The Effects of Corporate Ownership on Public Accountants’ Professionalism and Ethics
In this article, Fogarty (2002) supports the idea that lack of professionalism in the work place does affect the clients negatively. This article was published in the Accounting Horizons Journal on June 1, 2002. Fogarty (2002) is conducting a literature review in this article, meaning that the scholar did not have primary data for the study reported in this article. The scholar focused on professionalism in Certified Public Accountants (herein referred to as CPA) firms in the country and elsewhere in the world.
In the introduction of the article, Fogarty (2002) admits that the prevailing corporate acquisitions of CPA firms portend a real threat to the independence and professionalism of practitioners in this field. The autonomy of the professionals in this field is compromised by these acquisitions, and this impact on their ethical standards.
The objectivity of the accountants in such situations is put on the line, especially considering the fact that they are put under the direct supervision of individuals that are not accountants by profession (Fogarty 2002). This author is of the view that the effects of this new arrangement are far reaching. The conventional professional values of such practitioners are compromised, and this impacts the quality of services that is rendered to the clients. This is despite the fact that the clients are the same parties controlling the operations of the professional accountants.
The effects that this consolidation of CPA firms has on the public can not be ignored. Fogarty (2002) is of the view that despite this being a relatively new development in the world of accounting, it threatens the future of the profession and the quality of services that the accountants render to the public. It is noted that for the first time in history, a significant number of professionals in this field will be under the control of what Fogarty (2002) refers to as “civilian” rule, the rule of outsiders that know little or nothing about the accounting profession.
A public accountant is one of the practitioners in the profession of accounting that should maintain high levels of professionalism. This is given the fact that this branch of accounting plays a significant role in safeguarding the public interest as far as public finance is concerned (Fogarty 2002). This view by Fogarty is supported by Goldman (2010) as will be reviewed later in this paper.
This role of the public accountant is affected by the corporate employment trend that is discernible in the current corporate consolidation of accounting firms. This has detrimental effects to the clients, the public. This is given the fact that the public accountants will lack in professionalism, and will not be able to discharge these duties effectively. The independence of the public accountant, who can bee viewed as a public auditor, will be greatly impaired.
Given the fact that the firms that have acquired the accounting firms need to make profits, they may resort into offering other services to the clients, such as financial advisory (Fogarty 2002). This lowers the quality of the accounting services rendered to the clients, the public, given that the public accountant is forced to focus their attention to other activities that generate more revenue to the corporation, ignoring the accounting role.
Fogarty (2002) concludes by restating that commercialization of the accounting profession leads to lack of professionalism. The author is of the view that if this trend continues, the future of the accounting profession, and the hopes that the clients have over the same, will be greatly dented.
Relationship Quality, Professionalism, and Audit Quality: An Empirical Study of Auditors in Thailand
Phapruke is a professional accountant, and he holds a PhD degree from the Washington State University (Phapruke and Kulwadee 2008). When he was writing this article, Phapruke held several academic and administrative posts at the Mahasarakham University of Thailand. He was an associate professor, an assistant academic affairs dean and several other positions (Phapruke and Kulwadee 2008).
Kulwadee is also a qualified accountant, with a master’s degree in accounting from Chulalongkom University of Thailand (Phapruke and Kulwadee 2008). By the time they wrote this article with Phapruke, Kulwadee was undertaking her PhD degree in accounting at Mahasarakham University of Thailand.
This article reports the findings of a study that was carried out by these two scholars with the aim of examining various relationships of variables in accounting and specifically so in accounting. This included the link between quality of services rendered, professionalism and audit quality (Phapruke and Kulwadee 2008). The variables were examined within simulated competitive environments which included flexing of the regulations put on the field. The sample group for this study was made up of auditors from Thailand.
The findings of this study were published in the International Journal of Business Research in September 2008.
The findings of the study as reported in this article pointed to the fact that quality and standards of the relationship impacts positively on the professionalism exhibited by the auditors and in extension, the quality of the whole auditing process (Phapruke and Kulwadee 2008).
The two scholars are of the view that professionalism in accounting improves the quality of audit services rendered to the clients. This means that the client stands to gain from a professional undertaking by the auditor. However, competition impacts negatively on the quality of services rendered to the client. The two scholars are of the view that competition in the auditing profession may lead to unethical conduct among the auditors (Phapruke and Kulwadee 2008). For example, due to competition, the auditor may be more interested in the commercial aspect of the auditing than on the quality of services delivered. This is no difference from the arguments of Fogarty (2002) in the article above.
Competition leads to lack of professionalism in the auditing profession. Auditors lack professionalism and ethics in the work place. This leads to detrimental effects to the clients by delivering services of low quality to them.
Phapruke and Kulwadee (2008) conclude by remarking that the quality of audited financial statements is very important to clients in contemporary financial market. This is especially so for clients who intend to or are already investors in the capital markets. This is given the fact that these clients make use of the audited financial statements when making decisions to either invest in or pull out from a given listed firm. As such, professionalism in auditing should always be upheld.
Professionalism in Practices: A Preliminary Study on Malaysian Public Universities
Hazimah Nik is affiliated to the faculty of management and economics in the university Malaysia Terengganu (Hazimah and Zaharul 2010). They are affiliated to the same institution with the co-author, Zaharul Nizal, who comes from the same department. Their article was published in the International Journal of Business and Management in August 2010. It is a fairly recent article.
Hazimah and Zaharul (2010) introduce this article by acknowledging that management as a profession has undergone a great deal of revolution in the recent past. These changes have impacted on the quality of work delivered by the work force, given that majority of these changes are geared towards management of the human resource. However, these same changes have led to conflicts, including conflict of interest and conflict between the parties involved.
To address this challenge, Hazimah and Zaharul (2010) note that efforts has been made at professionalization. The two scholars are however of the view that professionalization efforts only have limited success rates. The study whose findings are reported in this article was carried out against this backdrop. The scholars carried out a study within the public university in Malaysia, with the aim of gauging the level of professionalism in public servants (Hazimah and Zaharul 2010).
The major aim of this study is to examine the level of professionalism in the university work force. Professionalism in this context is measured by, among other things, the level of affiliation to professional bodies among the employees. Others include the level of dedication to one’s profession and efforts made by the professionals to fight for their autonomy and independence from undue regulatory policies (Hazimah and Zaharul 2010). The researchers aimed at finding the effects that the level of professionalism in this institution had on the clients, which is made up of students and the public in general.
According to the researchers, one of the major indicators of professionalism in any field is the level of autonomy that is enjoyed by the practitioners in that particular field. Innate professionalism in the field is indicated by the continuous efforts made by practitioners in the field to maintain their autonomy. This is the only way that they can serve their clients better.
When the level of autonomy is compromised in any field, as indicated by Fogarty (2002) earlier, the clients can not enjoy professional services from thee practitioners. Professionalism in the work place, according to Hazimah and Zaharul (2010), is very important, and the practitioners should always strive to attain and maintain it.
Hazimah and Zaharul (2010) also found that professionalism can be attained through affiliations to professional bodies. It is through these affiliations that the practitioners in any given field can adhere to ethics and standard operation procedures in their field, increasing their professionalism. This is given the fact that, in order to continue being members of these affiliations, practitioners are supposed to meet minimum requirements as far as professionalism is concerned.
In conclusion, Hazimah and Zaharul (2010) note that level of professionalism in any field determines the work outcomes among employees. Lack of professionalism leads to dysfunctional work outputs, and this affects the benefits derived by the clients.
How to Build Professionalism
This author has a background in print journalism, but his focus in this article is on every professional field aiming at satisfying the client base. The author has a bachelor degree print journalism, and is a freelance journalist. As such, it is expected that he should be well versed on the importance of professionalism in meeting the needs of the clients and maintaining the loyalty of the clients.
In this article, Holt (2008) agrees to the idea that lack of professionalism in the work place has adverse effects on the clients. The article was published in the Journal of Accounting Education. According to this article, the dissatisfaction of the clients is evidenced by their withdrawal and their shifting of loyalty to competitors. It is against this backdrop that Holt (2008) gives six steps that a professional can follow in building professionalism in their field. He is of the view that professionalism is very important regardless of the level or status of employee in the organization. It is as important to the manager in an organization as it is to a business person seeking to raise satisfaction levels of their clients.
In this article, Holt (2008) is of the view that a professional attitude in the work place benefits not only the organization, but also impacts on how clients, customers and the rest of the business community regard the employees of the organization (Holt 2008).
The first step that Holt (2008) identifies in improving professionalism is the need to improve the writing skills on the part of the employees. This is especially so given the fact that the increased technological innovations and adoption of the same within the business environment. Employees in the work place should display professionalism when corresponding with their clients. This ensures that there are no misunderstanding between the employees and the clients.
The other step to be taken in the bid to improve professionalism is to listen more to the clients and other stakeholders, including fellow employees. When clients are not listened to, they feel that the business people or the organization is not taking them seriously. They feel alienated when they are not consulted by the professionals (Holt 2008).
Employees should also treat the clients with respect. Gossiping about the client or in the presence of the client is a sign of lack of professionalism, and the client will equally hold the organization in low regard. The employees should also endeavor to attend seminars and other forums where they hone their skills as far as handling the clients with professionalism is concerned. By attending these forums, the employees are able to integrate technology in their actions and in the way they deal with their clients. This improves their interaction with the clients.
Most important, the employees should maintain a positive attitude in the work place. A positive attitude is another sign of professionalism, and clients are always happy when they come into contact with a positive minded employee. A negative attitude is infectious, and it leads to dysfunctional work outputs.
Finally, Holt (2008) insists that the employees should always be prepared in the workplace. It does not help for the employee to get to the office when they are not prepared to meet the clients or to attend to other duties such as meetings. This is a sign of unprofessionalism. The client always benefits when they are served by a prepared employee.
Client Influence and the Contingency of Professionalism: The Work of Elite Corporate Lawyers in China
Liu Sida is affiliated to the University of Chicago, department of sociology. This article was published in the International Journal of Business Research in 2005.
The study reported in this article focused on professionalism in the legal sector. The researcher was concerned about the level of professionalism among the elite corporate lawyers (Liu 2005). The researcher looked at the level of professionalism that exists between these lawyers and their clients. The aim was to find the effects that professionalism on the part of the lawyers had on the client.
The researcher carried out this study by interviewing twenty four lawyers from 6 law firms. These are what Liu (21005) referred to as elite corporate law firms. Their clients were corporations in the city of Beijing and beyond, and it is the level of satisfaction of these clients that was considered. The clients include foreign companies, state corporations and private firms. The researcher also collected data by observing activities in some of these firms.
Liu (2005) is of the view that professionalism in elite organization can bee gleaned by looking at a number of factors in the firm. These include the internal structure of the firm, which includes the relationship between the employees and the management. Other factors include the attitude of the employees and the management towards the clients and towards their work in general. The billing method adopted by the firm also indicates the level of professionalism in that particular firm.
Liu (2005) is of the view that elite firms are aware of the fact that clients regard professionalism in the firm highly. As such, these firms do their best to improve and maintain their level of professionalism.
To this end, the researcher found that the firms and the lawyers in particular were very receptive to the needs of the clients. The lawyers became very flexible, and their work was tailored such that it reflected the needs of the clients. In other words, the clients dictated the operations off the lawyers and in extension, the operation of the whole firm. Liu (2005) is of the view that when the opinions of the client are integrated in the operation of their lawyers, they become highly satisfied. They feel they are in control, despite the fact that the sense of control may only be a figment of their imagination.
Liu (2005) is aware of the fact that the level of professionalism displayed by these lawyers and law firms may be dictated by the fact that they are dealing with elite and very demanding clients. The clients also pay well, and as such, the firms benefit by meeting their whims and wishes. Liu (2005) is of the view that the same may not be observable when the firms are dealing with regular and individual clients, who can not be described as elites. However, he concludes that high professionalism will benefit clients greatly, regardless of their financial or social status in the society.
Liu (2005) concludes that lawyers should integrate professionalism in every step of their dealing with the clients. Failure to do so, argues the researcher, will affect the clients negatively. The way lawyers diagnose their clients, the prescription they dispense to their clients should be professional. However, the researcher cautions that the professionals should not break the law in efforts to satisfy their clients. This is because if they do this, they may in effect be operating unprofessionally.
Professionalism- 5 Characteristics that Detract from Professionalism in the Workplace
Goldman Lynda (2010) is a professional writer. She has authored more than thirty books in her writing and authoring career. She is also a communications and business etiquette consultant and her major clients are corporations in the country and beyond (Goldman 2010).
Given her background as a consultant, it is easier to appreciate why this author attaches a lot of importance to professionalism. She is well aware of the fact that professionalism in her work is important to ensure that she maintains her clients and attracts new ones. She also insists her client, the corporations, to be professional when dealing with their clients. The article is published in the International Journal of Business Management in 2010.
Goldman (2010) restates that corporations should always strive to project a professional image to their clients. She is of the view that professionalism in the work place depends on several factors that should be identified and addressed by the organization (Goldman 2010). These include the dressing code of the employees, their attitude and their interpersonal interaction with the clients and their fellow workers.
Goldman (2010) argues that there are several factors that can put the organization at risk of becoming unprofessional, and as such loosing their disgruntled clients. The author identifies five such characteristics and gives suggestions on how the organization can try and change them.
The first characteristic that may affect professionalism in the work place and affect the clients is negative attitude. Negative attitude, according to Goldman (2010) includes inappropriate dressing and behavioral conduct. This author is of the view that many employees engage in such negative attitudes with the assumptions that other people, including the clients, fellow employees and managers will not notice them. However, Goldman (2010) warns that these behaviors rarely go unnoticed. Thee clients will surely notice that the employee is dressed inappropriately. And this is likely to have a detrimental effect on them. For example, the client may become distracted by the kind of dress that the receptionist or secretary is wearing.
Another characteristics identified is unprofessional body language (Goldman 2010). This is for example yawning in front of a client. Such behaviors create a wrong impression on the client, and they may have a negative attitude towards the firm. Other unprofessional body languages include inappropriate gestures directed towards the clients. For example, there is nothing professional in having a male employee wink or stare suggestively at a female client. Such conducts are likely to make the client uncomfortable, and they will severe their contacts with the firm at the earliest opportunity.
Another unprofessional behavior or conduct on the part of the employee is lack of hygiene (Goldman 2010). This author is of the view that body odors are likely to irritate the client and make them have a negative image of the organization. This is especially so for those employees that comes into direct contact with the clients. There is nothing professional about an employee talking to a client when they are reeking of sweat. Goldman (2010) is of the view that body odors are not the only negative behaviors towards the clients. They are of the view that other behaviors such as too much fragrance affect the clients and it is unprofessional. Too much fragrance may affect a client with allergy, making them uncomfortable. Goldman (2010) concludes that employees should always try to maintain acceptable levels of hygiene and in extension, professionalism.
Professionalism in the Workplace
Rashida Khilawala (2009) is an accomplished writer. She has written many articles touching on marketing and finance. This article is published in the International Journal of Business Research, 2009.
Khilawala (2009) background as a writer in the field of marketing and finance makes her a credible source of literature in this field. As such, her contribution to professionalism in the work place is worth noting.
In this article, Khilawala (2009) focuses on the individual employee as the central feature of professionalism in the work place. Her arguments agree with the idea of lack of professionalism in the work place affecting the clients negatively. The author argues that many people in the work place deny the fact that they have personal biases. These biases, according to her, are the source of unprofessional conduct in the work place.
Khilawala (2009) is of the view that not all biases in the work place are negative. They argue that the thin line between positive personal bias and negative one is crossed when other people are affected negatively by the same. Such negative biases include discrimination against others on the basis of their gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity and such other factors. When such biases are extended to the clients, they tend to have a detrimental effect on them. For example, when a client is denied care in a hospital because they are homosexuals, they are affected not only physically, but also psychologically and emotionally.
Khilawala (2009) identifies several factors that make professionalism in the work place very important both to the organization and to the clients. One of the advantages of professionalism in the work place is improved performance. The output of the organization, and the experience of the client, will be negatively affected when output of the workers is dysfunctional.
A positive team spirit is another significant outcome of professionalism in the work place (Khilawala 2009). For example, professionalism calls for the managers to treat their subordinates with a measure of respect and appreciate them. When the employees feel appreciated, they will get motivated and participate fully in teams. This will improve the outputs of the firm, leading to attainment of the organizational goals.
Lack of professionalism in the work place, argues Khilawala (2009), will lead to alienation of the employees from the goals and objectives of the organization. The employees will no longer consider the organization as their own, and will not own the goals of the organization. This alienation is extended to thee clients, whom the employees treat badly and with detachment. This will make the clients resent the experience in the organization, and they will shift their loyalty to other firms.
Unprofessional conduct in the organization may also lead to unethical conducts among the employees (Khilawala 2009). This author argues that a vicious cycle of unprofessionalism is established where the employees engage in unethical acts making the organization more unprofessional. For example, due to lack of motivation, the employees may charge the clients exorbitantly, aiming at making extra money if they feel that they are not adequately paid by the organization. Khilawala (2009) concludes by saying that given the importance role of professionalism in the work place, managers and employees in particular should always strive to maintain professionalism in their profession.
References
Fogarty, TJ. 2002. The effects of corporate ownership on public accountants’ professionalism and ethics. Accounting Horizons.
Goldman, L. 2010. Professionalism- 5 characteristics that detract from professionalism in the workplace. International Journal of Business Management, 27(8): 387-398.
Hazimah, NN., and Zaharul, NZ. 2010. Professionalism in practices: A preliminary study on Malaysian public universities. International Journal of Business and Management, 5(8): 138-146.
Holt, M. 2008. How to build professionalism. Journal of Accounting Education, 4(7): 72-77.
Khilawala, R. 2009. Professionalism in the workplace. International Journal of Business Research, 29(8): 28-29.
Liu, S. 2005. Client influence and the contingency of professionalism: The work of elite corporate lawyers in China. International Journal of Business Research, 1(9): 82-89.
Phapruke, U., and Kulwadee, LU. 2008. Relationship quality, professionalism, and audit quality: An empirical study of auditors in Thailand. International Journal of Business Research.