Abstract The purpose of this study is to examine the effect of individual, environmental and organizational factors on time-to-promotion and time-to-turnover of accountants in the non-public sector. This study is important because research regarding performance of accountants in private industry, representing nearly 50 percent of practicing accountants, has been largely ignored in the accounting literature. Two data sets were obtained and analyzed. The first data set (n = 826) comprised accountants who were hired into junior accounting positions within one year of college graduation. The second data set (n = 479) represented accountants who were hired into senior accounting positions within five years of graduation. The time period of the study was 60 months. Data were analyzed using a robust statistical technique called survival analysis. Significant main effects found to influence both time-to-promotion and time-to-turnover probabilities for junior accountants aspiring to become senior accountants were their level of education and whether or not they were professionally certified. Several interaction effects were noted for junior accountants. One interaction, gender by industry, influenced time-to-promotion. Two interactions, education by certification and education by gender, affected time-to-turnover. Main effects influencing time-to-promotion for senior accountants seeking positions as accounting managers were education level, professional certification, gender, and prior accounting experience. Time-to-turnover for senior accountants was significantly affected by education level and prior accounting experience. An interactive effect, gender by industry, was found to influence time-to-turnover for senior accountants. A research framework is presented along with a discussion of study findings and suggestions for future research.
Hunton et al. (Sun,) studied this question.