After the Dust Settles
The Role of Universities in Helping Restore, Nurture, and Establish Professional Bodies for Accountants amidst Post-Colonial Influences
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.36399/GroundingsUG.13.149Keywords:
Accountancy, Decolonisation, Higher Education, Post-colonial Influence, Marginalisation, Institutional BiasAbstract
This paper critically reflects on the divergent roles universities can take in the professional development of accountants in countries facing enduring post-colonial influences across the globe. Professional bodies have been cornerstones of colonial empires and reinforced historic power imbalances within colonies; following the collapse of these empires, remnants of post-colonialism still shape professional bodies. As a component of professional education, universities are capable of mobilisation or marginalisation in the face of ideological conflict. They can both support localisation efforts to aid in restorative economic development, or become discredited by legacy qualifications protecting the historic social status of a minority of elite accountants.
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