TITLE:
Barrier Factors in the Integration of Professional Accountants Trained Abroad: Literature Review
AUTHORS:
Michel Sayumwe, Christelle-Odile Happi
KEYWORDS:
Integration, Profession, Professional Integration
JOURNAL NAME:
Modern Economy,
Vol.12 No.3,
March
22,
2021
ABSTRACT: Several theoretical currents
have been mobilized in the literature to understand factors of barriers to
integration. Numerous studies have been carried out and the results obtained
differ from one context to another. In addition, new barriers emerge with each
study justifying the need for an exploratory approach to better understand the
subject. The objective of this article is to review the literature with the aim
of proposing a conceptual framework bringing together the various factors of
barriers to integration that have been identified so far in the literature. In
our work, we focus on accounting professionals trained abroad when they
immigrate. The regulated profession of chartered accountant is a special case
of the closed market with access control to the profession, reserved tasks and
guarantees of technical competence (Paradeise, 2008). Following the
interactionist sociologists of Chicago, numerous works, dealing with a great
diversity of professional groups, have shown how these are built and recomposed
in ceaseless struggles and negotiations, both at their borders and at their
heart. The accounting professions, and in particular the accounting profession,
illustrate this phenomenon in different national contexts (Dietrich &
Moysan-Louazel, 2012: p. 5). We come to the conclusion that unlike studies on
cultural, economic, social capital, and collectivist and individualist factors,
the aspect of information has been very little used by the authors. Most
studies on barriers to integration have focused on the qualitative methodology
in data analysis. As a data collection tool, a large number of studies have
used interviews or documentary analysis, and the results found differ from one
context to another. This poses a problem of generalization of the results obtained.
Most studies have focused on factors beyond the immigrant’s control (race,
class, etc.) very few highlight the factors under the immigrant’s control such
as (skill, training, etc.). …). In the rest of our work, we take a tour of the
various theoretical currents mobilized in the literature.