‘Elevating the profession’: the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Ireland and the implementation of social closure strategies 1888–1909

Abstract

The Institute of Chartered Accountants in Ireland was formed in 1888 on an all-island basis by a group of prominent public accountants who envisaged it as a means of appropriating the social and economic benefits that accompanied professional status. Employing Weber's notion of ‘social closure’ in the context of a professional project, this paper examines the manner in which the Institute sought to operationalise this strategy, focusing in particular on membership criteria, articles and examinations, as well as issues of trust and respectability.