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An exploration of the professional habitus in the Big 4 accounting firms

Author

Listed:
  • Crawford Spence

    (University of Warwick, UK)

  • Chris Carter

    (University of Edinburgh, UK)

Abstract

The meaning of professionalism is changing, with the commercial pressures of globalization exerting dramatic pressures on the nature of professional work and the skill sets required of professionals. This article engages with this debate by reporting on a qualitative, empirical study undertaken in a domain that has been largely neglected by sociology: professional accounting. Focusing on the elite ‘Big 4’ accounting firms, the ways in which partners and other senior accountants embody institutional logics into their habitus are analysed. It is shown that the embodiment of different logics is inextricably linked to the establishment of hierarchy within the Big 4, with a commercial-professional logic accorded a significantly higher status than a technical-professional logic. Further, the article responds to critics of Bourdieu’s notion of habitus, highlighting how habitus does not merely denote the passive internalization of external structures, but is also capable of disembodying constraining institutional logics, thereby highlighting scope for professional self-determination.

Suggested Citation

  • Crawford Spence & Chris Carter, 2014. "An exploration of the professional habitus in the Big 4 accounting firms," Work, Employment & Society, British Sociological Association, vol. 28(6), pages 946-962, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:woemps:v:28:y:2014:i:6:p:946-962
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Dirk Vriens & Ed Vosselman & Claudia Groß, 2018. "Public Professional Accountability: A Conditional Approach," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 153(4), pages 1179-1196, December.
    2. 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.
    3. Tharapos, Meredith & O'Connell, Brendan T. & Dellaportas, Steven & Basioudis, Ilias, 2019. "Are accounting academics culturally intelligent?: An empirical investigation," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 51(2), pages 111-129.
    4. Lambert Jerman & Pauline Beau & Claire Garnier, 2016. "Le « dividual professional »," Post-Print hal-01902409, HAL.
    5. repec:mth:ijafr8:v:8:y:2018:i:2:p:166-178 is not listed on IDEAS
    6. 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.
    7. Andrew West, 2018. "After Virtue and Accounting Ethics," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 148(1), pages 21-36, March.
    8. 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.
    9. AnnMarie Bennett & Breda Murphy, 2017. "The Tax Profession: Tax Avoidance and the Public Interest," Economics Department Working Paper Series n286-17.pdf, Department of Economics, National University of Ireland - Maynooth.

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