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Using historical institutional analysis of corporatism to understand the professionalization of accounting in Latin America

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  • Rodrigues, Lúcia Lima
  • Craig, Russell

Abstract

We investigate factors that have influenced the professionalization of accounting in five Latin American countries (Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia and Mexico). Through comparative historical institutional analysis of corporatism in those countries, we explore the role of the organized labor movement and State-labor relations in the professionalization of accounting. We regard professional accounting associations to be a form of organized labor. Using a combination of primary sources and secondary sources, we identify the critical junctures, self-reinforcing sequences and reactive sequences involved in State regulation of accountants. We find that State policies pertaining to the incorporation and ongoing activity of organized labor movements were important influences on the evolution of the accounting profession. Generally, periods of corporatism that featured inducements for the labor movement were conducive to achieving market closure and the emergence and growth of professional accounting bodies. Developments in laws relating to organized labor bodies (such as trade unions) usually preceded the promulgation of regulations directed specifically at endorsing the formation and operation of professional accounting associations. This paper contributes by using the lens of comparative historical institutional analysis of corporatism to investigate accounting professionalization in corporatist states, report empirical evidence on accounting professionalization from a hitherto unexplored geographical region, and challenge the view that accounting professionalization is temporally enduring.

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  • Rodrigues, Lúcia Lima & Craig, Russell, 2022. "Using historical institutional analysis of corporatism to understand the professionalization of accounting in Latin America," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 97(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:aosoci:v:97:y:2022:i:c:s0361368221001082
    DOI: 10.1016/j.aos.2021.101330
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