The FRIP as a mechanism of accountability in the South African financial reporting environment

Objectives: This research explores how an independent financial reporting monitoring and review body functions as a mechanism of accountability. Prior Work: The paper extends on a critical body of accounting research which draws on institutional theory to explain the functioning of financial reporting systems. Approach: Detailed interviews with a sample of practitioners and regulators are used to illuminate the functioning of isomorphic pressures in a financial reporting setting. Results: Although the review body in question does not enjoy the direct force of law, its’ functions are a significant source of coercive, normative and mimetic isomorphic pressure which drives compliance with accounting standards. Implications: This makes a case for the establishment of oversight bodies in responses to corporate failures and crises of trust and shows how these bodies contribute to confidence in the capital market by demonstrating that reporting prescriptions and systems of governance are more than just symbolic. Value: The research makes an important contribution by providing a detailed account of precisely how the activities of independent/regulatory review bodies achieve a sense of accountability and drive higher levels of financial reporting quality, something which has been overlooked by the prior literature.