Reasons women chartered accountants leave public accounting firms prior to achieving partnership status: A qualitative analysis

Canadian Journal of Administrative Sciences

Volumn 26, Issue 3, 2009, Pages 179-196

  Wallace, Peggy ^a  

^a TRENT UNIVERSITY   (Canada)

Author keywords

Accountant; Gender; Professional; Public accounting firm; Turnover retention

Indexed keywords

EID: 70350475251     PISSN: 08250383     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1002/cjas.111     Document Type: Article

References (63)

1. Alvesson, M. (2002). Understanding organizational culture. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications Inc.
2. Alvesson, M, & Billing, Y. Due. (1997). Understanding Gender and Organizations. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications Inc.
3. Alvesson, M, & Willmott, H. (Eds.). (2003). Studying Management Critically. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications Inc.
4. American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. (2000, April). Women and family issues: Survey of public accounting firms and professionals. Retrieved November 29, 2006, from *http://www.aicpa.org/download/career/ reprt-pubfirms.pdf
5. American Institute of Certified Public Accountants: Work/Life and Women's Initiatives Executive Committee. (2004). A decade of changes in the accounting profession: Workforce trends and human capital practices. Retrieved July 18, 2006, from *http://www.aicpa.org/download/career/ wofe/ researchpaper-V5.pdf
6. American Institute of Certified Public Accountants: Work/Life & Women's Initiatives Executive Committee. (2005). Women's summit: Helping women professionals succeed. Retrieved July 18, 2006, from *http://www.aicpa. org/ worklife
7. American Institute of Certified Public Accountants: Work/Life & Women's Initiatives Executive Committee. (2005). What women in the profession are thinking: A focus group recap. Retrieved December 30, 2006, from *http://www. *aicpa.org
8. American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. (2008). 2008 Trends in the supply of accounting graduates and the demand for public accounting recruits. Retrieved May 8, 2009, from *http://ceae.aicpa.org
9. Anderson-Gough, F.F., Grey, C.C., & Robson, K.K. (2001). Tests of time: Organizational time reckoning and the making of accountants in two multi-national accounting firms. Accounting, Organizations and Society, 26, 99-122.
10. Anderson-Gough, F.F., Grey, C.C., & Robson, K.K. (2002). Accounting professionals and the accounting profession: Linking conduct and context. Accounting & Business Research, 32, 41-56.
11. Anderson-Gough, F.F., Grey, C.C., & Robson, K.K. (2005). "Helping them to forget.": The organizational embedding of gender relations in public audit firms. Accounting, Organizations and Society, 30, 469-490
12. Barcelona, C.T., Lelievre, C.C., & Lelievre, T.W. (1975). The profession's underutilized resource: The woman CPA. Journal of Accountancy, 140, 58-64.
13. Barker, P.A., & Monks, K. (1998). Irish women accountants and career progression: A research note. Accounting, Organizations and Society, 23, 813-823.
14. de Beauvoir, S. (1976). The ethics of ambiguity (B. Frechtman, Trans.). New York: Citadel Press. (Original work published in 1948).
15. Benschop, Y. & Doorewaard, H. (1998b). Covered by equality: The gender subtext of organizations. Organization Studies, 19, 787-805. (Pubitemid 128348873)
16. Bruner, J. (2004). Life as Narrative. Social Research, 71, 691-710.
17. Chase, S.E. (2005). Narrative inquiry: Multiple lenses, approaches, voices. In N.K. Denzin & Y.S. Lincoln (Eds.), The Sage handbook of qualitative research (3ri ed., pp. 175-190). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications Inc.
18. Cheramy, S.J., & Hooks, K.L. (1988). Women partners' case studies of severed relationships. The CPA Journal, 58(10), 10-16.
19. Christie, K. (1997). Deloitte & Touche takes an integrated approach to the advancement of women. Equal Opportunities International, 76(5), 14-22.
20. Clark, S.C. (2001). Work cultures and work/family balance. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 58, 348-365.
21. Coffey, A.J. (1994). 'Timing is everything'. Graduate accountants, time and organizational commitment. Sociology, 28, 943-956.
22. Collins (1993). English dictionary and thesaurus. Glasgow, Scotland: HarperCollins Publishers.
23. Dalton, D.R., Hill, J.W., & Ramsay, R.J. (1997). Women as managers and partners: Context specific predictors of turnover in international public accounting firms. Auditing, 76(1), 29-50.
24. Cooper, D.J., Rose, T., Greenwood, R. & Hinings, B. (2000). History and contingency in international accounting firms. In D. Cooper, T. Rose, R. Greenwood, Y. Aharoni, & Nachum (Eds.), Globalization of services (pp. 93-124). London: Routledge.
25. Doucet, M.S., & Hooks, K. L. (1999, June). Toward an equal future. Journal of Accountancy, 71-78.
26. Dwyer, P.D., & Roberts, R.W. (2004). The contemporary gender agenda of the US public accounting profession: Embracing feminism or maintaining the empire. Critical Perspectives on Accounting, 15, 159-177.
27. Ferraro, J. (2005). The proof is in the payback. Journal of Accountancy, 200(3), 89.
28. Flynn, G. (1996). Deloitte & Touche changes women's minds. Personnel Journal, 75(4), 56-68.
29. Gammie, E., Gammie, B., Matson, M., & Duncan, F. (2008). Women of ICAS reaching the top: The demise of the glass ceiling. Retrieved June 19, 2008, from *www.icas.org. uk/site/cms
30. Gersick, C.J., & Kram, K.E. (2002). High-achieving women at midlife. Journal of Management Inquiry, 11(2), 104-127.
31. Goffman, E. (1959). The presentation of self in everyday life. New York: Anchor Books.
32. Greenhaus, J., Collins, K., Singh, R., & Parasuraman, S. (1997). Work and family influences on departure from public accounting. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 50, 249-270.
33. Greenwood, R., Suddaby, R., & Hinings, C.R. (2002). Theorizing change: The role of professional associations in the transformation of institutionalized fields. Academy of Management Journal, 45, 58-80.
34. Grey, C. (1998). On being a professional in a "Big Six" firm. Accounting, Organizations and Society, 5, 569-587.
35. Haynes, K. (2008). (Re)figuring accounting and maternal bodies: The gendered embodiment of accounting professionals. Accounting, Organizations and Society, 33, 328-348.
36. Hewlett, S.A. (2002). Executive women and the myth of having it all. Harvard Business Review, 1-11.
37. Howell, S.L., Carter, V.K., & Schied, F.M. (2002). Gender and women's experience at work: A critical and feminist perspective on human resource development. Adult Education Quarterly, 52(2), 112-127.
38. Institute of Chartered Accountants of Ontario. (2008). Annual Report. Retrieved May 1, 2009, from *http://www.icao. on.ca
39. Johnson, E.N., Lowe, D.J., & Reckers, P.M.J. (2008). Alternative work arrangements and perceived career success: Current evidence from the big four (4) firms in the US. Accounting, Organizations and Society, 33, 48-72.
40. Johnston, R., & Kyriacou, O. (2006). Accounting for (in)visibilities: Resistance, gender and control, Accountancy Business and the Public Interest, 5(2), 54-88.
41. Kinard, J., Little, B., & Little, P. (1998). Public accounting: Can female CPAs find a comfort zone? American Business Review, 16(1), 14-19.
42. Kossek, E.E., Barber, A.E., & Winters, D. (1999). Using flexible schedules in the managerial world: The power of peers. Human Resource Management, 38(1), 33-46.
43. Kossek, E.E. & Ozeki, C. (1999). Bridging the work-family policy and productivity gap: a literature review. Community, Work & Family, 2(1), 7-32.
44. Larkin, J.M. (1997). Upward mobility in public accounting: A gender-specific student perspective. Journal of Applied Business Research, 13(2), 109-119.
45. Lowe, D.J., Reckers, P.M.J., & Sanders, D. (2001). The influence of gender, ethnicity, and individual differences on perceptions of career progression in public accounting. International Journal of Auditing, 5, 53-71.
46. McCracken, D.M. (2000, November-December). Winning the talent war for women. Harvard Business Review, 159-167.
47. McCracken, G. (1988). The long interview. Qualitative Research Methods Series 13. Newbury Park, CA: SAGE Publications.
48. McKeen, C.A., & Bujaki, M.L. (1994). Taking women into account. CA Magazine, 127(2), 29-35.
49. Marriott, P., & Marriott, N. (2003). Are we turning them on? A longitudinal study of undergraduate accounting students' attitudes towards accounting as a profession. Accounting Education, 12(2), 113-133.
50. Marshall, J. (1995). Women managers moving on. New York: Routledge.
51. Maupin, R.J. (1993a). How can women's lack of upward mobility in accounting organizations be explained? Group & Organization Management, 18(2), 132-152.
52. Maupin, R.J. (1993b). Why are there so few women accounting partners?: Male and female accountants disagree. Managerial Auditing Journal, 8(5), 10-18.
53. Maupin, R.J., & Lehman, C.R. (1994). Talking heads: Stereotypes, status, sex-roles and satisfaction of female and male auditors. Accounting, Organizations and Society, 19, 427-137.
54. Maynard, M. (1994). Methods, practice and epistemology: The debate about feminism and research. In M. Maynard & J. Purvis (Eds.), Researching women's lives from a feminist perspective (pp. 10-26). London: Taylor & Francis Ltd.
55. Nord, W.R., & Fox, S. (1996). The individual in organizational studies: The great disappearing act. In S.R. Clegg, C. Hardy & W.R. Nord (Eds.), Handbook of organization studies (pp. 148-174). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications Inc.
56. Padgett, M., Paulson, K., Hughes, G., Hughes, S.B., & Born, C.J. (2005). The relationship between pre-employment expectations, experiences, and length of stay in public accounting. Journal of Leadership & Organizational Studies, 12, 82-102.
57. Perlow, L.A. (1998). Boundary control: the social ordering of work and family time in a high-tech corporation. Administrative Science Quarterly, 43, 328-357.
58. Pillsbury, CM., Capozzoli, L., & Ciampa, A. (1989). A synthesis of research studies regarding the upward mobility of women in public accounting. Accounting Horizons, 5(1), 63-70.
59. Riessman, C.K. (1993). Narrative analysis. Qualitative Research Methods Series. Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publications.
60. Toner, B. (1996). One terrific place to work. CA Magazine, 129(8), 33-35.
61. Whiting, R.H., & Wright, C. (2001). Explaining gender inequity in the New Zealand accounting profession. British Accounting Review, 33, 191-222.
62. Women Continue to post steady gains in partnership percentage (2008, December 15). Public Accounting Report, 1.
63. Wooten, L.P. (2002). What makes women-friendly public accounting firms tick? The diffusion of human resource management knowledge through institutional and resource pressures. Sex Roles, 45(5/6), 277-297.