Anatomy of a Professional Élite: The Executive Commitee of the American Accounting Association 1916-1996

Abstract The American Accounting Association (AAA) has an eighty-year history in which a relatively small number of executive committee (AAAEC) members have managed its organization through several significant changes in the accounting knowledge production process. Building on previous research of the AAA (Lee, 1995), this study examines the membership composition of the AAAEC and concludes that it has been dominated throughout its history by faculty from three major US universities. Using a theoretical perspective derived from Bourdieu (1988) and Whitley (1984a), the public interest implications of this elitist situation are discussed. In particular, the discussion interprets the studyas findings at a time when there is considerable discontent with the management and leadership of the AAA.