AAA Spark Meeting of Regions

Exploring Non-Proximate Foundations Underlying Stereotypes And Diversity Challenges in the U. S. Accounting Profession

• In Event: TLC: Foundations Underlying Sterotypes and Retention of Knowledge

Abstract

The accounting profession’s current efforts to enhance diversity in its educational pipeline are founded on an assumption that prospects and their influencers misunderstand the accounting profession. This paper suggests that the stereotype of accountants as rule-followers may be more à propos than insiders care to admit. Certification exams and training programs in tax and financial accounting course work emphasize adherence to current rules. Management accounting textbooks ignore limitations of Taylorist systems of control. Even publishing regimes reward studies that bolster rather than challenge hegemonic programs. Standard setting bodies downplay partisan elements in their rule setting regimes. The profession's emphasis on conformity to current methods naturalizes the present, quietly discouraging questions about the limitations of the extant social and economic order. What message does this give to those from under-represented groups that have historically been poorly served by the current socio-regulatory order?

Author

• Louella J Moore, Washburn University School of Business