Accounting in higher education: a grounded theory of accounting absence

Abstract

To date, very few studies have investigated accounting absence in organisations, and only two of these have investigated the absence of accounting in higher education (HE). This has posed difficulties to the author of this thesis to identify a framework of accounting absence against which to conduct the research. To mitigate this, the Grounded Theory (GT) approach was applied and developed in this research to facilitate an in-depth explanation of the issue of accounting absence. Subsequently, the researcher extensively and intensively conducted semi-structured interviews in addition to reviewing documents that would shed light on the status of accounting in the case study.

Empirically, this study has – in depth - explored, examined and understood accounting absence in a leading and public university in Saudi Arabia which should contribute to the few related studies in HE and the public sector in general and in developing countries in particular. The origin, status and daily practices of its accounting system were described. For example, this research found that the University’s antiquated accounting system had rarely been subject to any updates or developments since the rules were first established in 1956, although they are criticised for being primitive, bureaucratic and centralised.

After comparing the open and axial codes to reach a saturation stage of developing a theory, a substantive theory of accounting absence was introduced to explain accounting absence, and describes conditions that create, resist and/or sustain the absence of accounting by describing the strategies that are applied by those conditions. The consequences of accounting absence and these strategies are described, and finally, this research defined accounting absence, drawing a distinction between technical absence and functional absence.

The substantive theory is then compared with the extant literature where this research found a new type of decoupling taking place, and new practices of coercive pressure. After the comparisons, a Formal Grounded Theory was developed to achieve an abstract theory of accounting absence that should be more applicable to studies on accounting absence in general and accounting absence in the field of HE in particular.

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Identifiers

ORCID for Teerooven Soobaroyen: orcid.org/0000-0002-3340-1666

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