Accountancy is not a profession Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Accountancy is not a profession - Essay Example Here the skill lies in choosing and conveying the information, which is relevant and reliable to the user. According to the  American Institute of Certified Public Accountants  (AICPA), accountancy can be defined as â€Å"the art of recording, classifying, and summarizing in a significant manner and in terms of money, transactions and events which are, in part at least, of financial character, and interpreting the results thereof† (Accounting, Finance & Capital Budgeting, nd., 1). Early records show that accountancy was used primarily for maintaining business related data on behalf of businesspersons  and the only account viewer were record keepers who maintained accounts. In the current context, accounting is referred to as â€Å"the language of business† (McGrath, 1921, 5) since it is a vehicle primarily used for publicizing financial data about a business firm to various interested people. There are different theories that try to elucidate the development of pr ofessionalism within accountancy and whether it can be taken as a profession or as a trade. As per the functionalist theory, a profession starts only when there are a group of people practicing specific techniques based on specially designed training. They are viewed as forming a group to mutually assure their skill and competence and maintain high standard In terms of professional practice and character (Carr-Saunders, 1928). In this context, the paper will examine whether accountancy is a profession or a part of the trade market primarily from a functionalist perspective. Discussion Accounting as a profession has been analysed from various perspectives and different settings. Various researches have used the functionalist, critical and interactionist perspectives to elucidate the development of professionalism within accountancy even though it had mainly trade market associations. The functionalist theories claim that the core of professionalization is based on any profession†˜s capability to create professionals with a common set of skills and knowledge that would work towards serving the society selflessly. The interactionist perspectives on the other hand suggest that professions are interest-based groups that aim at persuading the society members to seek their advices/services for protecting and furthering their own interests. The critical perspective, which is modern in form, analyses the process of professionaliz