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THE CONCEPT OF PROFESSION: A HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE BASED ON THE ACCOUNTING

PROFESSION IN CHINA

Accounting History International Conference 2001 Submission

Helen Yee School of Accounting and Finance

Deakin University

DEAKIN UNIVERSITY FACULTY OF BUSINESS AND LAW

GEELONG AUSTRALIA VIC 3217

Tel: +61 3 5227 2732 Fax: +61 3 5227 2151

Email: [email protected]

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THE CONCEPT OF PROFESSION: A HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE BASED ON THE ACCOUNTING

PROFESSION IN CHINA

ABSTRACT

Sociologists have been struggling to concur on a single definition that can encapsulate the notion of a profession. This paper gives an overview of the definitional problem on the concept of profession and offers a further understanding of this concept by adopting a historical perspective. The accounting profession in China is chosen as a case study, and the process of professionalisation of the Chinese CPA profession is examined. The implications of this study suggest that the concept of profession is a dynamic concept and attempts should not be made to provide a generalisation of the concept. Rather it should be studied as individual empirical cases, taking into account the contextual factors in the particular society in which the profession exists.

Introduction

Numerous studies have investigated the

sociology of professions and theories of

professionalisation. However, consensus has not been

reached on how a profession should be defined.

Competing theories have defined the concept of

profession and each has a different perspective. As

Barber (1963, p. 671) noted:

Theoretical and methodological consensus is not yet so great among sociologists that there is any absolute agreement on the definition of “the professions”.

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Dingwall (1976) also commented that the concept of

profession is ‘a concept which is notorious for the

diversity of its definitions and usage by

sociologists’(p. 331), and that it is a fruitless

exercise to define profession (p. 335). The

definitional problem is, according to Freidson (1983),

“created by attempting to treat profession as if it

were a generic concept rather than a changing historic

concept, with particular roots in an industrial nation

strongly influenced by Anglo-American institutions” (p.

22). Freidson went on to conclude that:

The concrete, historical character of the concept and the many perspectives from which it can legitimately be viewed and from which sense can be made of it, preclude the hope of any widely-accepted definition of general analytic value (p.35).

Two points are of significance. First, the concept of

profession is a changing historic concept which, to a

certain extent, reflects the values of the society of

the time. Second, most of the theoretical literature

on the sociology of professions is based on industrial

nations strongly influenced by Anglo-American

institutions. Lacking in the literature on the

sociology of professions are contributions adopting a

non-Western perspective. This latter point raises an

important question as to whether the concept of

profession is a product of capitalism.

This paper attempts to address the comment made by

Freidson. The purpose of the paper is to examine the

concept of profession, not by attempting to find a

definition, but by offering an alternative perspective

to further the understanding of the notion of a

‘profession’. A historical approach will be adopted,

taking into account the interplay of the various forces

within the social, economic and political environment.

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For this purpose, the accounting profession in China

will be used as a case study. Historical facts,

collated from secondary sources, are identified and

examined for interconnectedness.

The paper will begin by reviewing the

sociologist’s approach to the understanding of the

concept of profession. The problems of such approach

will be highlighted in the following section and the

reasons for adopting the historical perspective as an

alternative approach will be discussed. Justifications

for using the Chinese accounting profession as a case

study are considered in the next section. This is then

followed by a historical examination of the

establishment and the development of the accounting

profession in China. Four phases are examined, and

covering the period from 1918, with the emergence of

the CPA profession, to the present. Through such

examination, it is hoped that the concept of profession

and the process of professionalisation in a socialist

and non-Western culture will be viewed in a new light.

The final section of the paper contains discussions of

the implications of this research and the conclusion.

Understanding the concept of a profession – the attribute approach Medicine, law and ministry are considered

traditional professions in most Western societies.

Today, many more occupational groups are assuming, at

least in rudimentary form, some of the characteristics

commonly attributed to these traditional professions

(Vollmer & Mills, 1966, p. 2). A number of these

occupations succeeded in their pursuit of professional

status, while others are still working towards

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achieving that status. In his work The

Professionalization of Everyone?, Wilensky (1964, pp.

137–138) noted:

Many occupations engage in heroic struggles for professional identification; few make the grade. Yet there is a recurrent idea among students of occupations that the labor force as a whole is in one way or another becoming professionalized. In a worthy effort to uncover similarities among all occupations, many sociologists have succumbed to the common tendency to label as “professionalization” what is happening to real estate dealers (realtors) and laboratory technicians (medical technologists). Personal service functionaries like barbers, bellboys, bootblacks, and taxi drivers, it appears, are also “easily professionalized”.

Wilensky questioned how a profession should be defined,

‘[w]hat are the differences between doctors and

carpenters, lawyers and autoworkers, that make us speak

of one as professional and deny the label to the

other?’ (1964, p. 138). A number of contrasting

frameworks had been put forward over the years,

attempting to provide an understanding of the concept

of profession. The approach which dominated research

in the sociology of profession up until the late 1960s

took on the perspective that a check-list of particular

attributes could be applied to distinguish the

professional from the non-professional occupation. This

approach, labelled as the ‘taxonomic approach’ by

Klegon (1978), rests on the belief that (1)

professions possess some unique characteristics which

set them apart from the non-professions; and (2)

professions play a positive and important role in the

division of labour in society (Saks, 1983, p. 2).

Becker (1962, p. 27) recognised the taxonomic approach

to be originated from a paper written by Abraham

Flexner (1915), Is Social Work a Profession?. Flexner

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(1915) in Becker (1962, pp. 27-28) set out six criteria

to distinguish professions from other kinds of

occupation:

… professional activity was basically intellectual, carrying with it great personal responsibility; it was learned, being based on great knowledge and not merely routine; it was practical, rather than academic or theoretic; its technique could be taught, this being the basis of professional education; it was strongly organized internally; and it was motivated by altruism, the professional viewing themselves as working for some aspect of the good of society.

Using these criteria, Flexner (in Becker 1962, p. 28)

reached the following conclusion regarding certain

occupations:

… medicine, law, engineering, literature, painting, and music were definitely professions, but that plumbing was not a profession, being unintellectual and having no social end. Banking had insufficient science and too much profit motive. Pharmacy had no primary responsibility, but only carried out the physician’s orders. Social work had no technique of its own, and only mediated between people with problems and those who could help them.

Flexner appeared to be very decisive with his analysis

and conclusion, yet he ended with a drastic

qualification of his objective criteria (in Becker,

1962, p. 28):

What matters most is professional spirit. All activities may be prosecuted in the genuine professional spirit. In so far as accepted professions are prosecuted at a mercenary or selfish level, law and medicine are ethically no better than trades. In so far as trades are honestly carried on, they tend to rise toward the professional level … The unselfish devotion of those who have chosen to give themselves to making the world a fitter place to live in can fill social work with the professional spirit and thus to some extent lift it above all the

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distinctions which I have been at such pains to make.

Flexner’s (1915) paper set the trend of research in the

sociology of professions area, and a lot of work had

been done subsequently by sociologists on identifying

the unique attributes that distinguish professions from

the lesser occupations.

According to Saks (1983, p.2), there are two

variants of the taxonomic approach to the profession,

namely the trait and the functionalist models. The

former centres on the formulation of a list of

attributes which represents the core features of

professional occupations, whereas the latter

concentrates on those attributes that are felt to be of

functional relevance for both the society as a whole

and for the professional-client relationship. Under

the functionalist approach, distinctive attributes such

as possession of esoteric knowledge, independence,

altruism and self-discipline are emphasised and are

largely unquestioned (Willmont, 1986, p. 557).

Among those who adopted this attribute or

taxonomic approach was Ernest Greenwood (1957). His

work, Attributes of a Profession, was repeatedly

referred to by researchers in the sociology area.

Greenwood asserted that all professions possessed the

following attributes: (1) systematic theory, (2)

authority, (3) community sanction, (4) ethical codes,

and (5) a culture (p. 45). He commented (1957, p. 46):

With respect to each of the above attributes, the true difference between a professional and a nonprofessional occupation is not a qualitative but a quantitative one. Strictly speaking, these attributes are not the exclusive monopoly of the professions; nonprofessional occupations also possess them, but to a lesser degree.

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Such view was echoed by Bernard Barber (1963), another

classic exponent of the functionalist approach. Barber

(1963, p.672) suggested that professionalism is a

matter of degree. In regard to professional behaviour,

he believed that it might be defined in terms of four

essential attributes, including:

a high degree of generalized and systematic knowledge; primary orientation to the community interest rather than to individual self-interest; a high degree of self-control of behavior through codes of ethics internalized in the process of work socialization and through voluntary associations organized and operated by the work specialists themselves; and a system of rewards (monetary and honorary) that is primarily a set of symbols of work achievement and thus ends in themselves, not means to some end of individual self-interest.

According to Barber (1963, p. 673),

These four essential attributes define a scale of professionalism, a way of measuring the extent to which it is present in different forms of occupational performance. The most professional behavior would be that which realizes all four attributes in the fullest possible manner.

Similarly, Moore (1976, pp. 5-6) offered yet another

set of defining characteristics, namely (1) full-time

occupation; (2) commitment to a calling; (3) identified

with their peers–often in formalized organization; (4)

possession of esoteric but useful knowledge and skills,

based on specialized training or education of

exceptional duration and perhaps of exceptional

difficulty; (5) service orientation; and (6) autonomy.

Moore (p. 6) suggested that these characteristics are

‘not of equal value, and can be regarded as points …

along a scale of professionalism’.

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Various other researchers offered their list of

characteristics to distinguish a profession from the

nonprofessions. Millerson (1964) performed an analysis

of characteristics put forward by a number of

researchers1 and identified six essential features of

profession:

(a) A profession involves a skill based on theoretical knowledge.

(b) The skill requires training and education. (c) The professional must demonstrate competence

by passing a test. (d) Integrity is maintained by adherence to a

code of conduct. (e) The service is for the public good. (f) The profession is organized.

Millerson (1964), however, argued that such attempts to

define professions may be biased and did not take into

account the dynamic situation facing the professions

(p. 6):

Constantly underlying definitions, there are various sentiments. For example, the professional is a noble, independent individual who places public duty and honour before all else. But neither the characteristics presented, nor the sentiments commonly supporting them, allow a realistic assessment of the professional situation. While some characteristics seem reasonable and realistic, others appear restrictive. Must a profession be organized? Must a professional pass an examination to show competence? Is a code of professional conduct always necessary to enforce integrity? Do professionals always operate a valuable public service? How many professionals are actually independent practitioners?

1 Millerson’s (1964) analysis included definitions from twenty-one researchers. Amongst them are Bowen (1955), Carr-Saunders & Wilson (1933), Christie (1922), Cogan (1953), Crew (1942), Drinker (1953), Flexner (1915), Greenwood (1957), Howitt (1950), Kaye (1960), Leigh (1950), Lewis & Maude (1952), Marshall (1939), Milne (1959), Parsons (1954), Ross (1938), Simon (1951), Tawney (1922),Webbs (1917), Whitehead (1948), Wickenden (1952). Full reference to sources can be found in Millerson (1964).

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The dynamics of professionalisation

The assumption underlying the attribute approach

is the ability to develop criteria determined by

general consensus and use it to recognise a profession

in a relatively clear and unproblematic manner

(Dingwall, 1976, pp. 331-332). However, no such

consensus has been reached. According to Freidson

(1983, p. 21),‘[n]o small part of the criticism of the

traditional literature on the professions has been

devoted to pointing out a lack of consensus’. This

problem of application is echoed by Klegon (1978). In

his work, Klegon (p. 260) commented:

… the main thrust of the studies of the professions by American sociologists has been the elaboration of definitional criteria by which professions can be distinguished from nonprofessions. For that approach to be viable, theorists should be able to delineate a consistent set of traits of professions, and then be able to apply the traits with limited ambiguity. However, neither has been true of the taxonomic approach toward professions. There has been a great deal of inconsistency and differing terminology in the various lists of attributes which have been put forth as defining professions, and the attributes which are put forth are difficult to apply to concrete occupations.

This led Dingwall (1976) to conclude that ‘[t]he

logical outcome of this [attribute] approach is that a

profession is nothing more or less than what some

sociologists say it is’ (p. 332).

Roth (1974) was particularly critical of

Greenwood’s work. He argued that the attributes listed

by Greenwood were ‘largely mixtures of unproved –

indeed, unexamined – claims for professional control

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and autonomy’ (p. 7). Roth contended that

‘sociologists using this approach see their job as

listing the criteria for, attributes of, or

characteristics of, a profession’ (p. 7), and it

‘decoyed students of occupations into becoming

apologists for the professionalism ideology, justifying

the professionals’ control over their work situation’

(p. 6). He further pointed out that (p. 17):

The trouble with the attribute approach is that it does not focus on this process [of professionalisation], but on its product, and typically even this focus is contaminated with the ideology and hopes of professional groups rather than an independent assessment of what they achieve.

Roth (1974, p. 18) went on to conclude that:

… a historical approach to the development of occupations is the best antidote for the attribute rut. If we can see in some detail how present-day professions developed, we would be less inclined to conjure up a vision of a list of characteristics toward which certain lines of work are moving and see it rather as a long-term process of negotiation.

Indeed, any professional occupation is inextricably

linked to the kind of society in which it exists—to its

political and economic environments, its social

structure, as well as its cultural norms. All these

constituent parts of a society are undergoing changes

continuously. The concept of profession is therefore a

changing concept, the understanding of which would

require taking a broader perspective than just

identifying a check-list of attributes.

An alternative approach to studying professions

would require researchers to look at a different set of

questions. Rather than finding out what the essential

traits of the professions are, and questioning whether

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occupation x or y is a profession or not, the

significant question becomes ‘what are the means by

which an occupational status becomes reified and

expanded into wider social significance?’ (Jackson,

1970, pp. 12-13). As Vollmer & Mills (1966) put it:

Professionalization does not occur in a vacuum. Like other social processes, it cannot be understood without taking into account certain aspects of the larger society in which it takes place (p. 46).

A historical perspective, taking into account the

arrangement of sources of power and the interplay of

the various forces within the social, economic and

political environment, would allow a better

understanding of how a particular occupational group

claims and perpetuates its special status in society.

Klegon (1978, p. 271) suggested that a historical

perspective would be useful in explaining the position

of particular occupations. He argued that (p. 271):

Most cross-sectional studies have tended to explain diversity among professions in terms of varying degrees of progress along the road of professionalization, thereby ignoring ultimate differences in terms of sources of power and authority. By adopting an historical view it is possible to examine those differences, and thereby facilitate a better understanding of the social meanings of professionalization and the circumstances surrounding the achievement, or lack of achievement, of professional status.

Roth (1974) supported the use of a historical approach

to understanding the concept of professions and their

relationship with the rest of society. He drew on four

studies that looked at the development of a profession

from a historical perspective, and explained how each

of these studies contributed to the understanding of

the concept of profession and professionalism.

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Willmott (1986, p. 556) also supported the historical

approach and added that:

… the organisation of the profession cannot be adequately understood independently of an appreciation of the political, economic and legal circumstances that have supported and constrained its development (p. 556).

In the Herbert Spencer Lecture delivered at Oxford

in 1928, Carr-Saunders pointed out that ‘[t]he story of

the evolution of the professions is … an unwritten

chapter in the social history of the last two

centuries. No aspect of the matter has received the

attention it deserves’ (in Vollmer & Mills, 1966, p.

4). Five years later, Carr-Saunders and Wilson (1933)

published their seminal work The Professions. They

contended (p.iii):

Professional associations… have been almost entirely neglected; there has been no study of the historical development of professional association or of the social, economic, and ethical problems involved. This is all the more astonishing inasmuch as the greater skill and responsibility of professional men as compared with members of trade unions render their associations far more interesting and important.

Indeed, sociologists over the years had concentrated

their efforts on looking at the product (i.e. the

attributes) rather than the process of

professionalisation. In their attempt to separate

professions from non-professions, they took a static

view of the taxonomic approach, but had neglected the

dynamic realism of the concept of profession. It is,

therefore, the object of this paper to contribute to

the understanding of the concept of profession by

providing a historical perspective of the development

of a profession in order to take into account the

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dynamics of professionalisation. The specific

occupation chosen as the focus of this study is the

accounting profession.

A historical perspective using the accounting profession in China as a case study According to Parker (1981), ‘the study of the

development of accounting institutions [professional

associations] serves both intellectual and utilitarian

ends’ as it ‘emphasizes their changing role and the way

in which accountants have responded to, or been moulded

by, their environment’ (p. 287). Historical analysis

of the professionalisation of accountants is supported

by a number of researchers to be the means of

understanding professionalism and the current state of

a profession. For example, Lee (1996) commented that:

… tracing the history of the professionalization of accountants provides one means of understanding the current situation in an appropriate context (p. 168).

In his work, Lee (1995 & 1996) presented a broad

historical review of the creation of the accountancy

profession in the UK and in the US, and attempted to

explain how accountants organised themselves into

professional groups, with particular focus on the

conflicting phenomena of economic self-interest and

public interest. Willmott (1986) also presented a

historical examination of the development of the major

accountancy bodies in the UK. In his paper, Willmott

lamented that little research had been done on studying

the accounting professional associations when

‘[a]ccounting plays a central role in the regulation of

economic affairs’.

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It is, however, not the intention of this paper to

replicate the work of Lee and Willmott in terms of

providing an account of the development of the

accounting profession in the UK and US. As Maurice

(1972) in Freidson (1983, p. 26) commented,

‘theoretical literature on the professions is almost

wholly Anglo-American, European reviews and use of the

Anglo-American literature notwithstanding’.

Furthermore, Johnson (1982, p. 190) argued that the

historical characteristics of the British professions,

though regarded in much of the literature as providing

a model of the ‘classical’ features of the professions

in general, are in fact experiences specific to the

British. In his work, The state and the professions:

peculiarities of the British, Johnson (1982) indirectly

questioned misguided attempts in sociology to derive a

universal, ‘natural history’ of professionalisation

from the defining ‘classical’ British experience.

Based on such belief, this study explores the

historical development of a non-Western accounting

profession.

The accounting profession in China is chosen for a

number of reasons. Firstly, China is a socialist

country with a long history and a unique non-Western

culture. In terms of its political ideology and

economic environment, China is also very different from

the Western world. Secondly, for centuries, the

accounting occupation in China has not been a

prestigious one. Accountants were discriminated

against in society. In fact, they were ‘stipulated by

law to be the lowest social class’ (van Hoepan, 1995,

pp. 354-355). Accountants were considered greedy

people who were no different to thieves, and being an

accountant was a shameful occupation (Guo, 1988, p. 7).

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The accounting profession never had a chance to develop

because of the public scorn for accounting. However,

the last twenty years has seen an extraordinary

turnaround of this occupation in China and suggests a

revolutionary change in societal values. A historical

examination of the Chinese accounting profession will

shed light on how changes in the socio-economic and

political environments influence the evolving concept

of a profession in China. Thirdly, a study of the

development of the accounting profession in China will

constitute a useful contribution to research in

international accounting and in the sociology of

professions on an international level. It provides an

opportunity for Western accountants and professional

bodies to observe how a non-Western social environment

influenced the development of the accounting

profession, and assess whether in future the Chinese

accounting profession will play a similar role as its

Western counterparts. For the purpose of this study,

reference to ‘accounting profession’ means Certified

Public Accountants.

The next section of the paper will look at the

historical condition under which professionalisation of

the Chinese accountants occurred. Moore (1976)

referred to the process of professionalisation as “the

strategies used to secure higher occupational status”

(p. 5). The adoption of the open door policy in 1978

had not only transformed the Chinese economy, but

created a huge demand for accountants and increased

auditing services. The accounting profession began to

undergo dynamic changes and development.

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Phases in the development of the accounting profession

in China

The evolution of the accounting profession in

China was influenced by the economic, political,

cultural and social environment. The CPA profession

first emerged in 1918, but it had experienced very slow

growth, in particular after the Chinese Communist party

rose to power in 1949. From 1949 to the late 1970s,

the development of the CPA profession suffered further

setbacks. Two major events, the Great Leap Forward

(1958–1962) and the Cultural Revolution (1966–1976),

occurred during this period. The Chinese accountants

were considered intellectuals and belonging to the

bourgeois class, and they suffered both physically and

mentally. The CPA profession was eventually suspended

in 1966. It reappeared in the late 1970s, and began

the process of re-establishment in 1980. From 1986 to

1993, the CPA profession continued to develop steadily.

When the Law of the Certified Public Accountants came

into operation at the beginning of 1994, the CPA

profession formally moved into an era of recognition.

The history of the development of the Chinese

accounting profession can be analysed under five

phases. These include: (1) Emergence and formation

(1918–1948); (2) Suspension and contraction (1949–

1977); (3) Re-establishment (1978–1985); (4) Steady

development (1986–1993) and (5) Recognition (1994–

present). These phases will now be examined.

Emergence and formation (1918–1948)

After the Qing Dynasty was overthrown by a

revolution led by Dr Sun Yat-Sen in 1911, the feudal

economic system began to disintegrate. Foreign

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investors came to China and business activities with

the Western world blossomed. Such development

attracted foreign certified public accountants into

China, and in 1918 the Chinese government issued the

Provisional Rules for Accountants (CICPA, 1999, p. 10).

This marked the beginning of the development of the

accounting profession in China. In the same year, Xie

Lin, the general accountant of the Bank of China and

the first man to be qualified as a certified public

accountant, opened the first public accounting firm in

China (Xu, 1995, p. 58). In 1925, an association of

accountants was founded in Shanghai (Xu, 1995, p. 59).

During the rule of the Kuomingtang government, three

further regulations for accountants were issued which

stipulated the qualification, scope of services,

responsibilities and ethics of a certified public

accountant (Xu, 1995, p. 58). From 1918 to 1947, the

number of certified public accountants (CPAs)

multiplied. The following statistical data demonstrate

the increase in number of the CPAs qualified during

this period.

Table 1: Number of CPAs qualified between 1918 to 1947

Year

Number of CPAs qualified during

the period

Accumulated

Growth 1918–

1921

13 13

1922–

1924

101 114

1925–

1927

171 285

1927–

1929

268 553

1929–

1930

184 737

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1931–

1937

1,036 1,773

1938–

1947

1,583 3,356

Source: Xu (1995, p. 58)

Unfortunately, the reform was short-lived and

China was soon engaged again in Civil War. Following

the invasion of Japan, the Chinese were occupied with

fighting the Japanese from 1937 to 1945 (Perkins, 1997,

pp. 28-29). Hence, there was little opportunity for

the Chinese to promote its economic activities, which

retarded the development of accounting and the growth

of the accounting profession in China.

Suspension and contraction ( 1949–1977)

The development of the accounting occupational

group in China suffered major setbacks between 1949–

1977. In 1949, after a long period of civil war, the

Chinese Communist Party rose to power and established

the People’s Republic of China (PRC). Under the

socialist system, the elements of society were

primarily divided into two classes, the working class

and the peasant class. Though intellectuals are part

of the basic social force in China, they do not form a

class by themselves (Lou & Shi, 1987, p. 159).

From 1949 to 1977, China was run as a socialist

centrally planned economy, and it was very much under

the influence of the Soviet Union. Under such a regime,

there was no place for private accounting services.

The accounting occupation was not considered important

and therefore accountants were not looked upon as a

prestigious group. In 1951, the national system of

recognizing and supervising certified public

accountants came to an end (Gao, 1992, p. 15). During

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the 1950s, the State carried out socialist reform and

private means of ownership were transformed, step-by-

step, into socialist public ownership. By 1956, the

socialist transformation was basically complete (Xu,

1995, p.59; Wei & Eddie, 1996, p.8). CPA firms

gradually disappeared as they lost their social context

in a socialist public ownership economy (CICPA, 1999,

p. 11; Xu, 1995, p. 59).

In 1958, under the influence of ‘leftist’ ideas,

the Chinese government launched the Great Leap Forward

movement in an attempt to achieve substantial economic

growth. This campaign, however, was an enormous

disaster for the national economy, and in particular

for the development of accounting. Bai (1988) in Wei

and Eddie (1996, p. 8) commented on the function of

accounting during the time of the Great Leap Forward:

Not only were the functions of accounting neglected as a result of the deviation from the principles of scientific management, but many absurd accounting concepts and practices were also encouraged and applied. A notable example was the practice of ‘accounting without books’, a reference not to the use of a computer but to the elimination of accounting journals and ledgers. Such a system might work briefly over time, however, original documents such as invoices, receipts, and other documents accumulated, resulting in great confusion and disarray in accounting departments.

Liu and Turley (1995, p. 205) described the state of

accounting at that time to be very weak with limited

financial records and no financial control. Many

accounting officers were moved into other work as it

was believed that clerical, office or administrative

activities were of less value than practical work.

Naturally, such concept did not encourage the growth

and development of the accounting profession in China.

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As Kwang (1966) in Wei and Eddie (1996, p. 9)

commented:

Drastic simplification of accounting systems and procedures were made in order to make it possible for workers in the factories and peasants in the people’s communes to participate in such work.

Accounting, at that time, was considered a task able to

be performed by the uneducated.

The development of the accounting profession

experienced a short-lived recovery between 1962–1965

when the Chinese started to question and confront the

Soviet Union ideology. The importance of accounting

was re-established and many accounting positions,

eliminated during the time of the Great Leap Forward,

were reinstated (Liu & Turley, 1995, p. 206). During

this period, the Ministry of Finance formulated further

accounting regulations which included the Trial

Regulations on Powers of Accounting Personnel in 1962.

According to Eddie (1988 p. 9), this regulation defined

accounting personnel according to the tasks they

performed, but not on their professional or academic

qualifications.

In 1966 China began the Great Proletarian Culture

Revolution. In his work looking at the vanishing

cultural influence on accounting, van Hoepan (1995, p.

363) described this period as ‘a period of cultural

retrogression’ and that it was ‘the most dangerous

expression of discrimination against accountancy in

Chinese modern history’. Because of the ideology of

self-sufficiency, China isolated itself from the world

economy. This had disastrous consequences on the

overall Chinese economy, and in particular on the

development of accounting and the accounting

profession. The Chinese authorities believed that

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accounting was unnecessary, and van Hoepan (1995)

described their view at the time:

Some radicals (e.g. the ‘Gang of Four’) hoped to build a non-monetary economic system in China. They believed that the accounting system, which took monetary units as the means of measurement was the shield for the currency in circulation, and thus it should be eliminated from all economic activities. The Gang of Four asserted that, ‘even if we do not perform accounting for ten years, money (ie resources, or wealth) can never go to foreign hands.’ (p. 363)

Consequently, according to van Hoepan, there was

serious disruption during the Cultural Revolution to

the development of the accounting profession:

During the ten years of the Cultural Revolution (1966–1976), accounting in all state and collective enterprises was terminated, the accounting people were dismissed, and the accounting departments in universities were closed. … Propaganda (e.g movies, drama, and novels) during the Cultural Revolution denounced accounting personnel. This not only resulted in public prejudice against accounting and accounting personnel but also led to the ruin of accountants both physically and mentally (pp. 363–364).

Accounting records were not well kept and there were

less than 100 people working in the Ministry of Finance

(Liu & Turley, 1995, p. 206). Wante and Baldwin (1988)

in Wei and Eddie (1996, p. 11) described the cultural

atmosphere at the time:

By the time of the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution (1966–1976), intellectuals had become one of the primary targets for revolutionary charges of elitism. Most academics were humiliated and branded as reactionary academic authorities because of their ‘inappropriate thinking’ and ‘bourgeois attitudes’. Intellectuals came to be known as the ‘stinking ninth category’ of class

22

enemies. Most universities were closed and faculty members sent to agriculture communes, factories, or the army and assigned to manual labour so they could re-develop the proper attitudes towards physical labour and the role of working people in their society.

Unfortunately, accountants were among those targeted as

they were considered as belonging to the bourgeois

class. Accounting education at university almost

vanished in these ten years.

23

Re-establishment (1978–1985)

The Cultural Revolution eventually ended in 1976

with the death of Mao Zedong and the overthrow of the

Gang of Four. This was followed by the rise to power

of Deng Xiaoping. Under the leadership of Deng, the

Chinese Communist Party began to focus on restructuring

the Chinese economy. The first step to the economic

reform was the introduction of the Four Modernisations

program. This reform involved modernising the key

sectors of the economy. In 1978, at the Third Plenary

Session of the Eleventh Central Committee, the Chinese

government determined the strategies for opening to the

outside world. With the adoption of this open door

policy, China attracted a huge amount of foreign direct

investment. For the first time, the Chinese government

took on the concept of a planned commodity economy, and

allowed the market mechanism to play a role in its

economic development (Wei & Eddie, 1996, p. 12). Such

economic reforms had far-reaching consequences on the

role of accounting, and there was increased awareness

of the importance of accounting especially as an aid in

enterprise management. 1978 also marked a turning

point in the history of the accounting profession in

China when the Chinese government promulgated the

Accounting Staff Authorities Regulation 1978, which

enabled all accounting staff to hold a professional

title (Aiken et al, 1997, p. 52). The government also

issued new laws and regulations that impelled the re-

establishment of the certified public accountant system

(Xu, 1995, p. 60). From then on, the role and

importance of the accounting profession was reasserted.

It is, however, important to understand that the re-

emergence of the accounting profession in China was

24

largely the work of the Chinese government. As Hao

(1999, p.293) commented:

Chinese CPAs did not proactively organise themselves to become a self-regulated body. Any step forward was directed by state regulations. It is unlikely that a CPA association would have emerged at this time if regulations to constitute it and supportive market arrangements had not been established by the state.

Hao (1999, p. 292) also compared the difference between China and other Western countries:

In many Western countries the accounting profession has been promoted by practitioners and professional associations that are reasonably autonomous from the state. Even when the associations entered into “corporatist” arrangements with the state to regulate accounting practitioners or accounting practice, they did so as autonomous entities. It is important to understand that in China the situation is very different. It is the state which is bringing public accountants back into the limelight.

Indeed, many important regulations affecting the

development of the accounting profession were

promulgated by the Chinese government between 1980 and

1985.

A number of important events took place in 1980.

On 6 January, the Accounting Society of China (ASC),

comprised mainly accounting academics, was reorganised

after having been suspended for a decade because of the

Cultural Revolution. In September, the Standing

Committee of the National People’s Congress issued the

Income Tax Law for Sino-foreign Joint Ventures. On 14

December, the Ministry of Finance promulgated the

Detailed Principles for Implementation of Income Tax

Law for Sino-foreign Joint Ventures. It was stipulated

for the first time that an auditor’s report required

25

for a tax return must be signed by a Chinese CPA (Hao,

1999, p. 292). In the same year, on 23 December, the

Ministry of Finance issued the Provisional Regulations

Concerning the Establishment of Accounting

Consultancies. This marked the first step in the re-

establishment of the CPA profession. On 1 January

1981, the first CPA firm to emerge as part of the

revival of the certified public accountants system was

the Shanghai Certified Public Accountants (then called

Shanghai Accounting Consultants). More CPA firms were

established in succession in other provinces of China

(Hao, 1999, p. 292; Xu, 1995, p.60).

Another major event in the development of

accounting in China during this period was the

enactment of the first Accounting Law by the National

People’s Congress, which is the highest legislative

body in China. According to Skousen et al (1993, p.

320), accounting in China was governed solely by a

series of accounting regulations promulgated by the

Ministry of Finance from the early 1950s until 1985.

However, these regulations did not have the ‘weight of

law’ and consequently, ‘many incidents of

administrative authority abuse, financial corruption,

and unqualified personnel assigned to accounting tasks,

went uncorrected’, causing substantial losses to the

state. In January 1985, the Chinese government

announced the Accounting Law of the People’s Republic

of China. Not only did the Accounting Law represent

the overriding regulatory authority for accounting (Liu

& Turley, 1995, p. 207), it also established the

legality of China’s public accounting firms and led to

the issuance of The Regulations of the People’s

Republic of China on Certified Public Accountants in

July 1986 (Skousen et al, 1993, pp. 321-322).

26

Steady Development (1986–1993)

The promulgation of The Regulations of the

People’s Republic of China on Certified Public

Accountants (abbreviated to RCPA) was an important

event for the accounting profession in China. For the

first time in the history of the development of the

accounting profession, the status of the Chinese CPAs

was legalized. The regulations also delegated the

authority to CPAs to form their own professional body —

the CICPA. Furthermore, it established the academic

requirements for CPAs at a consistent level across the

country (Gao, 1992, p. 15). The RCPA stipulated that

only candidates with higher education degrees and at

least three years practical experience after passing

the uniform examination could obtain a CPA practice

certificate (Wei & Eddie, 1996, p. 25). Skousen et al

(1993, p. 322) provided some details of this

regulation, which included the following points:

(1) Defined CPAs as persons approved by the State to

practise auditing, accounting verification, and

accounting consultancy work (Article 2).

(2) CPAs must be impartial, objective, and responsible

for the accuracy and legality of their reports

(Article 16).

(3) The establishment of public accounting firms with

which CPAs must be associated in order to perform

their work (Article 22).

According to Xu (1995, p. 60), ‘[t]he issuance of the

RCPA has promoted the certified public accounting

system of the People’s Republic of China, and opened up

a new area of accounting theory and practice’. In

summary, ‘these provisions stipulated qualifications,

27

ethics and organisational edicts for CPAs’ (Aiken et

al, 1997, p. 46).

The CICPA was eventually established in November

1988 (Mo et al. 1995, p. 288; Wei & Eddie, 1996, p. 27;

Carnegie & Liu, 2000 p. 41), and signified the

completion of the re-establishment of the CPA system in

China (CICPA, 1999, p.11). The CICPA is the national

organisation of CPAs under the jurisdiction of the

Ministry of Finance, and is a body responsible for all

affairs relating to CPAs, including the registration of

CPAs and CPA firms, CPA examinations, liaison with

government agencies, enforcement of self-education and

self-regulation of CPAs and CPA firms (Mo et al, 1995,

p. 289). However, the CICPA remains a quasi-government

agency as it is still supervised and instructed by the

Ministry of Finance and the financial department of the

local governments. According to Macve & Liu (1995) in

Aiken et al (1997, p. 47), these government bodies are

the real ‘power behind the throne’ and in fact, all

staff members of the CICPA are government officers and

officials. This is unlike the professional bodies in

many other Western nations, and raises the concern

regarding the independence of the Chinese CPAs.

The number of CPAs has been growing steadily since

the foundation of the CICPA. The following data show

the number of public accounting firms with CPAs and

staff from 1986 to 1992: Table 2: Number of CPAs firms with CPAs and staff between 1986

and 1992

Year Firms CPAs Staff

1986 80 1,000 2,500

1989 200 2,000 7,000

1991 1,456* 6,700 10,000

1992 1,500 10,000 15,000

Source: Xu (1995, p. 61)

28

* The number of firms includes 955 branches

The table shows that the number of CPAs increased by

ten-fold in a six-year period. Business cooperation

and interchanges with international certified public

accountant firms and foreign accounting associations

had also been greatly improved (Xu, 1995, p. 61).

Under the provisions of the RCPA, the first

uniform CPA examination was held in December 1991. It

was undertaken by more than 23,700 practitioners in

accounting and auditing (Aiken et al, 1997, p. 47).

The second examination was held in October 1993, and

such examination was expected to become an annual event

to ensure a steady increase of entrants into the CPA

profession (Mo et al, 1995, p. 290). The introduction

of the CPA examination was a significant move towards

more professional independence. According to Mo et al

(1995, p. 289), who quoted from the Official Teaching

Guide of the Office of the National Examination Board:

Before the promulgation of the Regulations (1986), CPAs in China were certified according to experience and educational background. Candidates could apply to be evaluated by local regulatory agencies through their affiliated CPA firms. Owing to the lack of standardized evaluation criteria, the granting of CPA qualifications was not consistently applied throughout different provinces. Under this certification system, practically all certified accountants were retired accounting or financial officers of government agencies.

In 1993, the Law of the Certified Public

Accountants was promulgated by the Fourth Session of

the Standing Committee of the Eighth National People’s

Congress (Aiken et al, 1997, p. 45). This marked a new

era for the accounting profession in China. The new

law expanded the role of the CICPA and stipulated that

29

CPA qualification was obtainable only by examination.

It also “escorted the CPA profession away from the

state principle and towards becoming a communal

organisation” (Hao, 1999, p. 293).

The accounting profession experienced tremendous

growth during the 1990s. It was pointed out by Xu

(1995, p, 63) that ‘[t]he reestablishment and recovery

of the certified public accountant system is an

inevitable outcome of transforming the economic system

in China from one of a product economy to one of a

planned commodity economy.’ It is also interesting to

note Tanzer’s (1991) comment in Winkle et al (1992, p.

179):

Changes in China are perhaps most evident in Guangdong province where “businessmen and politicians are moving rapidly from a planned to a market- and incentive-based economy”. Moreover, “a slow but more or less unimpeded spread of the capitalist virus to other parts of China” is expected.

In fact, China went further with its economic reforms,

and began to transform into a socialist market economy

in 1992. Such transformation continues to bring about

changes to the status and the role of accountants in

China.

Recognition (1994–present)

The Law of the Certified Public Accountants became

operational in January 1994, and in following August,

the government promulgated the Auditing Law of the

People’s Republic of China. This further established

the legality of the Chinese accounting profession and

signified the recognition by the government of the

importance of this profession. The CICPA and the

Chinese Association of Certified Public Auditors

(CACPA) were merged in June 1995. This was a

30

significant step towards unifying the management of the

Chinese accounting profession.

The CICPA joined the Confederation of Asian and

Pacific Accountants (CAPA) in October 1996, and was

admitted to membership of the International Federation

of Accountants (IFAC) in May 1997 (Carnegie & Liu,

2000, p. 41). In the 15th CAPA Conference (2000) held

in Manila, the Secretary-General of the CICPA, Li Yong,

was elected to be the Deputy President of the CAPA. At

the same Conference, the CICPA successfully bid for

hosting the 16th CAPA Conference to be held in 2003

(CICPA, 2001, p. 8). This paved the way for the CICPA

to enter the International market and is a significant

step towards achieving international recognition.

According to Tang (1999, p.1), as at the end of

1997, there were 6,900 accounting and auditing firms,

62,460 practising CPAs, and 67,715 non-practising CPAs.

The CICPA is the second largest CPA association in the

world, with a membership totalling 130,135. From

available statistics, over 600,000 candidates have

applied to take the CPA examination in 2001 (CICPA,

2001, p. 48), suggesting that becoming an accountant

has become more appealing to the Chinese.

Discussions of implications The process of professionalisation for the

accounting profession in China has been a very

interesting one. Unlike the Western accountants, the

Chinese accountants had suffered a great deal, both

physically and mentally, in the history of its

existence. From an occupation with a very low social

status, the profession has gained respect in a

relatively short period. The CPA profession has gained

31

recognition as a ‘profession’ internationally upon

joining the Confederation of Asian and Pacific

Accountants in 1996, and becoming a member of the

International Federation of Accountants in 1997.

Some of the changes to the accounting environment

after the open door policy in 1978 were summarised by

van Hoepan (1995, p. 365):

(1) The public gained a new understanding of the functions of accounting.

(2) The social status of the accounting profession improved.

(3) The state government registered a number of accounting professionals as CPAs for the first time since the founding of the PRC.

(4) Accounting firms and agencies were set up and started to provide accounting services.

(5) Many universities either restored or set up accounting departments for training and education. Meanwhile, accounting associations nationwide were established, and a number of accounting journals emerged.

(6) Top students at universities became eager to pursue accountancy as a career.

Evidently, the societal values regarding the accounting

profession have changed quite significantly after 1978.

For the first time in the history of the accounting

profession, the Chinese are eager to pursue accountancy

as a career, rather than regarding it as a shameful

occupation.

Research suggests that the establishment and the

re-establishment of the accounting profession were

largely the work of the government, driven by economic

development of the country. The CPA profession in China

was very much at the whim of the government, and

influenced by changes in culture and political

ideology. Following the open door policy, it was in

the government interest for the CPAs to be perceived as

a ‘profession’, and every effort was made by the

32

Chinese government to raise the requirements and to

elevate the status of CPAs. For example, the

government stipulated that before a candidate obtains a

CPA practice certificate, they are required to have a

higher education degree followed by at least three

years practical experience, thus ensuring that the CPAs

are formally educated, knowledgeable and well-trained.

The Chinese government is also keen for the CPA firms

to establish an image of independence. From 1997, the

government carried out reform to re-structure the CPA

firms. According to Tang (1999, p. 3), the goal of the

reform is to disengage the relationship between the CPA

firms and the government agencies that originally

established them in order to guarantee the independence

of the CPAs firms.

So, what are the implications? Different

societies have their different concepts of profession

influenced by their culture, political ideology of the

government and the socio-economic environment.

Furthermore, different groups of occupations would

likely advance different concepts of profession

depending on whether they are seeking the rewards of a

professional label, or attempting to preserve the

rewards they have already won (Freidson, 1983, pp. 27–

28). Different interest groups2 may also advance their

own conception of profession, each to its own

appreciative audience, in order to seek fulfilment of

their purposes (Freidson, 1983, p. 28). As Roth (1974,

p. 21) discovered through an examination of Friedman’s

(1965) work3, ‘[t]he attempt to apply universal

2 Freidson gave examples of these interest groups. They may be employers or clients seeking to control the terms, conditions and the content of the jobs they wish done, or they may be government agencies seeking to create a systematic classification of the occupations in the labour force (p. 28). 3 Friedman’s (1965) work Freedom of contract and occupational licensing 1890-1910: a legal and social study, as quoted in Roth (1974), gives the perspective of a lawyer on the occupational licensing in the US at the turn of the century. According to Roth, Friedman’s study shows how the creation of a

33

criteria … always uncovers numerous exceptions and does

not have general explanatory power. Freidson’s (1983)

succinctly summed up the notion of profession:

One does not attempt to determine what profession is in an absolute sense so much as how people in a society determine who is a professional and who is not, how they ‘make’ or ‘accomplish’ professions by their activities, and what the consequences are for the way in which they see themselves and perform their work (p. 27).

This is precisely the lesson that one can gain from the

Chinese experience. The CPAs in China ‘accomplished’

profession in a very different manner compared to their

Western counterparts. However, they still became

recognised as a profession, both nationally and

internationally. A society’s perception of a

profession appears very much to be based on the

contexts within that society. One of the contextual

factors in the examination of the historical

development of the accounting profession in China is

the ready acceptance of norms, as determined by the

‘person at the top’. Such norms, being given strong

support from the authorities, become a general

consensus of a critical mass, which in turn underpin

the societal values. To look at the concept of

profession, it seems not relevant to ask the questions

‘Is this occupational group a profession?’ or ‘What

criteria should be used to measured a profession?’.

The concept of profession should be studied as a

historical construction in the particular society in

which it exists, and attempts should not be made to

provide a generalisation of the concept. It is a

profession consists of the promotion of an ideology and the successful use of political power to legitimate “friendly licensing” in order to protect occupational monopoly from competitors and from public criticism (p. 20).

34

changing concept and will only become more meaningful

if studied as individual empirical cases.

Conclusion

This paper has sought to give an overview of the

definitional problem of the concept of profession.

Conventional trait theories have tended to provide a

generalisation of the concept, however there was

lacking of consensus as to the list of criteria used

to recognise a profession. An alternative approach has

been suggested in this study, attempting to understand

the concept from a historical perspective. The

accounting profession in China is used as a case study,

and an account has been given on how the Chinese

accountants ‘accomplish’ profession under their

specific economic, social and political environment.

Unlike the UK and the US, it is not through the

initiation of the Chinese CPAs that the profession

achieved its current status. The development of the

Chinese CPA profession is very much under the dominant

influence of the Chinese government, and it is the

government who enables the Chinese CPAs to become

recognised as a profession. The Chinese experience has

provided valuable insights into the study of the

concept of profession. To be more meaningful, such a

concept needs to be looked at from a broader

perspective, taking into account the various changing

environments and conditions in which a particular

profession exists.

Even though there remain a number of issues that

need to be addressed regarding the professionalism of

the CPAs in China, it is expected that the Chinese

accounting profession will continue to be regarded

35

highly by the societies and recognised internationally

as a profession. As West (1996, p. 91) discovered:

While the paths travelled by vocational groups to achieve professional status may be numerous and are only partly mapped, there are grounds for suggesting that they define an essentially one-way journey.

To the Chinese, it will no longer be considered

shameful to be an accountant.

36

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