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The big 4 in Bangladesh : caught between the global and the local
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Belal, A., Spence, Crawford, Carter, C. and Zhu, J. (2017) The big 4 in Bangladesh : caught between the global and the local. Accounting, Auditing and Accountability Journal, 30 (1). pp. 145-163. doi:10.1108/AAAJ-10-2014-1840
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Official URL: https://doi.org/10.1108/AAAJ-10-2014-1840
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore the work practices of Big 4 firms in Bangladesh with the aim of exploring the extent to which global professional service firms (GPSFs) can be thought of as being genuinely “global”.
Design/methodology/approach
Interviews were undertaken with the vast majority of Big 4 partners in Bangladesh. These interviews explored a number of themes related to the professional service work context in Bangladesh and the relationship between local and global firms.
Findings
The central finding of this paper is that although the Big 4 have a long-established presence in Bangladesh, local societal factors heavily influence the realities of work for accountants there. In most cases the Big 4 firms establish correspondent firms (instead of full member firms) in Bangladesh and tend to offer restricted service lines. Additionally, the paper identifies professional, commercial and cultural barriers to greater Big 4 involvement in the local market. Conceptually, the chief contribution of this paper is to explore how the effects of globalizing capitalism and standardised “best practices” in global professional service work are mediated through the societal effects of Bangladeshi society, resulting in the Big 4 having only a tentative presence in the Bangladeshi market.
Research limitations/implications
The findings cast doubt on the extent to which self-styled GPSFs are truly “global” in nature. Future work examining the Big 4, or accounting more generally, in the context of globalization, would do well to pay greater attention to the experience of professionals in emerging markets.
Originality/value
Whilst there has been much work looking at accounting and accountants in the context of globalization, this work has tended to privilege “core” western empirical settings. Very little is known about professional service firms in “peripheral” emerging markets. Furthermore, this study extends the application of the system, society and dominance framework by mapping the interactions and dynamics of these three sources of influence in the setting of PSFs.
| Item Type: | Journal Article | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Subjects: | H Social Sciences > HF Commerce > HF5601 Accounting | ||||||
| Divisions: | Faculty of Social Sciences > Warwick Business School > Accounting Faculty of Social Sciences > Warwick Business School |
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| Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH): | PricewaterhouseCoopers (Firm) -- Bangladesh, Ernst & Young -- Bangladesh, Deloitte & Touche -- Bangladesh, Klynveld Peat Marwick Goerdeler -- Bangladesh, Globalization | ||||||
| Journal or Publication Title: | Accounting, Auditing and Accountability Journal | ||||||
| Publisher: | Emerald Group Publishing Limited | ||||||
| ISSN: | 1368-0668 | ||||||
| Official Date: | 16 January 2017 | ||||||
| Dates: |
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| Date of first compliant deposit: | 21 July 2017 | ||||||
| Volume: | 30 | ||||||
| Number: | 1 | ||||||
| Page Range: | pp. 145-163 | ||||||
| DOI: | 10.1108/AAAJ-10-2014-1840 | ||||||
| Status: | Peer Reviewed | ||||||
| Publication Status: | Published | ||||||
| Access rights to Published version: | Open Access |
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