Public Accounting Work Experience: The Influence of Demographic and Organizational Attributes

The work experience of individuals in public accounting is important for a variety of personal and organizational purposes. Work experience is divisible analytically into work outcomes (such as performance, job satisfaction, organizational commitment and turnover intentions) and work processes (such as the perception of role stress, job characteristics and organizational technology). However, work experience may be patterned by demographic variables (such as age, sex and marital status) and by organizationally conferred statuses (such as tenure with the firm and hierarchical rank). Discusses the concepts, reviews the literature and reports the results of a study which found that organizational statuses were a superior source of explanation. However,several demographic conditions also prove selectively important. Implications for further research and for public accounting practice are drawn.