Abstract
Studies conducted in Western, developed countries, or British imperialism settings dominate research on professional accountancy bodies (PABs). PABs from developed countries that operate across multiple jurisdictions, referred to as ‘global PABs’ in this thesis, have emerged as important players in the accounting profession field, however, they are still under researched. This thesis aims to address these gaps by examining the influence of global PABs on the accounting profession and education in Indonesia, particularly by analysing the interactions between global and national PABs and the accreditation of accounting undergraduate programs (AUPs) by global PABs. This thesis contributes to the application of the ecological-institutional theory in the study of the professions and the extension of institutional theory in PABs’ accreditation context.
This thesis utilises a qualitative approach and collects the data using semi-structured interviews with representatives from three national PABs, four global PABs, and 26 AUPs. To support interview findings, this study also incorporates supporting documents. This thesis uses a thematic analysis to analyse the data.
Findings indicate that global PABs’ entry to Indonesia is driven by globalisation, networking potential, economic potential, and developing the national accounting profession. Meanwhile, factors affecting their influence consist of the acknowledgement for accounting professional qualifications, learning and training infrastructure, English language proficiency, financial affordability, the declining enrolment in AUPs, and global PABs’ ability to distinguish themselves from one another.
This study reveals that global PABs’ influence revolves around their benchmarking role for national PABs and their presence as enriching the national accounting profession landscape. Nevertheless, global PABs’ influence on the accounting profession is still limited, mainly due to the market’s characteristics and the systemic challenge on the lack of recognition for professional qualifications in Indonesia. This study reveals that the alignment of intent and strategies and a symbiotic relationship characterise interactions between global and national PABs. The findings demonstrate the existence of all three institutional pillars and isomorphism mechanisms, albeit to varying extents, in accreditation of AUPs by global PABs. This study provides insights into how AUPs utilise accreditation by global PABs as a strategic means of achieving institutional goals and meeting stakeholder expectations. This research reveals that global PABs exert limited influence on the academic and non-academic activities of AUPs. Overall, although global PABs exhibit several forms of substantive influence, their influence remains primarily symbolic and structurally constrained, rather than broadly transformative.
This study offers several practical implications. For AUPs, they should refocus the accreditation on continuous improvement rather than viewing it as a box-ticking exercise. AUPs who are yet to be accredited by global PABs could use the current study’s findings to anticipate challenges from accreditation. Global PABs could improve their interactions with AUPs by balancing their effort for student recruitment with student progression and providing more teaching- and research-related supports for AUPs, and with national PABs by exploring joint research activities and expanding the joint certification programs. National PABs may want to consider increasing their interactions with AUPs, which at present appear to be lacking compared to global PABs. Suggestions for future research include analysing the global-national PABs’ interactions and global PABs’ accreditation over time, including other stakeholders not currently examined in this thesis, and carrying out similar research in other countries to allow for comparison.