International academics from diverse traditions presented their latest findings and work-in-progress for comment and discussion. A key feature of the conference was the decision to accept papers that were at a very preliminary stage, which ensured that conversations were more than usually lively.
If there was a single conclusion to be drawn from the conference, it was that the professions are changing, and academic work on the professions has to keep up with those changes. While only Joe Broschak, presenting a paper written with Laura Empson and Huseyin Leblebici, argued explicitly that we needed to move ‘beyond received wisdom’, the discussions following other papers constantly called into question the continuing relevance of established theories. And while in the past the focus of study might most commonly have been the firm, the frames of reference now seem to be broader, bringing in the individual professional, and relationships with other organisations, regulatory bodies, and governments.