Perceived legitimacy of sustainability advisory services among French chartered professional accountants: a cognitive integration perspective

Purpose This study aims to investigate how French chartered professional accountants (CPAs) perceive their legitimacy to deliver sustainability advisory services in light of regulatory changes such as the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive. Drawing on legitimacy theory and information integration theory (IIT), it explores how CPAs cognitively integrate cues related to the nature and extent of sustainability services and whether judgements vary across professional subgroups. Design/methodology/approach With the aid of functional measurement methodology, 67 French CPAs evaluated 36 scenarios combining four types of sustainability advisory services (carbon footprint analysis, non-financial reporting, management transformation and mission-driven status), with varying levels of complexity. Cluster analyses and mixed-design analyses of variance identified distinct cognitive patterns in legitimacy judgements. Findings Three clusters of CPAs emerged: the Confident, who consistently judge high legitimacy across all services; the Circumspect, whose legitimacy judgements decrease sharply when services become complex or cumulative; and the Sceptical, who express systematically low legitimacy perceptions, especially of carbon-related services. These profiles highlight heterogeneity within the profession and reveal how personal dispositions and organisational contexts shape legitimacy judgements. Research limitations/implications This study is based on a French convenience sample and hypothetical scenarios, focusing on four service types. Broader contextual and personal factors may affect the findings and warrant further research. Practical implications Strategies to strengthen CPAs’ legitimacy should be tailored to different profiles. Recommended actions include creating specialised sustainability units in firms, offering targeted training programs and clarifying professional and regulatory guidelines for sustainability-related services. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to apply IIT to the accounting profession, bridging cognitive psychology and legitimacy theory. In revealing the heterogeneous and dynamic legitimacy perceptions among CPAs, it also challenges assumptions of uniform scepticism.