Filipino Professional Accountants’ Experiences with and Actions Towards Organisational–Professional Conflict
Creators: name: Montera, Lilibeth
Publisher: name: RMIT University
Year: 2024
Subjects: classificationCode: 350199
subject: Accounting, auditing and accountability not elsewhere classified

description: Organisational–professional conflict (OPC) has undesirable consequences for professional accountants and their employing organisations. Prior survey-based OPC studies contribute to understanding the antecedents and outcomes of OPC but do not provide insights into individual accountants' experiences and actions in OPC situations. This research sought to advance existing OPC knowledge by using an interpretative qualitative approach to investigate OPC in a novel context. Drawing on identity theory as the theoretical lens, this study examined Filipino professional accountants’ subjective experiences with OPC to gain insights into the nature and sources of OPC, accountants’ responses to it, and their rationales for their responses.

Thirty-one in-depth interviews yielded detailed accounts of experiences with OPC. Interview transcripts were analysed following these key analytical steps: transcription, coding, exploring data relationships, and data integration. The findings suggest that OPC is a real phenomenon in the accounting workplace. Most participants experienced OPC; however, their experiences varied with their circumstances. Most incidents that led to OPC involved requests from senior management to manipulate revenue and profit to achieve budgeted targets or minimise tax obligations. The findings show that participants felt the conflict in varying levels, which appeared to be influenced by several factors, including religiosity, self-efficacy, availability of social support, and the extent to which participants rationalise their actions successfully.

Regarding professional accountants’ response to OPC, this study found that Filipino accountants typically employ two or three of the following steps: 1) discussion with relevant superior or manager, 2) escalation to higher management, 3) implementation of their preferred action according to their professional judgment, and/or 4) implementation of superior’s or management’s preferred action. These steps were mapped into four path responses, facilitating understanding of the relative salience of the participants’ professional and organisational identities in OPC situations. Responses that follow paths 1 and 2 suggest a greater salience of professional identity, while paths 3 and 4 suggest a greater salience of organisational identity. 

Regarding the participants’ definition and relative salience of professional and organisational identities, this study found that ethicality and possession of expert knowledge and accounting skills dominated their concepts of professional identity. In contrast, the sense of being privileged to receive intrinsic and extrinsic rewards that come with employment and the perception of being a value-adding member of their organisation predominantly defined their organisational identity. For most participants, professional identity was more salient than organisational identity in OPC situations, indicating that professional accountants can act according to their ethical judgment during conflicts. Moreover, this study identified several personal and organisational influences on the accountants’ exposure and responses to OPC: organisational rank, tenure, job security, self-efficacy, organisational culture, and management styles. Filipino cultural values also appeared to influence the participants’ definition of organisational identity and responses to OPC.

This research makes several contributions to theory and practice. First, its qualitative approach allowed for a deep exploration of the incidents that led to OPC and the factors that influenced their experience of the phenomenon. It also facilitated identifying and mapping the participants' four-path responses to OPC. The four response paths permitted examination of the relative salience of the participants’ professional and organisational identities and revealed the shortcomings of their responses. The quantitative nature of prior OPC studies did not permit the exploration of these issues. Second, the study drew out the professional accountants’ subjective conception of their professional and organisational identities, which facilitated the interpretation of their behavioural choices in OPC situations. Third, it extends OPC scholarship to professional accountants from a cultural and economic context that vastly differs from the West, where most prior OPC studies were conducted. The Philippines is a developing economy with relatively few professional jobs and a cultural environment that prioritises in-groups such as family and employing organisations and in which respect for authority is expected. Finally, this research shows the relevance of identity theory to OPC in the accounting discipline. Identity theory facilitated the explication of accountants’ behavioural choices in OPC situations by gleaning insights into their subjective conception and relative salience of their professional and organisational identities. 

This research has important practical implications for PICPA, individual professional accountants, and employing organisations. The findings suggest that Filipino professional accountants need more support for managing OPC in the workplace. PICPA could support its members in several ways. First, it could establish accessible support systems for members, such as an ethics helpline for anonymous consultation and mentoring support for early career accountants, who were found to be more vulnerable to OPC than established and experienced accountants. Second, it could provide members with robust ethics education support, such as ethics training modules that emphasise the ethical conflict resolution process and ethics education resources that members can access anytime on the organisation’s website. In the absence of such resources, individual professional accountants should seek guidance from PICPA and other professional accounting bodies on ethical conduct. Professional accountants should also actively engage with professional accounting bodies by participating in professional development activities and events to enhance professional socialisation and strengthen their professional identity.

This research has implications for employing organisations’ culture, management style, and support mechanisms for employees who may experience OPC. Employers could minimise the occurrence of OPC by creating a work environment that supports professional values and provides greater autonomy and reduced work pressure for employees. Employers should aim for a democratic management style and a clan culture, which this study found to be associated with an increased salience of professional identity. In addition, employing organisations could establish an anonymous and independent internal whistleblowing system to allow secure and anonymous reporting of incidents that might lead to OPC. In this way, organisations can act on potential unethical practices before severe damage occurs.