Abstract
The framework of research into the social context of the accountancy profession has in the past been socially functionalist (Montagna, 1974; Groves et al., 1984), frequently with implications of political pluralism (Hope, 1979; Hope and Gray, 1982; Benston, 1985; Zeff, 1978). Since such research has been concerned with the profession in society, due consideration of the theory of the professions should be had: yet until recently no regard has been had to the multiplicity of theories of the professions that have been developed in sociology and economics (recent works repairing this omission include Willmott, 1984, 1985; Cooper, chapter 18; Loft, 1985; Armstrong, 1987; Macdonald, 1984; Cooper et al., 1989). This paper argues that to understand the relationship of accountancy to society it is necessary to understand the position of the accountancy profession in the class structure.
I should like to thank Richard Laughlin, Tony Lowe, and Marilyn Neimark for discussions and comments on the ideas contained in this paper. Thanks are also due to the University of Sheffield Research Fund for financial support of the research reported herein.
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© 1990 David J. Cooper & Trevor M. Hopper
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Puxty, A.G. (1990). The Accountancy Profession in the Class Structure. In: Cooper, D.J., Hopper, T.M. (eds) Critical Accounts. Palgrave, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-09786-9_17
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