The establishment of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI): the first step in the development of an accounting profession in post-independence India

This paper analyses the influence of culture and politics on the establishment of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) using a theoretical framework, extending the work of Gray (1988) and McKinnon (1986) in which accounting change is analysed into three phases, a source phase, a diffusion phase and a reaction phase. The ICAI is established in a way which is in line with the cultural and social context of India with the ICAI set up under parliamentary charter promulgated through the parliamentary system and with government involvement in the council of the ICAI. In particular, the analysis shows the importance of the relationship between the state and the accounting profession in determining the outcome of accounting change, with in this case, the balance of power being in the hands of the Government.