The “rational” and “traditional”: the regulation of accounting in the Philippines

The efficacy of the “rational” corporatist regulatory framework of Philippine financial reporting and, in particular, accounting has generally been questioned. We will show that the regulation of accounting in the Philippines is not corporatist at all in its implementation. A “traditionalist”/familial culture mediates the “rationalist”/legalistic regulatory process of Philippine accounting regulation. Two cases of apparent ethical misconduct in the practice of public accounting are examined to illustrate the process of mediation.