Accounting professionalization amidst alternating state ideology in Ethiopia

Title
Accounting professionalization amidst alternating state ideology in Ethiopia
Publication Date
2012
Author(s)
Mihret, Dessalegn
James, Kieran
Mula, Joseph M
Type of document
Journal Article
Language
en
Entity Type
Publication
Publisher
Emerald Publishing Limited
Place of publication
United Kingdom
DOI
10.1108/09513571211263248
UNE publication id
une:11565
Abstract
Purpose - This study aims to examine accounting professionalization in Ethiopia focusing on how the state, occupational group struggle and transnational accountancy bodies influence the realization of closure. Design/methodology/approach - A qualitative research approach is employed. Data were collected using document review and oral history approaches. Findings - Accounting professionalization in Ethiopia was initiated by the state to strengthen the country's financial system. Owing to a change of state ideology to communism in 1974, a strategy of developing accounting professionals as government-employed experts was pursued. The return to a market-oriented economy in 1991 has seen a trend towards a more autonomous accountancy profession. Inflow of UK capital in the early twentieth century and activities of the UK-based Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) in recent decades have influenced Ethiopia's accountancy. Its professional and financial power has enabled ACCA to make arrangements with Ethiopian Professional Association of Accountants and Auditors (EPAAA) and consolidate its position in Ethiopia's accountancy by controlling EPAAA's member training and certification. Originality/value - The literature on accounting professional projects in developing countries has focused on imperialistic influence in former British colonies. The present study extends this literature by illustrating how British influence has continued to extend beyond Britain's former colonial possessions. This enables an understanding of the dynamics of accounting professional projects in the developing world with analytical dimensions building on the hitherto dominant lens of "formal" colonial connection.
Link
Citation
Accounting, Auditing and Accountability Journal, 25(7), p. 1206-1233
ISSN
1758-4205
1368-0668
Start page
1206
End page
1233

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