Search results

The purpose of this paper to systematically review and critique research on professional accounting development published in English during the last two-and-a-half decades. This paper focusses on developing countries (DCs) and suggests a future research agenda. In recent decades, many DCs have undergone reforms in the professionalisation of accounting (PA).

Extant research articles are selected from major accounting journals between 1995 and 2020 for the review. A conceptual analysis of the selected literature is presented to evaluate the focus and scope of existing work.

Previous empirical research on DCs has focused on the state and political ideology, religion and Sharia law, racial/class discrimination, colonialism and closure (e.g. the monopolisation of accounting work). Also, a complex set of globalisation, political, economic, and social contexts. In particular, a strong tradition of British accounting associations providing accounting qualifications in DCs is noted. Future research should aim to examine such issues as the politics of decolonisation, domination, neoliberalism, competition from Western professional associations, accounting in state-owned organisations, government accounting reforms, and social and environmental accounting issues.

This paper covers only PA research in high-ranked English language accounting journals and chapters of a monograph. Accounting research published in other languages and lower-ranked journals could be imperative sources as well but not included in this study.

While PA has been explored in a variety of locations and from different perspectives in Western countries, a review in DCs was lacking.

This paper aims to examine the tensions amongst the audit firms operating in Sri Lanka with the introduction of open economic policies in early 1980s and its impact to the auditing profession.

Using a qualitative approach, this study consists of in-depth interviews, documentary review and critical interpretation supported by the perspectives of globalisation, digitalisation and neo-liberalism.

The findings indicate that the main reasons for the tension between audit firms (local and international) have been the conflict of interests on the market share. While global pressures on International Standards of Auditing created more opportunities for international audit firms to capture a wider market with the support of the state, the local audit firms apparently lost their market and experienced tension created by staff. Evidence shows the negative impact of globalisation on the open economic policies and the local audit market.

The findings of this research will be useful for policymakers in revising auditing practices to ensure healthy corporate governance. Only 25 interviews were conducted; hence, the results may not be a holistic representation of the audit environment in Sri Lanka.

This study is significant, as the business capital has surged into Sri Lankan market as a result of the ongoing international agencies-led economic reforms. Such reforms have emphasised the transparency and accountability.

This paper compares and contrasts graduate accountant skills and employers' expectations in South East Asia (SEA).

We analyse the employers' expectation performance gap (EPG) in three countries – Indonesia, Malaysia and Vietnam – to provide a reflection on current professional accounting development in SEA. The study relies on data derived from multiple sources including job advertisements, CIMA “ready for business” project, Glassdoor website and other secondary data sources.

The findings indicate that over recent decades, the changing nature of the economy, state, and interest of the business sector (including the “Big Four”) have led to the wider adoption of professional accountancy qualifications. The findings suggest that graduates should be equipped with active learning activities such as project-based and work-integrated training to fill the expectation gaps between local university educators and employers.

Drawing upon a literature review of professional accounting education, we use the results of the documentations and secondary analysis to describe the performance expectation gap of accounting education in SEA.

The study indicates a large discrepancy between the teachings in accounting education and employer requirements in Vietnam, Malaysia and Indonesia and propose different methods to fill this employability gap in South East Asia.

This study aims to examine how government policies have influenced the governance paradigm of Australian public universities from a historical perspective. In doing so, it addresses current uncertainty on government-governance connectivity.

The study draws on Foucault’s concept of governmentality and governance and uses a developed framework of three constituents of governance to explore government–governance connectivity through a critical discourse analysis.

The findings reveal that government policies have influenced the three constituents of governance differently since 1823, resulting in three distinct governance discourses. In the third governance discourse, the findings reveal a deviation from policy directions towards corporate managerialism, resulting in a hybrid governance control environment. This scenario has arisen due to internal stakeholders continuing to be oriented towards the previous management cultures. Other factors include structural and legalistic obstacles to the implementation of corporate managerialism, validity of the underlying theory informing the policy directions towards corporate managerialism and doubts on the achievability of the market based reforms associated with corporate managerialism. The totality of these factors suggests a theory practice gap to be confirmed through further empirical research. There are also policy implications for policymakers to recognize the hybrid control environment and ascertain the risk the hybrid control environment poses towards the expected outcomes of corporate managerialism.

The findings are limited to a critical discourse analysis of data from specific policies and journal publications on higher education and a developed framework of constituents of governance.

The study is the first to examine government–governance connectivity in Australian public universities and also the first to introduce a three-constituent governance framework as a conduit to explore such studies. The findings contribute to the literature in identifying a theory-practice gap and offer opportunities for further research to confirm them.

This paper researches the professionalization of financial planning in Australia. The authors investigate how the institutional logic of major institutions inhibits this occupation from moving toward a professional status.

The study uses documentary analysis of government inquiries into Australian financial services from 1997 to 2017 to ascertain the various institutional logics relating to the professionalization of financial planning. The method involves generating ideas from the data and applying an institutional logic framework to make sense of impediments to the professionalization of financial planning in Australia.

The regulator adopted a self-regulation logic that empowered financial institutions to govern financial advice. These financial institutions have a logic of profit maximization that creates conflicts of interest in financial planning. The financial planning professional bodies adopted a logic of attracting and retaining members due to a competitive professional environment. Thus, financial planners have not been defined as fiduciaries, professional standards have not increased and an ineffective disciplinary resolution system exists.

This research illustrates the various institutional logics that need to be addressed to professionalize financial planning in Australia. However, the data used is limited to that drawn from the parliamentary inquiries.

Prior research on the emergence of professions such as accounting has shown that financial institutions are sites of professionalization. This research shows that financial institutions impede professionalization in financial planning. Also, where the state granted legitimacy to other professions, this research indicates that the state regulator's logic of self-regulation has not legitimized financial planning.

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the implementation of accrual accounting among two layers of government in Sri Lanka. This study examines the process of diffusion and application among and between provincial governments and local governments to assess the barriers and enablers on the implementation of accrual accounting.

The study relies on data collected through interviews with 30 accounting and finance personnel from all levels of government active in the diffusion process. Interviews were conducted to gather and assess their insights and perceptions on the diffusion of accrual accounting. The data are examined initially using Rogers (1995) “diffusion of innovation” theory to explain the factors influencing the diffusion and adoption of accrual accounting at two levels of government but the analysed primarily by comparing the perspectives of respondents between the different layers of government.

The findings show that the adoption of accrual accounting was more effective among local governments compared with provincial governments. The lack of effective communication and engagement from the leaders of the innovation failed to persuade provincial government adopters of the true value of the accounting reform. This is contrasted with local governments who openly adopted accrual accounting but not in response to pressure from provincial government, who have oversight responsibility for local governments, but in response to funding protocols initiated by the central government to account for grant funding.

The findings of the study should be interpreted with caution as the data are obtained from the narrow cohort of accounting and finance professionals and may not reflect the views or experience of all stakeholders involved in the diffusion of accrual accounting.

The paper contributes to the diffusion of accounting innovation literature by examining the role of key players in different layers of government, particularly visible among provincial governments where the lack of engagement delayed its commitment to the implementation of accrual accounting.

This paper aims to identify key factors driving auditors’ adoption of Generalized Audit Software (GAS) in a large developing country, Indonesia, through the lens of the technology, organization and environment (TOE) framework.

Results of this study are based on semi-structured in-depth interviews conducted in Indonesia with audit firms of varying sizes.

Key study findings included the identification of highly influential adoption factors, especially environmental factors, such as availability of information technology-skilled auditors in the local market, client needs and expectations and client size. This study has also identified factors, not identified in previous research, as being influential including the importance of GAS availability in a range of languages and the necessity of a supportive professional and regulatory environment.

This study makes several contributions to the literature including that it identifies new influential factors in the TOE framework. This framework has not been widely applied in auditing research and looks beyond the individual perspective to that of the organization as a whole. Moreover, the present study takes a developing country perspective and examines a range of audit firms. In contrast, most studies to date in the area have taken a Western focus and have concentrated on large audit firms. Additionally, this study provides an in-depth analysis through the use of semi-structured interviews, whereas prior studies have relied on surveys.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the field of accounting as a nexus between the rise of industrial societies, strategies of elites to preserve and reproduce privilege, practices of state control and the external forces of colonisation and globalisation. The authors explore this field in the context of Cambodia which embodies a particularly diverse range of internal and external influences.

A qualitative research approach is employed. The research methods were an analysis of secondary sources and interviews with key officials former Head of State and academics. An effort was made to interview Khmer Rouge survivors about the nature of the accounting practices, class and state control.

During the pre-colonial and the period of French colonial influence, there was relatively accounting practice or distinctive professional bodies. Under the Khmer Rouge there was both a clear rejection of individuals with accounting skills while there were some attempts to use of elements of accounting as tools of central control. This use of accounting as a tool of control was further normalised under Vietnamese rule and socialism. Following the restoration of independence there was some French influence on the growth of institutional and practices of accounting. However, these institutions and practices have been modified and refined by recent growth of international accounting firms and the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants.

This paper has significant implications for understanding the nature and development of the accounting in developing countries, recognising both national and internal influences.

This paper has practical implications for understanding the nature and changes associated with the accounting profession in a global context.

This paper adds new literature on accounting which recognises the nexus of interests, practices and institutions associated with the field of accounting.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the perceptions of professional accountants from three countries from the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) in order to evaluate their perceived benefits associated with the adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) in their respective nations as well as the implications of these standards for the accounting and auditing professions in their country of practice. It also explores the extent to which the adoption of IAS/IFRS accounting standards have been supported by the state, media and local professional accounting bodies.

The study uses survey approach to seek perceptions of professional accountants in these three countries with a view to understanding their perceptions regarding the socio-economic issues related to the adoption of the IFRS and role of social institutions. The study also uses appropriate statistical tests for interpretation of the data.

The analysis of the data shows that accounting professionals in Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia strongly supported IFRS adoption; their opinions did not differ significantly by place of training, experience or professional qualifications. Respondents agreed that their countries benefited economically from harmonisation with global accounting standards. The surveyed accountants believed that pressure from international agencies was instrumental in the adoption of IFRS in the region. The findings also show that governments, the media and professional accounting bodies have supported the adoption, communication and application of IFRS.

This is the first study examining the role of social and professional institutions in the adoption of the IFRS and one which also provides an inter-country comparison of accountant’s perspectives on adoption of the IFRS among three ASEAN countries.