In contrast to the well-known stereotype of the boring, unsociable accountant, today’s public accounting professionals argue that they are boundary spanners. Working at the intersection of the firm/client interface, these professionals contend that sociability is a requisite skill for routinely navigating the many interactions they have with multiple personnel at client organizations. This research aims to address this disconnect and to confront whether the public perception is warranted. Using the Trait Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire (TEIQue), we assess the sociability of 176 public accounting professionals and discover that, contrary to the stereotype, male public accountants are more sociable than males in the general population. Our analysis also demonstrates that female public accountants are no more or less sociable than females in the general population. Additional analysis shows that while male public accountants are more sociable than female public accountants, this effect is attributable to differences at lower levels of the profession and that male-female differences disappear when comparing male managers and partners to female managers and partners. Given the importance of sociability in public accounting, this research offers recruiting strategies that will help to dispel the myth of the unsociable accountant and provides training tips for enhancing sociability within the ranks.

与众所周知的无聊、不善于交际的会计师的刻板印象相反，今天的公共会计专业人士认为他们是跨界者。这些专业人士在公司/客户界面的交汇处工作，认为社交能力是他们与客户组织中的多个人员进行日常互动的必要技能。本研究旨在解决这种脱节问题，并质疑公众的看法是否合理。使用特质情商问卷 (TEIQue)，我们评估了 176 名公共会计专业人士的社交能力，发现与刻板印象相反，男性公共会计师比一般人群中的男性更善于交际。我们的分析还表明，女性公共会计师与一般人群中的女性相比并不多或少善于交际。额外的分析表明，虽然男性公共会计师比女性公共会计师更善于交际，但这种影响归因于较低职业层次的差异，并且在将男性经理和合伙人与女性经理和合伙人进行比较时，男女之间的差异消失了。鉴于社交能力在公共会计中的重要性，本研究提供了有助于消除不善于交际的会计师的神话的招聘策略，并提供了提高员工社交能力的培训技巧。这种影响归因于较低职业层次的差异，并且在将男性经理和合伙人与女性经理和合伙人进行比较时，男女之间的差异消失了。鉴于社交能力在公共会计中的重要性，本研究提供了有助于消除不善于交际的会计师的神话的招聘策略，并提供了提高员工社交能力的培训技巧。这种影响归因于较低职业层次的差异，并且在将男性经理和合伙人与女性经理和合伙人进行比较时，男女之间的差异消失了。鉴于社交能力在公共会计中的重要性，本研究提供了有助于消除不善于交际的会计师的神话的招聘策略，并提供了提高员工社交能力的培训技巧。