Disability and the socialization of accounting professionals

This paper investigates the professional socialization of disabled accountants and their employment within the UK accounting industry by examining the oral history accounts of 12 disabled accountants. Applying the literatures concerned with the professional socialisation of accountants and the sociology of disability, this study draws attention to institutionalized practices within the field of accounting that serve to exclude or marginalize disabled accountants. Our narrators provide evidence of how aspects of professional socialization, such as the image and appearance of staff, the discourse of the client, the rigidity of accounting practice and importance of temporal commitment, impact on the employment of disabled accountants. Moreover, our narrators' accounts suggest that accounting employers and professional bodies are unsupportive, inflexible, and display little understanding of the needs of their disabled employees and members

The claim to the tax domain: examining the activities of accountants in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries

This paper examines the activities of UK accountants in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Its aim is to determine the nature of their work in relation to taxation, by looking chiefly at the contemporary evidence provided by The Accountant, the accountants' professional journal. First published in 1874, this journal provides information on tax and other activities at a time when accountants were establishing their credentials as a new profession. The paper considers issues surrounding income tax in this period, as the complexities associated with it provide the wider context and backdrop for accountants' activities. It then specifically considers why and how accountants met the increasing need for tax advice and claimed this work domain as part of their professional jurisdiction. The paper then goes on to consider the role of lawyers in taxation during the same period

AN EXPLANATION OF THE CHANGE IN ACCOUNTANTS’ ATTITUDE TOWARDS FLEXIBILITY USING THE THEORY OF REASONED ACTION

In this paper we look at accountants as “consumers of accounting regulations”. We explain the change in the accountants’ attitude towards flexibility in the accounting regulation process, using a theory derived from social psychology: the Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA). In 1999 and 2005 we tested the attitude towards flexibility of a number of Romanian accountants who aimed at becoming private practitioners. We observed that before the existence of an accounting conceptual framework (1999), the accountants surveyed preferred flexibility with respect to accounting choices. A few years later (2005), after the implementation of IASB’s conceptual framework (but before the regulator removed it), the preference of accountants changed to flexibility. We believe that these changes could be explained using TRA.Romanian accounting regulation, Theory of Reasoned Action, accountants’ attitude, uniformity, flexibility

Retention and intentions of professional accountants

This paper enhances understanding of factors underlying professional accountants’ high turnover rates. Various researchers, institutions and government bodies have identified accountants’ retention is of concern. However, traditional explanations, such as job satisfaction and organizational commitment, do not sufficiently account for the turnover rates observed in the accounting profession. A New Zealand (NZ) sample of professional accountants enabled us to identify a range of factor. Intentions to stay were very low, 50% of accountants expected to leave their current employer within 3 years of the survey date. Satisfaction with two core job characteristics, feedback and skill variety, in addition to work life balance (WLB) accounted for 65% of the variance of overall job satisfaction. WLB, or at least a lack of access to flexible work arrangements was strongly indicated as the primary consideration when choosing to remain with the present employer

Roles, authority and involvement of the management accounting function: a multiple case-study perspective

Recent techniques and shifts in the environment are often foreseen as leading management accountants to adopt a business orientation. However, empirical evidence pointing to fundamental shifts in the roles played by management accountants remains relatively scarce. The authors explore this paradox and give sense to the various roles played by the management accounting function by focusing on how management accountants are involved in and endowed with authority in decision-making situations.management accountant; role; business partner

Ethics in management accounting

In the knowledge based economy, accounting information in general, and cost information in particular acquire increased importance. The quality of accounting information can be affected by the non-compliance with professional ethical requirements. In relation to the management accounting, the law provides a higher degree of freedom for the organization and presentation of the information, as compared to the financial accounting. Due to the importance of the information supplied, management accountants should observe certain professional ethical standards. Professional associations develop ethical guides with the purpose of supporting management accountants in solving the ethical problems they may encounter. Among other factors, universities play a significant role in the development of management accountants’ professional ethical conduct.ethics, management accounting, cost, information

A Role for Management Accountants in Best Practice Benchmarking

Best practice benchmarking (benchmarking for short) generally refers to the pursuit by organisations of enhanced performance by learning from the successful practices of others. Comparisons of processes which contribute to strategic success are made with other parts of the same organisation; competitors; or organisations operating comparable processes in a context which is in some way relevant. Benchmarking continues to grow in popularity in both private and public sector organisations – but does it always produce the desired outcomes? Although spectacular gains from benchmarking are claimed particularly in practitioner literature, there is also growing evidence of disappointment with the effectiveness of benchmarking. It can be very time consuming to undertake and manage, and ensuring that sharing information with competitors is to the mutual advantage of partner organisations is difficult. With this in mind, it is important to recognise that management accountants play pivotal roles at organisational interfaces and therefore could play a (more) significant part in successful benchmarking activities. This paper will report on an ongoing research project at the Open University Business School, funded by the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants, aimed at understanding, in depth, the processes which are undertaken by Management Accountants, in the name of benchmarking. The project team are using postal questionnaires and case studies to identify the features of successful benchmarking practice, and the characteristics of benchmarking organisations or benchmarking processes which are considered to be problematic. This research centres on an extensive survey of Management Accountants. This research has begun to identify the contribution which Management Accountants can make to successful benchmarking and the factors which have led organisations to abandon benchmarking activities. This study is also facilitating better understanding of the relationship between organisational size and level of benchmarking activity, the impact of benchmarking clubs, and the perceived costs and benefits of benchmarking to stakeholders. The final phase 3 of this research will focus on providing innovative ways to make the findings available to management accounting practitioners

Determinants of IFRS compliance in Africa: analysis of stakeholder attributes

Purpose: This paper examines the drivers of companies’ compliance with IFRS using the stakeholder salience theory. Research Methods: We have used panel data from 205 companies to examine the IFRS compliance level across 13 African countries. Our study has also established the relationship between stakeholders’ attributes and firms’ compliance with IFRS. Findings: On IFRS compliance, we found that the average compliance score among the companies over the period was 73.09% with a minimum score of 62.86% and maximum of 85.61%. We found a significant positive association between audit committee competence (ACC) and compliance and found the same for chartered accountants on board (AOB). There is less compliance with the latest standards, such as IFRS 3, 7, and 13. Also, IAS 17, 19, 36, and 37 are problematic across the sample. We also found that compliance has been increasing over the years. Practical implications. For companies, our studies provide empirical evidence on the importance of having chartered accountants’ corporate boards as well as competent audit committees involved in ensuring high compliance with IFRS. Our findings also provide valuable information for professional accounting organizations on the role of its members (chartered accountants) in the effectiveness of IFRS compliance. Value/Contribution: This study complements and updates prior studies on IFRS compliance with findings from Africa, a region that has been neglected in the literature. It provides empirical evidence on the importance of chartered accountants sitting on corporate boards in ensuring high compliance with IFRS

Writing masters and accountants in England – a study of occupation, status and ambition in the early modern period

The purpose of this paper is to address the lack of knowledge of the accounting occupational group in England prior to the formation of professional accounting bodies. It does so by focusing on attempts made by the occupational group of writing masters and accountants to establish a recognisable persona in the public domain, in England, during the seventeenth and eighteenth century, and to enhance that identity by behaving in a manner designed to convince the public of the professionalism associated with themselves and their work. The study is based principally on early accounting treatises and secondary sources drawn from beyond the accounting literature. Notions of identity, credentialism and jurisdiction are employed to help understand and evaluate the occupational history of writing masters and accountants. It is shown that writing masters and accountants emerged as specialist pedagogues providing expert business knowledge required in the counting houses of entities which flourished during a period of rapid commercial expansion in mercantilist Britain. Their demise as an occupational group may be attributed to a range of factors amongst which an emphasis on personal identity, the neglect of group identity and derogation of the writing craft were most important.history ; accountants ; bookkeepers