An Analysis of the Career Plateaus in Accounting
Open Access
- Author:
- Ficarra, Victor
- Area of Honors:
- Business
- Degree:
- Bachelor of Science
- Document Type:
- Thesis
- Thesis Supervisors:
- Ronnie Godshalk, Thesis Supervisor
Hans Schmidt, Thesis Honors Advisor - Keywords:
- Accounting
Accountancy
Career
Plateau
Business
Professional
Minority - Abstract:
- Career plateau is a complex, multifaceted experience that can affect one’s ability to perform in their role within any profession. Within accountancy, career plateau takes on several different forms depending on an individual's current professional standing and the type of career they pursue in the industry. This study first explores the way career plateau has been defined and where it is most fitting within accountancy. Then, psychological factors that can affect one’s professional experience in accounting are examined and applied to fit the scope of this research. From here, the structure of different types of accounting careers are discussed and used as a lens to examine how career plateau applies within them. The minority experience became a significant point of this research as career plateau was found to be greater for them in accountancy. The statistics relating to their positioning within accounting firms were combined with the study on career plateau to conclude that their current representation in accounting positions of leadership is one of the leading factors contributing to their lack of promotion. Further research suggests that researching other psychological, academic, structural and systemic factors can reveal that career plateau in accountancy will take a multidisciplinary approach to better combat.