Accountants Build Hope. Hope Keeps People.

How hope shapes culture and loyalty in firms 

Hope is not fluff. It is a resource that shapes how people appraise stress and whether they stay. Accounting leaders can—and should—engineer it. 

In this episode of Know-How Korner, host Donny Shimamoto, CPA.CITP, CGMA, interviews Katelynn Hopson, assistant professor of accounting at Arkansas Tech University, whose dissertation examines how accountants’ “state hope” relates to stress appraisal and intentions to stay or leave—especially during busy season.  

What “hope” means in research terms is specific and actionable.
Psychologist C. R. Snyder defines hope as goal-directed thinking with two parts: agency (the will) and pathways (the ways). Hopson focuses on state hope—how hopeful a person feels about a specific period or event (like January through April). Research shows this kind of hope can increase or decrease over time and is tied to outcomes such as burnout and turnover.  

Hope changes how people experience stress.
In the challenge–hindrance stress model, the same workload can be appraised as a motivating challenge or a blocking hindrance. Higher state hope nudges appraisals toward “challenge,” which correlates with better persistence and lower turnover intentions.  

Firms can build a “hope culture.”
Hopson highlights organization-level steps: set and share firm goals, help staff define personal goals, co-create pathways, and hold regular check-ins that are genuine—not performative. Connecting goals at the firm, team, and individual levels increases “embeddedness”—the links, fit, and perceived sacrifices that make people want to stay.  

Accountants can also transfer hope to clients.
Shimamoto notes that accountants routinely provide peace of mind, vision, and clarity—ingredients that help clients see viable pathways and feel agency. That translates into client loyalty and better engagement during difficult seasons.

Listen now to the full episode to explore how perception, storytelling, and emotion drive what we pay—and why.

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