British public accountants in America: A historical study of social mobility and fluidity associated with élite immigration

Abstract

Purpose

This study seeks to examine aspects of social class associated with British public accountancy immigrants to the USA prior to the First World War. The study's specific purpose is to investigate the social mobility and fluidity associated with these élite immigrants in the early history of US public accountancy.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper is informed by previous studies of both social class and élite immigration and uses biographical data describing 395 British chartered and incorporated accountancy immigrants entering the USA between 1875 and 1914. Data analyses describe social mobility and fluidity based on the recorded occupations of these élite immigrants.

Findings

Despite their élite status, the immigrants experienced inter‐generational downward mobility immediately post‐migration. The evidence also indicates inter‐generational and intra‐generational upward mobility for immigrants settling in the USA and for those who did not settle there. The study further reveals evidence of social fluidity associated with both settlers and non‐settlers.

Practical implications

The study suggests that immigration to the USA did not immediately improve the occupational status of British public accountants who settled there. Nor, compared to those who did not settle in the USA, was it necessarily a more advantageous career path to improved occupational status. The study adds to existing knowledge of British accountants in the early US public accountancy profession and, more generally, to that of social mobility associated with immigration of the period.

Originality/value

The study is significant because it provides knowledge of social mobility and fluidity associated with élite immigrants and contributes to the social history of British accountants in the early development of US public accountancy.

Citation

Lee, T.A. (2009), "British public accountants in America: A historical study of social mobility and fluidity associated with élite immigration", Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Vol. 22 No. 2, pp. 247-271. https://doi.org/10.1108/09513570910933960