The development of the accounting profession in the Holy Land since 1920: cultural memory and accounting institutions

Abstract

This study provides a history of the Israel accounting profession using a periodization strategy that identifies major shifts in the legal and economic environment of Israel and traces the effect of these changes on the institutional structure of accountancy. Specifically, four periods are identified, each with distinct accounting institutions: British influence (1920–1948), state building (1948–1977), market model (1977–1994), and globalization (1994–present). The focus is on various effects of culture on the development of the profession and how cultural tendencies, reflected in cultural memory and collective identity, interact with the imposition of institutional structures by a foreign power and by integration into a global economy.