Female accountants in partnership positions: Persona non grata?

Purpose – Although the proportion of women accountants is rising steadily, their number in partnership position remains constant. This article explores this phenomenon in an attempt (a) to identify the reasons behind it and (b) clarify which are the barriers that hinder female accountants from being in the top echelon of the accounting practice in an emerging economy like Cyprus. Methodology/approach – The study reported in this article builds on two previous studies, quantitative in nature, carried out by one of the present authors. Utilising the findings of the two earlier studies, the authors use a qualitative approach to further explore the reasons as to why there is a ‘concrete wall’ for women in accounting practices at partnership level. Findings – In contrast to other studies, the present study found that the prohibiting factor creating the barrier is not motherhood but the cultural attitudes and expectations of men imposed on mothers. Another finding is that despite the fact that there is a bigger pool of women today in senior manager positions, it is uncertain if the proportion of female partners will rise in a decade. Research limitations – Although the qualitative study utilising interviews of both genders identified interesting concerns for the local accounting profession, these findings cannot be representative of all emerging economies. Practical implications – The article adds to existing knowledge by clarifying the reasons discouraging women accountants from reaching partnership positions. Findings are of interest to industry stakeholders who wish (a) to attract more women accountants to partnership positions and (b) to develop an environment that addresses women's concerns and enhances their career aspirations towards reaching the top echelon of their profession. Originality/value of article – Most research in this field utilises quantitative or qualitative research independently. In this research we utilise the results of the quantitative studies to indentify in depth the ‘real’ rather than the ‘imaginary’ barrier facing women accountants from entering partnership. Furthermore, this is the first time this is studied in an emerging economy, whereas all other studies are in developed economies

The Implementation of Corporate Governance Principles in an Emerging Economy: a critique of the situation in Cyprus

When the Cyprus economy was booming in the 1990s, key issues emanating from sound corporate governance, such as accountability, transparency and effective independent boards were not deemed important. However, largely as a result of the Cyprus stock exchange collapse of 2000, this view changed. In September 2002, due to the collapse, the Cyprus Stock Exchange implemented a Corporate Governance Code predicated largely on Anglo-Saxon principles of corporate governance. Copyright (c) 2006 The Authors; Journal compilation (c) 2006 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

The Skillset of an Effective Compliance Officer

After briefly considering the major role corporate culture has to play in the field of compliance and ways of succeeding in that role, attention turns to the issue of the skills a compliance officer (CO) needs to possess in order to be effective. The chapter addresses the four strategies a CO will experience in carrying out his/her duties as well as the specific skillset the CO ought to possess in order to be effective. A discussion then follows on the importance of one’s personal values and behavior. Finally, it is emphasized that there is a limit on how much an effective CO can achieve in a company as it depends on the Board’s political will to provide the necessary resources to the compliance department

Disentangling the Expectation Gap for Compliance officers

Despite the current emphasis on compliance, the status of compliance personnel is still relatively unexamined by scholars. The invisibility of compliance personnel attributable to a lack of relative power within the firm as well as the conflicting notions that exist as far as their duties, responsibilities, functions, as well as their title and qualifications, raises the crucial question whether the compliance profession is facing an expectation gap. In the first part of the chapter, the compliance program and the impact of non-compliance are contextualized within the ethical culture and internal coherence. In the second part of the chapter, the authors utilizing Porter’s (1988, 1993) theoretical model of the expectation gap, developed in reference to the accounting profession, report findings from an empirical survey of the compliance officers in Cyprus