How does contact with accountants influence perceptions of accounting?

ABSTRACT

This paper seeks to redress a gap in research regarding the effect of contact with accountants (stereotype targets) on the perceptions people have of accounting. Contact with accountants has often been suggested as a strategy for changing the stereotypical perceptions people have of accounting. This study examines how contact with accountants influences these perceptions. The results reveal that while the perceptions do differ between participant groups, contact with accountants creates little awareness of the diverse range of duties performed by accountants. These findings confirm the claims by social psychologists that while contact might assist in changing perceptions, the change will not necessarily have the intended effect. These findings have implications for how accountants, their professional associations and educators represent the image of accounting to their clients, the public and their students.

KEYWORDS:

• Accounting stereotype
• perceptions
• contact
• accountants

Acknowledgements

The author gratefully acknowledges the guidance and helpful comments from Kate Kearins, Lee Parker and Steven Dellaportas and anonymous reviewers on earlier versions of this work.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1 In 1996, The NZ Institute of Chartered Accountants developed a 3-tier college structure with the following designations: Accounting Technician (AT), Associate Chartered Accountant (ACA) and Chartered Accountant (CA).

2 The NZ Institute has since merged with the Australian Institute to form Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand. The status of the Technician College within the merged body is unclear.