IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/bracre/v36y2004i4p369-393.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Informal mentoring relationships and the career processes of public accountants

Author

Listed:
  • Herbohn, K.

Abstract

Research has shown that informal mentoring relationships benefit the protégé, mentor and employing organisation. As such they have been of interest to public accounting firms. The functioning of these relationships in Big Eight/Big Five accounting firms has been investigated in the USA and more recently in Ireland. The career outcome of most interest has been turnover intentions. This paper reports the results of a questionnaire study of mentoring relationships in the Australian state of Queensland. The receipt of mentoring support by accountants is found to be associated with not only lower turnover intentions, but also higher job satisfaction, and lower intentions of female accountants to seek part-time employment. The impact of the organisational context in which these relationships are initiated and cultivated is also investigated. The size of the accounting firm and the national culture of the country in which the firm operates, appear to have some bearing on mentoring experiences.

Suggested Citation

  • Herbohn, K., 2004. "Informal mentoring relationships and the career processes of public accountants," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 36(4), pages 369-393.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:bracre:v:36:y:2004:i:4:p:369-393
    DOI: 10.1016/j.bar.2004.05.002
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0890838904000496
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.bar.2004.05.002?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. Scandura, T. A. & Viator, R. E., 1994. "Mentoring in public accounting firms: An analysis of mentor-protege relationships, mentorship functions, and protege turnover intentions," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 19(8), pages 717-734, November.
    2. C. Allen Clabaugh & Gary S. Monroe & Geoffrey N. Soutar, 2000. "Supervisory Factors Affecting Job Satisfaction in Public Accounting Firms," Australian Accounting Review, CPA Australia, vol. 10(20), pages 65-72, March.
    3. Dean, Roger A. & Ferris, Kenneth R. & Konstans, Constantine, 1988. "Occupational reality shock and organizational commitment: Evidence from the accounting profession," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 13(3), pages 235-250, April.
    4. 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.
    5. Viator, Ralph E., 2001. "The association of formal and informal public accounting mentoring with role stress and related job outcomes," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 26(1), pages 73-93, January.
    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. McPhail, Ken & Paisey, Catriona & Paisey, Nicholas J., 2010. "Class, social deprivation and accounting education in Scottish schools: Implications for the reproduction of the accounting profession and practice," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 21(1), pages 31-50.
    2. Hall, Matthew & Smith, David, 2009. "Mentoring and turnover intentions in public accounting firms: A research note," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 34(6-7), pages 695-704, August.
    3. Denise Jackson & Julia Richardson & Grant Michelson & Rahat Munir, 2023. "The Future of Accounting Talent: Career Values, Choices and Satisfaction Among Early Career Accountants," Australian Accounting Review, CPA Australia, vol. 33(4), pages 391-406, December.
    4. Svanberg, Jan & Öhman, Peter, 2015. "Auditors' identification with their clients: Effects on audit quality," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 47(4), pages 395-408.
    5. Shalini Srivastava, 2016. "Mentoring and Psychological Empowerment: Relationship with Turnover Intentions of Managers: A Study on Private Sector Banks of Delhi-NCR Region," Jindal Journal of Business Research, , vol. 5(2), pages 145-156, December.
    6. Single, Louise & Donald, Stephen & Almer, Elizabeth, 2018. "The relationship of advocacy and mentorship with female accountants' career success," Advances in accounting, Elsevier, vol. 42(C), pages 12-21.
    7. Hall, Matthew & Smith, David, 2009. "Mentoring and turnover intentions in public accounting firms: a research note," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 28924, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    8. Cathleen L. Miller & Philip H. Siegel & Alan Reinstein, 2011. "Auditor and non-mentor supervisor relationships: Effects of mentoring and organizational justice," Managerial Auditing Journal, Emerald Group Publishing, vol. 26(1), pages 5-31, January.
    9. Kathleen Herbohn, 2005. "Job Satisfaction Dimensions in Public Accounting Practice," Accounting Research Journal, Emerald Group Publishing, vol. 18(2), pages 63-82, September.
    10. Jan Svanberg & Peter Öhman, 2016. "The effects of time budget pressure, organisational-professional conflict, and organisational commitment on dysfunctional auditor behaviour," International Journal of Accounting, Auditing and Performance Evaluation, Inderscience Enterprises Ltd, vol. 12(2), pages 131-150.
    11. Lisa McManus & Nava Subramaniam, 2009. "Ethical evaluations and behavioural intentions of early career accountants: the impact of mentors, peers and individual attributes," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 49(3), pages 619-643, September.
    12. Diaz, Michelle Chandler & Loraas, Tina M. & Apostolou, Barbara, 2017. "How do mentoring rewards influence experienced auditors?," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 49(6), pages 594-607.
    13. Nouri, Hossein & Parker, Robert J., 2013. "Career growth opportunities and employee turnover intentions in public accounting firms," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 45(2), pages 138-148.
    14. Fogarty, Timothy J. & Reinstein, Alan & Heath, Rebekah A. & Sinason, David H., 2017. "Why mentoring does not always reduce turnover: The intervening roles of value congruence, organizational knowledge and supervisory satisfaction," Advances in accounting, Elsevier, vol. 38(C), pages 63-74.

    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. Viator, Ralph E. & Pasewark, William R., 2005. "Mentorship separation tension in the accounting profession: the consequences of delayed structural separation," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 30(4), pages 371-387, May.
    2. Nouri, Hossein & Parker, Robert J., 2013. "Career growth opportunities and employee turnover intentions in public accounting firms," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 45(2), pages 138-148.
    3. Diaz, Michelle Chandler & Loraas, Tina M. & Apostolou, Barbara, 2017. "How do mentoring rewards influence experienced auditors?," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 49(6), pages 594-607.
    4. Single, Louise & Donald, Stephen & Almer, Elizabeth, 2018. "The relationship of advocacy and mentorship with female accountants' career success," Advances in accounting, Elsevier, vol. 42(C), pages 12-21.
    5. Viator, Ralph E., 2001. "The association of formal and informal public accounting mentoring with role stress and related job outcomes," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 26(1), pages 73-93, January.
    6. Iyer, Venkataraman M. & Bamber, E. Michael & Barefield, Russell M., 1997. "Identification of accounting firm alumni with their former firm: Antecedents and outcomes," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 22(3-4), pages 315-336.
    7. Hall, Matthew & Smith, David, 2009. "Mentoring and turnover intentions in public accounting firms: a research note," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 28924, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    8. 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).
    9. Christopher C.A. Chan & Gary S. Monroe & Juliana Ng & Rebecca Chyi Woan Tan, 2008. "Effects of Employee Support on Junior Accountants' Job Attitudes and Intention to Quit," Australian Accounting Review, CPA Australia, vol. 18(2), pages 149-162, June.
    10. 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.
    11. Laurence Daoust & Bertrand Malsch, 2020. "When the Client Is A Former Auditor: Auditees' Expert Knowledge and Social Capital as Threats to Staff Auditors' Operational Independence†," Contemporary Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 37(3), pages 1333-1369, September.
    12. Fogarty, Timothy J. & Reinstein, Alan & Heath, Rebekah A. & Sinason, David H., 2017. "Why mentoring does not always reduce turnover: The intervening roles of value congruence, organizational knowledge and supervisory satisfaction," Advances in accounting, Elsevier, vol. 38(C), pages 63-74.
    13. Anna M. Cianci & James Lloyd Bierstaker, 2009. "The effect of performance feedback and client importance on auditors' self- and public-focused ethical judgments," Managerial Auditing Journal, Emerald Group Publishing, vol. 24(5), pages 455-474, May.
    14. Eileen Z. Taylor & Mary B. Curtis, 2018. "Mentoring: A Path to Prosocial Behavior," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 152(4), pages 1133-1148, November.
    15. Hall, Matthew & Smith, David, 2009. "Mentoring and turnover intentions in public accounting firms: A research note," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 34(6-7), pages 695-704, August.
    16. Viator, R. E., 2001. "An examination of African Americans' access to public accounting mentors: perceived barriers and intentions to leave," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 26(6), pages 541-561, August.
    17. Kathleen Herbohn, 2005. "Job Satisfaction Dimensions in Public Accounting Practice," Accounting Research Journal, Emerald Group Publishing, vol. 18(2), pages 63-82, September.
    18. 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).
    19. Shalini Srivastava, 2016. "Mentoring and Psychological Empowerment: Relationship with Turnover Intentions of Managers: A Study on Private Sector Banks of Delhi-NCR Region," Jindal Journal of Business Research, , vol. 5(2), pages 145-156, December.
    20. Causholli, Monika & Floyd, Theresa & Jenkins, Nicole Thorne & Soltis, Scott M., 2021. "The ties that bind: Knowledge-seeking networks and auditor job performance," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 92(C).

    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:bracre:v:36:y:2004:i:4:p:369-393. 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/the-british-accounting-review .

    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.