Gallup: Accounting Reputation in Recovery

Gallup’s annual update on the images of various business and industry sectors in the country finds that the accounting profession image appears to be recovering.

But, Gallup says, “Even though the accounting sector fares better this year, these ratings are still lower than they were before the accounting scandals in late 2001 and 2002 at major corporations like Enron and WorldCom.”


The current score for the accounting sector is +28, up from +20 last year. In 2001, Americans rated this sector with a net +39 score, but after the accounting scandals came to light in 2002, its net score dropped to 0.
Each year since 2001, Gallup has asked Americans to rate more than 20 business and industry sectors in the country on a five-point scale ranging from very positive to very negative. A net image score is calculated by subtracting the percentage saying “very negative” or “somewhat negative” from the percentage saying “very positive” or “somewhat positive.” The middle rating of “neutral” is not factored into these scores.

At the top of the list is the restaurant industry, with a net positive rating of +50, followed by the computer industry (+47), farming and agriculture (+45), and the grocery industry (+43). Next on the list are the retail industry (+37), the travel industry (+35), accounting (up 28 points), the Internet industry (+24), banking (+24), the real estate industry (+23), education (+23), and the publishing industry (+22). The automobile industry, the telephone industry, and the airline industry also receive net positive ratings from the public.

The oil and gas industry is by far the most negatively rated business sector, with a -42 net rating. Also near the bottom of the list are the legal field (-20), the healthcare industry, the pharmaceutical industry, and the federal government (-12). In addition, Americans rate the movie industry, advertising and public relations, the sports industry, television and radio, and the electric and gas utilities more negatively than positively.

Since 2001, the computer industry has consistently scored at the top of the list, with the exception of Gallup’s 2002 poll, in which computers were tied with the restaurant industry in the top spot. The food industries (restaurants, grocery, and agriculture) usually fare well each year, as does the retail industry. The oil and gas industry has ranked at the bottom in each of the past five surveys, while the medical fields (healthcare and pharmaceuticals) and the legal field are also consistently among the most poorly rated.

Posted at August 22, 2005
Filed Under BSG [CPA TRENDLINES] |

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