IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/wly/accper/v16y2017i2p105-127.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Attracting Prospective Professional Accountants Before and After the CPA Merger in Canada

Author

Listed:
  • François Brouard
  • Merridee Bujaki
  • Sylvain Durocher

Abstract

As part of the unification of the Canadian accounting profession, a lot of effort has been devoted to organizational structures and systems. In these times of change, recruitment of prospective professional accountants remains an important factor for the Canadian and international development of the profession. In this paper, we explore professional accountants’ recruitment by accounting associations in Ontario before (CA, CGA, CMA) and after (CPA) the merger of the three professional accounting associations. We use a legitimacy framework to make sense of the recruitment website content of each association. We find, in the post‐merger period, that the CPA profession adopts a more passive approach to legitimacy management, focusing mainly on exchange aspects of legitimacy, whereas prior to the merger a wider range of legitimacy management strategies were deployed by the predecessor associations. Important implications ensuing from our study are discussed. Recrutement des comptables professionnels avant et après l'unification CPA au Canada Résumé Dans le cadre de l'unification de la profession comptable, de nombreux efforts ont été consacrés aux structures et aux systèmes organisationnels. En cette période de changements, le recrutement des comptables professionnels potentiels représente un facteur important pour l'essor de la profession, tant au Canada que sur la scène internationale. Les auteurs examinent le recrutement des comptables professionnels par les associations comptables en Ontario avant (CA, CGA, CMA) et après (CPA) la fusion des trois associations comptables professionnelles. Un cadre de la légitimité est utilisé pour interpréter le contenu des pages de recrutement des sites web de chaque association. Les résultats indiquent que la profession comptable, durant la période postérieure à l'unification (CPA), adopte une approche davantage passive dans la gestion de la légitimité, en mettant l'accent sur la légitimité d’échange, alors que, durant la période antérieure à la fusion, un plus grand nombre de stratégies de gestion de la légitimité étaient utilisées par les associations prédécesseures. Les principales retombées de l'étude sont analysées.

Suggested Citation

  • François Brouard & Merridee Bujaki & Sylvain Durocher, 2017. "Attracting Prospective Professional Accountants Before and After the CPA Merger in Canada," Accounting Perspectives, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 16(2), pages 105-127, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:accper:v:16:y:2017:i:2:p:105-127
    DOI: 10.1111/1911-3838.12138
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1111/1911-3838.12138
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1111/1911-3838.12138?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
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Jeacle, Ingrid, 2008. "Beyond the boring grey: The construction of the colourful accountant," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 19(8), pages 1296-1320.
    2. Hamilton, Susan E., 2013. "Exploring professional identity: The perceptions of chartered accountant students," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 45(1), pages 37-49.
    3. Jo‐Anne Ryan & Camillo Lento & Naqi Sayed, 2012. "Unresolved Issues about the Proposed CPA Certification Program," Accounting Perspectives, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 11(2), pages 137-144, June.
    4. 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.
    5. 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.
    6. Picard, Claire-France, 2016. "The marketization of accountancy," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 34(C), pages 79-97.
    7. Ken H. Guo, 2012. "Understanding Why and How Some Chartered Accountants Object to the Proposed Merger of the Three Accounting Professions in Canada," Accounting Perspectives, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 11(2), pages 111-130, June.
    8. Carnegie, Garry D. & Napier, Christopher J., 2010. "Traditional accountants and business professionals: Portraying the accounting profession after Enron," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 35(3), pages 360-376, April.
    9. 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.
    10. Alan J. Richardson & Eksa Kilfoyle, 2012. "Merging the Profession: A Historical Perspective on Accounting Association Mergers in Canada," Accounting Perspectives, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 11(2), pages 77-109, June.
    11. Suddaby, Roy & Gendron, Yves & Lam, Helen, 2009. "The organizational context of professionalism in accounting," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 34(3-4), pages 409-427, April.
    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. 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.
    2. Daoust, Laurence, 2020. "Playing the Big Four recruitment game: The tension between illusio and reflexivity," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 66(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. Daoust, Laurence, 2020. "Playing the Big Four recruitment game: The tension between illusio and reflexivity," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 66(C).
    2. 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.
    3. 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).
    4. 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.
    5. 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).
    6. 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).
    7. 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.
    8. 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).
    9. Amondarain, Josune & Aldazabal, M. Edurne & Espinosa-Pike, Marcela, 2023. "Gender differences in the auditing stereotype and their influence on the intention to enter the profession," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Finance, Elsevier, vol. 37(C).
    10. Jeff Everett & Constance Friesen & Dean Neu & Abu Shiraz Rahaman, 2018. "We Have Never Been Secular: Religious Identities, Duties, and Ethics in Audit Practice," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 153(4), pages 1121-1142, December.
    11. Dermarkar, Simon & Hazgui, Mouna, 2022. "How auditors legitimize commercialism: A micro-discursive analysis," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 83(C).
    12. 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.
    13. Duff, Angus, 2016. "Corporate social responsibility reporting in professional accounting firms," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 48(1), pages 74-86.
    14. Sidhu, Jasvinder & Carnegie, Garry D. & West, Brian, 2021. "Australia's divided accounting profession: The 1969 merger attempt and its legacy," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 53(3).
    15. Brivot, Marion & Cho, Charles H. & Kuhn, John R., 2015. "Marketing or parrhesia: A longitudinal study of AICPA's shifting languages in times of turbulence," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 31(C), pages 23-43.
    16. 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).
    17. Darius Fatemi & John Hasseldine & Peggy Hite, 2020. "The Influence of Ethical Codes of Conduct on Professionalism in Tax Practice," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 164(1), pages 133-149, June.
    18. Picard, Claire-France, 2016. "The marketization of accountancy," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 34(C), pages 79-97.
    19. Corrigan, Lawrence T., 2018. "Budget making: The theatrical presentation of accounting discourse," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 55(C), pages 12-32.
    20. Hamilton, Susan E., 2013. "Exploring professional identity: The perceptions of chartered accountant students," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 45(1), pages 37-49.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    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:wly:accper:v:16:y:2017:i:2:p:105-127. 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: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://doi.org/10.1111/(ISSN)1911-3838 .

    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.