Culture and accounting practices in Turkey

Geert Hofstede and S.J. Gray's framework has served as the basis for numerous studies on the potential impact of cultural values on accounting practices in various countries. This paper presents a comparative analysis of accounting perspectives in Central and Eastern European countries, the former communist countries in Europe that became independent nations after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Twelve Central and Eastern Mediterranean countries were selected for study:

International Institute of Academic Research and Development , 2023

Financial reporting as a term is said to be the process whereby companies make open their financial activities, viz cash flow, expenses, investments and what have you. Culture on the other hand, is the way people behave in a given society. Organizational culture refers to how things are being done in the organization. Modus operandi varies from one Organization to another. This study therefore, focused on the concept of organizational culture visa -vis financial reporting. How do companies go about their report? To what extent can we say culture influence financial reporting? And etcetera. We made use of the secondary method of data collection, as such all our findings cum submissions were gotten from hitherto existing works viz books, journals (published and unpublished), newsletters and etcetera. From our findings, it is crystal clear that determinants such as values, attitudes and etcetera are peculiar to individual organizations. In this regard, we can boldly say that culture in any regard, has a bearing on financial reporting. We therefore recommend that, organizations should learn to establish cum maintain, good organizational culture.

E Finanse, 2014

For a long time many authors have been studying the factors that allow for a better explanation of different accounting practices among various countries. Cultural conditions are more often regarded as one of the reasons for these differences. Cross cultural psychology may prove helpful in becoming aware of one's own cultural identity. Researchers of this field try to systematise the traits characterising particular cultural circles. The objective of this article is to present three basic typologies of cultural value models: the conception of S.H. Schwartz, G. Hofstede and S.J. Gray. Next more recent studies that have examined the impact of national culture on accounting using these theoretical frameworks are presented.

Gray proposed a link between Geert Hofstede's popular national culture dimensions used in comparative management analysis and his own comparative concepts for accounting. In the past twenty-four years, Gray's work has been cited by over 650 scholars. His article presented a hypothetical set of complex correspondences between Hofstede's original four dimensions of Power-distance, Individualism, Masculinity, and Uncertainty Avoidance and Gray's accounting values of Professionalism versus Statutory control, Uniformity versus Flexibility, Conservatism versus Optimism, and Secrecy versus Transparency. Gray's accounting dimensions were intended to capture underlying cultural values that would tend, in the absence of external influences or other factors, to influence a culture toward the development of certain types of accounting systems. The purpose of this paper is to identify which Gray values and which corresponding Hofstede cultural dimensions would be most supportive of the establishment of accounting standards like the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), currently being adopted by nations throughout the world. A specific set or profile of Gray values most conducive to IFRS is identified and termed the IFRS-favorable profile. In arriving at this profile, the paper also addresses two newer Hofstede cultural dimensions, long-term orientation and Restraint versus Indulgence, and extends Gray's model by proposing how these two new Hofstede dimensions correspond to Gray's four accounting dimensions. The IFRS-favorable profile and the expansion of Gray's link to Hofstede are discussed as practical applications to facilitate successful IFRS implementation in individual countries.

Countries adopting International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) need to educate and train their professional accountants so that they are able to interpret and apply IFRS in a consistent manner. This study examines the effect of national culture and education on the judgments of Australian (Anglo-Celtic) and Chinese final year undergraduate accounting students in Australia. It seeks to understand whether culture influences student interpretation and application of uncertainty expressions, which are used as recognition and disclosure thresholds in IFRS. Results obtained on the cultural dimensions of Uncertainty Avoidance, Individualism, Power Distance, Masculinity and Long-Term Orientation provide evidence that Chinese students exhibit greater conservatism and secrecy compared to Australian students. The results of the study indicate that national culture has a significant effect on the judgments of accounting students when interpreting and applying selected IFRS containing uncertainty expressions. The results also imply that educational similarity does not moderate the effect of culture in influencing the judgments of accounting students. An important implication of the study is that regulators and standard-setters involved in the international convergence of accounting standards need to pay greater attention to cultural factors that may result in a difference in the interpretation and application of IFRS.

Zeszyty Teoretyczne Rachunkowości, 2019

The primary objective of this article is to investigate the impact of culture (as measured by Hofstede) on disclosures in financial statements prepared under International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) by firms from different countries. The sample comprises 2011−2013 consolidated financial statements of stock companies (excluding banks, insurance, and other financial institutions) from four countries repre- senting different cultural areas: the United Kingdom (Anglo), Germany (Germanic), Poland (Central Eastern Europe; CEE) and Kuwait (Arab). The research material came from 312 annual consolidated financial statements from 104 companies. The results reveal that cultural values have a significant impact on financial disclosures even after the use of IFRS. The paper is one of the few comparative studies attempting to assess the effects of culture on financial disclosures in Western Europe countries, CEE countries and Arab countries. Most of the international comparative studies...

International Journal of Innovative Science and Research Technology , 2025

The primary goal of this study aimed to study the effect of cultural dimensions on accounting practices, specifically targeting a sample of firms located in Calabar, Cross River State. The general objectives included an examination of power distance effecting accounting practices across the sampled firms located in Calabar, Cross River State; an evaluation of the effect of individualism on accounting practices across these firms; and an analysis of uncertainty avoidance effecting accounting practices across these firms. The methodological approach used by this study included the descriptive survey method. The sample targeted included the accountancy unit of Lafarge Plc located in Calabar, consisting of 34 personnel, and Niger Mills Limited located in Calabar, consisting of 33 personnel. In this context, sample selection had relied on the census method. The study had only relied on the use of primary data, collected from sampled personnel via well-designed questionnaires. Analysis of data collected had relied on Ordinary Least Squares, enabled by the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS 27.0). The findings established by this study indicated that power distance influences accounting practices across sampled firms located in Calabar, Cross River State; individualism also has an effect on accounting practices across these firms; while uncertainty avoidance also has an effect on accounting practices across sampled firms located in Calabar, Cross River State. In line with these findings, it had been suggested, alongside other recommendations, that there ought to be reconsidering structuring organizational hierarchies so as to address the power distance, established by this study as significantly prominent across researched firms.

European Journal of Accounting, Auditing and Finance Research

Professionalism has become a trending issue in accounting practice because it accentuates the obligation of accountants in a nation. It spans all the facets of accounting including auditing, management accounting and financial accounting to mention but a few. In reality, accounting professionalism is influenced by numerous factors. Prevalent among these factors is the cultural construct of a society or nation. Culture affects accounting professionalism to varying degrees depending on the disposition of accountants within that nation or in the global scene. More so, the influence of culture on accounting professionalism could be either negative or positive, depending on the dynamism of the dominant culture existing in the environment within which the accountant operates. Besides, some uncertain expressions embedded in international accounting standards engender diversity in interpretation, application and communication of the affected standards, which bears on the consistency and com...

Advances in Accounting, 2015

This longitudinal study investigates the impact of cultural factors on the implementation of global accounting standards (IFRS) in Bangladesh (a country with very different cultural values and governance systems in comparison to other developing countries, for example, the absence of mature democracy from its birth). Building on institutional theory, two rounds of in-depth interviews (2010 & 2011) are conducted; 1647 enforcement documents (1998-2010) and 332 court cases (1999)(2000)(2001)(2002)(2003)(2004)(2005)(2006)(2007)(2008)(2009)(2010) are evaluated. The study contributes to the literature on socio-cultural factors regarding IFRS implementation in developing countries. The study confirms the pressures of coercive, mimetic and normative institutional isomorphism for the pursuit of legitimacy via social expectations. Contrary to prior research, a lack of enforcement and a high level of corruption are found during the periods of democratic government. The study has raised a serious question to the international policymakers (e.g., the IMF and World Bank) for the suitability of global accounting standards in developing countries.