A Framework for the Analysis of the Stereotypes in Accounting

Professions are concerned about the public image they have, and this public image is represented by stereotypes. Research is needed to understand how accountants are perceived by different actors in the society in different contexts, which would allow universities, professional bodies and employers to adjust their strategies to attract the right people to the profession and their organizations. We aim to develop in this paper a framework to be used in empirical testing in different environments to determine and analyze the accountant’s stereotype. This framework will be useful in analyzing the nuances associated to the accountant’s image and in understanding the factors that may lead to uniformity in the profession and of those leading to diversity from one context (country, type of countries, region) to another. Keywords—accounting profession, accounting stereotype, framework, public image