Understanding the recruitment and selection processes of management accountants: An explorative study
Qualitative Research in Accounting & Management
ISSN: 1176-6093
Article publication date: 23 January 2018
Issue publication date: 18 April 2018
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to focus on the recruitment and selection processes of management accountants to enhance the understanding of how employers form perceptions of a suitable management accountant.
Design/methodology/approach
The analysis is based on 17 interviews with individuals involved in the recruitment of management accountants. Empirical data were collected during the recruitment process at eight organisations.
Findings
The findings suggest that in the social context of recruitment, technical skills and abilities related to management accounting are increasingly perceived as “taken for granted”, and employers instead focus on evaluating candidates’ appearance and overall credibility. In particular, employers look for individuals who appear to be sociable, dynamic and appealing. Thus, a candidate’s overall appearance and personality are central to the recruitment process, both of which are assessed through characteristics and traits associated with personal charisma.
Practical implications
The findings have practical implications for both job seekers and recruiters of management accountants.
Originality/value
This study complements past studies on the role and image of management accountants by elucidating the social nature of their recruitment and selection.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The authors wish to thank the editor Deryl Northcott and the anonymous reviewers for helpful comments. Moreover, the authors wish to thank the participants at the 33rd Summer Seminar of Finnish Economists in Jyväskylä, June 2016, the 39th Annual Congress of the European Accounting Association in Maastricht, May 2016 and the accounting research seminar at university of Tampere, December, 2015. The first author thanks the Foundation for Economic Education, the Marcus Wallenberg Foundation and the Erkki Paasikivi Foundation for financial support.
Citation
Lepistö, L. and Ihantola, E.-M. (2018), "Understanding the recruitment and selection processes of management accountants: An explorative study", Qualitative Research in Accounting & Management, Vol. 15 No. 1, pp. 104-123. https://doi.org/10.1108/QRAM-11-2016-0080
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2018, Emerald Publishing Limited