The development of accounting systems and accounting education in high income oil exporting countries: An overview

For a considerable length of time, the development of accounting in Third World countries (TWCs) has been identified by many writers on the basis of viewing these countries as a single economic group. As a result of the rapid economic changes taken place after the oil boom the development of accounting systems and accounting education in high income oil exporting countries (HIOECs) has been significantly different from that of other TWCs. Therefore, the unified view of Third World accounting is no longer appropriate and the economic differentiation needs to be taken into account in any realistic classification of accounting in this part of the world. Further, the 'sphere of influence' methodology used by Enthoven (1977) for classifying accounting systems in the Third World is not applicable to HIOECs because, unlike in other TWCs, the development of accounting and accounting education in this particular group of countries is not an outcome of such historical factors as colonial experience and/or colonial affinity.