Imperialismo occidental y contabilidad en Oriente: la historia del instituto de contadores de gestión autorizados de Sri Lanka

This is a study of the growth of the management accounting profession in Sri Lanka. This questions whether western management accounting practice can be effective without taking into consideration the local needs. This is a previously unresearched topic. The study is archival with semi structured interviews with founder members of the local Association and practitioners of management accounting. There is evidence of a gap between management accounting techniques used in the West and management accounting practice in the East. The paper suggests several reasons for this gap. The main reason is that the context is different. It follows therefore that the practices in the west would not suit the requirements of a postcolonial developing country. The theory relates to the west while the practice relates to the east. This contributes to the debate whether western imperialism and the accounting that was imposed is useful for the needs of the indigenous accounting community. The paper contributes to the literature in providing an understanding of the way in which an accountancy body merges.El documento es el resultado de una investigación sobre el crecimiento de la profesión contable en Sri Lanka. La pregunta orientadora del mismo es si las prácticas constables de gestión occidental pueden ser efectivas aún sin tener en cuenta las necesidades locales. Este es un aspecto sin antecedentes en la literatura. El estudio se desarrolló mediante la ejecución de entrevistas semiestructuradas a miembros fundadores del Instituto de contadores de gestión y algunos practicantes de Sri Lanka. Los resultados evidencian una brecha entre las técnicas de contabilidad de gestión utilizadas en Occidente y la práctica de la contabilidad de gestión en Oriente. El documento anota algunas razones para explicar esta brecha, encontrando que el contexto es diferente, seguido que las prácticas occidentales no se ajustan a las exigencies de desarrollo de un país post-colonial. Mientras la teoría sigue los planteamientos occidentales, la práctica sigue las exigencias de oriente. El artículo contribuye al debate sobre si el imperialismo occidental, la contabilidad y dinámica comunidades de las comunidades contables locales. Finalmente, el papel hace un aporte a los trabajos que debaten la forma como los cuerpos profesionales en contaduría se van estructurando

Towards a global model of accounting education

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to examine the accounting education systems in three countries - Australia, Japan and Sri Lanka - to inform the development and testing (by application) of a Global Model of Accounting Education

Applicability of Sri Lanka public sector accounting standards: Trincomalee urban council, Sri Lanka

Though the Sri Lankan Local Governments were introduced with the accrual based Public Sector Accounting Standards from 2009 they have not been implemented yet. As a result, the present study focuses why it has been a failure and sees the applicability of the standards to the Local Governmental set up in Sri Lanka. The Urban Council of Trincomalee city was selected as the case for study and semi structured interviews were conducted. The study concludes that since the accounting system (Wickramanayake’s accounting system) already in place was based on accrual principles, the application of accrual based accounting standards are possible provided that the staffs’ professional expertise is improved to the level expected

An examination of the emergence and development of the acounting profession in developing countries: the case of Sri Lanka

This is an empirical investigation into the development of the accounting profession in Sri Lanka in the post-independence era. Taking the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka (ICASL) as a case, the study researches the accounting professionalization process during the past five decades (1959-2010). Thus, the study focuses on the struggles and interactions between competing groups and organisations within the accounting profession. The theoretical framework is drawn from the sociology of the professions and it is concerned with ‘class-based occupational closure’ in the accounting profession; this restricted entry and closed off opportunities for entry into the market by locally qualified registered accountants and later by the graduates of local universities from 1959 to 2010. It argues that Sri Lanka’s connection with Britain and continuing British interests in the post-independence period significantly impacted upon Sri Lanka’s business, social, political and educational spheres. The methodological approach of this study draws heavily upon the “middle-range” thinking approach from Laughlin (1995) and Llewellyn (2003) on qualitative accounting research, using the case study method. Thus, the main data collection for this research was through oral history interviews and archival records. In addition, secondary sources such as published articles, relevant legislation, government reports, books and websites were reviewed. As revealed, the objective of the establishment of the ICASL has been shifted from a supply of local professional accounting manpower requirements to control over the profession and professional accounting education, by marginalising university accounting education. As evidenced during the last fifty year period (1959-2010), the ICASL produced only 3,915 professional accountants. Many stakeholders claim that this number is inadequate for emerging business development. The major reason for lack of professionally qualified accountants in the country is partly due the fact that the ICASL’s resistance to university accounting education, an approach patterned on the British model. As a result the gaps in accounting services in corporate and other sectors are met by British professional accounting bodies such as ACCA and CIMA. This suggests that the ICASL is losing its market share, as the British professional accounting bodies, CIMA and the ACCA, become the most popular accountancy bodies in Sri Lanka; thus capturing a major portion of the accountancy market. Moreover the ICAEW entered the local market by signing an MOU with the ICASL in 2010, which are a perfect example of the British model and the re-emergence of ICASL’s preference to follow the elite tradition in the accounting profession

Impact of Corporate Governance Practices on Firm Capital Structure and Profitability: A Study of Selected Hotels and Restaurant Companies in Sri Lanka.

Corporate governance issues have been a growing area of management research especially among large and listed firms. Good corporate governance practices are regarded as important in reducing risk for investors, attracting investment capital and improving the performance of companies. Companies need financial resources and better earnings to promote their objectives. Therefore, factorsmay affect the capital structure and profitability of companies should be considered carefully. The purpose of the present study is to investigate whether there is any relationship among some specific characters of corporate governance, capital structure and profitability of listedHotels &Restaurant companies in Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE). To do so, 18 companies were selected from those which were listed inCSE during the 2007-2012. The ‘Board Composition(BC)’, ‘Board Size (BS)’ and ‘CEOduality (CEOD)’ were considered as independent variables, whereas,’ Debt Ratio(DR)’,‘Debt-to-Equity Ratio(DER)’,‘Returns on Equity(ROE)’,and ‘Return on Assets(ROA)’ as dependent variable. The results indicate a positive relationship between ‘BS; BC; CEOD; ROE; ROA and DERwhereas negative relationship between BS; BID and DR.in addition CEOD have a positive relationship with DR.In addition, none of the variables have a significant relationship with capital structure and profitability. Key words: Corporate Governance; Capital Structure and Profitability

Postcolonial hybridity, diaspora and accountancy: evidence from Sierra Leonean chartered and aspiring accountants

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore perceptions and lived experiences of Sierra Leonean chartered and aspiring accountants, vis-à-vis their professional identity with a particular focus on two elements of postcolonial theory, hybridity and diaspora. Design/methodology/approach: A qualitative methodological framework was employed. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 18 participants about their perceptions of their professional identity and their professional experiences both within and outside Sierra Leone. Findings: The current professionalisation process is conceptualised as a postcolonial third space where hybrid professional accountants are constructed. Professional hybridity blurs the local/global praxis being positioned as both local and global accountants. Participants experience difficulty “fitting into” the local accountancy context as a consequence of their hybridisation. As such, a diaspora effect is induced which often culminates in emigration to advanced countries. The paper concludes that although the current model engenders emancipatory social movements for individuals through hybridity and diaspora, it is nonetheless counterproductive for Sierra Leone’s economic development and the local profession in particular. Research limitations/implications: This study has significant implications for understanding how the intervention of global professional bodies in developing countries shapes the professionalisation process as well as perceptions and lived experiences of chartered and aspiring accountants in these countries. Originality/value: While extant literature implicates the legacies of colonialism/imperialism on the institutional development of accountancy (represented by recognised professional bodies), this paper employs the critical lens of postcolonial theory to conceptualise the lived experiences of individuals who are directly impacted by such institutional arrangements

Scandals from an Island: Testing Anglo-American Corporate Governance Frameworks

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to provide an account of banking scandals in relation to corporate governance (CG) failures in an emerging economy, arguing that Anglo-American ideas of CG are misplaced in traditional settings. Design/methodology/approach Semi-structured interviews were conducted with key stakeholders. Observations of annual general meetings (AGMs) and the personal working experience of one of the researchers, along with documentation, provided triangulating data on CG practices. Findings The authors have found that both of the banks studied had adopted CG practices contrary to the expectations of the Sri Lankan CG codes. Key features of CG practices that emerged from their investigations of these two scandals are ineffectual central bank regulations, familial boards of directors, ceremonial board meetings, biased auditing practices and manipulative AGMs, relying on traditional structures of accountability centred around families, kin and social networks. Research limitations/implications The authors argue, drawing on Weber (1958, 1961, 1968, 1978), that the traditionalist culture mediates the process of rationality in bank governance codes and regulatory frameworks Therefore, practices fall far short of expectations. Originality/value The paper builds on the extended critique of shareholder-centric CG models and their transferability to alien contexts. It contributes to the CG studies calling for more appreciation of the need to move beyond the conventional view of CG problems as simply down to conflicts of interests. The authors complement and advance the decoupling debate in CG studies drawing on the Weberian notion of traditionalism

Comparative study on the factors influencing on effectiveness of internal auditing practice between private and state banks in Eastern province

This study investigates the factors influencing on the effectiveness of internal auditing practice among private and state banks in Eastern province. The factors influencing on the effectiveness of internal auditing practice are considered as independent variables, which are measured by using the dimensions of management support, auditor‘s competency and independency of internal audit unit. Effectiveness of internal auditing practice is considered as dependent variable in this study. The data is collected from 120 internal auditing staff randomly using questionnaires sampling techniques from the banks in the Eastern province. The data is analyzed using statistical techniques of descriptive statistics, correlation, regression and cross tabulation analysis. The findings of this study reveal that the level of effectiveness of internal audit practices and influencing factors are at high level among state and private banks. Further, this study shows the significant positive weak correlation between influencing factors and effectiveness of internal auditing practice. Therefore, the management has to focus on increase the quality of influencing factors for enhance the effectives of internal auditing practice in banking sectors in Eastern province

Corporate Governance and Banking Performance: a Comparative Study between Private and State Banking Sector in Sri Lanka.

The main objectives of this study are to find out the relationship between corporate governance and banking performance and also find out the impact of corporate governance on banking performance. This study focused on four aspects of corporate governance namely; Board Size (BS), Board Diversity (BD), Outside Directors Percentage (OSDP) & Board Meeting Frequency (BMF). Banking performance has been measured through Return on Equity (ROE) and Return on Assets (ROA). The results revealed that all variables of corporate governance are positively correlated with ROE in state banks as well as, in private banks except BD and BMF other variables have strong negative relation with ROE, which is significant at 5percent level of significance. Similarly, except BMF other variables have negative relationship with ROA in state banks. Private Banks also show same relation except the variable BD. BD have strong negative relationship with ROA in state banks which is significant at 5 percent level of significance, but in private banks; positive relationship is denoted by BD which is not significant. Further corporate governance has a moderate impact on performance of both private and state banks. Keywords: Corporate Governance, Banking Sector, Banking Performanc