Accountants as “new guard dogs” of capitalism: Stereotype or research agenda?

Drawing inspiration from the theses of the regulation school, Gerard Hanlon analyses the socialisation process in the “big six”. For accountants are, according to him, the new “controllers” of “a process of flexible accumulation”, one that goes hand in hand with a heightened international division o...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Accounting, Organizations and Society Organizations and Society, 1997-11, Vol.22 (8), p.825-829
Main Author: Dezalay, Yves
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Accountants
Accounting methods
Accounting research
Accounting theory
Big Six accounting firms
Capitalism
Commercialization
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Summary:Drawing inspiration from the theses of the regulation school, Gerard Hanlon analyses the socialisation process in the “big six”. For accountants are, according to him, the new “controllers” of “a process of flexible accumulation”, one that goes hand in hand with a heightened international division of labour. Unfortunately, his research site remains too limited to confirm—or disconfirm—his ambitious hypotheses. Moreover, the transposition of neo-marxist theories leads him to underestimate the whole work of construction of social credibility of accounting knowledge, as well as the complex play of interaction—and not only of opposition—between these “multinational service conglomerates” and the local or national dignitaries who continue to represent the core of the field of practice.
ISSN:0361-3682
1873-6289
DOI:10.1016/S0361-3682(96)00015-3