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Educational Reforms Set Professional Boundaries: The S panish Audit Function, 1850–1988
Author(s) -
Carrera Nieves,
Carmona Salvador
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
abacus
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.632
H-Index - 45
eISSN - 1467-6281
pISSN - 0001-3072
DOI - 10.1111/abac.12004
Subject(s) - audit , function (biology) , period (music) , state (computer science) , professional boundaries , sociology , set (abstract data type) , process (computing) , accounting , public relations , political science , business , computer science , physics , algorithm , evolutionary biology , acoustics , biology , programming language , operating system
Research on the accounting profession considers the notion of boundaries a useful, albeit wide and elusive, concept. However, recent sociological and organizational research has sharpened the concept of boundaries to enable further examination of relational processes. In this paper, we draw on this research to advance our understanding of the process of constructing boundaries in auditing. In doing so, we focus on the unique institutional conditions in S pain during the period 1850–1988. This period witnessed the overwhelming role of the State in any sphere of economic and social life. In the case of auditing, the influence of the State was augmented as the academic background became the site of influence, which resulted in educational reforms setting professional boundaries. Our findings provide some additional insights into the boundaries construction process and the dynamics of the symbolic and social boundaries contingent on the wider contexts of the audit function.