The Accounting Profession in the Caste System of India

Abstract

This paper belongs to the research trend devoted to culture as one of the determinants of accounting evolution. Thus, it is partly economic and partly a sociological paper. India is a rare example of a modern society that structurally refers to the tradition that has already passed in Western countries - a rigid division of certain social groups into a specific caste, while in other countries one can speak at most about classes or social strata. This division, as shown by relatively few studies, influences significantly India's economic development. Traditionally, most professions in India are associated with a specific caste; however, the accounting profession is relatively new compared to centuries of tradition. The article attempts to find an answer to the question about the relationship between the accounting profession in modern India and the caste system in Indian society which is still in force in this country, based on the research of available literature and its critical analysis. More specifically, the paper attempts to determine, where in such a rigid caste hierarchy this profession was placed and does it allow people performing in this profession nowadays to gain social promotion, in terms not as economic and educational success, but as an opportunity to change the caste one belongs to.