Local accounting culture facing globalization: The case of Romania’s “patrimoniality” principle
Vol. 9, Nr. 4/2010 , p539..557
Author(s):
Ion IONAŞCU
Mihaela IONAŞCU
Mihaela MINU
Marian SĂCĂRIN
Keywords:
patrimoniality principle, substance over form, accounting culture, internationalization of Romanian accounting
Abstract:
Although accounting is thought of as a universal technique, the principles on which it is based are socially constructed, being contingent on national culture, law or financing systems. However, as globalization induces the need for an international accounting system, the local accounting culture is expected to be watered down and replaced by the new internationally accepted principles. In the case of Romania, the switch to IAS/IFRS was an important cultural paradigm shift, as it meant substituting a vigorous patrimonialist accounting culture, with a new one, based on opposite values. In this context, the purpose of this paper is to discuss the extent to which the Romanian patrimonialist tradition has been able to endure within the local accounting culture, in spite of the decision to adopt the IFRS taken in the upper reaches of the financial reporting standardization process. To meet this objective the paper reviews the major sources expected to emanate the new accounting philosophy in Romania, that is, accounting regulations and accounting literature, especially the text books used in teaching financial reporting. The results show that there is a strong local dimension of the accounting culture that is resilient to changes induced by the internalization of accounting.
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http://online-cig.ase.ro/jcig/art/
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