Large Public Accounting Research Articles

An Observation Study of a Large Public Accounting Firm

The concern of this inquiry is with management strategy in a large, international public accounting firm. The large accounting firm must deal with a variety of difficult problems in its efforts to grow and remain successful. Borrowing from the terminology of Emery and Trist, the interrelatedness of many of these problems tends to suggest a "turbulent field environment. " In this paper, an observation approach is used to discover the strategy which the large accounting firm employs in its attempt to deal with a complex and changing environment. Results indicate that there is a three pronged strategy consisting of providing clients with a tangible product (Doing), marketing the image of the firm to the business community (Representing), and marketing the image of competence and integrity of the firm to the government and society (Being). Indications are that the firm is successful in dealing with its environment on a piecemeal and short-run basis. Implications for the long run are less clear.

Professionalization and Bureaucratization in Large Professional Organizations

The conflict and interdependence of the processes of professionalization and bureaucratization are examined in large public accounting frims. The emerging pattern of professional bureaucracy reveals the complementarity of previously offered models and depicts a sequential development. Comparative analysis with professional organizations from other occupations indicates that professionalization is positively related to centralization and size of administrative component. The rate of development of the professional bureaucratic process can be affected by changes in organization size and complexity and in capacity to innovate or create new knowledge.