This book, first published in 1988, provides an analysis of recruitment to the new profession of nineteenth-century accountancy, and in doing so, gives an insight into the complex origins and behaviour of the emergent professional classes.

1. Introduction 2. The Determinants of Recruitment to the Society of Accountants in Edinburgh 3. Career Selection: Why Chartered Accountancy? 4. Occupational Preparation: Apprenticeship and Examination 5. Vocational Success and Failure: Professional Training, Qualification and Careers 6. The Limits to Self-Recruitment: Marriage and Fertility 7. Self-Recruitment and Social Mobility 8. Conclusions