Edward Olowo‐Okere and Cyril Tomkins
A classic paper on the development of governmental financial control systems argues that such developments occur within the framework of a three‐stage model of evolution. This…
Abstract
A classic paper on the development of governmental financial control systems argues that such developments occur within the framework of a three‐stage model of evolution. This paper examines the validity of Dean’s model of evolution and argues that the model represents such a general level of historical description that a much more comprehensive examination of historical and current context is required if the past development of current systems and the design of future changes in those systems are to be properly understood. Evidence to support this claim is provided in the form of summary evidence based on an exhaustive inquiry into changes in both the UK and Nigerian governmental financial control systems over the last 35 years. This leads to suggestions that a model based on evolution and experimentation in response to contextual changes offers a better route to future research and improved practice.
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Christopher Humphrey, Perla Mardini and Brendan O'Dwyer
The paper studies how the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) positioned itself in the process through which capacity building in developing countries was interpreted…
Abstract
Purpose
The paper studies how the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) positioned itself in the process through which capacity building in developing countries was interpreted and enacted within the global development aid agenda from 1999 to 2016.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper is an in-depth case study drawing on a comprehensive analysis of publications, reports and archival materials.
Findings
The paper unveils how IFAC shaped the interpretation of capacity building and its associated practices in a manner aligned with its expansionary aims thereby transforming itself into a prominent actor within, what we term, the capacity building issue-based field. It unpacks the strategies pursued by IFAC as it mobilised economic, social and cultural resources in support of its global capacity building ambitions for the accountancy profession. It reveals how key interactions between actors in the international development exchange field and the professional exchange field of accounting underpinned IFAC’s infiltration of, and impact on the evolution of, the capacity building issue-based field. We show how IFAC increased its influence in this field despite initially operating on the periphery of the global development aid agenda.
Practical implications
The paper reveals how the global accountancy profession’s engagement with the capacity building activities of international development agencies became central to its commitment to serving the public interest. Our analysis suggests that deeper explorations of capacity building by the global accountancy profession in specific developing countries are required in order to determine whether these efforts have effectively catered to the needs of the citizens of those countries.
Originality/value
The work of professional accountancy organizations (PAOs) operating at the global level in the area of capacity building has been addressed in a fragmented fashion in prior research. This paper presents a unique analysis of developing alliances between the global accountancy profession and international aid agencies aimed at supporting the globalising efforts of IFAC within the realm of capacity building in international development aid. Theoretically, the paper advances prior work exploring the evolution of issue-based fields, in particular the role of inter-field relations in interstitial spaces within these processes.
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This paper uses Gramsci’s theory of hegemony to analyse the development of the public sector accounting profession and accounting practices in the UK since the nineteenth‐century…
Abstract
This paper uses Gramsci’s theory of hegemony to analyse the development of the public sector accounting profession and accounting practices in the UK since the nineteenth‐century. Three periods of hegemony and accounting development are identified and the relationship between the two phenomena is discussed. The analysis emphasises the non‐teleological development of the public sector accounting profession and accounting techniques and clearly places them within an ideological framework which is itself the outcome of a complex interrelation between economic crises, class interests and the state. The paper concludes that the public sector accounting professional body in the UK has played an important hegemonic role in constituting and reflecting ideologies and in reflecting the coercive and consensual approaches adopted by the state. The paper also sets an agenda for a research programme which looks at specific crises and hegemonies in more depth.