An old boys’ club on the threshold to becoming a professional association: The emergence and development of the association of German controllers from 1975 to 1989

Abstract

This article chronicles the history of the Controller Verein, the professional association of German-speaking controllers, from 1975 to 1989. The association was founded by alumni and trainers of the Controller Akademie, the first institute for advanced studies of controlling in Germany. The article connects the development of the association to the concept of professionalisation of accounting, thereby analysing the path of an association that differs from its Anglo-American counterparts. We used data from the archives of the association, personal archives and conducted more than 20 interviews with protagonists from the association and its institutional context. The article shows how the association has experienced the tension between being an informal club and becoming the primary professional association for controllers in German-speaking countries. However, the results of this study indicate that, due to external circumstances and individual preferences, the original club character dominated the association in the period under investigation.