The management of accounting firms: time as an object of professional and commercial goals

Abstract

Purpose This study aims to explore how commercial and professional management instruments are combined in accounting firms. Design/methodology/approach The authors conducted a qualitative study based on 30 semi-structured interviews with partners from 30 different accounting firms (sole practitioners to Big Four) in Germany. The study mainly draws from the literature on the management of accounting firms. Findings The findings of this study indicate that professional and commercial management instruments structure the use of time by accountants. In these management instruments, professional and commercial goals are interwoven by three mechanisms revealed in this study and named as ambivalence, assimilation and integration. The authors further identify the managerial aspects of professional instruments. Originality/value This paper offers three mechanisms that combine commercial and professional goals in the management of accounting firms. The authors thereby contribute to the literature on the management of accounting firms by analysing these mechanisms that enable the pursuit of both goals simultaneously. Further, the authors argue that the minimum organisation, defined by regulators, of accounting firms is an essential infrastructure for the commercialisation of accounting.

Dynamic external environment and value creation in small and medium-sized accounting practices: a sensemaking perspective

“…This study is timely and highly relevant, as it responds to calls to conduct more research on accounting firms at the lower end of the professional field (Lander et al , 2013; Ramirez et al , 2015; Durocher et al , 2016). Specifically, it addresses recent calls to explore the management of competing demands in subgroups of accounting firms in the professional field, as well as their service development patterns (Loscher and Kaiser, 2020; Ali and Mustafa, 2023).…”