Small- and medium-sized accounting firms’ learning processes regarding standards updates

Abstract

Small- and Medium-Sized Accounting Firms (SMAFs) are a separate category of small- and medium-sized entities (SMEs) that operate in a highly regulated environment. If they fail to comply with professional standards, their survival could be in jeopardy. The purpose of this study is to understand how SMAFs acquire and absorb standards updates. This is a qualitative field study centered on the main concepts of organizational learning. Based on interviews conducted with 36 professional members of 33 SMAFs, results show that SMAFs are heterogeneous in terms of this learning. Learning mechanisms (or tools) are presented for each of the main concepts of the learning process and by firm category (size), providing information about how learning occurs in these firms. This is complemented with comments about who (individual, group, organization) is doing what (actions) to acquire and disseminate knowledge, interpret information and store knowledge. Findings led to the identification of three SMAFs learning profiles: ‘highly proactive,’ ‘somewhat proactive’ and ‘slightly proactive.’ These findings contribute to the literature on SME organizational learning by showing different learning profiles. They also contribute to the accounting literature as they highlight differences in SMAFs instead of treating them as a uniform group.