Foo, Yin Fah (2008) A cross-cultural study of accounting concepts applied in international financial reporting standards. PhD thesis, Victoria University.

Abstract

The aim in this study was to explore a different approach to examine the influence of culture on accounting practice by adapting Schwartz’s (1992) universal structure of individual-level human motivational values to the domain of accounting. A mail survey was conducted on accountants in Malaysia to obtain their attitudes, beliefs and opinions about their motivational goals, and their interpretations and judgments in financial reporting. The results reveal a set of individual-level accounting motivational values that is a more comprehensive and theoretically valid representation of the accounting sub-culture compared to the Hofstede-Gray framework. Significant relationships were found linking the accountants’ motivational values with their interpretations and judgments in financial reporting. Empirical evidence of cultural diversity within the accounting sub-culture was also found. Although the low response rate was a problem, the consistency of the respondents’ demographic profile with the population and the insignificant non-response bias suggest that the results are generalisable. The discovery of the accounting motivational values has contributed to the understanding of the depth, richness and complexity of the accounting sub-culture and its effects on accounting practice. As an individual-level construct, the motivational values can be applied to explain the influence of culture on judgments and decisions in accounting. The existence of cultural diversity within the accounting sub-culture provides evidence of the importance of intra-country cultural variations. The knowledge of the accounting motivational values and its effects on judgments and decisions have important implications to the global drive for convergence in accounting and auditing practices, as well as the formulation of accounting education and professional development strategies.

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