This review paper argues that the institutions and sites of professionalization projects and regulatory processes matter. The institutions and locations where regulation takes place affect both the outcome of the regulatory process and the legitimacy of the rules and practices produced. Changes...

It is in the context of the huge (but largely unaccountable) impact of accounting and accountants that the demise of Arthur Andersen and the financial scandals of the past few years need to be seen. These scandals raise questions of independence and the role of the audit industry in alerting...

Looks at how one large international accounting organization, discussed under a pseudonym, has responded to competition on a global scale, focusing on its organizational structure and alliance strategies. Offers a review of recent research which examines strategic alliances and joint ventures....

The paper examines the stated reasons for recent mergers between members of the (former) Big Eight accounting firms. The reasons are expressed in terms of hypotheses about the perceived advantages of very large size and the hypotheses are tested using 1986-9 data from the top 1000 Canadian...

The interplay between the ideology of the profession that seeks to legitimize accounting's regulatory regime and the practices of accountants in expanding the scope of the markets for their labour is critical to understanding the changing “professional” ideology of accountants. This...