Abstract / Description of output
The paper analyses the circumstances which resulted in the formulation of a disciplinary code by the Society of Accountants in Edinburgh (SAE) during the 1880s. The episode is related through historical biographies of two villainous practitioners: Henry Callender and Donald Smith Peddie. The absence of codified regulations pertaining to professional conduct in the early constitution of the SAE is explored in the context of prevailing vocational ideologies and the role of admission stipulations as sociocultural filtering devices. It is revealed that organisational responses to cases of criminal misconduct were positively correlated with the degree of "offence visibility" and the resultant level of adverse publicity. The protective and status-preserving motives for the framing of disciplinary rules by professional associations are also highlighted. The study emphasises the potential impact of the disreputable practitioner on the construction and destruction of the institutions of professionalism.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 7-35 |
Number of pages | 29 |
Journal | Accounting History |
Volume | 1 |
Issue number | 2 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 1 Jan 1996 |