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This chapter asks whether it is helpful to consider a profession to be a practice and to what extent this meshes with the idea that ‘profession’ is a moral concept. It examines MacIntyre’s concept of a practice as an activity that pursues internal goods, finds that MacIntyre’s articulation of the concept by itself is not enough to describe what it is to be a profession and seeks to supplement this with ideas from others, primarily Miller and Davis. This supplementation, however, still leaves open the question of the origin of a profession’s authority (or licence) to use what can be called the ‘dangerous knowledge’ that differentiates the work of professions from other occupations. For this, Veatch provides useful ideas.

Reports on the findings of research into the role of women in the valuation profession in New Zealand. Quantitative and attitudinal information from women involved in the valuation profession was obtained by postal survey. Results reveal 6 per cent female representation in the profession currently. Describes the population in quantitative terms and summarizes attitudinal data. Outlines recommendations formulated as a result of the research, which revealed that gender‐based discrimination is evident. However, the property industry does offer an interesting and varied career which should be promoted to young women. Women involved with the profession have noted gender advantages that should be recognized by the profession at large.

Explores the concept of profession in relation to the occupational group known as health promotion officers and examines the question of whether it is appropriate or desirable for health promotion officers to seek to become professionals. Suggests that although the status of a profession initially appears to be desirable for the health promotion officer, such status can carry with it unwanted characteristics such as protectionism and élitism. Concludes that health promotion specialists need to strike a balance between those professional characteristics that are desirable and positive, while avoiding the negative attributes of professions which could seriously undermine the whole purpose and philosophy underpinning the health promotion officer′s role.

The Disability Rights Commission's Formal Investigation into the impact of professional regulation on disabled people's access to nursing, social work and teaching professions identified that unclear regulatory fitness requirements and their inconsistent implementation can have discriminatory effects. This article explores the relevance of the Investigation's findings for other health and social care professions, demonstrating that they similarly have a range of regulatory fitness requirements that may be interpreted and implemented in different ways, potentially discouraging disabled people from entering the professions or from disclosing their conditions. Regulations and guidance across health and social care professions need to be reviewed, bringing them up to date with current disability and anti‐discrimination legislation. A more proactive stance towards disability equality is required if the professions are to achieve the aim of a more diverse workforce.

The purpose of this study is to analyse historical events to argue the improbable prospect of radical accounting reform in corporate financial reporting (CFR) due to the absence of abstract accounting knowledge as part of accountancy professionalisation (AP).

A historical database of CFR and AP events in the UK is categorised and analysed to observe the evolution of accounting in CFR from the perspective of the sociology of professions relating to abstract knowledge in professionalisation.

CFR has always been a statutory function in the UK dependent on arbitrary accounting rules rather than expert measurements based on abstract accounting knowledge. Accounting rules have evolved as part of AP and currently form part of the statutory regulation of CFR. The accountancy profession has eschewed abstract accounting knowledge in a mutually beneficial and uncompetitive relationship with the law profession in CFR.

The study is limited to the history of CFR and AP in the UK and its findings are contrary to the sociology of professions regarding abstract knowledge, consistent with the accountancy profession’s 19th-century experience of court-related services, and indicative of normative accounting research’s redundancy.

Regarding CFR and AP in the UK, the accountancy profession is an expert subordinate branch of the law profession and has no incentive to alter the status quo of statutory accounting rule compliance prevailing over abstract accounting knowledge-based expertise in CFR.

The study questions the optimism of prior research of accounting in CFR that suggests the possibility of radical reform using abstract knowledge.

The position of professions within society has long been a subject of great interest and controversy among sociologists. Currently, however, the social position of professions appears particularly worthy of study, for two reasons. First, sociologists have recently formulated a variety of frameworks of analysis which attempt to identify the means by which occupations are able to secure and maintain for themselves the privileges and power of “profession” — thereby manipulating their social position. Second, some professions are now facing significant social changes which may provide greater threats to their established positions than they have experienced in the recent past. Sociologists such as Elliott and members of professions themselves have claimed that the professions face a “crisis.” These commentators describe changes which largely concern those issues of autonomy and power that are now coming to be regarded as salient in the study of professions — changes such as a diminution of professions' control over their conditions of practice and over their established market segments. Investigation of these changes should be able to furnish evidence which is relevant to a quesiton of current sociological concern, and also provide an interpretative challenge which may help to refine existing frameworks of analysis. These considerations form the rationale for the present paper, which analyses recent changes affecting the social position of five professions in the United Kingdom and the United States. The five professions are accounting, architecture, civil engineering, law, and medicine (including dentistry).

Although there is great potential for diversity, library and information science (LIS) is a relatively homogenous profession. Increasing the presence of librarians of color may help to improve diversity within LIS. However, recruiting ethnic minorities into LIS has proven to be difficult despite various initiative including scholarships, fellowships, and locally focused programs. The central questions explored in this research can be divided into two parts: (1) Why do ethnic minorities choose librarianship as a profession? (2) What would motivate members of minority groups to join a profession in which they cannot see themselves?

The research was conducted through semi-structured, qualitative interviews of 32 ethnic minority students from one of four ethnic minority groups (African American, Asian American, Hispanic/Latino, and Native American) currently enrolled in an LIS graduate program. Eleven themes emerged from the data: libraries, librarians, library work experience, LIS graduate program, career plans and goals, education and family, support, mentors, ethnicity and community, acculturation, and views of diversity.

The findings seem to support many assumptions regarding expectations and career goals. The findings related to libraries, librarians, mentors, and support illustrate that many recruitment initiatives are starting in the right place. However, the most noteworthy findings were those that centered on identity, acculturation, and diversity because they dealt with issues that are not often considered or discussed by many in the profession outside of ethnic minority organizations.

Despite Max Weber’s assertion that bureaucracy is domination on the basis of knowledge, mainstream public administration literature has paid little attention to the role of experts and expertise in bureaucratic organisations. A particular blind spot concerns the academic professions or disciplines that supply the experts and expert knowledge used in government bureaucracies. It is well known that the educational composition of the civil service varies across countries and over time. However, knowledge about what explains the varying position of expert professions within state bureaucracies is scarce. The chapter examines this issue through a comparative-historical investigation of the role in government of a particular expert profession, namely economists. Focusing on a small set of countries – Norway, Denmark, New Zealand and Ireland – over the period from 1930 to 1990, it poses the question: How can we account for the variation in the position of economists within government bureaucracies across countries and over time? To answer this question, the chapter draws on theory from the sociological literature on professions and historical-institutionalist work on the influence of economic ideas.

Along with accounting scandals in the past, academics, researchers, and legislators have focused on fraud. The purpose of this study is to examine postgraduate and doctoral studies, articles, and books about forensic accounting and fraud audit published between the years 2008 and 2018 in Turkey. For this purpose, a total of 96 studies have been examined and 35 of these are master’s theses, 10 of them are PhD theses, 45 of them are articles, and six of them are books. These studies were presented in tables as classified. The studies examined in our research are summarized as year they were published, the author, and the scope of the topic and in terms of results. The conclusions of this study can be summarized as follows: (a) the majority of thesis published about forensic accounting and fraud audit are in 2011 and following years. In addition, most of the theses are focused on forensic accounting review rather than fraud audit. (b) Results in the articles reviewed are in the same direction with theses. (c) There are very few books about fraud audit and forensic accounting. One of them is related to fraud audit, while the rest of them are related to forensic accounting and forensic accounting profession. We suggest extending the scope of the study and making to other countries.

This chapter develops a model of professionalism via a synthesis of three extant theories from the sociology of the professions literature. Nine components or conditions of the model are used to trace the historical development of public accountancy through an Early Era from 1850 to 1929 and a Modern Era from 1930 to the mid-1980s. The conclusion is that concerted efforts over an approximate 130 year period were needed for accountancy to achieve elite professional status in the eyes of the U.S. public. The question remaining is if accountants have forgotten the history lessons on what has been required to achieve and sustain elite professional status?