A study of the development of the accountancy profession in Malta : 1979-2008 : a qualitative approach

Abstract

Local recognition of Accountancy as a Profession came about in 1979 with the enactment of the Accountancy Profession Act, which makes the Profession quite young. However, several events have contributed to shape an unregulated and unstructured Accountancy Profession into a well-established Profession. The history of any field, including Accounting, depends on the contributions of the practitioners and theoreticians in the field. The dissertation aims to assess those drivers that may have instigated the development of the Profession, by researching the structure of particular experiences lived by individual accountants during particular periods of time. Accounting history explains the reasons and drivers behind past policy, and exposes political and economic effects of past policies. Semi-structured interviews were selected as a tool for collecting data. Information-rich cases were selected purposely for the interviews. The participants for the research were chosen according to their experience and contribution during the development of the Profession. Qualitative methods are essential for understanding Accounting history. When analyzing the interviews carried out, three conceptual issues were predominant, and can be attributed as the drivers of the historical development of the Maltese Accountancy Profession. These are Self-Regulation, Politics and Globalization. The main events that impacted on the Profession relate to the establishment of local audit firms, the routes to become an accountant, the introduction of various legislations, standards and directives and Malta's accession to the European Union. Indeed, the role of the Malta Institute of Accountants, which was influential in the direction of the Profession, is not to be underestimated. This does not eliminate a series of other events that may not appear to be dominant in research, but still have affected the development of the Profession.