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This chapter combines quantitative studies of the connections between stressors and performance in accounting settings and identifies the mediators and moderators of stressors–performance relationships. Using meta-analyses and path analyses, this research compiles 72 studies to investigate the relationships of stressors with accountant and auditor performance. As hypothesized, bivariate meta-analyses results indicate that work-related stressors negatively affect performance, and burnout and stress are negatively related to performance, whereas motivation is positively related to performance. Moreover, a meta-analytical structural equation modeling indicates that role stressors have significant direct and indirect effects (through burnout and stress) on job performance. Accumulation of multiple samples through meta-analysis bolsters statistical power compared to single-sample studies and thus reveals the sign of residual direct effects of role stressors on job performance in accounting settings.

The purpose of this study is to use an extended Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) model to investigate the intention to use blockchain from the accountant's point of view. The proposed model is expected to provide the necessary incentives for accountants to adopt blockchain. The authors build external constructs based on discussions of blockchain properties for accounting such as accounting information quality, job relevance and trust. In addition, the study also considers computer self-efficacy and compatibility as factors related to practitioners’ blockchain acceptance.

By using the developed online-questionnaire, the data is collected from the responses of 317 accountants working in listed enterprises in Vietnam. The main analyzes are performed by Smart partial least squares structural equation modeling technique to present both direct and indirect effects on the intention to use blockchain.

Experimental results provide many interesting and valuable things. First, performance and effort expectancy have a positive influence on intention to use blockchain, while social influence has a lower influence. Second, trust has a direct and positive effect on effort and performance expectancy, as well as intention to use blockchain. Quite surprisingly, accounting information quality has a positive effect on performance expectancy, while job relevance has a negative effect. Fourth, computer self-efficacy and compatibility have a positive effect on effort expectancy. It is more interesting that the intention to use blockchain has nothing to do with compatibility. The results of this study also show that performance and effort expectancy play a mediating role in the indirect effects of trust, computer self-efficacy and compatibility on intention to use blockchain.

The study shows that accountants in Vietnam have a high intention to use blockchain. This implies that the Vietnamese Government and the professional association should design training programs or open training sessions on blockchain. Accountants can clearly understand the importance of blockchain in their work as well as the positive effect of blockchain on performance. They are consulted on how to use blockchain. They also perceive that using blockchain is not too difficult, and the acceptance of this technology will be higher. Additionally, universities should put triple-entry accounting into their teaching, so accounting students can improve their skills and knowledge relevant to blockchain to meet their career needs in the future.

The study proposes an extended UTAUT model with external constructs built on blockchain's effects on accounting. The model makes more sense in promoting the use of blockchain in accounting.

The purpose of this study is to develop and empirically test a theoretical model of antecedents and consequences of perceived job security of professional accountants. This study contributes to the literature by examining the mediating role of perceived job security between the reward management system and the ethical job performance of professional accountants.

A survey was used to collect responses from professional accountants at small- and medium-tier accounting firms in Pakistan. Of the total 313 circulated research instruments, 270 were completed producing a response rate of 86%. The hypotheses were tested by performing structural equation modeling, confirmatory factor analysis and correlation using SPSS 24 and AMOS 25.

Findings specify that the perceived job security of professional accountants partially and fully mediates the relationship between their ethical job performance and intrinsic and rewards, respectively. Additionally, reward management systems including intrinsic and extrinsic rewards have a significant impact on the ethical job performance of professional accountants.

The findings of this study may have significant implications for researchers for examining the subjects' perceived job security in enhancing the overall performance of the firms. The findings may also benefit domestic and international accounting firms for recognizing the importance of rewards and job security for enhancing the ethical performance of accountants.

This study is the first to provide empirical evidence for the importance of perceived job security for professional accountants in Pakistan. The current research also provides sharper insights into establishing the direct impact of both extrinsic and intrinsic rewards on professional accountants' ethical job performance.

With the increasing adoption of integrated reporting and the subsequent interest of the accounting discipline in its development, this paper aims to examine the enablers and barriers to the involvement of accountants in integrated reporting.

The paper adopts a case study approach by collecting interview data from six organisations that have adopted integrated reporting internationally. In the selected organisations, face-to-face and telephone interviews were conducted with professionals who are involved in the preparation of an integrated report. The interviewees in this study included key integrated report preparers including accountants, corporate reporting managers, sustainability managers and other report preparers. Institutional entrepreneurship provided the theoretical insights for this study.

The study found that accountants’ expertise in corporate reporting and especially their knowledge of the assurance process was one of the major reasons why they were involved in integrated reporting. Accountants’ in-depth understanding of an organisation in addition to their general analytical and interpersonal skills were also found to be useful in preparing an integrated report. However, the voluntary nature of integrated reporting along with the lack of sufficient guidelines deterred accountants from being involved in integrated reporting. The study also found that accountants themselves did not see value in integrated reporting and found it challenging to convert numerical information to narratives, thus limiting their involvement in integrated reporting.

Whilst prior studies have underlined accountants’ institutionalised practices, this study uncovers the strategies applied by accountants to maintain their institutionalised practices. The specific application of the institutional entrepreneurship concept identifies mechanisms and strategies through which accountants restrict their practices to narrow taken-for-granted roles.

This study uncovers practical implications by highlighting the factors that limit the involvement of accountants within integrated reporting. One of the major implications identified relates to the training of accountants to apply their existing skills and expertise in non-financial reporting to contribute effectively to multi-disciplinary teams that contribute towards integrated reporting in organisations. This study also provides an impetus for the International Integrated Reporting Council to provide more guidance for preparing an integrated report.

This is one of the initial studies that has explored the enablers and barriers to the involvement of accountants in integrated reporting through its focus on organisations that are already practising this form of reporting. The use of institutional entrepreneurship theory adds to the theoretical insights for exploring the involvement of the various actors in integrated reporting.

The authors examine and compare accounting associations' identities in distinct segments of the accounting profession surrounding the 2014 merger of three Canadian accounting associations.

The authors conceive of accounting associations' magazine front covers as a setting for “identity performance” (i.e. a scenery through which identity dimensions are intentionally communicated to target audiences). The authors examine pre-merger and post-merger associations' identity performances that took place between January 2011 and December 2020 and identify 21 broad themes that the authors interpret in terms of identity logics (i.e. professionalism/commercialism) and audience focus (society/association members), underscoring (dis)similarities in identity performances pre- and post-merger.

The authors' analysis reveals distinct identity performances for the different segments of the pre-merger accounting profession and for the post-merger unified accounting association. Identity logics manifest differently: a commercial logic dominated for two of the associations and a professional logic dominated for the third. Identity fluidity was evident in the merged association's shift from commercial toward professional logic when the association ceased publishing one magazine and introduced a new one. Society rather than associations' members dominated as a target audience for all associations, but this focus manifested differently. Post-merger, identity performances continued to focus on society as the audience.

The authors highlight the Goffmanian identity performances (Goffman, 1959) taking place via accounting associations' magazines. The authors adopt a segment perspective (Bucher and Strauss, 1961) that demonstrates that commercialism does not trump professionalism in all segments of the profession. For the first time, the authors juxtapose identity logics (professionalism/commercialism) and targeted audiences to better understand how these facets of accountants' identities compare between segments.

Small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) carry huge economic importance worldwide. At the same time, SMEs face specific challenges, some of which may be alleviated by employing accountants. However, research on the role and impact of accountants in SMEs has long remained fragmented and scarce. This paper aims to encourage more research on accountants in SMEs by providing the first comprehensive and systematic review of relevant research.

Based on systematic review methods, the authors critically examine 68 research articles dealing with accountants in SMEs.

The review identifies three dominant roles for accountants in SMEs: providers of reporting services, sources of SME owners’ self-validation and translators between capital providers and SMEs and advisors. Implicitly, many studies assume a value-enhancing effect of employing accountants in SMEs regardless of these specific roles. At the same time, available studies seldom make use of existing theoretical frameworks to more closely analyze the value-enhancing potential of human resources such as accountants. The authors, thus, propose the resource-based view as a robust theoretical framework to improve theory building in research on accountants in SMEs.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this paper is the first systematic review of accountants in SMEs. In addition, the authors develop a resource-based model on accountants in SMEs to guide future research on this topic.

Innovation in fintech presents great opportunities and huge challenges for accounting practices around the world. This paper aims to examine the impact of Fintech on accounting practices including financial reporting, performance management, budgeting, auditing, risk and fraud management. Fintech is proxied by the adoption of AI and big data analysis in accounting practices.

We chose African countries as our focus countries and surveyed chartered and qualified accountants in both Ghana and Nigeria. With 201 questionnaires qualified for our final analyses, we adopted the structural equation modelling to analyse the impact of Fintech on accounting practices.

The empirical results show that the impact of AI and big data on accounting practices is positive and significant, indicating that fintech could potentially mitigate the agency problem in accounting practices and lead to better accounting practices. Interestingly, we find that, in general, the impact of AI is larger than that of big data.

Our results provide significant insights to regulators, policymakers and managers about the future development of adopting fintech in the regulation and governance framework at both macro and micro levels for accounting practice.

With the accelerated global adoption of integrated reporting, this paper aims to understand the role of practicing accountants in integrated reporting.

Using the case study approach, data was collected from semi-structured interviews in six international organisations that have adopted integrated reporting. Institutional work provided the theoretical insights for this study.

The study found that accountants were an indispensable part of the integrated reporting process because of their strength and knowledge in corporate reporting. However, despite having the potential to engage, it was noted that accountants currently do not apply their key reporting skills in the integrated reporting context. It was observed that accountants’ roles were limited to carrying out their traditional routine financial reporting activities including reporting on the financial aspects of the report, developing key performance indicators and assisting with assurance related tasks.

This study adds to the limited literature by providing a comprehensive understanding of how accountants are currently involved in integrated reporting. This study suggests that accountants are seeking to maintain their existing institutional practices.

A need for accountants to move beyond maintaining their institutional roles and engage more extensively in integrated reporting is emphasised.

Through its focus on human agency, this study applied institutional work to integrated reporting, thereby expanding literature on integrated reporting and the roles performed by accountants in this process. This study also contributes to the conceptualisation of maintaining institutions strategies through the development of the cooperative strategy.

The objective of this research project was to ascertain the role of management accountants in relation to strategic human resource management (SHRM) and the information provided for SHRM. To achieve this objective four case studies (two UK and two Canadian organisations) were conducted using a grounded theory approach. The two most important HR strategies in these cases were training and leadership development, which were linked to the overall goals of each organisation. Management accountants played a key role in providing information for the SHRM planning process in all four cases. The role of management accountants during the strategic planning process was very much as integral team members with a facilitating role. In all four cases management accountants provided HR managers with information for decision making.

Accountants’ involvement in environmental and sustainability management has merely been investigated to date. With the continuous take-up of sustainability issues by companies and with the growing experience companies gain in dealing with this topic, this chapter raises the question whether accountants are involved in a way different than previously reported and if yes, what their role is in social accounting practice.

Based on 58 interviews with corporate practitioners, this chapter firstly explores the roles involved in the social accounting practice in companies which are considered to be leading in sustainability reporting in the United Kingdom and Germany. Secondly, the role of professional accountants is analysed from a power theory perspective.

The main findings suggest that professional accountants are partially involved in social accounting practice but mainly exert a gatekeeping role between sustainability managers and higher management.

Investigating the observed behaviour empirically can help improve social accounting. Should it turn out that the accountants have no other option but to act like gatekeepers, accounting education will play a major role in overcoming this deficiency in the pursuit of improved sustainability knowledge and performance. If, on the other hand, it is the defensive stance of accounting professionals and the fear of losing power in corporate structures which motivates them to act as gatekeepers, mechanisms to motivate them to cooperate should be researched.

The chapter empirically investigates and discusses the accountant’s contribution to sustainability information management. This can help overcome organisational challenges impeding companies to successfully implement sustainability measures.