From meticulous professionals to superheroes of the business world

Abstract

Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to examine the relative cultural shift from professionalism to commercialism in the accounting profession, based on an analysis of the promotional brochures used by the Ordre des comptables agréés du Québec (Institute of Chartered Accountants of Québec), over the last forty years, to attract new members.Design/methodology/approach -The study's specific objectives are: (1) to examine accountancy's cultural representations depicted in promotional brochures; (2) to evaluate the extent to which these representations are indicative of the commercialist shift as documented in the literature; and (3) to establish whether the representations under study provide further insight into the nature of the cultural shift. Drawing on the semiotic approach developed by Roland Barthes, our analysis is predicated on the idea that promotional brochures and advertisements, though often simple in appearance, constitute complex representations that convey meaningful information about influential values and cultural change.Findings -We found that commercial values are increasingly apparent through the celebration of multidisciplinary services and the emphasis on generous compensation and high dynamism.Originality/value -Barthes' framework was especially useful to analyze the interplay between images and text to gain insight into the historical emergence of what has become the accountant's representation of today. As such, our study points to promotional representations participating to the inculcation of a cosmopolitan culture, where the internationalization of business is supposedly natural, inevitable, and beneficial to everyone. Our research also highlights the increasingly significant role played by marketing experts in designing professional institutes' brochures, consistent with the broader view of marketization as a key trend within the accounting industry.

Special Issue: A Southern African Dialogue on the Professions and Professional Work

“…Hiring experts from diverse professional backgrounds initiated still ongoing changes to cultures and institutional logics within Big 4 firms (Hinings, 2012;Suddaby et al, 2007;. Big 4 firms' drive privileges client interests, revenue generation and profit-seeking over wider public interests (Gendron, 2002;Picard, Durocher & Gendron, 2014;Spence & Carter, 2014;Suddaby et al, 2009), demonstrating their commercial logic shift (Greenwood & Suddaby, 2006;Sikka, 2009;Wyatt, 2004).…”

“…It explains multiple logics in Big 4 audit firms and expands on the Smets et al (2015) model. A wide body of knowledge exists on the distinct logic shift in accountancy, away from primarily professional logic, towards a more commercially driven logic (Greenwood & Suddaby, 2006;Lander et al, 2013;Picard et al, 2014;Sikka, 2009;Suddaby et al, 2009). Big 4 auditors are perceived to be privileging client interests and their own revenues over wider public interests (Gendron, 2002;Picard et al, 2014;Spence & Carter, 2014;Suddaby et al, 2009).…”

“…A wide body of knowledge exists on the distinct logic shift in accountancy, away from primarily professional logic, towards a more commercially driven logic (Greenwood & Suddaby, 2006;Lander et al, 2013;Picard et al, 2014;Sikka, 2009;Suddaby et al, 2009). Big 4 auditors are perceived to be privileging client interests and their own revenues over wider public interests (Gendron, 2002;Picard et al, 2014;Spence & Carter, 2014;Suddaby et al, 2009). They are prioritising their own growth and profitability, and extending their global reach (Holm & Zaman, 2012;Malsch & Gendron, 2013), and are entering new audit spaces (Andon et al, 2015).…”

The benefits of providing contact with practitioners in round table forums: Undergraduate student perception of the experience

“…We use this proxy because past experiences asking directly about their personal perceptions of auditing in a round table showed almost 100% of total satisfaction 1 The auditing profession has been questioned after several scandals, and auditing firms, aware of students' negative perception, are trying to improve the social image of the professional auditing career (Jeacle, 2008;Picard, Durocher, & Gerdron, 2014). Following previous literature, students will not act as a rational investor in education when approaching their employability (Rees, Gorard, Fevre and Furlong, 1997), as their decisions will be affected by their perceptions, attitudes and personal dispositions (Tomlinson, 2007).…”

How do Auditors Navigate Conflicting Logics in Everyday Practice?

“…Hiring experts from diverse professional backgrounds initiated still ongoing changes to cultures and institutional logics within Big 4 firms (Hinings, 2012;Suddaby et al, 2007;2009). Big 4 firms' drive privileges client interests, revenue generation and profit-seeking over wider public interests (Gendron, 2002;Picard, Durocher & Gendron, 2014;Spence & Carter, 2014;Suddaby et al, 2009), demonstrating their commercial logic shift (Greenwood & Suddaby, 2006;Sikka, 2009;Wyatt, 2004).…”