Accounting elite and accounting policy making — The Swedish case

Abstract

Based on the assumption that the accounting policy formation process increasingly recognizes the legitimacy of several interest groups, this paper describes standard setting in Sweden. The accounting elite is identified and the development of new norms is described in three cases. It is concluded that the more institutionalized the process the greater the responsibility for influential people to initiate and maintain a public debate. A producer attitude towards the annual report is the dominating one in Sweden with academics and business journalists showing a consumer orientation.