The Professional Accounting Body in the 21st Century: The Global Franchise Available to Purchase

This paper seeks to identify and describe the shape of the professional accounting body in the new millennium. It is argued that the professional accounting body is at the brink of major changes at the turn of the century, due to its traditional role of self‐regulation being threatened by other institutions within the accounting domain. The paper identifies the professional accounting body in the twenty‐first century to be similar to that of a franchise. This, it is highlighted, would lead to the emergence of the global franchise.