Identifying, Prioritizing, and Analyzing the Relationships Among Factors Shaping the Development of Professional Accounting Service Firms in Iran Using Multi-Criteria Decision-Making Methods

Abdollah  Ghafourinejad; Iraj Torabi; Bahareh  Banitalebi Dehkordi

Authors

Abdollah Ghafourinejad Ph.D. Candidate, Department of Accounting, Shk.C., Islamic Azad University, Shahr-e Kord, Iran Author https://orcid.org/0009-0004-4842-941X
Iraj Torabi Department of Accounting, Shk.C., Islamic Azad University, Shahr-e Kord, Iran https://orcid.org/0009-0009-2531-2434
Bahareh Banitalebi Dehkordi Department of Accounting, Shk.C., Islamic Azad University, Shahr-e Kord, Iran Author https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3528-7633

Keywords:

professional accounting service firms, grounded theory, fuzzy analytic hierarchy process, fuzzy DEMATEL

Abstract

The development of professional accounting service firms results from the interaction of a set of human, organizational, institutional, technological, and professional factors. This study aimed to identify the factors shaping the development of these firms in Iran and simultaneously examine their relative priorities and their influence–dependence positions. The study employed a sequential exploratory mixed-methods design. The statistical population consisted of 24 experts in accounting and finance during the 2025–2026 period who met the required criteria in terms of academic expertise, professional experience, and familiarity with the activities of accounting firms. These individuals were selected through purposive sampling using the snowball technique. In the qualitative phase, data were collected through semi-structured interviews, and the process continued until theoretical saturation was achieved. Data analysis was based on the grounded theory approach of Strauss and Corbin (1990) and was conducted using MAXQDA software. In the quantitative phase, to prioritize and examine the strength of relationships among the extracted criteria and subcriteria, data were collected through a questionnaire and were prioritized using the fuzzy analytic hierarchy process (FAHP); they were also examined using fuzzy DEMATEL in terms of network prominence and net influence. The qualitative findings led to the identification of five main categories: human capital and professional knowledge development; structure and governance of accounting firms; the institutional environment and professional structure; technology and transformation of the accounting profession; and professional quality and ethics. Together, these categories comprised 16 subcriteria. The FAHP results showed that, among the main criteria, human capital and professional knowledge development had the greatest weight and importance in the development of professional accounting service firms, followed by the structure and governance of accounting firms. At the subcriterion level, digital transformation in the accounting profession, professional human capital and development, and technology received the highest priorities. The fuzzy DEMATEL results further showed that human capital and professional knowledge development and the structure and governance of accounting firms were among the causal and influential factors in the model, whereas the other criteria primarily played the role of affected factors. The findings can provide an analytical framework for policymaking and decision-making aimed at developing professional accounting service firms in Iran.

References

[1] E. R. Venter, E. A. Gordon, and D. L. Street, "The Role of Accounting and the Accountancy Profession in Economic Development: A Research Agenda," Journal of International Financial Management & Accounting, vol. 29, no. 2, pp. 195-218, 2018.

[2] R. Mehrabinia, F. Zarei, and M. Golmohammadi Shouraki, "Improving Banking Services Based on Strategic Management Accounting Techniques," Strategic Management Accounting Quarterly, vol. 2, no. 2, pp. 43-61, 2025, doi: 10.22034/smajournal.2025.522926.1024.

[3] H. Chen, Y. Shi, and H. He, "A Sustainable Urban Framework Based on Natural Capital and Ecosystem Services Accounting," (in English), Applied Spatial Analysis and Policy, vol. 18, no. 1, pp. 23-45, 2025, doi: 10.1007/s12061-024-09575-w.

[4] T. Morris and N. Anand, "Professional Service Firms," in Wiley Encyclopedia of Management, 2015.

[5] L. Empson, D. Muzio, and C. Hinings, "Professional service firms: new developments and directions," presented at the Academy of Management Proceedings, 2015.

[6] A. von Nordenflycht, "Does the emergence of publicly traded professional service firms undermine the theory of the professional partnership? A cross-industry historical analysis," Journal of Professions and Organization, vol. 1, pp. 137-160, 2014.

[7] N. Fu, P. C. Flood, J. Bosak, D. M. Rousseau, T. Morris, and P. O’Regan, "Highperformance work systems in professional service firms: examining the practicesresources-uses-performance linkage," Human Resource Management, vol. 56, pp. 329-352, 2017.

[8] H. K. Gardner, Smart Collaboration: How Professionals and Their Firms Succeed by Breaking Down Silos. Boston, Massachusetts: Harvard Business Review Press, 2016.

[9] M. Hernandez-Espallardo, F. Osorio-Tinoco, and A. Rodriguez-Orejuela, "Improving firm performance through inter-organizational collaborative innovations," Management Decision, vol. 56, pp. 1167-1182, 2018.

[10] A. Rodríguez, M. J. Nieto, and L. Santamaría, "International collaboration and innovation in professional and technological knowledge-intensive services," Industry and Innovation, vol. 25, pp. 408-431, 2018.

[11] E. P. Antonacopoulou, "Sensuous learning: what is it and why it matters in addressing the ineptitude in professional practice," in Sensuous Learning for Practical Judgment in Professional Practice: Volume 1: Artsbased Methods, E. P. Antonacopoulou and S. S. Taylor Eds. London: Palgrave Macmillan, 2019, pp. 13-43.

[12] W. G. Soh, E. P. Antonacopoulou, C. Rigg, and R. Bento, "Embedding a “Reflexive Mindset”: Lessons From Reconfiguring the Internal Auditing Practice," Academy of Management Learning & Education, vol. 22, no. 1, pp. 1-53, 2023.

[13] A. L. Cunliffe and A. Ivaldi, "Embedded ethics and reflexivity: narrating a charter of ethical experience," Management Learning, vol. 52, no. 3, pp. 294-310, 2021.

[14] P. Blond, E. P. Antonacopoulou, and A. Pabst, "In profession we trust: fostering virtuous practitioners in teaching, law and medicine," ed, 2015.

[15] A. Peterson and D. Civil, "Civic Virtue, Community and the Common Good," in Virtue Insight, ed: Jubilee Centre for Character and Virtues, 2021.

[16] P. Broberg, T. Umans, P. Skog, and E. Theodorsson, "Auditors’ professional and organizational identities and commercialization in audit firms," Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, vol. 31, no. 2, pp. 374-399, 2018.

[17] J. Svanberg and P. Ohman, "Auditors’ identification with their clients: Effects on audit quality," The British Accounting Review, vol. 47, no. 4, pp. 395-408, 2015.

[18] A. Mohliver, "How misconduct spreads: auditors’ role in the diffusion of stock-option backdating," Administrative Science Quarterly, vol. 64, no. 2, pp. 310-336, 2019.

[19] B. Harrington, "Turning vice into virtue: Institutional work and professional misconduct," Human Relations, vol. 72, no. 9, pp. 1464-1496, 2019.

[20] P. A. Aghimien, "Development of Accounting Standards in Selected Middle Eastern Countries in Comparison to the United States of America," Review of International Business and Strategy, vol. 26, no. 1, pp. 69-87, 2016.

[21] M. Al-Akra, M. J. Ali, and O. Marashdeh, "Development of accounting regulation in Jordan," The International Journal of Accounting, vol. 44, pp. 163-186, 2019.

[22] S. S. Alkhtani, "The Relevance of International Financial Reporting Standards to Saudi Arabia: Stakeholder Perspectives," PhD Thesis, Stirling University, 2020. [Online]. Available: https://dspace.stir.ac.uk/handle/1893/2415

[23] S. E. Perumpral, M. Evans, S. Agarwal, and F. Amenkhienan, "The evolution of Indian accounting standards: Its history and current status with regard to International Financial Reporting Standards," Advances in Accounting, vol. 25, pp. 106-111, 2019.

[24] P. Ghattas, T. Soobaroyen, and O. Marnet, "Charting the development of the Egyptian accounting profession (1946–2016): An analysis of the State-Profession dynamics," Critical Perspectives on Accounting, vol. 78, 2021.

[25] J. Faulconbridge and D. Muzio, "Global Professional Service Firms and Institutionalization," in Professional Networks in Transnational Governance, 2017, pp. 219-232.

[26] A. Whittle, C. Carter, and F. Mueller, "Above the fray: Interests, discourse and legitimacy in the audit field," Critical Perspectives on Accounting, vol. 25, no. 8, pp. 783-802, 2014.

[27] B. Budiarso, U. S. Putro, Y. Sunitiyoso, and R. Fitriati, "How do design parameters of firm governance affect collaboration process dimensions in professional service firm?," Heliyon, vol. 7, no. 11, p. 08431, 2021.

[28] F. Anderson-Gough, C. Edgley, K. Robson, and N. Sharma, "Organizational responses to multiple logics: Diversity, identity and the professional service firm," Accounting, Organizations and Society, vol. 103, p. 101336, 2022.

[29] M. Smets, P. Jarzabkowski, G. T. Burke, and P. Spee, "Reinsurance trading in Lloyd’s of London: Balancing conflicting-yet-complementary logics in practice," Academy of Management Journal, vol. 58, no. 3, pp. 932-970, 2015.

[30] G. Loscher and S. Kaiser, "Anchoring the mission: A framework for understanding mission maintenance in professional service firms," Scandinavian Journal of Management, vol. 38, p. 101216, 2022.

[31] R. Eckardt and B. C. Skaggs, "Service diversification and growth of professional service firms," Long Range Planning, vol. 51, no. 1, pp. 111-126, 2018.

[32] M. West and E. Advisory, "The State of Innovation in Professional Services Firms," 2020.

[33] S. K. Nguyen, X. V. Vo, and T. M. T. Vo, "Innovative strategies and corporate profitability: the positive resources dependence from political network," Heliyon, vol. 6, p. e03788, 2020.

[34] N. O. Connor, P. B. Lowry, and H. Treiblmaier, "Interorganizational cooperation and supplier performance in high-technology supply chains," Heliyon, vol. 6, p. e03434, 2020.

[35] Y. Y. Chih, O. Zwikael, and S. L. D. Restubog, "Enhancing value co-creation in professional service projects: the roles of professionals, clients and their effective interactions," International Journal of Project Management, vol. 37, pp. 599-615, 2019.

[36] M. Rezaei, J. Nasaripour, and E. Davoudi, "Development and formulation of a model for measuring accounting service quality," (in English), Empirical Accounting Research, 2024.

[37] M. Emery, J. Hooks, and R. Stewart, "Born at the wrong time? An oral history of women professional accountants in New Zealand," Accounting History, vol. 7, no. 2, pp. 7-34, 2022.

[38] J. M. Bryson, B. C. Crosby, and M. M. Stone, "Designing and implementing cross-sector collaborations: needed and challenging," Public Administration Review, vol. 75, pp. 647-663, 2015.

[39] K. D. Ward, D. M. Varda, D. Epstein, and B. Lane, "Institutional factors and processes in interagency collaboration: the case of FEMA corps," American Review of Public Administration, vol. 48, pp. 852-871, 2018.

[40] M. Golijani, R. Alikhani, M. Maranjouri, and R. Fallah, "Designing a meta-synthesis model of factors affecting the development of accounting in Iran," (in English), Financial Accounting and Auditing Research, vol. 13, no. 50, pp. 207-227, 2021.

[41] K. Mehrani and H. Salehi, "Identifying the challenges of developing the activities of professional accounting associations and providing solutions to overcome the current situation," (in English), Accounting and Auditing Research, no. 58, pp. 47-64, 2023.