IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/crpeac/v83y2022ics1045235421000721.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Part of the herd or black sheep? An exploration of trainee accountants’ suffering and modes of adaptation

Author

Listed:
  • de Vries, Marlies
  • Blomme, Rob
  • De Loo, Ivo

Abstract

This paper develops a conceptualization of the modes of adaptation that first-year trainees working in accounting firms adopt when experiencing difficult, challenging situations that are beyond their control and that they believe pose a threat to their role as accountants. Drawing on insights from the literature on the psychodynamics of work and suffering, and based on an analysis of 430 reflexive accounts prepared by accounting trainees, we propose four modes of adaptation classified along a spectrum from compliance to resistance and from suffering to no suffering. The majority of the trainees showed compliant behaviours when encountering difficult situations that they found threatening. Approximately half of the trainees reported having suffered. Some trainees continued to have problems coping with the behaviour that they had exhibited. A limited number of trainees offered active resistance to reprehensible actions and events in their organization in an attempt to alleviate their own and other people’s suffering. However, their resistance often fell on deaf ears; exceptions to this situation were rare. In general, trainees tended to follow the behaviour of their seniors, even if this behaviour was at odds with what is expected of public accountants. We conclude that although there are possibilities to express dissatisfaction, there does not seem to be much active dissension in public accounting practice stemming from junior trainees. Existing recruitment procedures in accounting firms could play an important role in explaining this outcome.

Suggested Citation

  • 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).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:crpeac:v:83:y:2022:i:c:s1045235421000721
    DOI: 10.1016/j.cpa.2021.102353
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1045235421000721
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.cpa.2021.102353?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. 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.
    2. 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.
    3. Pentland, Brian T., 1993. "Getting comfortable with the numbers: Auditing and the micro-production of macro-order," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 18(7-8), pages 605-620.
    4. 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.
    5. 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.
    6. Chris Carter & Crawford Spence, 2014. "Being a Successful Professional: An Exploration of Who Makes Partner in the Big 4," Contemporary Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 31(4), pages 949-981, December.
    7. Empson, Laura, 2004. "Organizational identity change: managerial regulation and member identification in an accounting firm acquisition," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 29(8), pages 759-781, November.
    8. Dirsmith, Mark W. & Covaleski, Mark A., 1985. "Informal communications, nonformal communications and mentoring in public accounting firms," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 10(2), pages 149-169, April.
    9. Parisa Dashtipour & Bénédicte Vidaillet, 2020. "Introducing the French Psychodynamics of Work Perspective to Critical Management Education: Why Do the Work Task and the Organization of Work Matter?," Post-Print hal-03579176, HAL.
    10. Parisa Dashtipour & Bénédicte Vidaillet, 2017. "Work as affective experience: The contribution of Christophe Dejours psychodynamics of work," Post-Print hal-01474361, HAL.
    11. Jeacle, Ingrid, 2008. "Beyond the boring grey: The construction of the colourful accountant," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 19(8), pages 1296-1320.
    12. 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.
    13. 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.
    14. 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.
    15. 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.
    16. Stringfellow, Lindsay & McMeeking, Kevin & Maclean, Mairi, 2015. "From four to zero? The social mechanisms of symbolic domination in the UK accounting field," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 27(C), pages 86-100.
    17. 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.
    18. Sylvain Durocher & Yves Gendron, 2014. "Epistemic commitment and cognitive disunity toward fair-value accounting," Accounting and Business Research, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 44(6), pages 630-655, December.
    19. Claire-France Picard & Sylvain Durocher & Yves Gendron, 2014. "From meticulous professionals to superheroes of the business world," Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 27(1), pages 73-118, January.
    20. Kirsten Passyn & Mita Sujan, 2006. "Self-Accountability Emotions and Fear Appeals: Motivating Behavior," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 32(4), pages 583-589, March.
    21. Roberts, John, 1991. "The possibilities of accountability," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 16(4), pages 355-368.
    22. Daoust, Laurence, 2020. "Playing the Big Four recruitment game: The tension between illusio and reflexivity," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 66(C).
    23. Dominic Detzen & Marlies De Vries & Annie Wong, 2021. "Young Professionals and the Institute: Giving a Voice to the Next Generation of Accountants?," European Accounting Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 30(3), pages 557-582, May.
    24. Merridee L Bujaki & Sylvain Durocher & François Brouard & Leighann C. Neilson, 2021. "Conflicting Accounts of Inclusiveness in Accounting Firm Recruitment Website Photographs," European Accounting Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 30(3), pages 473-501, May.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Dunne, Neil J. & Brennan, Niamh M. & Kirwan, Collette E., 2023. "How the Big Four maintain and defend logic equilibrium at concurrent performances," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 94(C).

    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. Daoust, Laurence, 2020. "Playing the Big Four recruitment game: The tension between illusio and reflexivity," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 66(C).
    3. 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.
    4. Dunne, Neil J. & Brennan, Niamh M. & Kirwan, Collette E., 2021. "Impression management and Big Four auditors: Scrutiny at a public inquiry," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 88(C).
    5. 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.
    6. 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).
    7. Dermarkar, Simon & Hazgui, Mouna, 2022. "How auditors legitimize commercialism: A micro-discursive analysis," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 83(C).
    8. 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.
    9. 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.
    10. Detzen, Dominic & Evans, Lisa & Hoffmann, Sebastian, 2023. "Identities in transition: Audit recruits and the German reunification," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 107(C).
    11. 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.
    12. 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).
    13. 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).
    14. Lambert Jerman & Alaric Bourgoin, 2016. "L'identité négative de l'auditeur," Post-Print hal-01902594, HAL.
    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. 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.
    17. Lambert Jerman & Pauline Beau & Claire Garnier, 2016. "Le « dividual professional »," Post-Print hal-01902409, HAL.
    18. 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.
    19. Dunne, Neil J. & Brennan, Niamh M. & Kirwan, Collette E., 2023. "How the Big Four maintain and defend logic equilibrium at concurrent performances," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 94(C).
    20. 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.

    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:eee:crpeac:v:83:y:2022:i:c:s1045235421000721. 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: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.journals.elsevier.com/critical-perspectives-on-accounting/ .

    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.