부산대학교 도서관

The accounting stereotype can be readily examined in jokes that even accountants tell of themselves. The perception that accountants and their profession are extremely boring, tedious, exacting and stuffy is graphically demonstrated through humor at the expense of accountants. Analysis of many such jokes reveals that far from being a simple characterization, the stereotypical accountant is a complex combination of images that bring together aspects of accounting, bookkeeping and their practitioners. This combination is shown to be very fluid over time, as different historical conditions evidence changes in the assebly of images. The analysis also reveals how significant humor is in revealing the underpinings of public opinion about accountants to themselves.