The Effect of National Culture, Acculturation, and Education on Accounting Judgments: A Comparative Study of Australian and Chinese Culture

Abstract

We examine the influence of national culture on the judgments of Australian and Chinese tertiary accounting students when they are interpreting selected International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRSs) that contain uncertainty expressions. To extend prior cross-cultural research, we also examine whether cultural values of individuals can change because of acculturation and accounting education, and measure their potential impact on accounting judgment. The results provide strong support for the notion that Chinese accounting students are more conservative than Australian accounting students in assigning probabilities to in-context uncertainty expressions contained in IFRSs. A unique finding of this study is that the cultural values of individuals can change because of acculturation and accounting education, and this could potentially improve the comparability of financial reports by moderating differences in the interpretation of accounting standards caused by cultural differences between accountants. Data Availability: The complete version of the research instrument is available from the second author.

The Impact of Australian Accounting Education on Repatriates' Career Development

“…Analysis reveals that the judgements of SIEs may be similar to those of Australians, as a result of acculturation and accounting education (Hu et al. ). Therefore, repatriates are often more proficient at international accounting treatments as a result of the professional accounting knowledge learned in Australia, later resulting in a meaningful contribution to foreign enterprises and overseas businesses.…”

As diferenças em torno dos valores culturais: Um estudo empírico a partir de entidades listadas em índices europeus

“…Assim, concluíram que: i) os estudantes chineses eram mais conservadores na atribuição de probabilidades que os australianos ii) os valores culturais individuais podem mudar devido ao processo de aculturação e de educação contabilística, contribuindo para, potencialmente, melhorar a convergência do relato financeiro dado que moderam as diferenças de interpretação normativas causadas pelos fatores culturais. Porém, reforçam que a adoção de um normativo internacional único não se revela suficiente para os objetivos de harmonização pretendidos, sendo inclusivamente primordial o estudo dos valores culturais e dos fatores que influenciam o juízo profissional para o processo de convergência (Hu, Chand, & Evans, 2012).…”

The Effects of National Culture on Financial Statement Comparability: A Survey of Research Findings

“…Hu, Chand, and Evans () were interested in determining whether the national culture of accounting students influenced their judgments regarding IFRSs that contain uncertainty expressions, such as “probable, “reasonably certain, “sufficiently lower, “reasonable assurance, and “likely. In an interesting extension of previously‐published cross‐cultural research, these authors also wondered if acculturation could help to mitigate the influence of national culture on accounting students' judgment in this context.…”

“…“Preparation of financial statements requires professional judgment, which is subject to an individual's cultural values. Hence, an understanding of how cultural values and changes in cultural values impact accounting judgment is essential in the process of accounting convergence (Hu et al, , p. 72). Therefore, it is imperative that policy makers recognize the potential that national culture has to influence a nation's financial reporting system.…”