An Analysis of Organizational Support for Alternative Work Arrangements in Public Accounting Firms

SYNOPSIS In recent years, work-life balance surpassed compensation as the most important job satisfaction factor among AICPA members (American Institute of Certified Public Accountants [AICPA] 2004). Despite the continued importance of this issue in the accounting profession (AICPA 2011), prior research has not examined work-life balance perceptions across different segments of the profession. We survey 1,063 practicing CPAs in order to assess the comparative work-life balance perceptions across (1) Big 4 versus smaller public accounting firms, (2) audit versus tax functions, and (3) public accounting versus industry work contexts. Consistent with predictions based on institutional logics theory, we find that work-family conflict and job burnout perceptions (our proxies for work-life balance) are highest in the Big 4. We are the first study to measure both support-for and viability-of traditional alternative work arrangements (AWAs), and we report an important distinction between these two constructs. Specifically, while CPAs across all public accounting firms (i.e., Big 4, national, regional, and local firms) report similar levels of organizational support-for AWAs, Big 4 professionals report significantly lower perceived viability-of AWAs (i.e., the ability to use AWAs and remain effective at one's job) compared to accounting professionals at smaller public accounting firms. Further, we find no differences between audit and tax professionals' perceptions across any of our work-life balance measures. We also document nuanced differences regarding work-life balance perceptions in public accounting versus industry. For example, contrary to conventional wisdom, work-life balance is not uniformly “better” in industry (e.g., burnout is actually lower in smaller public accounting firms compared to industry). Finally, we use open-ended responses from a follow-up survey to provide several recommendations for firms to improve their work-life balance efforts.

Download Full-text

Antecedents and Consequences of Organizational Support for Alternative Work Arrangements in the Accounting Profession

SSRN Electronic Journal ◽

10.2139/ssrn.3835893 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Derek W. Dalton ◽

Jace Garrett ◽

Nancy Harp ◽

Gregory P. McPhee

Keyword(s):

Organizational Support ◽

Alternative Work Arrangements ◽

Accounting Profession ◽

Work Arrangements ◽

Alternative Work ◽

Antecedents And Consequences

Download Full-text

A Word of Caution to Students: Public Accountant Perceptions of Alternative Work Arrangements

Issues in Accounting Education ◽

10.2308/issues-2020-022 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Margaret E. Knight ◽

Regina M. Taylor

Keyword(s):

Attitudes And Beliefs ◽

Alternative Work Arrangements ◽

Public Accounting ◽

Life Balance ◽

Work Arrangements ◽

The Past ◽

Different Dimensions ◽

Alternative Work ◽

Perceived Costs ◽

Public Accountant

This study provides updated insights regarding attitudes and beliefs about alternative work arrangements (AWAs) in public accounting so that educators are equipped with current empirical analysis to advise students on how to successfully navigate work-life balance in public accounting. We examine current attitudes and beliefs about AWAs by surveying public accountants from firms of various sizes on different dimensions of AWA support and asking firm partners to provide advice for students. Respondents indicated more agreement with the benefits of AWAs than they did with the perceived costs to the organization and the perceived costs to the participants’ future career. Collectively, results suggest attitudes regarding AWAs may be more positive than in the past. Results identify significant differences in the perceptions about AWAs between females and males, as well as AWA participants and non-participants. Qualitative results are consistent with general support for AWAs but also provide cautionary advice to students.

Download Full-text

WARREN W. NISSLEY: A CRUSADER FOR COLLEGIATE EDUCATION

Accounting Historians Journal ◽

10.2308/0148-4184.23.1.89 ◽

1996 ◽

Vol 23 (1) ◽

pp. 89-116 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Elliott L. Slocum ◽

Alfred R. Roberts

Keyword(s):

Independent Schools ◽

College Graduates ◽

Accounting Education ◽

Graduate Level ◽

Public Accounting ◽

Accounting Firms ◽

Public Accounting Firms ◽

College Programs

Warren W. Nissley's intense dedication to public accounting led him to crusade for development of schools of accountancy and improvement of education of accountants. Nissley conceived and championed the Bureau for Placements, 1926–1932, which resulted in: public accounting firms recruiting college graduates and developing permanent professional staffs, publishing the first Institute career publication, academic and student awareness of public accounting, and improved quality of college programs and graduates. Nissley's campaign for independent schools of accountancy, 1928–1950, influenced the Institute's committee on education. Many elements of his recommendations may be recognized in the evolution and current developments of accounting education. However, Nissley would continue to express disappointment in the failure to establish separate professional, graduate level, schools of accountancy for public accounting.

Download Full-text

An Examination of Alternative Work Arrangements in Private Accounting Practice

Accounting Horizons ◽

10.2308/acch.2003.17.2.139 ◽

2003 ◽

Vol 17 (2) ◽

pp. 139-151 ◽

Cited By ~ 29

Author(s):

Kimberly E. Frank ◽

D. Jordan Lowe

Keyword(s):

Work Culture ◽

Alternative Work Arrangements ◽

Personal Lives ◽

Job Commitment ◽

Work Arrangements ◽

Accounting Practice ◽

Management Accountants ◽

Current Task ◽

Integrate Work ◽

Alternative Work

Employees are requesting more flexibility in their work schedules to be able to integrate work with other aspects of their family and personal lives. While alternative work arrangements are being offered at progressively more companies, it is unclear whether the work culture accepts these arrangements as a viable work alternative. Here we examine the extent to which flextime and telecommuting arrangements impact management accountants' performance evaluations, job commitment, and career progression as compared to working a traditional schedule. We also examine whether these arrangements are perceived as being less acceptable for men than for women. One-hundred sixty management accountants from 90 companies participated in our experiment. The results indicate that participation in alternative work arrangements did not impact perceptions of current task performance or job commitment. However, participation led to significantly lower perceptions of long-term career potential.

Download Full-text

An Analysis of Cross-Sectional Differences in Big and Non-Big Public Accounting Firms' Audit Programs

Auditing A Journal of Practice & Theory ◽

10.2308/aud.2006.25.1.27 ◽

2006 ◽

Vol 25 (1) ◽

pp. 27-48 ◽

Cited By ~ 70

Author(s):

Hans Blokdijk ◽

Fred Drieenhuizen ◽

Dan A. Simunic ◽

Michael T. Stein

Keyword(s):

Risk Assessment ◽

Empirical Evidence ◽

Audit Quality ◽

Audit Fees ◽

Public Accounting ◽

Accounting Firms ◽

Big 5 ◽

Public Accounting Firms ◽

Audit Approach ◽

Control Risk

A significant body of prior research has shown that audits by the Big 5 (now Big 4) public accounting firms are quality differentiated relative to non-Big 5 audits. This result can be derived analytically by assuming that Big 5 and non-Big 5 firms face different loss functions for “audit failures” and is consistent with a variety of empirical evidence from studies of audit fees, auditor changes, and the stock price reaction to audited earnings. However, there is no existing evidence (of which we are aware) concerning the underlying production differences between Big 5 and non-Big 5 audits. As a result, existing empirical evidence cannot distinguish between the possibility that Big 5 audits are simply perceived to be different (e.g., by investors) or actually differ in how they are produced. Our research objective is to identify the production characteristics of audit engagements that may explain the differences in expected audit quality between Big 5 and non-Big 5 firms. In this archival study, we examine the total audit effort and the allocation of effort to four audit phases—planning, (control) risk assessment, substantive testing, and completion—for a cross-section sample of 113 audits of Dutch companies in 1998/99 by 14 public accounting firms. We find that, after controlling for client characteristics: (1) both types of auditors exert about the same amount of total audit effort; (2) Big 5 auditors allocate relatively more effort to planning and (control) risk assessment, and relatively less to substantive testing and completion; and (3) client size, use of the business-risk-based audit approach, and reliance on client internal controls affect audit hours differently for the two auditor types. We conclude that the Big 5 firms actually produce a higher audit quality level, and that this quality difference is related to how audit hours are deployed in a more contextual and less procedural audit approach.

Download Full-text

A Theoretical Framework of the Relationship between Public Accounting Firms and Their Auditors

Behavioral Research in Accounting ◽

10.2308/bria.2005.17.1.1 ◽

2005 ◽

Vol 17 (1) ◽

pp. 1-22 ◽

Cited By ~ 27

Author(s):

Elizabeth Dreike Almer ◽

Julia L. Higgs ◽

Karen L. Hooks

Keyword(s):

Future Research ◽

Public Accounting ◽

Accounting Firms ◽

The Public ◽

Sociology Of Professions ◽

Rich Description ◽

Public Accounting Firms ◽

Current Article ◽

The Relationship ◽

Significant Attention

The behavior of auditors in the context of their employment by public accounting firms has received significant attention in the accounting literature. The current article extends this literature by providing a framework that identifies what auditing professionals contribute and receive as a result of their work efforts, as well as related influences. Using agency theory modified with fundamental ideas from the sociology of professions literature, we develop a model of the auditor-public accounting firm employment relationship. This framework is grounded in a timely, contextually rich description of the public accounting work environment, and the pressures and incentives faced by auditors. Propositions for future research are suggested that arise from understanding the auditor-firm relationship.

Download Full-text

Distrust And Dominance In Managing Alternative Work Arrangements: A Micro-Analytic Test Of Transaction Cost Theory

Journal of Applied Business Research (JABR) ◽

10.19030/jabr.v22i3.1422 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 22 (3) ◽

Author(s):

Terry R. Adler ◽

Gabriel D. Isaacs ◽

Robert L. Steiner

Keyword(s):

Competitive Advantage ◽

Transaction Cost ◽

Value Creation ◽

Transaction Cost Theory ◽

Sustainable Competitive Advantage ◽

Font Size ◽

Alternative Work Arrangements ◽

Work Arrangements ◽

Alternative Work ◽

The Relationship

Organizations that successfully outsource may see better value-creation in creating a sustainable competitive advantage.  The objectives of this study were threefold:  a) provide a framework for studying the effects of perceived distrust that leads to dominance, b) analyze how opportunism parlays into the concept of dominance, and c) determine if the relationship between outsource partners varies by analyzing transaction characteristics.  Our research shows that firms should take caution to fully understand the effects that contract size has on a firm’s resources.

Download Full-text

Perceptions of Educators, Accounting Students and Accountants Public Accountant against Ethics of Financial Statement Preparation (Studies at University and KAP in Semarang)

Budapest International Research and Critics Institute (BIRCI-Journal) Humanities and Social Sciences ◽

10.33258/birci.v4i1.1539 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 4 (1) ◽

pp. 89-101

Author(s):

Imam Prayogo ◽

Teuku Afrizal

Keyword(s):

Financial Statements ◽

Financial Statement ◽

Accounting Students ◽

Survey Method ◽

Analysis Tool ◽

Validity And Reliability ◽

Public Accounting ◽

Accounting Firms ◽

Public Accounting Firms ◽

Public Accountant

This study aims to examine differences in perceptions between teaching accountants, accounting students, and accountants on the ethics of preparing financial statements. Ethical indicators for the preparation of financial statements are represented in earnings management, misstatements, disclosures, cost-benefits, and responsibilities. This research was conducted at universities and public accounting firms in Semarang. This research was conducted with a survey method of 70 respondents from teaching accountants, 75 accounting students, and 40 accountants respondents at universities and public accounting firms in Semarang. As an analysis tool, ANOVA is used for hypotheses H1, H2, H3, and H4. Before testing the hypothesis, first the validity and reliability tests are carried out for all the questionnaires that have been collected. Validity and reliability tests show that all data are valid and reliable. Then the questionnaire was tested by ANOVA and strengthened by the Independent Sample T Test. Anova results show that there are differences in perceptions between teaching accountants, accounting students and accountants. However, there was no difference in perceptions between teaching accountants and accountants. Therefore it can be concluded that there are differences in perceptions between teaching accountants, accounting students, and accountants on the ethics of preparing financial statements.

Download Full-text

Auditing While Black: Revealing Microaggressions Faced by Black Professionals in Public Accounting

Current Issues in Auditing ◽

10.2308/ciia-2020-035 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Phebian L. Davis ◽

Denise Dickins ◽

Julia L. Higgs ◽

Joseph Reid

Keyword(s):

Public Accounting ◽

Accounting Firms ◽

Black Professionals ◽

Personal Stories ◽

Public Accounting Firms ◽

Equity And Inclusion

Despite efforts of the AICPA and public accounting firms, Black professionals remain underrepresented in public accounting. To better understand the experiences of Black accountants, we interviewed current and former auditors and collected their personal stories of inequality and microaggressions. We also collected the interviewees’ suggestions about how to improve the retention of Black professionals. We hope these stories and suggestions help advance the diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives of public accounting firms. They can also be used by academics to stimulate discussions about DEI issues and motivate research.

Download Full-text