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Article
Publication date: 1 June 2005

Amanda Ball

This paper aims to explore environmental accounting in terms of long‐term societal transition towards “sustainable development”.

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Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to explore environmental accounting in terms of long‐term societal transition towards “sustainable development”.

Design/methodology/approach

Accordingly, the paper uses an abstracted and generic framework of antecedents to “deinstitutionalisation” (the erosion or discontinuity of institutionalized organisational activities or practices) to analyse a case study of how a UK local government council is responding to an environmental agenda in the context of an array of gradual political, functional and social pressures to change its activities.

Findings

The findings of the study indicate how, in different ways, environmental accounting is pressed into use to promote such change.

Originality/value

Contrary to other frameworks which emphasise how environmental accounting is potentially constructive/empowering or captured/colonized, drawing on this case study the paper argues that environmental accounting may in contrast be mobilised to contribute to a process of deinstitutionalisation, even when attempts to develop such accounting are not entirely successful.

Details

Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, vol. 18 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0951-3574

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 3 April 2019

Kelum Jayasinghe and Shahzad Uddin

The purpose of this paper is to use the case study of development projects in Sri Lanka and development reports published from 1978 to 2006 to trace how the World Bank has…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to use the case study of development projects in Sri Lanka and development reports published from 1978 to 2006 to trace how the World Bank has utilised accounting rhetoric/languages in articulating development discourses at different stages of global capitalism.

Design/methodology/approach

Multiple research methods are employed, such as archival research, observations and interviews. Development reports published by the World Bank (1978–2006) are closely examined using discourse analysis.

Findings

Development projects in Sri Lanka and development reports during the last three decades demonstrate that ideological shifts brought about the changes in accounting rhetoric in development discourses. The paper further shows that the articulation and re-articulation of development discourses communicated by accounting rhetoric have yet to grasp the real complexity of the local problems in those villages in Sri Lanka. The mere focus on management and governance styles (albeit important) driven by the development ideology and rational accounting rhetoric of the World Bank seems to bring little reward to villagers or, indeed, to the policy makers.

Originality/value

The paper adds to the literature on the use of accounting languages in development discourses, especially in the context of less developed countries. It will be of great value to researchers and practitioners seeking to gain a better understanding of reforms driven by a particular set of accounting technology in distant places.

Details

Journal of Accounting in Emerging Economies, vol. 9 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2042-1168

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 2 February 2015

Hakim Ben Othman and Anas Kossentini

The purpose of this paper is to explore the underlying assumptions of economic development theories that may support or constrain accounting standard-setting strategies related to…

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore the underlying assumptions of economic development theories that may support or constrain accounting standard-setting strategies related to IFRS adoption and their potential effects on emerging stock markets (ESMs) development. The authors investigate the country-level association between the extent of IFRS adoption and ESMs development.

Design/methodology/approach

The empirical analysis is based on a dynamic panel model using the generalized method of moments for 50 emerging economies over a period spanning from 2001 to 2007.

Findings

The authors find that a higher level of IFRS adoption affects positively and significantly stock market development (SMD). More specifically, full IFRS adoption for listed firms is substantially associated with SMD. However, the authors find that partial adoption of IFRS might be not only inappropriate and irrelevant, but also significantly harmful to ESMs development. In addition, it is shown that local GAAPs shaped on the basis of IFRS with major changes are at the origin of such counter-intuitive relationships.

Practical implications

This paper has some policy implications for developing countries. In order to enhance ESMs development, it is important to improve financial information quality through full adoption of IFRS. In a global economic system, it is essential to standard-setters as well as market regulators in non-adopter developing countries to require full IFRS adoption.

Originality/value

This paper extends previous work of Larson and Kenny (1996) in establishing relationships between standard-setting strategies faced to IFRS and theories of economic development. The authors investigate the effects of these standard-setting strategies on SMD using a sample of 50 emerging economies.

Details

Journal of Accounting in Emerging Economies, vol. 5 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2042-1168

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 8 April 2014

Vinal Mistry, Umesh Sharma and Mary Low

– The purpose of this paper is to examine the perceptions that management accountants have of their roles in accounting for sustainable development in their organisations.

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the perceptions that management accountants have of their roles in accounting for sustainable development in their organisations.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper draws arguments from prior literature to identify the roles that management accountants play in accounting for sustainable development. Management accountants' perceptions of their roles in accounting for sustainable development are examined by conducting interviews and surveys of management accountants from various organisations in New Zealand. The study is informed by legitimacy theory.

Findings

Management accountants of small-medium organisations in New Zealand play a limited role in accounting for sustainable development, compared to management accountants of larger organisations. The correlation between the type of organisation and their overall goals for achieving sustainable development are closely linked with the roles the organisations' management accountants play in accounting for sustainable development.

Research limitations/implications

This research is limited as it is only an exploratory study with a small sample of small-medium and large businesses in New Zealand. There is a need for greater acceptance by senior management of the role management accountants could play in accounting for sustainable development.

Practical implications

This paper may help management accountants, of both small-medium and larger organisations, to advance accounting for sustainable development within their organisations by actively engaging with the issues that have deterred such advancement.

Originality/value

This paper provides a review of the current debates and positions of accounting for sustainable development as well as the barriers management accountants face in getting engaged in accounting for sustainable development initiatives.

Details

Pacific Accounting Review, vol. 26 no. 1/2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0114-0582

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 15 November 2019

Khaldoon Al-Htaybat, Khaled Hutaibat and Larissa von Alberti-Alhtaybat

The purpose of this paper is to explore the intersection of accounting practices and new technologies in the age of agility as a form of intellectual capital, through sharing the…

1589

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore the intersection of accounting practices and new technologies in the age of agility as a form of intellectual capital, through sharing the conceptualization and real implications of accounting and accountability ideas in exploring and deploying new technologies, such as big data analytics, blockchain and augmented accounting practices and expounding how they constitute new forms of intellectual capital to support value creation and realise Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Design/methodology/approach

The adopted methodology is cyber-ethnography, which investigates online practices through observation and discourse analysis, reflecting on new business models and practices, and how accounting relates to these developments. The global brain sets the conceptual context, which reflects the distributed network intelligence that is created through the internet.

Findings

The main findings focus on various developments of accounting practice that reflect, utilise or support digital companies and new technologies, including augmentation, big data analytics and blockchain technology, as new forms of intellectual capital, that is knowledge and skills within organisations, that have the potential to support value creation and realise SDGs. These relate to and originate from the global brain, which constitutes the umbrella of tech-related intellectual capital.

Originality/value

This paper determines new developments in accounting practices in relation to new technologies, due to the continuous expansion and influence of the intelligence of the collective network, the global brain, as forms of intellectual capital, contributing to value creation, sustainable development and the realisation of SDGs.

Details

Journal of Intellectual Capital, vol. 20 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1469-1930

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 2 July 2018

Mansour Alferjani, Soheila Mirshekary, Steven Dellaportas, Dessalegn Getie Mihret and Ali Yaftian

This study aims to explain the driving forces behind the development of accounting regulatory institutions in post-colonial Libya.

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to explain the driving forces behind the development of accounting regulatory institutions in post-colonial Libya.

Design/methodology/approach

The historical method is used to interpret relevant documentary evidence in the development of accounting in Libya vis-à-vis developments in the country’s post-colonial political-economic history.

Findings

The development of accounting regulation in Libya is traced to post-colonial political-economic history that occurred independent of the country’s colonial past. The immediate aftermath of colonialism (1951-1968) showed that Western accounting practices used by Western businesses operating in Libya were imbued by pro-Western ideology. Basic legislative requirements for accounting and auditing emerged during this period through legislation. Two distinct epochs surfaced during Muammar Gaddafi’s rule: initially, the state advocated a centrally planned economy, but in the 1980s, an ideological shift occurred, which opened the Libyan economy to the global market. The first epoch saw the formation of accounting regulatory agencies consistent with the state-centred organisation of society, and the second epoch engendered the development of accounting standards consistent with the developments in market-centred societies during the era of globalisation.

Originality/value

The study offers unique historical evidence on the development of accounting regulation in a developing country independent of its colonial history. The study enhances our understanding of how the interplay between the political economy and the ideological basis of the state determines the historical path of accounting as a basis for predicting the possible future direction of accounting development.

Details

Accounting Research Journal, vol. 31 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1030-9616

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 17 February 2012

Pran Krishansing Boolaky

The purpose of this paper is to examine the accounting development process and international financial reporting standards (IFRS) in small island economies (SIEs), with particular…

2283

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the accounting development process and international financial reporting standards (IFRS) in small island economies (SIEs), with particular reference to Mauritius. SIEs are different from large economies in terms of economic and political dependence, colonial influences and international pressures, as well as vulnerability to natural shocks.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper uses Briston's Accounting Evolutionary Theory (BAET) and the Transcendental Stage of Accounting Development (TSAD) proposed by Boolaky and adopts a descripto‐explanatory research tradition to explain accounting development and IFRS in Mauritius. Data on key development economic policies between 1960 and 2008 are collected and analysed using secondary sources, whereas data related to colonisation and basis of legal system are archived from the National Library.

Findings

Mauritius has experienced little difficulty compared to other countries in the African region such as Madagascar, Mozambique, Angola, Swaziland etc. in its accounting development process because it is used to the Anglo‐Saxon accounting system, has adopted the phase‐by‐phase development process, has an adequate supply of professionally qualified accountants and made IFRS compliance mandatory in 2001 through the revised Companies Act, 2001 and through the revision of other related legislations. As regards IFRS, Mauritius has a legal, political, business and economic environment conducive to sustain IFRS.

Research limitations/implications

This paper applies BAET to examine accounting development from basic book‐keeping to IFRS adoption in Mauritius. It also explains that there is a transcendental stage of accounting development which BAET has not taken into consideration.

Originality/value

There is no previous study which has used BAET and TSAD to examine accounting development and IFRS in small island jurisdictions. Previous studies have mostly focused on large economies. This paper also provides a basis for future research in similar jurisdictions.

Details

Journal of Accounting in Emerging Economies, vol. 2 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2042-1168

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 15 January 2018

Jan Bebbington and Jeffrey Unerman

The purpose of this paper is to establish and advance the role of academic accounting in the pursuit of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which are regarded…

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to establish and advance the role of academic accounting in the pursuit of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which are regarded as the most salient point of departure for understanding and achieving environmental and human development ambitions up to (and no doubt beyond) the year 2030.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper provides a synthesis of interdisciplinary perspectives on sustainable development and integration of this with the accounting for sustainability literature. In addition, potential accounting research contributions are proposed so as to support the development of new research avenues.

Findings

Existing research in accounting that is relevant to individual SDGs serves as an initial link between them and the accounting discipline. At the same time, the SDGs focus highlights new sites for empirical work (including interdisciplinary investigations) as well as inviting innovation in accounting theoretical frameworks. Moreover, the SDGs provide a context for (re)invigorating accounting’s contribution to sustainable development debates.

Originality/value

This is the first paper to explore the roles academic accounting can play in furthering achievement of the SDGs through enhanced understanding, critiquing and advancing of accounting policy, practice and theorizing. It is also the first paper to propose a research agenda in this area.

Details

Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, vol. 31 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0951-3574

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 27 July 2018

Pran Krishansing Boolaky, Kamil Omoteso, Masud Usman Ibrahim and Ismail Adelopo

The purpose of this paper is to examine the level of accounting development and the adoption of IFRS in the four foremost economies in the Middle East and North Africa…

1424

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the level of accounting development and the adoption of IFRS in the four foremost economies in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA)—Egypt, Jordan, Libya and UAE. Through the lens of institutional theory, the study investigates the impact of economic, political, legal and cultural institutions on the development of these countries’ accounting practices and their readiness to use IFRS.

Design/methodology/approach

This research uses accounting development indices obtained from current literature as well as recent World Economic Forum and UNCTAD reports to examine the development of accounting in these MENA countries and their inclination to adopt IFRS.

Findings

The study identifies a number of impediments to the development of accounting practices and adoption of IFRS in these countries. It also reveals that three of the four MENA countries (Egypt, Jordan and UAE) could be placed on a level playing field with their principal trading partners (the US, the UK, Germany and Italy) given the formers’ business environments, methods of raising finance and levels of professional accounting practices.

Research Implications/limitations

Although limited to only four jurisdictions, findings from the study have important implications for investors and parties that are interested in improving the value relevance of the information presented by firms especially in a globalised economy with increasing cross-listing.

Originality/value

This study extends the frontier of knowledge on the development of accounting and IFRS adoption by focusing on the MENA region. It is the first effort that the authors are aware of to adopt such a multifarious approach.

Details

Journal of Accounting in Emerging Economies, vol. 8 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2042-1168

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 2 November 2018

Yasean Tahat, Mohamed A. Omran and Naser M. AbuGhazaleh

Based on the institutional theory, the purpose of this paper is to examine institutional factors that affect the development of accounting practices in Jordan.

Abstract

Purpose

Based on the institutional theory, the purpose of this paper is to examine institutional factors that affect the development of accounting practices in Jordan.

Design/methodology/approach

The current study surveys the perceptions of 306 participants and 20 interviewees.

Findings

First, the early formation of accounting practices in Jordan has been affected by the legacy of Ottoman Empire’s and the British Colony’s accounting systems. Second, the results indicate that government of Jordan (regulatory frameworks), pressures from international donors and large economic organizations (politico-economic factors), education and training/development (cultural inputs), and the efforts to attract foreign investments and getting access into the international fund and trade (economic factors) have been influential influences in the development of accounting practices and the adoption of International Accounting Standards/International Financial Reporting Standards (IAS/IFRS) in Jordan. Finally, the findings reveal that “Secrecy” construct (a culture input) has been a problematic in the implementation of IAS/IFRS.

Practical implications

The current study provides policy implications for the Jordanian policy makers and for other developing countries that are working hard to improve the quality of financial reporting of their business entities. Finally, the authors suggest some great opportunities for future research.

Originality/value

First, this paper contributes to Jordan’s policy developments including fundamental strategies in terms of attracting foreign investments to expand the economy and the international and regional trade. Second, it fills a gap in the international accounting research by empirically assessing how institutional factors affect the development of accounting practices in emerging country such as Jordan.

Details

Asian Review of Accounting, vol. 26 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1321-7348

Keywords

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