The interplay between accounting professionals and political ideologies: The emergence of Chinese accounting standards from 1978 to 1992

This article explores the role of accounting professionals in the emergence of the first set of accounting standards – Accounting Standards for Business Enterprises (ASBE) – in China between 1978 and 1992. Based on a variety of sources drawn from the archives of Chinese language accounting textbooks and highly ranked academic journals, this article reveals how accounting professionals adapted accounting thoughts and practice to fit the demands of the prevailing political ideologies, which facilitated the social conditions essential for the development of ASBE. Drawing on theoretical perspectives on the interplay between accounting and its social context, as pronounced and advocated by Hopwood and his collaborators, this article provides evidence that further demonstrates the social nature of accounting as it was implicated in the broader economic and political transformations in China between 1978 and 1992.