Title: The motives behind the alleged ability of Hofstede's cultural values in predicting sub-cultural values: the case of Iraqi forensic accountants' mentally held characteristics as sub-cultural values

Authors: Riyadh Al-Abdullah; Ibtihaj I. Yaqoob; Rawan H.N. Atwa; Ruba M.M. Bsoul

Addresses: Accounting Department, College of Economics and Administrative Sciences, Yarmouk University, Irbid, Jordan ' Accounting Department, College of Administration and Economics, AlMustansiriyah University, Baghdad, Iraq ' Accounting Department, College of Economics and Administrative Sciences, Yarmouk University, Irbid, Jordan ' Accounting Department, College of Economics and Administrative Sciences, Yarmouk University, Irbid, Jordan

Abstract: Ostensibly, the most important constituent of Hofstede's theory on culture is the claim that his system of six pairs of cultural values can be used to predict sub-cultural values. Eighteen mentally held characteristics by an Iraqi forensic accountant are used as sub-cultural values. Based on the scores assigned by Hofstede to the Iraq dominant cultural values, the alleged predictive ability indoctrinate Iraqis to have an inferiority complex about their culture. Three different tests are used to check the predictive ability claimed by Hofstede. The three tests generate results that render Hofstede's claim on the predictive ability of cultural values to be invalid. On the other hand, a pure theoretical evaluation of the Hofstede's system of six pair of cultural values reveals that the purpose behind the alleged predictive ability is to indirectly promote the superiority of the cash wealth maximisation culture. Thus, believe that you are inferior and the cure is ready, i.e., cash wealth maximisation camouflaged in a system of six pairs of cultural values.

Keywords: cultural values; sub-cultural values; cash wealth maximisation; forensic accountant; predictive ability; Hofstede; mentally held characteristics.

DOI: 10.1504/IJCA.2018.093058

International Journal of Critical Accounting, 2018 Vol.10 No.3/4, pp.274 - 339

Received: 21 Oct 2017
Accepted: 17 Jan 2018
Published online: 05 Jul 2018 *

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