The Coming Crisis in Accounting

(Hardback)

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This book examines the problems facing the accounting profession as a whole and examines their effect on the way accounting is practiced, on accountants' clients, and on business in general. The problems derive, Belkaoui explains, from new developments in the accounting environment including the organizational climate in CPA firms and the rising incidence of fraudulent cases. Arguing that these problems, if not resolved, will lead to a crisis of confidence in accounting and increasing government regulation of the profession, Belkauoui both identifies their causes and proposes solutions to avert a crisis in the field. The book examines particular conflicts generated by the profession's heavy reliance on credentialism, its role in the fragmentation of services in CPA firms, and its tenuous position in the courts. The following chapters show how the credibility of accounting has been shaken by fraudulent cases and explores ways in which the accounting work process has declined. Finally, Belkaoui explores problems associated with the high levels of job dissatisfaction and turnover in CPA firms and problems in the production of accounting knowledge.

Reviews

Belkaoui studies contemporary accounting and concludes that a crisis is developing within the profession that, if left unresolved, will result in governmental legislation affecting the accounting profession and process. The author begins by examining the professional environment of accounting; subsequent chapters review fraud, the accounting work process, the organizational climate of CPA firms, and the academic accountant and the research process. The author suggests that the increasing number of cases of accounting fraud, job dissatisfaction and high turnover, and a politicization of the academic research process are demeaning the credibility of the profession. Each chapter identifies a problem and proposes solutions. . . . Required reading for anyone interested in the accounting profession, upper-division and graduate students as well as professionals.-Choice
"Belkaoui studies contemporary accounting and concludes that a crisis is developing within the profession that, if left unresolved, will result in governmental legislation affecting the accounting profession and process. The author begins by examining the professional environment of accounting; subsequent chapters review fraud, the accounting work process, the organizational climate of CPA firms, and the academic accountant and the research process. The author suggests that the increasing number of cases of accounting fraud, job dissatisfaction and high turnover, and a politicization of the academic research process are demeaning the credibility of the profession. Each chapter identifies a problem and proposes solutions. . . . Required reading for anyone interested in the accounting profession, upper-division and graduate students as well as professionals."-Choice

Author Bio

AHMED BELKAOUI is Professor of Accounting, College of Business Administration, University of Illinois at Chicago. His eleven previous books for Greenwood Press include Human Information Processing in Accounting, Behavioral Accounting, The New Environment in International Accounting, Inquiry and Accounting, and Quantitative Models in Accounting.