History matters: lessons from twenty-five years of the European Accounting Association

Abstract

Drawing on a number of primary sources (e.g. the minutes of the meetings of the governing bodies of the Association, EAA publications and congress proceedings), this study outlines the undertakings of the European Accounting Association (EAA) from its inception to the present. Examination of available evidence suggests that the activity of the EAA may be explained by the concomitant effect of institutional, organizational and individual factors. It was found that the EAA made considerable progress in: facilitating networking among European accounting scholars; increasing commitment towards high-quality research; incorporating into its structures and activities the notion of diversity; increasing reputation of its annual congress; and substituting its initial Anglo-Saxon-northern European dominance by a more comprehensive European focus. The EAA, though, faces some challenges in the near future: consolidation in southern Europe and other peripheral countries; penetration in eastern Europe; eventual re-definition of its aims and scope in a globalized world; eventual re-definition of the size and scope of its annual congress; and a more prominent role of women in executive posts.