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PurposeThis study aims to examine the association between auditor and chief financial officer (CFO) gender and earnings quality, utilising data from Sweden. This study also aims to examine whether interactions between auditor and CFO, which may affect a firm's earnings quality, are associated with their gender. These aims are inspired by the notion that gender differences will be overruled by the rewards and socialisation into the occupational roles as suggested by the structural approach to gender.Design/methodology/approachThis study uses a multivariate regression model to test its hypotheses. The sample consists of 976 firm-year observations covering the period 2008 to 2013.FindingsThe results show that gender of the auditor and CFO is not associated with earnings quality, and the interactions between auditors and CFOs, which may affect earnings quality, are not associated with their gender. Consequently, the results give tentative support for the structural approach in gender studies in the accounting and auditing field.Research limitations/implicationsThis study indicates that future research in gender studies should consider the structural approach based on the argument of gender similarities. This approach contends that work-related behaviour of women will more resemble men, and this is caused by the socialisation process into the occupational role and the structure where they work (e.g. organisational and professional culture, work conditions, a compensation scheme, national culture, etc.) instead of gender.Originality/valueThis study contributes to the understanding whether gender – auditor and CFO gender – is associated with firms' earnings quality and standing whether the interactions between auditor and CFO are associated with their gender, something that, to the best of the authors' knowledge, has not been tested previously. It also re-introduces the structural approach within the gender research in the accounting and auditing field.

The paper presents an analysis of context within which FAR, the Swedish professional association representing accountants has developed and revised the Code of Ethics from 1923 to 1995. The purpose is to enhance our understanding of the choices made as to what ethical rules were verbalized or codified and the motivations behind the codification. Building on Birkett and Evans' (2005) model for organizing and understanding histories of the professionalizing activities of occupational associations of accountants and Abbotts view of professional codes, a theoretical framework has been constructed to analyze the circumstances and sequence of events that have had an influence on codification of ethics. The findings is based on content analysis of the Code of ethics and an extensive review of archival documents from FAR, legislation and previous studies on the development of the profession in Sweden.The findings have been analyzed in three phases depicting the development of the profession as the state shifts from an industrial to a neoliberal state. The phases are:Phase 1 A newly established Gentlemen's club (1923-1932)Phase 2 Professionalization of auditors (1933-1976)Phase 3 Internationalization of the audit profession (1977-1995)The analysis shows how the Code of Ethics has been verbalized within the context of shifting ideologies of government and governance of both the state and profession in an increasingly interconnected and interdependent world. Ethical codes are context sensitive. Differing from Anglo Saxon studies; this study is set in the Swedish context where the state and profession have co-developed over time. The code has been codified in a changing regulatory landscape where public and private actors occupy the audit regulatory arena and the ethics of the profession is regulated by a complex interplay of legislation and by laws, international, regional and FAR's codes of ethics governing professional conduct. In 1923, when FAR was established, the rules of professional conduct were not explicitly codified. Rather, the expected conduct of a member was socialized through initiation and other meetings, social networks and education. The professionalization of auditors, growth and heterogeneity of FARs' members, the financial scandals, the economic and regulatory developments have led to an increasing need to verbalize and publish the Code of Ethics for the profession. The power to verbalizing the ethical rules has changed over time and with time the profession gained an increasing power over determining the content of its ethical code. The Code serves not only to legitimize the activities of the audit profession to regulators and other important stakeholders but importantly, it acts at the same time as a remedy for association control, juxtaposing the internal and external role of the Code.

The introduction of a new corporate governance code in Sweden, modeled after prevailing Anglo‐Saxon norms of corporate governance, offers the opportunity to investigate global regulatory convergence. Using the metaphor of regulatory space, this article analyzes the positions of the parties who submitted formal responses to the introduction of "The Swedish Code of Corporate Governance—A Proposal from the Code Group." While the globalization of financial markets might forecast unconditional acceptance of the proposed code by business and financial interests, the analysis of who made comments, and what was said, reveals three categorically distinct groups: Swedish business "insiders" connected to the existing institutional framework who opposed changes that would erode traditional division of functions, including collective responsibility for the actions of company boards; "outsiders" (i.e., foreign investors and more marginal Swedish investors) aligned with Anglo‐Saxon internationalization of the markets who would change the system of corporate accountability; and the professions (i.e., auditors), who advocated for their professional interests. Of the three groups, Swedish business insiders were most successful in gaining support for their positions. Although international financial and political interests were key to the introduction of the Code in the first place, the article demonstrates how the dynamics of national (local) culture and power structures influence the transfer of regulatory law across jurisdictions.

AbstractFollowing financialization, there has emerged an understanding of what it implies to be a shareholder based on the shareholder value perception. However, as this shareholder value perception spreads internationally, it clashes with traditional perceptions. In this paper, we apply the language developed by Bourdieu to a Swedish public debate on equal treatment of shareholders in connection with the reform of the Swedish market for corporate control. Using Bourdieu's conceptual framework, we describe how a global development interacts with the persistence of national practices. We conclude that in Sweden, local institutional investors have allied themselves with international institutional investors to enhance their positions in the restricted field of Swedish corporate control. Shareholder value is then used by these local actors as an argument to strengthen their position. At the same time, some of the controlling shareholders depart from their traditional position as industrial entrepreneurs and embrace a more financial approach to ownership, thereby altering both the power constellations and the capital, in Bourdieu's sense, of the field.

Background: The literature on how to communicate reform in organizations has mainly focused on levels of hierarchy and has largely ignored the variety of professions that may be found within an organization. In this study, we focus on the relationship between media type and professional responses. Objective: The objective of this study was to investigate whether and how belonging to a profession influences the choice of communication media and the perception of information when a technical innovation is implemented in a health care setting. Methods: This study followed a mixed methods design based on observations and participant studies, as well as a survey of professionals in psychiatric health care in Sweden. The χ2 test was used to detect differences in perceptions between professional groups. Results: The use of available communication media differed among professions. These differences seem to be related to the status attached to each profession. The sense-making of the information appears to be similar among the professions, but is based on their traditional professional norms rather than on reflection on the reform at hand. Conclusions: When communicating about the implementation of a new technology, the choice of media and the message need to be attuned to the employees in both hierarchical and professional terms. This also applies to situations where professional employees are only indirectly affected by the implementation. A differentiated communication strategy is preferred over a downward cascade of information. © Karin Jonnergård, Lena Petersson, Gudbjörg Erlingsdóttir.