Does professional accounting qualification matter for the provision of accounting services?

Abstract Purpose The purpose of the chapter is to contribute to the discussion as to whether some sort of regulation of professional accountants is warranted, by analysing whether professional qualification of accountants affects the provision of accounting services. Methodology/approach A survey method is used. From a sample of 96 accountants providing accounting services in Slovenia, we estimate the structural equation model and measure competences, knowledge, service mix, customer loyalty and litigation risk. Findings We find that professional qualification is positively associated with competences. Competences, in turn, are positively associated with knowledge and wider service product mix, but not with customer loyalty and litigation risk. Research limitations The respondents are practicing accountants. Their self-evaluation of their knowledge should be treated with caution in terms of the absolute values of assessed knowledge as they are inevitably subjective. For other variables, more objective measures are used. Research implications In the absence of accounting profession regulation, the quality of financial reporting may be particularly vulnerable in micro companies. Although answering the question of whether provision of accounting services should be subject to regulation is not straight-forward, the results of our study provide some guidance for regulatory decision making.