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What Does The Public Think About Accountants?
by Glade Tew, PhD, CPA
There are many advantages to choosing accounting as a career.
Accountants can choose to work in a wide variety of fields including industry,
government, tax, auditing, consulting, financial planning, and education.
They earn excellent pay and benefits, and most accounting positions offer
opportunities for growth and promotion. Accounting is also an excellent
background for individuals who plan to run their own business. In short,
it is an excellent choice for a professional option.
Accountants also enjoy an excellent reputation from non-accountants
who appreciate the services that they provide. This reputation has increased
in recent years as modern technology has changed the way business operates.
No longer are many accountants hired to fulfill bookkeeping roles. These
functions are performed automatically by computer, allowing accountants
to become increasingly engaged in consulting and managing responsibilities.
The author undertook a public survey to gain additional
insights concerning attitudes of the general public toward accountants.
In 1993, a telephone survey was taken of 205 adults living in three population
areas: Fort Worth, Texas; Lexington, Kentucky; and Ogden, Utah. These
telephone numbers were selected randomly from the telephone directories
of the respective cities. The three separate locations were chosen in
order to obtain a range of responses from across the country. The results
of the survey help explain attitudes that people have toward accountants.
In one question, people responding to the survey were asked
about the level of honesty of accountants. It is essential that they not
only be honest, but that they also maintain a reputation for honesty.
Otherwise, misconceptions may negate the ability of accountants to perform
their duties and have their work trusted. In this survey, 67 percent of
the people responded that they believed accountants to have approximately
the same level of honesty as the rest of society. 29 percent felt that
they are more honest than the rest of society, and only 4 percent felt
that they are less honest. These results indicate that only a small percentage
of people have negative attitudes toward the ethical behavior (regarding
trust) of accountants.
In a second question, people responding to the survey were
asked how important they felt the work performed by accountants to be.
The vast majority of people responding (approximately 77 percent) felt
that the work of accountants is very important, and 21 percent felt that
the work is somewhat important. Only 2 percent of the respondents felt
that the work performed by accountants is not very important for society
at all. Although accountants already recognize their work as important,
these results indicate that the public has a healthy respect for them
and the work that they do.
A third question in the survey asked individuals on a more
personal level how they felt about accountants. They were asked how they
would feel if a family member or a close friend chose to enter the profession.
74 percent indicated that they would be happy with such a decision, while
23 percent said they would really have no feeling about the decision at
all. Only 3 percent of those who responded indicated that they would be
actually disappointed if a family member or close friend chose to become
an accountant. These results indicate that the accounting profession has
a generally favorable reputation among the vast majority of the population.
It is also worth noting that the vast majority of people
responding to this survey were not accountants and did not deal with accountants
on a regular basis. The survey was intended to understand the attitudes
of the general public who, although may not have regular interaction with
accountants, still have perceptions concerning the work that they do.
Overall, the results of the survey reflect a favorable image. For the
many accountants who provide dedicated service while maintaining high
ethical standards, it is good to know that those outside the field are
recognizing this service.
For those beginning their accounting careers, there are
several points related to public attitude that are worth considering:
accounting is a well-respected field with a good public reputation; accountants
provide an important role in society and this importance is recognized;
with a good reputation also comes an expectation. Expectations of accountants
are very high. They are expected to perform work in a professional and
ethical way. If accountants fail to meet these expectations, they will
probably not be given the benefit of the doubt. More likely, they will
be punished for not living up to their higher expectations. For example,
if during litigation, an accountant is found to have acted negligently,
it is not likely that judges or juries will act leniently. It is more
likely that because the ethical expectations of accountants are so high,
a severe penalty will be imposed. With high levels of respect also come
high expectations.
The esteem currently felt towards accountants is not guaranteed
to continue into the future. The current level of respect is the product
of individual accountants who perform their work in a high quality manner
day after day. In the future, if accountants fail to meet the standards
placed on them by the profession and society, this respect will disappear.
It is the responsibility of every accountant to perform his or her work
in a competent and ethical manner.
In conclusion, accounting is a wonderful profession. And
as we have seen, it receives a favorable reputation, with many exciting
and new opportunities available to those beginning their careers. Plan
on having a great career and commit to helping maintain the respect currently
felt towards accountants.
Glade Tew is an assistant professor of accounting at Brigham
Young University, Hawaii Campus.
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