Institutional logics, politics and power in Islamic financial reporting standardisation
This project investigates the politics and power relations between the institutionally embedded actors involved in developing Islamic accounting standards. It also examines their engagement in an institutional entrepreneurship process to implement their vision of accounting change.
Diverting from prevailing accounting norms is a challenging task. It requires, first and foremost, creating a new ‘ethos of corporate reporting’ among stakeholders to make change resonate with their interests and alleviate fear of change
Dr Ahmad Abras
Project description
Religion impacts on local accounting practices and requirements. Yet, the power and influence of international accounting bodies’ affiliated consultants, professional accountants and big-4 firms have led the national accounting bodies to address local accounting requirements using global rules. This project examines the historical evolvement of heterogeneous institutional logics underpinning Islamic accounting standardisation projects and power relations between actors involved in these projects and acting as representatives to these logics. It addresses the constructive resistance demonstrated by internal actors against the ‘epistemic community’, i.e. international professional accounting bodies, and their ‘local collaborators’ promoting International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) agenda.
In addition, the project explores the determinants of successful accounting change and how institutional entrepreneurs effect change that diverts from prevailing accounting norms. It illustrates the importance of mobilising allies and attaining the support of other actors in the field, or at least alleviate their resistance, to successfully implement and sustain the vision of accounting change.
This project is led by Dr Ahmad Abras, and involves collaboration with affiliated academics: Professor Kelum Jayasinghe (Essex Business School) and Dr Muhammad Al Mahameed (Copenhagen Business School).
Key research outputs:
- Abras, A. & Al Mahameed, M. (2022). “The rise and fall of institutional entrepreneurship in Islamic financial reporting standardisation projects”, Accounting Forum. Vol. ahead of print. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/01559982.2022.2051684
- Abras, A. & Jayasinghe, K. (2022). “Competing institutional logics and power relations in Islamic financial reporting standardisation”, Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal. Vol. ahead of print. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/AAAJ-03-2020-4487
Research activity
- “Institutional entrepreneurship in Islamic financial reporting standardisation projects” Alternative Accounts Europe 2020 Conference, Leicester University, 9 January 2020.
- “Competing institutional logics and institutional embeddedness of actors in Islamic financial reporting standardisation: A comparative study”. BAFA Annual Conference, Birmingham University, 8-10 April 2019.
