Understanding the Socialization Strategies of the Major Accountancy Firms

The Enron debacle, coupled with other high‐profile frauds, has raised critical questions about the nature of firm environments and why firm members did not question faulty audit practices. Among these questions is the role of organizational culture in promoting a standard of blindly following team leaders. Evidence suggests that enculturation processes begin even before newly recruited accounting laborers become members. Prior studies note the need for research examining organizational socialization processes in accountancy firms (Fogarty 1992) and the general work conditions of contemporary accounting labor (Roslender 1996). This study expands upon these prior studies through additional examination of the socialization processes used by accountancy firms in the enculturation of new accounting laborers. Fogarty's (1992) application of institutional theory to socialization in audit firms is examined through an interpretivist study of accountancy firms' recruiting brochures, web pages, and human resources magazines. The results indicate a systemic application of enculturation behaviors by all of the Big 5 accountancy firms in their U.S. recruitment and retention processes in the period preceding the unveiling of the Enron fraud.