Accounting And Cultural Values: IFRS In 3G Economies

Abstract

The 3G countriesrepresent the most recent attempt to identify a set of world economies thatwill exhibit the greatest growth by the middle of this century (Buiter andRahbari, 2011). They are classified by aGlobal Growth Generator, or 3G index, based on six specific growthdrivers. Of the eleven 3G countries identified,India and China have received the most significant attention previously, asmembers of the so-called BRIC countries. The remaining countries consist of Bangladesh, Egypt, Indonesia, Iraq,Mongolia, Nigeria, Philippines, Sri Lanka, and Vietnam. This paper aims toshed light on the cultural/business mindset of managers in these countries, usingsurvey data and concepts of two internationally oriented scholars, GeertHofstede (1988) and S. J. Gray (1980). Their combined work has provided arobust framework for studies of the potential impact of cultural values onmanagement and accounting. In a previous paper, we examined the culturalcharacteristics of each 3G based on the Hofstede six cultural dimensions todetermine the unique and shared value characteristics of the 3Gs that mayaffect economic growth. (Borker, 2013a) Here, an accounting profile is developed foreach 3G based on cultural accounting values derived by Gray from Hofstede’sdimensions. Profiles are created andcompared to one another, and to a proposed independent IFRS favorable profile (Borker, 2013b),as part of ananalysis of cultural and other factors that may affect the long-term success ofIFRS in the 3Gs. The impact of these profiles on several growth factors is alsodiscussed.