#BEANCOUNTER CPA EXAM ADVICE PLUS#

Whether accounting is a miserable job is an empirical question that has not been carefully evaluated previously. These problems are potential consequences of a widespread “burnout culture” in accounting that, in the early 2010s, caused “crisis level attrition” and a “rebellion” among junior staff at PwC (Nusca 2018, Purtill 2018), and of a mismatch between the personality traits that lead to success in accounting degree programs and those that lead to success in accounting firms (Briggs et al. 4) and CPA firms have exceptionally high employee turnover (CPA Journal 2018). A majority of accounting educators and practitioners would not major in accounting if they “were completing their education over again” (Albrecht and Sack 2000, Ch. However, other accounting literature suggests that accounting jobs are miserable. 2012, DeCoster and Rhode 1971, Jeacle 2008, Warren and Parker 2009). 2007, DeCoster and Rhode 1971, Friedman and Lyne 2001, Jeacle 2008, Smith and Briggs 1999), and that accounting careers are more interesting and compelling than the stereotypes suggest (Belski et al.

A branch of accounting literature argues that such stereotypes are costly to the profession because they reduce the number, quality, and diversity of people selecting into accounting careers (Baldvinsdottir et al. 2015, Smith and Briggs 1999, Smith and Jacobs 2011, Warren and Parker 2009). Just so we’re clear on definitions and what misery is exactly in the context of this paper.Īlright, let’s get caught up on earlier research mentioned in the paper:Īccounting work has long been portrayed in popular culture as boring, rigid, and monotonous (Allen 2004, Beard 1994, Richardson et al. It can also describe “a circumstance, thing, or place that causes suffering or discomfort” or “a state of great unhappiness and emotional distress.” In the study, researchers used “workplace misery” to refer to suffering that is the result of workplace afflictions. Misery is “a state of suffering and want that is the result of poverty or affliction” per Merriam Webster. And whereas in most professions these would be considerable drawbacks, in chartered accountancy they are a positive boon.” “…our experts describe you as an appallingly dull fellow, unimaginative, timid, lacking in initiative, spineless, easily dominated, no sense of humour, tedious company and irrepressibly drab and awful. The introduction opens with this quote from Monty Python: Workplace misery is costly to workers, employers, and society and accounting stereotypes have value if they facilitate informed career selection. Indeed, we present longitudinal evidence suggesting that accounting attracts people with personalities suited to repetitive and rules-centric work and who have psychosocial histories that make them robust to stress. This apparent paradox could be a positive consequence of accounting stereotypes, which may facilitate the matching of potentially miserable work with people who are most prepared to tolerate it.

In univariate and multivariate tests, we find that accounting has misery values that are either near the average or are better than average for comparison jobs. However, we find that accounting is not a miserable job. We find that accounting work is particularly sedentary, rigid, repetitive, constrained, and rules-centric characteristics that are consistent with the accounting stereotype and that prior work outside of accounting has shown are associated with workplace misery. In this study, we empirically test the basic question: is accounting a miserable job? We use data from a variety of sources that enable us to measure workplace misery and model it as a function of work tasks and personal characteristics of workers across occupations. Accounting research evaluating the boring “beancounter stereotype” argues that it is wrong and costly because it reduces the appeal of accounting to high quality students and exacts a psychological toll on accountants who are thus stereotyped. Popular culture portrays accounting as a miserable job.

#BEANCOUNTER CPA EXAM ADVICE PLUS#

Plus it’s relevant given the ongoing accounting pipeline problem and concerns about accountant shortages as the paper talks about how the stereotype of “the miserable accountant” actually draws people to the profession for whom misery is a good fit. Misery in accounting is timeless after all. Stumbled across this interesting paper by authors Paul Madsen and Jeffrey Piao today and thought it worth sharing despite its age (2019).

Beancounter cpa exam advice