Independence, objectivity and the Canadian CA profession

This paper explores the question of when and how notions of independence and objectivity came to dominate ethical discourse in accountancy. Focusing on the Canadian CA profession, we examine the emergence of these two terms for the 1911 to 2000 period, situating changes in usage in relation to both the external dynamic of the profession and in relation to changes in ethical discourse itself. This genealogy highlights the manner in which notions of independence and objectivity have come to colonize the space within which ethical discourse exists. We speculate in Section 3 that this emphasis on independence and objectivity may, in part, have contributed to the emergence and persistence of the expectation gap.