Organisational commitment of accountants in Australia and South Africa

This paper examines the independent variables of perceived environmental uncertainty (PEU) and the cultural beliefs of collectivism/individualism between two countries, Australia and South Africa. These countries were chosen because Australia is a stable democracy and South Africa is an emerging democracy which is undergoing significant political, social and economic transformation. The purpose of this paper is to determine whether accountants' commitment to an organisation is associated with perceived environmental uncertainty, collectivism and nationality.

The results of this study suggest that individuals' organizational commitment is associated with nationality (South African and Australian) and that relationship is associated with their cultural beliefs (collectivism/individualism) and an environmental variable, perceived environmental uncertainty.

This research is regarded as important in that multi-national organisations operating in different political and social environments may choose to use different means to ensure the maximum organisational commitment from their employees, in particular, those who are professional accountants.

Accountants, ethical issues and the corporate governance context

A major survey of members of CPA Australia on the issue of ethics was recently conducted. A questionnaire was sent to 7,000 members at random, with those surveyed being asked whether they had come across any one of 14 ethical issues in the previous year. They were also asked to list the issues in order of importance as regards maintaining ethical standards, even if they had not been confronted by them.

Influences on undergraduate students` intentions to become qualified accountants : evidence from Australia

In this study, first year commerce students in Australia were surveyed about their perceptions of their accounting studies and their perceptions of the attributes required of professional accountants. The paper specifically addresses the factors important in determining whether first year students intend to become accountants. The study uses a logistic regression model incorporating demographic and academic factors, as well as students' perceptions of the work of accountants, to predict intention to become an accountant. The results show that the perception of importance of generic skills, intrinsic interest in the discipline area, and course satisfaction were significant in determining intention to pursue a career as an accountant. As many students formed their judgments about the work of accountants from their accounting studies, the findings have implications for accounting educators in terms of the enthusiasm and motivation required in teaching accounting, as well as curriculum development that reflects the skill set required for an increasingly sophisticated business environment.

Indigenous Australian accountants : why so few? A historical and cultural perspective

At a time when there is a growing call for Indigenous Australians to become self-sustainable and self-governing (Smith, 2002, Dodson & Smith, 2003, Martin, 2003) the very small number of Indigenous Australians in the accounting profession raises the question "why so few?" The number of Certified Practicing Accountants and Chartered Accountants of Australia is approximately 150,000 and to date only nine (9) qualified Indigenous Australian accountants have been located, representing 0.006%. This paper analyses the barriers faced by Indigenous Australians within the context of theories of cultral identity and colonisation of Australia. These theories are propounded as a means of exploring why there are so few Indigenous Australians represented in the accounting profession. An overview of colonial rule implemented by the British government from settlement of Australia in 1788, through to modern day Australia will be forwarded in an effort to draw out the implication of colonial rule on the development of Indigenous Australians whilst paying particular attention to the cultural identity of Indigenous Australians and the influence this has had on their career choices.

Accountants and valuations in Australian family court proceedings

This paper investigates issues related to the role of accountants in presenting expert evidence in the form of share valuations in Family Court of Australia proceedings. By providing a background to the valuation rules applied by the Family Court and examining relevant cases, the paper emphasises that considerable ambiguity exists. The paper highlights some of the inconsistencies that are evident from reported decisions and stresses the difficulties that judges have experienced with valuations presented by accountants in Family Court cases. It is evident that the courts, despite the legal precedents, continue to have considerable difficulty with valuation issues and methodologies. By exploring issues related to accounting based valuations in the context of Australian family law cases, the present paper examines accounting in a particular social and institutional setting. The paper is interdisciplinary in nature, in that issues extending over accounting, finance and legal boundaries are considered.

Overcoming barriers: black African chartered accountants in 1990s South Africa

This paper examines the experiences of black Africans in South Africa who became Chartered Accountants in the 1990s. Building on previous work on marginalized groups within the accounting profession, the study relies on interviews with 22 of those who overcame steep educational, economic, racial, cultural, and political obstacles to join a profession that had fewer than 1% black Africans as members. The interviews indicate that those black Africans who did manage to become CAs in the 1990s shared many common characteristics and experiences. They and their families placed a high value on education and made tremendous sacrifices to meet the requirements to earn the CA certification. Many overcame extreme poverty in their childhoods and attended poorly equipped schools. All were exceptionally accomplished academically, most qualifying for scholarships offered only to the very top black African students in the country. Most faced educational disruptions due to boycotts and political protests that shut down schools and many black universities in the years immediately prior to the bringing down of the apartheid regime. All faced racial discrimination in housing and education. Few had ever met a chartered accountant before enrolling in university; many had never heard of the certification until that point. In the 1990s when they entered some of the major firms to meet their training requirements, they were typically not given the same opportunities as their white peers. Now that they have become Chartered Accountants, and the government has changed and instituted affirmative action policies, most find that they are often offered jobs outside of public accounting. Still only composing about one percent of all chartered accountants, in a country that is 75% black African, most believed that the main road towards overcoming this disparity is through radical efforts to equalize educational opportunities in South Africa across racial lines. Most make professional decisions based at least in part on the opportunities a given position offers towards contributing to the black community.

Balancing work and lifestyle : an exploratory study of chartered accountants in Australia

In today’s work environment, achieving a work-life balance is not only desirable, for employers it is a necessity to maintain a healthy workforce. Accounting careers are impacted by many factors, including technology and an increasing complexity in the demands for financial services, with resulting changes in where, when and how accountants perform their jobs. In addition, due to the general skills shortage faced by the businesses, the need for work-life balance has become a key determining factor for decisions regarding career choices.

The Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia (The Institute) has embarked on a long term goal of developing a work environment which helps Chartered Accountants (CAs) to gain work-life balance to complement the demand of the workforce. Three studies have been completed. The first study was conducted in 1995 in which the career expectations and barriers for women Chartered Accountants were examined amongst CAs in Victoria. In 2001, a follow-up survey of both male and female CAs was conducted in Victoria and Tasmania. The present study reports on the latest part of the project – a national survey of all 6,600 CAs regarding their work-life balance and expectations. This paper discusses the trend established by the three studies, and identifies some interesting scenarios of the accounting careers for CAs in Australia.

Interpreting the public interest : A survey of professional accountants

The accounting profession, like all professions, has a commitment to advance the interests of the general community, as well as those they are contractually bound to serve. Providing services altruistically, at times without compensation, is a salient feature of the public interest ideal. A review of the literature indicates that the profession has abandoned its public interest role so that serving self-interest now appears to have primacy ( Bédard 2001 ; Canning and O'Dwyer 2001 ; Parker 1994 ; Saravanamuthu 2004 ). The aim of this paper is to examine members' interpretation of the public interest ideal and to elicit their perceptions on issues arising from the literature. The results of a survey to members of CPA Australia indicate that members can iterate the formal definition of the public interest, but their application of the public interest in conflict of interest situations is inconsistent with this definition.

Diversities in the professional organization of accountants : a comparability study with insights from the Chinese experience

While spatial, historical and cultural variations across different countries have prevented any generalisation to be made of the professionalization process, various analytical themes can be said to have emerged in scholarly inquires relating to the professional organization of accountants. In highlighting these broad themes, this study argues that they have all revolved around one important relationship-that of the state and the accounting profession. The dynamics and the fluid nature of this intriguing relationship is further captured and contrasted in this study through an investigation of an episode of intra-professional conflict during the professionalization experience of the Chinese accountants.

Ethical evaluations and behavioural intentions of early career accountants : the impact of mentors, peers and individual attributes

This study examined how mentoring support, peer influence and individual attributes of early career accountants (ECA) influence their ethical evaluations and behavioural intentions. Respondents indicate that their evaluation of the seriousness of the ethical conflict is affected by the perceived standard of ethical conduct of their peers, their personal ethical orientation, the extent of ethics education at university, and gender. ECAs' evaluation of a senior colleague's unethical behaviour is affected by mentoring support and the perceived standard of ethical conduct of peers. In terms of ECAs' willingness to contact accounting professional bodies for ethical advice, the size of the accounting firm and the extent of their ethics education at university are significant factors. Furthermore, the likelihood of respondents choosing a more ethical decision is correlated with his or her individual ethical orientation and the extent of ethics education at university.