Professional and bureaucratic organization in large public accounting firms

Abstract

TEE growth of the public accounting T profession has been at a time in history characterized by phenomenal changes in organizational structures. The work of the certified public accountant has been so inextricably tied to these organizational changes that his own mode of association has been adapted to meet the new demands created by these changes. Primarily the demand for audits by large and widely dispersed corporations has wrought the CPA's professional, yet bureaucratic,' mode of organization, i.e., the large, complex multi-office firm. Within the theoretical modes of and bureaucratic organization there are common and mutually exclusive characteristics.2 The impact of these characteristics within the firm may confront the individual CPA with divergent organizational orientations. More specifically, an individual within the firm may be faced with norms (guides to behavior) that support alternative forms of organization. If an individual is expected to behave as a professional and as an employee (more broadly a bureaucrat) at the same time, he may experience a conflict in selecting which behavior to follow. Large public accounting firms appear to be unique since no other currently known profession has been able to develop professionally through the widespread use of nationally or regionally organized offices. Blending and maintaining partially conflicting organizational modes as going concerns is undoubtedly a testimonial to the CPA's perseverance and ingenuity. In general, this study3 seeks to identify and to analyze an organizational disagree-

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