Volume 36, Issue 3 p. 261-277
RESEARCH ARTICLE

The diffusion-adoption of accrual accounting in Sri Lankan local governments

Thusitha Dissanayake

Thusitha Dissanayake

Deakin Business School, Faculty of Business & Law, Deakin University, Melbourne, Australia

Search for more papers by this author
Steven Dellaportas

Corresponding Author

Steven Dellaportas

School of Accounting, RMIT University, Melbourne, Australia

Correspondence

Steven Dellaportas, School of Accounting, RMIT University, GPO Box 2476V, Melbourne, 300, Australia.

Email: steven.dellaportas@rmit.edu.au

Search for more papers by this author
P. W. Senarath Yapa

P. W. Senarath Yapa

School of Accounting, RMIT University, Melbourne, Australia

Search for more papers by this author
First published: 13 December 2019
Citations: 6

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to evaluate the diffusion-adoption of accrual accounting among Sri Lankan local governments. The paper draws on the Diffusion of Innovation theory to explain the factors that assist or mitigate the adoption of accrual accounting as a new accounting practice. Finance managers, charged with the responsibility of adopting accrual accounting, were influenced by two major factors: a centralised knowledge-diffusion process educating these finance managers about its compatibility; and its observability in practice to understand the benefits of adoption. The paper contributes to the understanding of the diffusion of accounting innovation in developing countries and the role of key players such as professional associations within this process.

The full text of this article hosted at iucr.org is unavailable due to technical difficulties.