Identification and prioritization of Components Effective on Personal Branding of Professional Accountants

This study aims at the presentation of the indexes and variables effective on the personal branding of the professional accountants as well as their customization and prioritization. This study is exploratory by objective, and a combination of qualitative and quantitative research methodology, and has benefitted the methods of content analysis, Fuzzy Delphi method, and interpretive structural technique. First, for the identification of the indexes effective in the personal branding of professional accountants, the content analysis method was used. Then, for the determination and evaluation of the articles of study, a systematic review method was applied, and the texts and articles concerned with personal branding were investigated in the local and foreign databases during 2005-2020. Finally, 87 indexes were identified. Then, using the Fuzzy Delphi method, and the consensus of experts, 24 indexes in proportion with the Iran conditions were introduced. Finally, interpretive structural technique, and forming reachability matrix, the layers effective on the personal branding of accountants were reviewed to define how we could change the accountants with a professional and practical background into a strong personal brand. The study results indicate that the indexes of creativity, growth, and development of individual skills, focus on the presentation of an ideal image, approach to the resources of power and specialized knowledge are the most important indexes which the accountants should strengthen such features in themselves for changing into a personal brand.