Profit sharing in Australian big 6 accounting firms: An exploratory study

Abstract

Although partnership reward systems, particularly in Big 6 accounting firms, are important to several areas of accounting research, only sketchy information about the firms' profit-sharing schemes is extant. Against this background, we report on an exploratory investigation into the organizational structures of Australian Big 6 accounting partnerships and the profit-sharing arrangements practised in their Melbourne offices. The equivocal theoretical prescriptions concerning profit sharing methodologies - particularly the contrasting approaches of equal and performance-based allocations - are reflected in the findings, which also reveal hitherto undisclosed aspects of the firms' internal oper..