...4 accounting firms had total global revenues of $12.4 billion, of which $3.1 billion were for consulting services (Batters 2002). A second Big 4 accounting firm had total global revenues of $13.8 billion, of which $5.1 billion were for consulting services for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2002 (Staples 2002). For these two firms, the consulting revenues represent approximately 25 percent and 37 percent of the firm's total revenue, respectively. With the recent separation of the different divisions, the accounting firms need other avenues for growth. One potential avenue for future growth is through the provision of privacy services.

Greenstein and Hunton (2003) experimentally investigate the following four questions: (1) What skills do the management of audit clients view as necessary to perform privacy services? (2) Do managers perceive that CPA firms possess the necessary skills? (3) How does the perception of CPA firms compare to other types of service firms who might desire to provide such services? (4) Does a brochure produced by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) change managers' beliefs regarding CPA firms' qualifications? To address these research questions, company managers complete an experimental task that requires responding to questions either prior to or following the reading of an AICPA privacy services brochure.

II. RESEARCH QUESTIONS

Research Questions (RQ) 1, 3, and 4 are closely related. I will therefore discuss these research questions together. I will discuss Research Question 2 last. After identifying the need for certain skills for performing privacy services, RQ 1 addresses the perception of whether accountants posses these skills. Research Question 3 then compares the perceived skills of accountants with the perceived skills of other...

NOTE: All illustrations and photos have been removed from this article.



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