Cultural Influences On Accounting

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According to Hofstede (1980), culture is the “collective programming of the mind” that differentiates one group of people from another. It is the variety of beliefs, customs and traits of a religious or social group that serve as the identity of people living in a specific place. The term ‘culture’ is used for nations as a whole. On the other hand, ‘subculture’ is a term that is being used for the level of an institution, occupation or family. Within the nation, subcultures of one organization may share the same trait with other organizations (p. 26). Every aspect of society is influenced by culture. The study conducted by Geert Hofstede in the 1980s serves as the basis or the starting point into understanding how different cultures of a society influence accounting. As stated by Young (2013), accounting is not just about numbers and preparing financial statements. It is called to be as the “language of business”, thus it has different rules, standards, principles and underlying assumptions for the preservation of the purpose of the profession. Furthermore, accounting is being influenced not just by internal forces but also by external forces. (p. 4)
The research includes the different cultural differences that can deeply affect the judgment of an accountant in its application of accounting procedures. It also includes how culture influences the decisions of the members of the organization that will affect their work. …show more content…

All of these shape the accounting practice in different ways. Culture begins internally which makes it difficult or maybe impossible for external rules to change. Therefore, cultural influences must be taken into consideration in order to maintain the profession’s basic purposes and growth into the