Challenges in promoting and enforcing international ethical standards in emerging economies: The case of accounting and auditing in Mauritius

This chapter analyses the extent to which international pronouncements on ethics in accounting and auditing are interpreted and practiced in Mauritius, alongside the establishment of World Bank-recommended national regulatory and professional structures. Relying on documentary evidence and interviews with local practitioners and regulators, we find slow progress on investigation and disciplinary procedures by the local professional accountancy organisation and limited oversight by the regulator, despite the legislation being adopted more than fifteen years ago. How individuals perceive these regulatory structures and their modus operandi also reveals a preference for compromise and acting discretely in view of cultural sensitivities and socio-economic constraints. Our study also highlights the challenges of local professionals and institutions in grappling with the notion of public interest which is at the heart of international ethical standards and principles. In the main, ethical considerations appear to be subservient to commercial and other pragmatic.