Is it Shameful to be an Accountant? GenMe Perception(s) of Accountants' Ethics

The function that accountants fulfil in the economic system is dependent on their ability to maintain the perception of high ethical standards. Building on the idea that birth cohorts, otherwise known as generations, are a useful proxy for the socio‐cultural environment of different time periods, we focus on the so‐called ‘GenMe’, that is, students and young workers born in the 1980s and 1990s. In particular, combining the accounting and business ethics literature, the purpose of our paper is to contribute to an increased awareness of the GenMe perceptions of accountants, with special attention given to ethical aspects. We believe that the perceptions of this age group are particularly crucial for the future of the accounting profession as it is these young people who will either become professional accountants or the accountants' future clients. Using an extensive database of 1,794 questionnaires, results show that the impression of the accountant as a corrupt professional is not dominant among GenMe and seem to suggest the existence of a multifaceted perception of accountants' ethics. Specifically, the factors that contribute to influencing GenMe perceptions of accountants' ethics are level of education, having attended an accounting course at high school level, gender, and belonging to the accounting profession. Finally, our study indicates that there is room for improving public perceptions of accountants' ethics through university courses in ethics, continuing education programs, and focused communication strategies by accounting firms and professional bodies.     

Some theoretical and methodological suggestions for studies examining accountants' professional judgments and earnings management

The objective of this paper is to provide theoretical and methodological suggestions to guide future research on the controversial topics of accountants' professional judgments and earnings management. Based on an evaluation of prior research, this paper provides four suggestions. First, it is suggested that a focus on the influence of personality variables is likely to provide sharper insights into judgments of individuals. Two relevant personality variables have been selected for this paper, namely, Construal of Self and Regulatory Focus Theory. Both Construal of Self and Regulatory Focus Theory have been, primarily in psychology literature, proven as valid and relevant for judgments, decisions and behavior. Second, prior literature conducted studies on earnings management and ethical issues to a large extent in the United States, often assuming that findings are generalizable and transferable to other countries. Given the importance of contextual factors and of gaining insights from global perspectives, the examination of nations with different contextual environments and particularly of countries in which ethical issues have not been rigorously examined, is suggested. Third, prior research has largely relied on simplistic unidimensional ethics measures that are unlikely to capture the complexity of accountants' professional judgments. It is suggested that a combination of a unidimensional measure and ‘Multidimensional Ethics Measure’ (MEM) provides richer insights into judgments. Fourth, this paper also suggests measuring “holier-than-thou” perception bias. “Holier-than-thou” perception bias means that individuals consider themselves as more ethical than their peers. This bias is important because it may foster an unethical organizational culture. Some of the suggestions included in this paper may provide useful guidance for future studies examining accountants' professional judgments and earnings management.     

The Tax Knowledge of South African Trainee Accountants: A Survey of the Perceptions of Training Officers in Public Practice

This empirically-based, exploratory study outlines the framework of chartered accountants' tax education and training in South Africa and focuses on training officers' perceptions of the existing tax knowledge of trainee accountants when entering into a training contract after completing their university qualification. The study identified the respondents' satisfaction with the performance by ‘entry-level’ trainee accountants of their duties. The results indicated that, although the educational background of trainee accountants was for the most part adequate, these trainee accountants were not sufficiently able to perform their duties when entering into training. The implication of this study is that the syllabus setters and educators should review the practicality of the current tax syllabi's content for the education and training of aspirant chartered accountants in South Africa.     

Management accounting information and the needs of managers: Perceptions of managers and accountants compared

The study builds on prior research on information user perceptions and the roles of management accountants. Perceptions of management accountants and managers in the same organisations regarding information supplied by the management accounting function were compared and differences highlighted. Perceptions of managers were also sought regarding desired changes in the information supplied and desired future roles of management accountants.Consistent with prior literature in MIS and accounting, the findings showed evidence of preparer–user perception gaps. Major contributors to those perception gaps were identified as an imbalance between technical and organisational validity, functional differentiation and an inherent tension between the simultaneous requirements of independence and involvement. Managers' views of desired future roles for management accountants provided consistent indicators as to how those gaps can be narrowed. The study also exposes inaccuracies in management accountants' perceptions and sets out implications for the design and reporting of future research.     

How Management Accountants' Cognitive Style and Role Involvement Combine to Affect the Effort Devoted to Initiating Change

This study examines how management accountants' cognitive style combines with their role involvement to affect not only the level of effort they devote to initiating change in their management accounting practices, but also how radical those changes are. While management accountants' cognitive style is likely to be an important indicator of the level of effort devoted to initiating change, the role they occupy in the organization (described in terms of role involvement) is also likely to be important as a means through which their efforts can be facilitated. The results from a survey of management accountants indicate that cognitive style had a positive but not significant direct effect on the level of effort management accountants devote to initiating change but, as hypothesized, there was a significant indirect effect via the mediating variable of role involvement. Moreover, this indirect relationship was more significant for radical changes than non‐radical changes.     

THE PERSONALITY,JOB SATISFACTION AND TURNOVER INTENTIONS OF AFRICAN-AMERICAN MALE AND FEMALE ACCOUNTANTS: AN EXAMINATION OF THE HUMAN CAPITAL AND STRUCTURAL/CLASS THEORIES

The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants has made minority recruitment a major goal. Minorities, and especially African-Americans, have not been entering the accounting profession in proportion to their numbers in either the general population or the population of college graduates. Two competing explanations have been advanced that attempt to explain this failure@8ihuman capital theory, and structural/class theory. This paper reports on the results of a survey of a sample of 445 African-American accountants that attempts to test the validity of these two theories by assessing the respondents' personality characteristics, job satisfaction and turnover intentions. The distribution of personality type for the sample of African-American accountants was found to be similar to the results of a previous study conducted on groups of Anglos and Hispanics. Additionally, the job satisfaction and turnover intention results for the sample were found to be similar to those reported in previous studies. As a result, the findings fail to support the human capital theory, and implicitly lend support to the structural/class theory. Finally, anecdotal evidence from the respondents in two open-ended questions was examined. It indicated that African-American accountants' failure to advance in the profession was perceived to be attributed to a less than total commitment to diversity and the existence of glass ceilings in many organizations.     

Organisational Factors and Dimensions of Satisfaction:A Comparative Study of Accountants in Australia and the US

This paper compares perceptions of organisational characteristics and their relationship to job satisfaction dimensions of US and Australian accountants. Data were collected from accountants in an international accounting firm on perceptions of job satisfaction dimensions, autonomy, feedback on performance and access to job-related information. Given the cultural similarities of the two countries and the use of a single firm, differences were not expected. Results indicated that accountants in the two countries had similar perceptions of the organisational variables and similar levels of satisfaction. However, there were extensive differences in how the organisational variables related to the satisfaction dimensions.     

Factors explaining the choice of a finance major: the role of students' characteristics,personality and perceptions of the profession

This paper examines the role of student characteristics, personality, and perceptions of the banking and finance profession in determining the choice of an undergraduate finance major. The data employed is drawn from a survey of first-year business students at a large Australian university. Student characteristics examined include gender, secondary school studies in accounting, business and economics, grade point average and attendance mode. Perceptions of the banking and finance profession revolve around questions of overall interest, relationships of persons working within the profession, the manner in which the profession deals with problems and tasks, and the nature of these problems. A binary probit model is used to identify the source and magnitude of factors associated with a student's choice of major. The evidence provided suggests that the choice of a finance major is a function of students' overall interest in the profession, perceptions of how the profession deals with problems and tasks, the nature of these problems and tasks, mode of attendance and, to a lesser extent, gender. The study emphasizes the need to incorporate factors associated with students' personality and perceptions in analyses of this type.     

The impact of the antecedents and consequences of job burnout on junior accountants' turnover intentions: a structural equation modelling approach

This paper examines the impact of the antecedents and consequences of job burnout on junior accountants' turnover intentions. A questionnaire was completed by 368 junior accountants working in public accounting firms. Our results suggest that role ambiguity, role conflict and job‐related tension are important antecedents for job burnout. Role ambiguity and role conflict initially influence employees' perceived levels of job‐related tension, and job‐related tension is associated to job burnout, which, in turn, decreases employees' levels of job satisfaction and organisational commitment. Dissatisfied and uncommitted employees are more likely to seek alternative employment.     

Does the Holland model of occupational choice (HMOC) perpetuate the Beancounter-Bookkeeper (BB) stereotype of accountants?

This article investigates the Holland model of occupational choice's (HMOC) development, influence, and validity in relation to its classification of bookkeepers, accountants, and business professionals. Study 1 reanalyzes published data and provides evidence that the Beancounter-Bookkeeper (BB) stereotype, which is promoted in the HMOC, is partially predictive of the personality characteristics of individuals who choose to enter professional accountancy. Study 2 investigates the influence of HMOC training, and exposure to accounting education, on perceptions of the personality type needed for accounting work; results indicate that: (1) HMOC training is associated with perceptions that accounting work requires a BB personality, and (2) the importance of investigative skills to accounting work increase with accounting education. Following this, we review evidence that suggests low validity in the HMOC's claims of greater job success and satisfaction among BB accountants. Finally, we consider three possible processes that may explain Holland and colleagues’ conjoining of accountants with bookkeepers. Together, the analysis promotes skepticism regarding whether the HMOC's claim that professional accounting success demands a passive, compliant, subservient, i.e., BB, personality supports the public interest obligations of professional accountants.     

Manifest anxiety,general self-efficacy and locus of control as determinants of personal and general risk perception

The hypothesis that risk perception is associated with differences in personality was proposed. Three personality variables were used, Rotter's Internal vs External Locus of Control Scale, Schwarzer's General Self-efficacy Scale and Taylor's Manifest Anxiety Scale. A scale asking for personal and general risk perception measured perceived risk. It was proposed that individuals low in anxiety, having an internal locus of control and high in self-efficacy should perceive general risks and personal risks higher than individuals high in anxiety and low in self-efficacy and having external locus of control should do. Fifty-nine business students responded to these three scales. The hypothesis was supported by the results and suggested that the personality measures and particularly anxiety were significantly associated to both personal and general risk perceptions.     

Student Perceptions of the Insurance Profession

To attract students to the risk management and insurance profession, strategies need to be developed to overcome biases in their perceptions of the profession. This study attempts to determine some of those perceptions of students—specifically a group of business career high school students and a group of college students enrolled in an introduction to business course—about the personality traits of insurance professionals. A Personality Factor Questionnaire previously used extensively in other research was used to measure differences in student perceptions of personality profiles of different professions. We also measured how student characteristics such as age, sex, and expected college major influence student perceptions of these traits. The overall general conclusion was that perceptions of the profession are not as negative as many imagine, but do require some substantive work to improve, even among students seeking business careers.     

From Accounting to “Forecounting”*

Using Ross Skinner's 1995 CA Magazine article, “Judgment in Jeopardy", as a stepping stone, we revisit the meaning of professional judgment in accounting in light of developments in standard setting, financial markets, and business operations that have taken place over the past two decades. We argue that it is time to change the view that accountants' professional judgment is the application of accounting‐based knowledge and experience in the selection of an appropriate accounting method. Accountants now face a standard‐setting context that emphasizes the estimation of future cash flows as well as new business and financial realities. This context implies that, in exercising their professional judgment to choose between forecast alternatives, accountants must rely on knowledge and experience from other disciplines (even though this is not well integrated into accounting). Hence, accounting must evolve from its traditional stewardship role to the new role of “forecount‐ing” (the estimation of future cash flows). The implications as well as the challenges of that evolution are discussed.     

Student career aspirations and perceptions: The case of Israeli accounting students

The study investigates changes in Israeli accounting students' career aspirations during their course of studies, and the relationship between these and their perceptions of professional accountancy firms. We employed a cross-sectional analysis of students across consecutive educational levels from the first year to the end of their formal education. We assumed that revealed differences between the accounting student cohorts, in terms of their perceptions of professional accountancy firms and their career aspirations, could be interpreted as reflecting changes over time in students' attitudes. Results from the sample show that accounting student' aspirations to pursue a career with a professional accountancy firm decline significantly between the first and postgraduate years, while their desire to work in the business sector increases. The results show the same trend with regard to the student's positive perceptions of the above firms as future workplaces. Non-parametric tests demonstrate significant relationships between students' career aspirations and their perceptions of professional accountancy firms. We suggest that the change in students' perceptions and aspirations is a symptom of something similar to a ‘reality shock’, and that it results from the students' exposure to the accounting profession. Professional accountancy firms need to implement innovative policies to meet the challenge.     

Theory and practice of the proposed conceptual framework: Evidence from the field

We provide survey evidence of chartered accountants' perspectives on the proposed conceptual framework of the International Accounting Standards Board. Our survey obtains their views on the changes in the definitions of assets and liabilities, recognition criterion, and additional guidance in these areas, as well as issues relating to other comprehensive income, business model-based accounting, and choice of measurement basis. Our field evidence suggests broad consensus with respect to most of these changes. The areas that generate the most disagreement among our respondents relate to the removal of economic benefits in the proposed asset definition, the proposal to remove the minimum probability threshold from the asset recognition criterion, and the use of fair value as a measurement basis for certain difficult to measure assets. Overall, our results provide interesting insights regarding how chartered accountants view the proposed conceptual framework.     

The role of perceived costs and perceived benefits in the relationship between personality and risk‐related choices

This paper considers how perceptions of costs and benefits can influence the association between personality and risky choice behaviour. We assessed perceptions and behaviours in six domains (ethical; investment; gambling; health and safety; recreational; social) using the DOSPERT and measured personality using the NEO PI‐R. Results from structural equation modelling showed that personality had a direct effect on risky choice behaviour in four domains (social, ethical, gambling and recreational risk‐taking). In addition, perceived costs and benefits mediated the relations between personality and risk‐taking in the five domains (social, ethical, gambling, recreational and investment risk‐taking). Evidence for a mechanism that integrates both direct and indirect effects of personality on behaviour is discussed.     

ACCOUNTANT'S JOB SATISFACTION: A META-ANALYSIS

The calculation of a population correlation coefficient is important when trying to assess the generalizability of the results of prior research. This paper uses meta-analysis to calculate population correlation coefficients for accountants» job satisfaction with its antecedents, indeterminants and consequences. A total of 16 meta-analyses were carried out for seven antecedents, two indeterminants and one consequence of accountants» job satisfaction. In four of the meta-analyses of samples of all accountants studied, the sampling error variance accounted for all or a large proportion of the variance between the corrected sample correlations and hence the population correlation coefficient could be observed. When the sampling error variance accounted for only a relatively small proportion of the variance between the corrected sample, correlations meta-analyses were carried out, where possible, for sub-groups of accountants working in particular work environments. In one of these subsequent meta-analyses the population correlation coefficient was observed.     

Job perceptions and turnover behavior of tenure-track accounting educators

This paper compares the job-related need fulfillment of academic accountants in 1994 with that reported nearly a quarter of a century earlier by Carpenter and Strawser (1971. A study of the job satisfaction of academic accountants. The Accounting Review (July), 46, 509-518). We also investigate whether job dissonance (dissatisfaction resulting from unmet needs) foreshadowed turnover of faculty respondents during the 2-year period following our survey. Results suggest that fulfillment for most job-related needs was lower for 1994 accounting educators than for their 1970 counterparts. Within the 1994 sample, certain perceptual differences were attributed to both race (black versus non-black) and gender. Regardless of demographics, however, reported job dissonance in 1994 was strongly associated with subsequent job turnover, particularly among assistant professors. Taking steps to reduce or eliminate job dissonance is arguably more important in today's environment than in 1994. Accounting faculty members today enjoy a greater number of opportunities and thus can more readily remove themselves from situations that create perceived job dissonance.