Accounting professionalization amidst alternating politico-economic order of Ethiopia

Abstract

As a result of apparent variations in the social, political and economic context of countries, accounting professionalization takes diverse forms and passes through varied challenges in different countries. While accounting professionalization in Western societies has generally been well documented, studies that examine this process in developing countries appear relatively limited. This paper examines the accounting professionalization process in the context of alternating politico-economic developments in Ethiopia over the past century. A combination of functionalist, interactionist, and critical perspectives is employed to interpret the ongoing efforts to establish a viable professional accountancy body in the country. The study illustrates how the dynamics of state-profession interactions, structure of the economy, the role of the state in the market for accounting labour, interactions between the state and global forces, and attributes of the aspiring associations have impacted on the professionalization enterprise. The results are interpreted in light of the results of similar studies in other English-speaking developing countries.