JOURNAL OF INFORMATION SYSTEMS American Accounting Association

Vol. 29, No. 2 DOI: 10.2308/isys-50894

Summer 2015
pp. 5–21

Efficacy of Social Media Utilization by Public

Accounting Firms: Findings and Directions
for Future Research
Brenda Eschenbrenner
University of Nebraska at Kearney
Fiona Fui-Hoon Nah
Venkata Rajasekhar Telaprolu
Missouri University of Science and Technology

ABSTRACT: Social media presents a new platform for businesses to communicate and
interact with others, both internally and externally. Social media may be utilized for
activities such as sharing success stories and providing industry updates. Although a
plethora of opportunities to achieve business objectives with social media usage exists,
the efficacy of its use by public accounting firms is unclear. This article identifies the
business objectives that Big 4 and second-tier firms are pursuing with social media.
Primary business objectives being fulfilled by social media include Knowledge Sharing,
Branding and Marketing, and Socialization and Onboarding. The findings suggest that
Big 4 firms are pursuing Knowledge Sharing on Facebooke and Twittere to a greater
extent than second-tier firms, while second-tier firms pursue Socialization and
Onboarding on Facebook and Branding and Marketing on Twitter to a greater extent
than Big 4 firms. Suggestions for business opportunities and future research are also
identified.

Keywords: social media; public accounting firms; knowledge sharing; branding and
marketing; socialization and onboarding.

I. INTRODUCTION

S
ocial media refers to a set of network-driven, interactive technologies that support the
creation and sharing of digital content in an online community (Agnihotri, Kothandaraman,
Kashyap, and Singh 2012; Kaplan and Haenlein 2010). Businesses are exploring social
media capabilities because of the importance and potential value in business (Kiron, Palmer,
Phillips, and Kruschwitz 2012; Nair 2011). Social media is also presenting novel and unique
opportunities for public accounting firms. The importance of considering social media as an
emerging means of communication is being equated to the importance of integrating email, which is

The authors are grateful for the review team’s valuable suggestions throughout the review process. The authors also
thank Aniket Dalvi for his assistance with data coding.
Editor’s note: accepted by Roger S. Debreceny.
Published Online: August 2014

5
6 Eschenbrenner, Nah, and Telaprolu

one of the most basic forms of electronic communications (Anonymous 2011). Public accounting
firms, therefore, are looking into establishing a social media presence or enhancing their social
media presence to better support their business objectives.
Massive collections of opinions can be promulgated through popular networking sites. Users
may look to these opinions to find comfort in making decisions or seeking advice (Jeacle 2012). In
the accounting context, stakeholders may look to the auditors and the audit opinions to establish a
sense of comfort and trust in a set of financial statements, thus suggesting that public accounting
firms may leverage this opportunity to promote their services. Social media can be considered as
another aspect of relationship building and is being utilized to foster connections and
collaborations, as well as to assist clients (Anonymous 2009). For instance, firms can provide
evidence of their thought leadership, expertise, capabilities, and knowledge on a particular topic.
Firms can use social media to transform or enhance accountants’ professional images such as
adapting new strategies in professionalism promotions (Saxton 2012) and providing evidence of
their expertise to establish their reputations (Anonymous 2011; Rajan 2011; Werner 2011). Public
accounting firms may also re-engineer their processes for acquiring and distributing knowledge
(Bughin, Chui, and Manyika 2012).
Smaller public accounting firms cite the importance of regular communication and a
professional aura in their social media presence, which can result in increased prospective client
interest and new client acquisition (Padar 2012). Some utilize social media to first capture potential
clients’ interests, and then include links that lead them back to their website to obtain additional
information (Gold 2010). Social media is being cited as a means to achieve differentiation,
influence perceptions of one’s business, and provide a method to promote accountability (Boomer
2009).
An important aspect of developing a social media strategy is to align it with business objectives
(Cain 2012; Culnan, McHugh, and Zubillaga 2010; Templeton 2009). Before strategies can be
formulated, it is helpful to identify specific business objectives that can be achieved through social
media. Also, without an understanding of the business objectives that can be pursued with social
media, public accounting firms may be pursuing a limited set of business objectives or missing out
on opportunities to leverage social media in novel ways.
What should public accounting firms do to capitalize on social media capabilities? Templeton
(2009) offers general guidelines for social media participation but indicates that there is no ‘‘hard
and fast rule’’ on how to utilize social media. The guidelines offered by Templeton (2009) suggest
the importance of transparency, not misleading others, being considerate and respectful, using
discretion, focusing on one’s area of expertise, being diplomatic and polite, avoiding legal issues,
and being cautious about privacy and confidentiality. Public accounting firms may face greater
challenges in social media utilization compared to other types of businesses because of their unique
nature. For example, to what extent can communications with clients be carried out through social
media? To what degree would public accounting firms be held liable or accountable for their advice
offered on social media? These questions increase the challenges faced by public accounting firms
in their utilization of social media.
Social media provides a platform for firms to address issues and educate or communicate with
clients. Social media can also be used for marketing purposes to increase brand awareness and
reputation. So, how are public accounting firms utilizing social media for achieving their business
objectives? Does social media usage differ between the Big 4 and second-tier public accounting
firms? The objective of this article is twofold: (1) to explore the business objectives that public
accounting firms are pursuing through social media, and (2) to identify differences in social media
usage between the Big 4 and second-tier public accounting firms.
In order to understand social media usage by public accounting firms, Facebooke and
Twittere messages posted by Big 4 and second-tier public accounting firms were coded according

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Efficacy of Social Media Utilization by Public Accounting Firms 7

to their business objectives. Results suggest that the business objectives being pursued most
saliently were Knowledge Sharing, followed by Branding and Marketing and Socialization and
Onboarding. Business objectives pursued to a lesser extent included Training and Development
and Recruitment and Selection. Business objectives such as Influencing Organizational Culture/
Change and Creativity and Problem Solving were pursued minimally or not at all. In general, Big 4
firms utilized social media for Knowledge Sharing on Facebook and Twitter to a greater extent than
second-tier firms. On the other hand, second-tier firms utilized Facebook for Socialization and
Onboarding and Twitter for Branding and Marketing to a greater extent than Big 4 firms.
The contributions of this article include offering a more extensive understanding of social
media usage by public accounting firms in achieving their business objectives and identifying future
research opportunities in this context. The organization of this paper is as follows. First, the relevant
literature on social media, business objectives that can be achieved through social media, the
accounting profession, and social media usage by public accounting firms is reviewed. Then, the
case study utilized to identify the business objectives that are being pursued by both Big 4 and
second-tier public accounting firms using Facebook and Twitter is described, followed by a
summary of the findings. Subsequently, future research opportunities based on the findings are
presented.

II. BACKGROUND AND REVIEW OF LITERATURE

Social media has made and is continuing to make noticeable impacts on many facets of
organizational endeavors. It has emerged in commerce, collaborative activities, investor relations,
and customer relationship management (Agnihotri et al. 2012; Nair 2011; Saxton 2012). For
example, SAP was a leading adopter of social media to facilitate interactions with customers.
General Electric Co. has not only utilized social media to complement its training events to develop
a ‘‘learning community,’’ but has also utilized it to leverage existing workers’ expertise and
facilitate social learning (Kalman 2012). Businesses have reduced costs by developing client-
accessible platforms permitting information updates and retrieval; they could also use social media
for crowdsourcing and information-sharing activities to foster innovation (Levy 2012). Despite a
sense of urgency to utilize social media, businesses are facing challenges in identifying the
appropriate social media strategies to achieve their business objectives (Ployhart 2012). Therefore,
the literature to identify business objectives that can be achieved with social media is reviewed next.

Social Media Usage—Business Objectives

Investments in social media usage have been driven by various business objectives, such as the
seven business objectives identified by Ployhart (2012): recruitment and selection, socialization and
onboarding, training and development, knowledge sharing, branding and marketing, creativity and
problem solving, and influencing organizational culture/change. The first column in Table 1
summarizes these business objectives.
The Recruitment and Selection objective entails identifying high-caliber, qualified candidates
through social media with the aim of enhancing the quality of candidates who are recruited (Bhanot
2012; Ployhart 2012). The Socialization and Onboarding objective encompasses enhancing
organizational identification and commitment, as well as promoting employee attachment and
engagement (Bhanot 2012; Chanda and Zaorski 2013; Ployhart 2012). The Training and
Development objective entails developing skills with high-quality training in an efficient and cost-
effective manner (Ployhart 2012). The Knowledge Sharing objective involves rapid and cost-
efficient distribution of information and knowledge with relative ease (Bhanot 2012; Chanda and
Zaorski 2013; Ployhart 2012).

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8 Eschenbrenner, Nah, and Telaprolu

TABLE 1
Business Objectives of Social Media Usage by Big 4 and Second-Tier Firms: Facebook (FB)
and Twitter (TW) Usage
Usage by
Usage by Big 4 Firms Second-Tier Firms
(Percentages across (Percentages across
Business Objectives (Ployhart 2012) Business Objectives) Business Objectives)
Recruitment and Selection—improve sourcing of FB: 0.5% FB: 0%
candidates and enhance candidate quality TW: 0.1% TW: 0.1%
Socialization and Onboarding—increase FB: 15.4% FB: 27.5%
organizational identification and commitment TW: 3.5% TW: 2.2%
Training and Development—increase training FB: 0.7% FB: 0%
effectiveness and/or reduce training costs TW: 0% TW: 0%
Knowledge Sharing—rapid dissemination of FB: 59.3% FB: 45.6%
information and knowledge at low cost TW: 73.0% TW: 58.5%
Branding and Marketing—enhance brand value and FB: 23.8% FB: 26.9%
marketing effort TW: 23.4% TW: 39.2%
Creativity and Problem Solving—increase quality, FB: 0% FB: 0%
accuracy, and speed of problem solving TW: 0% TW: 0%
Influencing Organizational Culture/Change— FB: 0.3% FB: 0%
reinforce or change organizational culture TW: 0% TW: 0%

The Branding and Marketing objective encompasses enhancing branding efforts or brand
awareness, promoting existing products, improving customer relationships, and cultivating new
leads through social media (Bhanot 2012; Chanda and Zaorski 2013; Ployhart 2012; Tasner 2011).
The Creativity and Problem-Solving objective relates to the ability to develop solutions to
problems, as well as facilitate innovation and idea generation (de Hertogh, Viaene, and Dedene
2011; Ployhart 2012). They can be accomplished by individuals sharing their knowledge and
experiences in a collective manner through social media, with the outcome being the development
of novel ideas and solutions. The final business objective, Influencing Organizational Culture/
Change, encompasses reinforcing existing culture or fostering cultural changes (Bhanot 2012;
Ployhart 2012). In summary, there are ample business objectives that have the potential of being
accomplished through social media usage.
Because of the unique nature of the accounting industry, the literature on social media usage by
public accounting firms is also reviewed and is presented next.

Public Accounting Firms and Their Usage of Social Media

Because of the unique impact that social media may have on public accounting firms,
examining social media usage by these firms is warranted. Research has explored online
accountability with social media (Scott and Orlikowski 2012) and stakeholder relationships (Saxton
2012). In the accounting context, research has also examined the impact of web disclosures,
investor dialogue, and message boards on investor perceptions and market reactions (Saxton 2012).
Accounting services are uniquely characterized in comparison to other service industries in
regard to quality and perceptions of quality of the services rendered. Social media may influence
factors associated with actual or perceived audit quality, or provide a platform to develop these
factors. Although the quality of services provided is important in almost all service industries, the
measure of quality in auditing is gauged by the level of trust or reliance that is placed on the end

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Efficacy of Social Media Utilization by Public Accounting Firms 9

product (Carrington 2010; Holm and Zaman 2012). Auditing has been viewed as a process in which
a set of financial statements surrounded by uncertainties in regard to reliability is transformed into a
set of statements that can be trusted (Pentland 1993). It has been noted that ‘‘trust by necessity
begins where knowledge ends. Therefore, the lack of accounting sophistication on the part of
uninformed users along with the absence of alternatives means that uninformed users must trust
auditors’’ (Neu 1991, 308).
On the other hand, public accounting firms have a vested interest in developing and
maintaining the criteria to assess audit quality in order to protect the reputation of the audit process
(Holm and Zaman 2012). Auditors need to not only comply with audit procedures, but also must do
so in a professional manner and exude a professional appearance. Impression management is
important to public accounting firms in order to preserve perceptions of trustworthiness and
reliability in the context of audit quality (Holm and Zaman 2012; Neu 1991). Social media can play
a role in offering transparency in a public accounting firm’s audit process to increase its credibility
and reputation.
Audit quality is also heavily dependent on the knowledge, skills, experience, and characteristics
of audit personnel, i.e., the firm’s human capital (Chen, Hsu, Huang, and Yang 2013; Holm and
Zaman 2012). Emphasis on professional judgment, skepticism, and independence is critical to
auditing (Jenkins, Deis, Bedard, and Curtis 2008). Therefore, recruiting and training are critical to
public accounting firms. Social media can also be used for impression management purposes in which
the rigor of such training programs are made apparent. Although development of personnel can come
from formal training, many personal characteristics are developed through mentoring (Holm and
Zaman 2012), where social media can also play a role. Auditors distinguish themselves with not only
their expertise in conducting the audit process, but also the level of professionalism with which they
do so. Such professionalism can also be conveyed through social media.
Public accounting firms may consider leveraging social media to accomplish various business
objectives associated with enhancing actual or perceived audit quality, e.g., building trust and
positive public perceptions, and developing audit professionals.

Leveraging Social Media—Big 4 versus Second-Tier Public Accounting Firms

Within the accounting industry, public accounting firms may leverage social media for different
purposes. Although some resources and technical expertise is required to utilize social media, such
expertise is not expected to be a barrier to entry or necessarily a differentiating factor for Big 4 and
second-tier public accounting firms. However, from a strength-based perspective, the business
objectives or strategies they may be pursuing could be different because of existing differences, or
perceptions of differences, between the Big 4 and second-tier firms. Social media may be utilized to
highlight the strengths that provide strategic advantages that are the differentiating factors.
A differentiating factor of Big 4 public accounting firms, in comparison to second-tier firms, is
auditing the majority of SEC-listed firms (Dey and Robin 2011). Also, in the United States, Big 4
firms have more employees than second-tier firms (Anonymous 2013). Therefore, the Big 4 firms
have more experience with SEC clients and a larger base of professionals. Considering the
dominance that Big 4 firms have of SEC clients and the associated perceptions of distinction of
working for a Big 4 firm, the Big 4 may leverage social media to emphasize their expertise,
highlight their core competency or competitive advantage, and become an information source for
timely industry topics. Social media could be a means of building public stakeholder trust.
Accounting students and professionals have noted their perceptions of the employment
advantages of Big 4 over non-Big 4. These perceptions include the prestige, future career
opportunities, compensation packages, greater resources and training, and the possibility of
working on notable client engagements (Bagley, Dalton, and Ortgren 2012). Perceptions of the

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10 Eschenbrenner, Nah, and Telaprolu

disadvantages of Big 4 include the significant amount of work hours, high-pressure environment,
and lack of industry diversity (Bagley et al. 2012). In this regard, Big 4 firms may utilize social
media for training and highlight training opportunities in conjunction with perceptions of having
greater resources. Big 4 firms may also leverage social media to address disadvantages, such as the
demanding and stressful work environment, by highlighting firm and employee successes,
expressing appreciation for employees, and making efforts to increase employee loyalty and
commitment to the firm.
Research has demonstrated the relationship between retention and successful acculturation
(Jenkins et al. 2008). Big 4 firms may consider utilizing social media for employee acculturation to
improve retention. Second-tier firms may focus on recruitment efforts to emphasize their more
desirable work hours and environment. RSM McGladrey began utilizing social media to enhance
recruitment in 2008 by providing content and developing ‘‘talent communities’’ (Gotkin 2010).
Also, second-tier firms may focus more on marketing efforts to highlight the various industries they
specialize in, which can attract potential clients as well as recruits who may value greater
diversification.

III. CASE STUDY TO ANALYZE SOCIAL MEDIA USAGE

Because of the novelty and richness of social media, a case study that combines qualitative and
quantitative methods was utilized to identify the business objectives that are being pursued by both
Big 4 and second-tier public accounting firms. The use of a case study permits an exploratory
approach, which can generate a rich set of findings that can be an impetus for future research in this
domain. It also allows quantification of the qualitative data in order to carry out statistical analyses
while preserving the richness of the qualitative analysis.
The case study was conducted using the content analysis approach where the messages posted on
Facebook and Twitter by Big 4 and second-tier public accounting firms were analyzed and then
quantified by coding each message into one of seven business objectives identified by Ployhart (2012)
on organizational use of social media—see Table 1 for a summary of Ployhart’s coding scheme.
Ployhart’s (2012) classifications were chosen because they offer the most comprehensive listing of
business objectives that can be achieved with social media usage.1 Also, Twitter and Facebook were
selected for analysis because they are the most popular social media platforms utilized by Fortune 500
companies (Culnan et al. 2010). Facebook and Twitter messages posted by public accounting firms in
the year of 2012, which is the year prior to this study being conducted, were analyzed. Messages from
earlier years were not coded because utilization of social media has matured so rapidly in 2012 (e.g.,
Tweetse from Deloitte and KPMG in 2011 could not be found online).
For each message, the coder interpreted its intent (i.e., business objective) in the context of the
message and then classified it into one of the categories in Ployhart’s classifications. Two
independent coders carried out a subset of the coding and achieved a very high inter-rater reliability
with a Kappa coefficient of 0.95. Given the high level of agreement between the two independent
coders, one of the two coders completed the rest of the coding.
Yin’s (1994) three principles of data collection (i.e., use of multiple sources of evidence,
creation of a database, and maintenance of a chain of evidence) were utilized to ensure issues of
reliability and validity were addressed. The first principle was addressed using two independent

1
The Big 4 and second-tier public accounting firms were approached to inquire about their business objectives
associated with social media usage as part of this study. Of the three that responded and shared this information,
the business objectives highlighted included recruitment, socialization, knowledge sharing, brand building and
awareness, client engagement, and marketing, which are consistent with existing literature. However, Training
and Development, Creativity and Problem Solving, and Influencing Organizational Culture/Change, which are
included in Ployhart’s (2012) classifications, were not mentioned by these firms.

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Efficacy of Social Media Utilization by Public Accounting Firms 11

coders to check for reliability and validity of the coding, as noted previously. The second and third
principles (i.e., creation of a database and maintenance of a chain of evidence) allow for an
independent party to trace the complete data-analysis process from the raw data to the final
conclusions. Both coders maintained independent and detailed documentation of their coding
results alongside the set of messages that were posted by each firm on any specific posting date. The
direct mapping from the individual messages posted on Facebook and Twitter to the categories that
they have been classified into was clearly indicated on each coder’s coding sheet. Clear definitions
of the coding scheme were also provided and used by the coders. All coding steps and data analyses
were clearly documented and the chain of evidence from the raw data to the final results can be
traced from the beginning (i.e., raw data) to the end (i.e., final results).
Using the coding results, comparative quantitative analyses, or more specifically, Chi-square
(v2) tests, were conducted to assess whether there were differences in postings by the Big 4 and
second-tier (i.e., BDO Seidman, Crowe Horwath, Grant Thornton, and McGladrey & Pullen) public
accounting firms (Dey and Robin 2011; Hogan and Martin 2009). Chi-square tests were used to
assess whether there were differences between them.

Findings
The findings are presented in three parts in terms of social media usage of:
(1) Facebook.
(2) Twitter.
(3) Facebook versus Twitter and Big 4 versus second-tier firms.
A summary of the findings is presented in Table 1 and the detailed data analysis is further
explained next.

Social Media Usage of Facebook

All Big 4 firms maintained an active firm-wide main page on Facebook. However, only two of
the second-tier firms, Crowe Horwath and McGladrey & Pullen, had an active firm-wide Facebook
main page in 2012. BDO (International) and Grant Thornton had main pages on Facebook but they
were inactive with no messages/posts.
For the six firms with an active presence on Facebook, the frequencies and normalized
frequencies (i.e., percentages) of Facebook usage across the seven categories are presented in Table 2.
As presented in Table 2, the highest frequency of Facebook messages was in Knowledge Sharing,
which was followed by Branding and Marketing and Socialization and Onboarding. The other four
categories—Recruitment and Selection, Training and Development, Creativity and Problem Solving,
and Influencing Organizational Culture/Change—had no or minimal posts by the firms.

Social Media Usage of Twitter

All Big 4 firms had a firm-wide presence on Twitter. However, only two of the second-tier
firms, Crowe Horwath and Grant Thornton, had a firm-wide presence on Twitter in 2012.
The Twitter posts by these six firms were coded and the frequencies, as well as normalized
frequencies (i.e., percentages), are reported in Table 3.
As presented in Table 3, the highest frequency of Twitter messages was in Knowledge Sharing,
which was followed by Branding and Marketing, and then by Socialization and Onboarding. The
other four categories—Recruitment and Selection, Training and Development, Creativity and
Problem Solving, and Influencing Organizational Culture/Change—had zero or a minimal number
of messages.

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12 Eschenbrenner, Nah, and Telaprolu

TABLE 2
Facebook Usage Frequencies and Normalized Frequencies/Percentages
(out of 100)
Firm R&S S&O T&D KS B&M C&PS IOC/C
Deloitte 1 (0.7%) 43 (27.9%) 0 (0.0%) 63 (40.9%) 45 (29.2%) 0 (0.0%) 2 (1.3%)
EY 0 (0.0%) 6 (5.3%) 3 (2.7%) 93 (82.3%) 11 (9.7%) 0 (0.0%) 0 (0.0%)
PwC 0 (0.0%) 10 (8.5%) 0 (0.0%) 89 (75.4%) 19 (16.1%) 0 (0.0%) 0 (0.0%)
KPMGa 1 (1.3%) 15 (20.0%) 0 (0.0%) 29 (38.7%) 30 (40.0%) 0 (0.0%) 0 (0.0%)
Crowe Horwath 0 (0.0%) 8 (25.0%) 0 (0.0%) 18 (56.2%) 6 (18.8%) 0 (0.0%) 0 (0.0%)
McGladrey & 0 (0.0%) 37 (30.0%) 0 (0.0%) 43 (35.0%) 43 (35.0%) 0 (0.0%) 0 (0.0%)
Pullen
Total 2 (0.3%) 119 (19.4%) 3 (0.5%) 335 (54.5%) 154 (25.0%) 0 (0.0%) 2 (0.3%)
a
Because only the last five months of data (i.e., August–December 2012) for KPMG were available on Facebook at the
time of coding, normalized frequencies were used for data analysis across these firms.

Variable Definitions:
R&S ¼ Recruitment and Selection;
S&O ¼ Socialization and Onboarding;
T&D ¼ Training and Development;
KS ¼ Knowledge Sharing;
B&M ¼ Branding and Marketing;
C&PS ¼ Creativity and Problem Solving; and
IOC/C ¼ Influencing Organizational Culture/Change.

TABLE 3
Twitter Usage Frequencies and Normalized Frequencies/Percentages
(out of 100)
Firm R&S S&O T&D KS B&M C&PS IOC/C
Deloittea 0 (0.0%) 13 (2.6%) 0 (0.0%) 305 (60.9%) 183 (36.5%) 0 (0.0%) 0 (0.0%)
EY 1 (0.2%) 37 (5.8%) 0 (0.0%) 431 (68.0%) 165 (26.0%) 0 (0.0%) 0 (0.0%)
PwC 3 (0.2%) 42 (2.6%) 0 (0.0%) 1,350 (82.0%) 250 (15.2%) 0 (0.0%) 1 (0.1%)
KPMGa 0 (0.0%) 18 (3.2%) 0 (0.0%) 461 (81.1%) 89 (15.7%) 0 (0.0%) 0 (0.0%)
Crowe Horwath 1 (0.3%) 8 (2.7%) 0 (0.0%) 147 (50.0%) 138 (47.0%) 0 (0.0%) 0 (0.0%)
Grant Thornton 0 (0.0%) 6 (1.7%) 0 (0.0%) 228 (66.9%) 107 (31.4%) 0 (0.0%) 0 (0.0%)
Total 5 (0.1%) 124 (3.1%) 0 (0.0%) 2,922 (73.4%) 932 (23.4%) 0 (0.0%) 1 (0.0%)

a
Because only the last three months of data (October–December 2012) for Deloitte and the last four months of data
(September–December 2012) for KPMG were available on Twitter at the time of coding, only normalized frequencies
were used for data analysis across these firms.

Variable Definitions:
R&S ¼ Recruitment and Selection;
S&O ¼ Socialization and Onboarding;
T&D ¼ Training and Development;
KS ¼ Knowledge Sharing;
B&M ¼ Branding and Marketing;
C&PS ¼ Creativity and Problem Solving; and
IOC/C ¼ Influencing Organizational Culture/Change.

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Efficacy of Social Media Utilization by Public Accounting Firms 13

TABLE 4
Average Normalized Frequencies of Social Media Usage
Big 4 versus Second-Tier Firms
Socialization and Branding and
Onboarding Knowledge Sharing Marketing
Firm Facebook/Twitter Facebook/Twitter Facebook/Twitter
Big 4 15/4 59/73 24/23
Second-Tier 28/2 46/58 27/39

Social Media Usage: Facebook versus Twitter and Big 4 versus Second-Tier Firms
Differences between (1) Facebook and Twitter usage, and (2) Big 4 and second-tier firms were
analyzed. Because Chi-square tests are not able to take 0 values (or frequencies) (refer to Tables 2
and 3 for the respective frequencies), the analysis was focused on the three main categories found
on Facebook and Twitter: Knowledge Sharing, Branding and Marketing, and Socialization and
Onboarding.
The average normalized frequencies of Facebook versus Twitter posts by Big 4 versus second-
tier firms are presented in Table 4.
The Chi-square tests show that Big 4 and second-tier firms differ in their usage of Facebook as
well as Twitter (v2 ¼ 5.7; p , 0.01 for Facebook, and v2 ¼ 6.5; p , 0.01 for Twitter). As shown in
Table 4, Big 4 firms had more Facebook and Twitter posts for Knowledge Sharing than second-tier
firms (i.e., 59 percent versus 46 percent for Facebook posts, 73 percent versus 58 percent for Twitter
posts). However, second-tier firms had relatively more Socialization and Onboarding messages on
Facebook in comparison to Big 4 firms (i.e., 28 percent by second-tier firms as compared to 15
percent by Big 4 firms), while second-tier firms had relatively more Twitter posts related to Branding
and Marketing as compared to Big 4 firms (i.e., 39 percent versus 23 percent of Twitter posts).
The overall average normalized frequencies of Facebook versus Twitter posts by these firms
are presented in Table 5.
The Chi-square test suggests that public accounting firms differ in their Facebook versus
Twitter usage (v2 ¼ 13.3; p , 0.001). As presented in Table 5, Facebook was more heavily utilized
for Socialization and Onboarding in comparison to Twitter, but Twitter was utilized relatively more
to accomplish the business objectives of Knowledge Sharing and Branding and Marketing
compared to Facebook.

Summary of Findings
In summary, public accounting firms are utilizing Facebook and Twitter to achieve three main
business objectives:2 (1) Knowledge Sharing, (2) Socialization and Onboarding, and (3) Branding
and Marketing. The other potential objectives that could be achieved, but were only done

2
When we followed up with the Big 4 and second-tier public accounting firms regarding social media usage, their
responses are consistent with this study’s results except for Recruitment and Selection. The firms that responded
to our inquiry for follow-up indicated that recruitment was one of the objectives of social media usage; however,
the findings of this study indicate that it was only pursued minimally. This could be due to firms utilizing specific
Facebook career pages in addition to the Facebook main pages that are examined in this research, or exclusively
using other social media outlets for recruiting. For instance, one firm indicated that they utilized LinkedIne for
recruiting efforts.

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14 Eschenbrenner, Nah, and Telaprolu

TABLE 5
Average Normalized Frequencies of Facebook versus Twitter Posts
Socialization and Knowledge Branding and
Social Media Onboarding Sharing Marketing
Facebook 19 55 25
Twitter 3 68 29

minimally or not at all, with these social media platforms are: (1) Training and Development, (2)
Recruitment and Selection, (3) Influencing Organizational Culture/Change, and (4) Creativity and
Problem Solving.
A majority of the posts by the firms were associated with the business objective of Knowledge
Sharing. Posts included topics such as industry and regulatory updates, thought leadership
discussions, as well as strategies and advice to address various existing or emerging issues. The
findings suggest that firms utilized social media to showcase their expertise and knowledge.
Overall, the Big 4 firms utilized Facebook and Twitter more extensively for Knowledge Sharing in
comparison to the second-tier firms.
Branding and Marketing was also an important objective that public accounting firms pursued
with social media usage. Posts included announcing awards and recognitions earned, as well as
advertising firm sponsorships and new firm developments. Firms utilized social media to enhance
and extend their marketing and branding efforts. Second-tier firms utilized Twitter for Branding
and Marketing more than the Big 4 public accounting firms.
Socialization and Onboarding refers to facilitating identification and making connections with
the firm, as well as socializing with and among employees in the firm. Posts included various
greetings (e.g., welcome messages for new employees), employee stories, and messages to engage
stakeholders in discussions or events by posting and asking questions and requesting their
responses. Facebook was used more extensively than Twitter for Socialization and Onboarding for
both Big 4 and second-tier public accounting firms, and second-tier firms posted more messages on
Facebook for Socialization and Onboarding in comparison to the Big 4 public accounting firms.

IV. IMPLICATIONS AND FUTURE RESEARCH

The prevalence of emerging technologies, such as social media, and the potential influence on
the audit profession provide new realms of possibilities in practice and research. Public accounting
firms are utilizing Facebook and Twitter for knowledge sharing, branding and marketing, and
socialization and onboarding. Questions arise as to whether social media is appropriate for
supporting training and development, recruitment and selection, creativity and problem solving, and
organizational culture/change. Table 6 presents categories that are relevant to these objectives and
other possibilities for further research. These categories are discussed next.

Audit Training and Development

Social media can potentially play a role in audit training and development. Future research can
explore the efficacy of using training tools, such as quizzes and short lessons, on social media that
are offered periodically to educate stakeholders on the latest trends and basic knowledge of
auditing. Potential topics could include ethics or technical training, as well as industry updates.
Future research can also address an audit-related research question that has been proposed
(Jenkins et al. 2008, 68): ‘‘What are the most effective forms and methodologies for ethics

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Efficacy of Social Media Utilization by Public Accounting Firms 15

Social Media in Public Accounting Firms—Categories for Research
Research Category
Audit Training and Development
Auditor Recruitment, Selection,
and Retention
Audit Team Collaboration and
Problem-solving
Reshaping or Nurturing
Organizational Culture/Change
Enhancing Public Accounting
Firm Trust, Brand, and
Association
Other Categories
Risk Assessment
Governance
TABLE 6
Description
Format of training using social media, effectiveness of social
media in auditor development, and specific topics most
conducive to training with social media.
Recruiting activities with social media, assessment of person-
organization fit, and influence on employee commitment to and
identification with the firm.
Enhancing audit quality among audit team members using social
media, effectiveness of problem solving or generating creative
solutions using social media, and integration of social media
with existing technology applications.
Modification or reinforcement of organizational culture and values,
and social media’s potential in acculturating employees after
change (e.g., merger).
Impact on perceptions of the audit process, service to the public,
and trust; evaluate connectedness with potential and existing
clients, as well as standing within the community and industry.
Assessment of risk associated with social media and identifying
proper controls to mitigate risks.
Best methods of governance of social media—assessing user-
driven and directed versus regulated and controlled social media
usage.

training?’’ An experimental study could include ethics training in which scenarios are presented
through social media applications that involve ethical dilemmas. After the scenario is presented,
participants would be able to respond with their analysis of the dilemma, ethical principles that
should be considered, and suggestions for resolutions, as well as view others’ responses and
comment on them. Suggestions have been made to not only study the design and effectiveness of
ethics training, but to also explore the diminishing impact of ethics training over time (Jenkins et al.
2008). Longitudinal studies could also be conducted to assess the long-term effectiveness of using
social media to continuously train or reinforce ethical principles and beliefs. Relevant research
questions include:
 What role can social media play in auditor development?
 Is auditor training through social media more effective than traditional training methods?
Which social media application is most effective?
 Are auditors who receive continuous training or reinforcement of ethical principles through
social media more likely to make ethical decisions or behave ethically?

Auditor Recruitment, Selection, and Retention

From social media participation, it is possible for a firm to identify promising candidates or
outstanding professionals for targeted recruitment. In addition, social media can be used to
disseminate job announcements, accept job applications and resumes, and answer questions about

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16 Eschenbrenner, Nah, and Telaprolu

specific job announcements.3 For existing employees, firms can focus on socialization strategies to
enhance employee loyalty and identification with the firm.
Competitiveness exists between Big 4 and second-tier public accounting firms in recruitment
efforts (Bagley et al. 2012). Future research can evaluate the influence of social media on relevant
recruitment factors or perceptions, such as the reputations of Big 4 firms or work-life balance of
second-tier firms, and the resulting impact on firm selection. Other research has highlighted the
importance of identifying audit recruits whose values are congruent with the organization’s values
and actively integrating them into the organization (Chatman 1991). New employees with better
person-organization fit intend to continue employment with the firm and adapt more efficiently and
effectively. Future research can explore social media’s influence on these factors and the impact on
subsequent employee adaptation and turnover. Related research questions include:
 What impact does social media have on auditor recruitment in comparison to, or in
conjunction with, traditional methods? Can social media be utilized to influence recruits’
perceptions of Big 4 versus second-tier public accounting firms?
 Does social media usage improve person-organization fit for new employees of public
accounting firms and, subsequently, employee retention?

Audit Team Collaboration and Problem-solving

Future research can explore more effective means of serving clients, collaborating among audit
teams, developing creative solutions to unique issues, and solving problems with social media.
Jenkins et al. (2008, 60) noted, ‘‘Since knowledge and expertise are unevenly distributed among the
personnel in audit firms, it is vital for these organizations to devise methods for knowledge sharing.’’
Research can focus on evaluating whether such collaborations and crowdsourcing activities that
utilize and incorporate the expertise and resources of others can help to improve audit quality.
Research can explore the use of social media as a complement to existing audit technologies to
help produce more creative and effective solutions, considering advanced technologies have been
utilized as supplements to traditional technologies (Huber 1990). Experimental studies could
compare the use of social media as a complement to decision-making tools for brainstorming
solutions to a given audit problem versus the sole usage of the decision-making tools without a
social media component. Assessments of participant satisfaction, efficiency or time on task,
creativeness of solutions generated, and quality of decisions can be made. Relevant research
questions include:
 Do crowdsourcing or collaborative efforts among audit teams using social media improve
audit quality?
 Do problem-solving activities using social media result in more creative or efficient audit
solutions, or higher-quality outcomes?
 Can social media supplement existing audit technologies? Do these complementary pairings
produce more innovative audit solutions and greater auditor satisfaction?

Reshaping or Nurturing Organizational Culture/Change

Social media has the potential to reshape or nurture a public accounting firm’s organizational
culture/change. For example, Twitter could be used to tweet messages that make a public
accounting firm’s philosophy and culture more transparent to both employees and the public,

3
Because most of the public accounting firms have a Facebook careers page, recruitment and selection activities
may be carried out to a greater extent on those pages.

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Efficacy of Social Media Utilization by Public Accounting Firms 17

whereas Facebook could be used to post messages or examples of changes in culture that the firm is
progressing toward. Social media research could attempt to answer a research question that was
posed earlier by Jenkins et al. (2008, 65): ‘‘Have changes in the audit environment (e.g., greater
reliance on technology and flexible work schedules) altered the effectiveness of traditional
acculturation mechanisms such as formal training, on-the-job experiences, and modeling the
behaviors of others?’’ Studies could compare the effectiveness of using social media versus email or
a traditional newsletter to foster a public accounting firm’s culture.
Another potential avenue of research is evaluating the use of social media in the context of firm
mergers. Mergers can negatively impact knowledge sharing if the acculturation process is slow or
problematic (Jenkins et al. 2008). The use of social media to acculturate employees could be
explored in future studies. Related research questions include:
 To what extent can social media be used to influence the culture of a public accounting firm?
 What role can social media play in the acculturation process in the context of firm mergers?
What influence does it have on firm activities related to the acculturation process, such as
knowledge sharing?

Enhancing Public Accounting Firm Trust, Brand, and Association

Social media can also be used to enhance a firm’s brand and its image. Public accounting firms
can utilize social media to highlight the firm’s strengths and accomplishments, which can foster
associations with the firm and influence perceptions of the firm. Future research could evaluate the
impact of utilizing social media to enhance trust in public accounting firms and the audit process, as
well as perceptions of serving the public interest. Research has identified differences in perceptions
of accounting information quality, in the context of audit quality, even though differences in actual
audit quality were minimal (Boone, Khurana, and Raman 2010). Perceptions of which firms use
social media, how it is being used, or for what purpose it is being used may influence stakeholders’
perceptions and be topics for future research.
Research may explore stakeholder perceptions of social media usage in situational contexts.
For example, the fit of social media to manage perceptions or counter rumors of negative events
before and after their occurrence or announcement need to be assessed (Saxton 2012). Future
research could utilize surveys that evaluate perceptions of trust, adherence to professional
responsibilities, and service to the public both before and after negative announcements are made.
Future research could evaluate utilizing social media as a preemptive step to lessen the impact of
negative announcements and its ability to make public trust more resilient. Examples of research
questions are:
 Are public accounting firms able to utilize social media to enhance levels of trust as well as
perceptions of their firms?
 What role can social media play in fostering relationships with existing or potential clients?
 Can social media be utilized to proactively manage the impact of negative announcements or
events? Can social media be used to influence the resiliency of the public’s trust in audit
services?

Other Research Opportunities

Risk Assessment
Considering risks associated with social media usage have been viewed as equivalent to
financial risks (Tabone 2012), future research can evaluate risks and associated controls. Risks of
concern can be related to reputations, competitiveness, security, policy violations, intellectual
property exposure, and information acquisition (Culnan et al. 2010; Henry 2013; Anonymous

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18 Eschenbrenner, Nah, and Telaprolu

2009). These risks can be detrimental to a firm from a legal perspective and may harm Branding
and Marketing efforts to enhance the firm’s reputation or perceptions of its trustworthiness.
Future research may examine the impact of trust, commitment, privacy concerns, and loyalty in
social media interactions (Agnihotri et al. 2012; Boritz and No 2011). Risk management issues,
such as privacy notices or monitoring procedures (Culnan et al. 2010), can be explored. Research
can also focus on separating concerns regarding issues such as security and privacy from
management’s relaxation of control (de Hertogh et al. 2011). Relevant research questions are as
follows:
 How should public accounting firms evaluate the risks associated with social media usage?
What controls should be in place to manage associated risks?

Governance
Governance of social media can also be explored in future studies (Culnan et al. 2010). For
instance, questions such as the role of internal auditors in evaluating risks, internal controls, and
policy development of social media need to be addressed (Cain 2012). Considerations may be given
to issues such as who and how to monitor content accuracy (Mergel 2013). In this regard and in
conjunction with Knowledge Sharing strategies, considerations may also be given to the audience—
audit professionals versus the public—and their interpretation of the content.
Future research can address challenges with social media use such as allowing undisciplined
participation (Agnihotri et al. 2012). Lacking a structured approach may lead to a social media
application that provides inaccurate, unreliable, or untimely information. This may lead to
outcomes such as reduced levels of trust in public accounting firms or negative perceptions of
professionalism. Research may evaluate the potential of self-governance in which users guide
behaviors through comments and rebuttals that signal acceptable versus unacceptable behaviors.
Enforcement of regulations and restrictions on the use of social media, as well as the importance of
permitting evolving governance, can be considered in future research (de Hertogh et al. 2011).
Therefore, future research could assess combinations and interactions of individual participation
and behaviors along with various levels of structured guidance. Research questions such as the
following can be studied:
 How should an accounting services firm govern social media usage?
 What is the ideal balance or circumstances surrounding instantiations of self-governance
versus structured and controlled social media usage that public accounting firms should
consider?

V. CONCLUSIONS
Social media presents new mechanisms for public accounting firms to achieve their business
objectives. This study identified the business objectives that are being pursued in social media by
public accounting firms. Considering the uncertainties associated with social media usage by public
accounting firms, this research makes an important contribution in identifying the most salient
business objectives currently being pursued, as well as identifying the gaps that remain and issues
that emerge to be topics of future research.
The findings indicate that the business objectives that are being pursued with the most vigor by
Big 4 and second-tier public accounting firms are Knowledge Sharing, followed by Branding and
Marketing and Socialization and Onboarding. However, Big 4 firms are using social media to
achieve Knowledge Sharing more than second-tier firms, yet the second-tier firms are using social
media to achieve Branding and Marketing (through Twitter) and Socialization and Onboarding
(through Facebook) to a greater extent. Business objectives that could potentially be pursued

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Efficacy of Social Media Utilization by Public Accounting Firms 19

through social media such as Facebook and Twitter, but are currently not being pursued and/or are
pursued minimally include the following: Creativity and Problem Solving, Influencing
Organizational Culture/Change, Training and Development, and Recruitment and Selection.
Future research can explore the potential of public accounting firms acquiring and developing
one of their most important assets—their employees. More specifically, social media’s role in
recruiting, training, developing, and retaining auditors can be the focus of future studies.
Recruitment and retention have been and continue to be a challenge for public accounting firms,
and future research can assess social media’s potential to address some of the issues surrounding
these topics. Training and development topics of relevance to research may include those in which
continuous reinforcement or real-time access to information is necessary. The contribution of social
media to public accounting firms’ work environments and culture is another topic that warrants
further research. These studies may explore facilitation of collaboration, problem-solving, change,
or culture-enhancement activities. Research may focus on social media assisting in the building,
strengthening, or maintenance of trust, brands, associations, and reputations of public accounting
firms and the services they provide. Finally, research can address the issues that social media brings
with it, including risks and the requisite controls to mitigate risks, as well as proper governance.
One limitation of this research is that it examines Facebook and Twitter only. Although these
are two of the most popular social media utilized, future research can examine other types of social
media, such as LinkedIn. Moreover, the comparisons are limited to Big 4 and second-tier public
accounting firms only. A comparison with smaller public accounting firms could also be carried out
and compared to the findings in this study.
Considering the proliferation of social media popularity, its usage will continue to make an
impact on public accounting firms. As with any emerging technology, new benefits will emerge
along with new challenges to overcome. This research is one of the first to examine social media
usage by public accounting firms and provides a platform for future research to build on and extend
this research stream.

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