Public Accounting: Which Kind Of Professionalism

Public accounting firms seem to be evolving into organizations with a broad range of capabilities offered to any client for any purpose as long as the service requested is both legal and profitable. The real question at issue is not whether public accounting will continue to be regarded as a profession, but which kind of profession it will be. There are 2 very different definitions of professional. The expert competitor is a skilled, highly motivated professional whose goal is to provide the best client service possible in order to obtain maximum profit over the long term. The concern for the public interest (CPI) professional is an equally skilled and motivated expert who accepts a responsibility to put the public interest before that of client shareholders, officers, and even personal success. It is suggested that a reemphasis on the social importance of both accounting and auditing is needed; schools need to add an element of CPI professionalism to accounting education.