Özet:

This study aims to determine opinions of public accountants in Turkey about the extent to which the methods that are considered to contribute to solving the unfair competition problem in the profession can be effective in solving this problem and to determine suggestions for solving the unfair competition problem. The study seeks answers to the following questions: I. What are the opinions of accounting professionals about the methods that are considered to contribute to solving the unfair competition problem in the profession? and II. Is there any significant difference between the opinions of accounting professionals about the methods considered to contribute to solving the unfair competition problem in the profession in terms of title, gender, education level, professional experience, age and the region in which the profession is performed? and III. What are the suggestions of accounting professionals for solving the problem of unfair competition in the profession? Also the hypothesis that there is a significant difference between the opinions of accounting professionals about the methods considered to contribute to solving the unfair competition problem in the profession in terms of title, gender, education level, professional experience, age and the region in which the profession is performed was tested. This study was organized in a mixed method research model using a combination of quantitative and qualitative research methods and designed with the convergent parallel design which is a mixed method research design. The quantitative dimension of the research was arranged in accordance with the relative screening model, which is one of the general screening models, while the qualitative dimension was organized in accordance with the phenomenology pattern which is one of the qualitative research patterns. The study data was collected through an survey. The survey consists of two parts. The first part aims to identify the demographic characteristics of the participants while the second part consists of statements aimed at determining the opinions of the professionals about the methods considered to contribute to solving the unfair competition problem in the profession (5-point Likert) and an open ended question aimed at determining their suggestions for solving the problem of unfair competition. A "scale of solutions to the problem of unfair competition in the accounting profession" was developed. The Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin (KMO) sampling adequacy test and Bartlett's test for sphericity were conducted to determine whether the data obtained through the pilot scheme of the survey was appropriate for factor analysis prior to the explanatory factor analysis. The KMO test and Bartlett's test for sphericity revealed that the research data was suitable for factor analysis. Furthermore, the reliability of the scale developed for the study was calculated with Cronbach's Alpha coefficient, which was calculated as 0.846. According to the TURMOB 2018 annual report, there are a total of 57,076 professionals consisting of 4,284 public accountants and 52,792 certified public accountants registered as freelancers in Turkey and this number constitutes the main population of the study. The research data was collected on a voluntary basis in the period from May to July 2019 in the seven geographical regions of Turkey from 512 accounting professionals out of this main population through the convenience sampling method. The quantitative data was analyzed with a package program and the confidence level was 95%. Descriptive statistical methods, independent samples T test and ANOVA test were used to analyze the quantitative data, and Tukey test was used for multiple comparisons when there was a difference in the ANOVA test. While content analysis which is a qualitative research analysis method was used for the analysis of the qualitative data, statements made by the accounting professionals that offered solutions to unfair competition are presented in the study using the descriptive analysis method. In the quantitative dimension of the study, there were no statistically significant differences among the opinions of the professionals about the methods considered to contribute to solving the unfair competition problem in terms of title, age and professional experience while significant differences were determined in terms of gender, education level and the region where the profession was performed. According to the quantitative data of the study, the arithmetic average of the 13 statements given in the scale was measured as 3.96. According to the findings from the qualitative dimension of the research, the accountants who participated in the study had 30 suggestions under 9 categories to solve the unfair competition problem of the profession. When the quantitative and qualitative findings of the research were evaluated together, it was determined that the members of the accounting profession suggested the following more as a solution to the unfair competition problem: solving the payment collection problem, putting office standards into use, increasing room audits for the members of the profession, increasing ethics training, having service qualities increased by the members of the profession, complying with the minimum wage rate, and regulating the increase in the number of professionals in parallel with the increase in the business volume. As a result, it can be said that regulations related to the above-mentioned issues should be given priority in order to solve this problem of the profession. As can be understood from the research findings, there are very different suggestions for solving the problem of unfair competition in the profession. In this context, important progress can be made in solving the unfair competition problem in the profession if these suggestions are supported by professional organizations and legal regulations and practices aimed at finding a solution are put into effect.

Anahtar Kelimeler:

Özet:

This study aims to determine opinions of public accountants in Turkey about the extent to which the methods that are considered to contribute to solving the unfair competition problem in the profession can be effective in solving this problem and to determine suggestions for solving the unfair competition problem. The study seeks answers to the following questions: I. What are the opinions of accounting professionals about the methods that are considered to contribute to solving the unfair competition problem in the profession? II. Is there any significant difference between the opinions of accounting professionals about the methods considered to contribute to solving the unfair competition problem in the profession in terms of title, gender, education level, professional experience, age and the region in which the profession is performed? III. What are the suggestions of accounting professionals for solving the problem of unfair competition in the profession? Also the hypothesis that there is a significant difference between the opinions of accounting professionals about the methods considered to contribute to solving the unfair competition problem in the profession in terms of title, gender, education level, professional experience, age and the region in which the profession is performed was tested. This study was organized in a mixed method research model using a combination of quantitative and qualitative research methods and designed with the convergent parallel design which is a mixed method research design. The quantitative dimension of the research was arranged in accordance with the relational screening model, which is one of the general screening models, while the qualitative dimension was organized in accordance with the phenomenology pattern which is one of the qualitative research patterns. The study data was collected through a survey. The survey consists of two parts. The first part aims to identify the demographic characteristics of the participants while the second part consists of statements aimed at determining the opinions of the professionals about the methods considered to contribute to solving the unfair competition problem in the profession (5-point Likert) and an open ended question aimed at determining their suggestions for solving the problem of unfair competition. A "scale of solutions to the problem of unfair competition in the accounting profession" was developed. The Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin (KMO) sampling adequacy test and Bartlett's test for sphericity were conducted to determine whether the data obtained through the pilot scheme of the survey was appropriate for factor analysis prior to the explanatory factor analysis. The KMO test and Bartlett's test for sphericity revealed that the research data was suitable for factor analysis. Furthermore, the reliability of the scale developed for the study was calculated with Cronbach's Alpha coefficient, which was calculated as 0,846. According to the TURMOB 2018 annual report, there are a total of 57,076 professionals consisting of 4,284 public accountants and 52,792 certified public accountants registered as freelancers in Turkey and this number constitutes the main population of the study. The research data was collected on a voluntary basis in the period from May to July 2019 in the seven geographical regions of Turkey from 512 accounting professionals out of this main population through the convenience sampling method. The quantitative data was analyzed with a package program and the confidence level was 95%. Descriptive statistical methods, independent samples T test and ANOVA test were used to analyze the quantitative data, and Tukey test was used for multiple comparisons when there was a difference in the ANOVA test. While content analysis which is a qualitative research analysis method was used for the analysis of the qualitative data, statements made by the accounting professionals that offered solutions to unfair competition are presented in the study using the descriptive analysis method. In the quantitative dimension of the study, there were no statistically significant differences among the opinions of the professionals about the methods considered to contribute to solving the unfair competition problem in terms of title, age and professional experience while significant differences were determined in terms of gender, education level and the region where the profession was performed. According to the quantitative data of the study, the arithmetic mean of the 13 statements given in the scale was measured as 3.96. According to the findings from the qualitative dimension of the research, the accountants who participated in the study had 30 suggestions under 9 categories to solve the unfair competition problem of the profession. When the quantitative and qualitative findings of the research were evaluated together, it was determined that the members of the accounting profession suggested the following more as a solution to the unfair competition problem: solving the payment collection problem, putting office standards into use, increasing chamber audits for the members of the profession, increasing ethics training, having service qualities increased by the members of the profession, complying with the minimum wage tariff, and regulating the increase in the number of professionals in parallel with the increase in the business volume. As a result, it can be said that regulations related to the abovementioned issues should be given priority in order to solve this problem of the profession. As can be understood from the research findings, there are very different suggestions for solving the problem of unfair competition in the profession. In this context, important progress can be made in solving the unfair competition problem in the profession if these suggestions are supported by professional organizations and legal regulations and practices aimed at finding a solution are put into effect.