Big 4 en France," Post-Print hal-01907518, HAL.
    16. de Vries, Marlies & Blomme, Rob & De Loo, Ivo, 2022. "Part of the herd or black sheep? An exploration of trainee accountants’ suffering and modes of adaptation," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 83(C).
    17. Edgley, Carla & Sharma, Nina & Anderson-Gough, Fiona, 2016. "Diversity and professionalism in the Big Four firms: Expectation, celebration and weapon in the battle for talent," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 35(C), pages 13-34.
    18. Covaleski, Mark A. & Earley, Christine E. & Zehms, Karla M., 2021. "The lived reality of public accounting interns," Journal of Accounting Education, Elsevier, vol. 56(C).
    19. Lambert Jerman & Julien Raone, 2014. "Dompter La Verite Dans L'Organisation : La Subjectivation Comme Production De L'Animal Confessant," Post-Print hal-01899765, HAL.
    20. Claire France Picard & Sylvain Durocher & Yves Gendron, 2013. "From Meticulous Professionals To Superheroes Of The Business World: A Historical Portrait Of A Cultural Change In The Field Of Accountancy," Post-Print hal-00993019, HAL.
    21. Detzen, Dominic & Evans, Lisa & Hoffmann, Sebastian, 2023. "Identities in transition: Audit recruits and the German reunification," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 107(C).

    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:hal:journl:hal-01902594. 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: CCSD (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/ .

    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.