Data and methods
Sample
The data we employed for analysis were collected from professional accountants in
Hong Kong. As a full list of accountants practicing in Hong Kong was not available,
a single sampling frame was unattainable so we collected data from three different
sources. Such a sampling design encouraged a broader coverage of people working in the
accounting profession and incorporated accountants with different backgrounds. The first
group of participants was people working in the Certified Public Accountant (CPA) firms
in Hong Kong. The second group consisted of the alumni of the school of professional
accountancy of a local university. The final group of participants was contacted and
recruited through the personal network of one of the authors who works in the accounting
industry. Friends and colleagues were contacted to obtain their referrals to potential