Collins, H and Callaghan, D How I failed the big four and the big four failed me: an exploration of aspiration in the accountancy profession. In: UFHRD, Dublin. (Accepted)

Text How I failed the big four and the big four failed me an exploration of aspiration in the accountancy profession .pdf - Accepted Version Restricted to Repository staff only Download (695kB)

Abstract

Organisations spend huge amounts on recruitment campaigns and inductions to attract top talent. At the same time professional workers’ mobility in the labour market is high. This article captures the experiences of millennials and baby boomers in accountancy firms, and shows that for millennials organisational attempts to lure people into long term labour commitments are sometimes based on spin that fuels millennials career aspirations. Through a focus group and 48 interviews we show how many millennial participants, disappointed by early career experiences that had not lived up to their hype, intended to move around the labour market and were not aspiring to stay at one place for long, creating a disconnect between employer and employee expectations.
Using Bourdieu’s concepts as instruments to think with, we posit that habitus, capitals and illusio provide insights into the formation of aspiration. Our study provides a platform for debate about worker aspiration and mobility in the professions and interrogates the disconnection between what organisations purport to offer and how employees perceive their offerings. Recommendations to narrow or make sense of the disconnection can inform the planning and implementation of recruitment for aspirant professionals and employers.
Key words: accountancy, aspiration, baby boomers, big four, millennials, turnover

Item Type:	Conference or Workshop Item (Paper)
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HG Finance
Divisions:	Business & Management (from Sep 19)
SWORD Depositor:	A Symplectic
Date Deposited:	28 Feb 2023 12:16
Last Modified:	28 Feb 2023 12:16
URI:	https://researchonline.ljmu.ac.uk/id/eprint/18852

Actions (login required)

View Item