The image of accountants: from bean counters to extreme accountants

Gudrun Baldvinsdottir · John Burns · Hanne S. O. Nørreklit · Robert William Scapens

157 citations0/0 files storedAccounting Auditing & Accountability Journal

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Management and Organizational Studies Accounting and Organizational Management Accounting Education and Careers

Abstract

Purpose The aim of this paper is to investigate the extent to which a profound change in the image of accountants can be seen in the discourse used in accounting software adverts that have appeared in the professional publications of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants over the last four decades. Design/methodology/approach Methodologically, the paper draws from Barthes' work on the rhetoric of images and Giddens' work on modernity. By looking at accounting software adverts, an attempt is made to investigate the image of the accountant produced by the discourse of the adverts, and whether the image produced reflects a wide social change in society. Findings It was found that in the 1970s and the 1980s the accountant was constructed as a responsible and rational person. In the 1990s, the accountant was presented as an instructed action man. However, in a recent advert the accountant appeared as a more hedonistic person. Overall, the changes observed reflect changes in wider social practice from modernity, through high modernity, to hyper‐modernity. Research limitations/implications The image of the accountants has implications for the development of the accounting profession. In particular, the move towards hyper‐modernity, where empathy towards others and the virtues of self‐discipline and fairness are not at stake, has implications for the trustworthiness of the accounting profession. Originality/value Although there has been some research into the image of accountants, particularly in the media and popular movies, extant works have mostly investigated how others perceive accountants and how accountants are generally portrayed. The paper however, places more stress on the construction of the image of the accountants when appealing to the accountants.

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References

1990The consequences of modernity 1985Competitive Advantage: Creating and Sustaining Superior Performance 2003Analysing Discourse: Textual Analysis for Social Research 2003Analysing Discourse 2017Course in General Linguistics 1960Course in General Linguistics 1998Cost & effect: using integrated cost systems to drive profitability and performance 1987Control in Business Organizations.

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