Disciplinary action against members of the founding bodies of the ICAEW

Abstract

Purpose -The purpose of the paper is to present an analysis of the disciplinary action taken against members of the founding bodies of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW). This exercise illuminates an aspect of accounting's past which has tended to be overlooked in conventional histories of the profession. Design/methodology/approach -An analysis of the internal records of the ICAEW has been conducted. In addition, the archives of the ICAEW's predecessor bodies, entries in various censuses and contemporary sources have been reviewed for relevant material. Findings -Analysis of the records of the ICAEW and its founding bodies reveals a number of cases where disciplinary action was taken for breaches of ethical principles. The expulsion of a member, however, was always preceded by an external "prompt" such as the member's conviction on criminal charge, his disappearance or bankruptcy. This perhaps suggests that the early professional bodies were more inclined to protect the private interests of their members rather than the public interest. Originality/value -The paper's findings add to the literature on the professionalisation of the British accountancy profession. By focussing on the less-celebrated aspects of the founders' behaviour, this paper puts the success of the profession in achieving public acceptance into sharper perspective.

‘All sorts and conditions of men’: The social origins of the founders of the ICAEW

“…George Jay was excluded from the ICAEW in 1891 and in the 1901 census appears as a pawnbroker's clerk resident in a boarding house. Chandler et al (2008) reveal that no fewer than 92 (15.4%) of the founders were expelled from the Institute. While 66 were expelled for non-payment of fees, 15 were bankrupts and 11 committed discreditable acts or misdemeanours.…”

“…Defined by first society joined, 44% of the 600 founders had been members of the Society, an organisation which imposed low membership fees compared to the Institute of Accountants and was considered by contemporaries as having opened its doors rather widely (Walker, 2004b, 32-39, 130-131;Anderson et al, 2007). while owing money to clients (Chandler et al, 2008).…”

“…Five of these shopkeepers were grocers, five were drapers and three were booksellers and/or stationers. It appears that one former grocer was John Bath who became President of the Society of Accountants in England in 1877 and later sat on the Council of the ICAEW before being expelled following his imprisonment for fraud (Chandler et al, 2008). Table 4 shows that very few founders were previously employed in manufacturing (SSG 3).…”

“…In recent years scholars have also focused on the nascent profession south of the border. As a result we now have a greater understanding of the diverse occupational community from which professional accountants emerged in England and Wales (Walker, 2002;Edwards & Walker, 2007a), the circumstances attending the institutionalisation of the accountancy bodies there in the 1870s and 1880s (Walker, 2004a;2004b), the identification of their founders (Boys, 2004), the problematic nature of the organisations which they established , their development of qualification systems as closure devices , their processes for dealing with unethical behaviour (Chandler, Edwards & Anderson, 2008), their efforts to define the boundaries of professional practice , the interprofessional relationships and jurisdictional disputes which emerged therefrom (Walker, 2004c), and the socio-cultural dimensions of status building (McKinstry, 1997;Edwards & Walker, 2007b).…”

‘A different army of the talented’: negative outliers in the rise of professionalism in Victorian public accountancy

“…However, it also contains negative outliers capable of providing alternative perspectives on the professionalisation of public accountants (e.g. Walker 1996;Edwards 2001;Chandler, Edwards, and Anderson 2005;Lee 2009a). In this study, the alternative perspective is revealed through the backgrounds, lifestyles, and careers of London chartered accountants James Waddell (JW) and William Waddell (WW) who fled to New York in 1883 when impending legislation led to the exposure of their embezzlement of creditor funds.…”