Abstract
Purpose: The present work aimed to determine the type of individuals who intend to leave the public accounting profession by examining personal, organisational and environmental characteristics related to this intention.Methodology: The authors conducted two analyses to provide a global view of the association between personal, organisational and environmental factors and professional turnover intention. The first analysis was both descriptive and explicative (segmentation analysis), and the last was explicative (multiple regression analysis).Findings: The findings of the segmentation analysis show significant differences between the characteristics of accounting professionals who have the intention to leave the public accounting profession and those who do not. These differences are linked to their job level and to the type of firm they work for.The results of the regression model used to test the research hypotheses reveal that the intention to leave public accounting perceived to be higher among those who work in the Big Four accounting firms and among those exposed to more attractive opportunities.Limitations: In this study, we focused on intention and ignored the actual behaviour of leaving the profession, although many studies consider professional turnover intention a strong predictor of professional turnover.Moreover, the association between the professional turnover intention and profiles deserves more investigation by adding the concept personality to establish a solid foundation of knowledge and predictions.Implications: Understanding the impact of personal, organisational and environmental characteristics on the intention to leave the public accounting profession allows accounting professionals to position themselves in the process of career progress. The findings highlight that the intention to leave public accounting is perceived to be higher among those who work in the Big Four accounting firms and those exposed to more attractive opportunities. The implications of these results interest the Ordre des Experts comptables de Tunisie (OECT), which is the professional body that organizes the chartered accountancy profession in Tunisia, and the Big Four. The OECT and these firms could reverse the balance of opportunities by offering career development opportunities within the profession and the accounting firms, respectively, that are better than those offered outside the profession. Efforts should be directed towards financial rewards, promotion velocity and more branches of activity within the profession.Contribution: This study enhances the understanding of professional turnover intention, which, to our knowledge, has not received much interest from researchers. Also, the cultural context of Tunisia helps explain our findings, which do not always corroborate our predictions.
Published Version
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