Operationalising closure in a colonial context: the association of accountants in East Africa 1949-1963

Sian, S 2006. Operationalising closure in a colonial context: the association of accountants in East Africa 1949-1963. [Working Paper]. Cardiff Working Papers in Accounting and Finance, Cardiff: Cardiff University.

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Abstract

The migration of British accounting professionals to both settler and non-settler colonies in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries bequeathed an enduring legacy for the professionalisation process in these countries. This study sets out to trace the rise of professional accountancy in colonial Kenya, a racially diversified and hierarchical colonial society where non-whites were marginalized and the minority white population ruled. Drawing from archival sources and some oral history data, the study traces the formation and operation of a colonial professional body, the Association of Accountants in East Africa (AAEA), comprised mainly of British expatriate accountants. In particular, it shows how traditional, formal closure devices, such as the restrictive use of designations, examinations and training requirements and the registration of accountants were employed by AAEA in its attempts to exclude unqualified practitioners and control the market for accounting services in the colony. It also presents evidence that attests to the use of more informal closure devices, taking advantage of the socio-cultural conditions specific to this colony, to exclude on the basis of race.

Item Type:	Monograph (Working Paper)
Date Type:	Publication
Status:	Published
Schools:	Business (Including Economics)
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HF Commerce > HF5601 Accounting H Social Sciences > HG Finance
Publisher:	Cardiff University
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	30 March 2016
Last Modified:	05 Oct 2015 12:38
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/77681

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