The Sociology of Exclusion: A Knowledge Synthesis of Imperialism, Colonialism, and Postcolonialism in Accounting Research*

Abstract

The ways in which accountancy (accounting, accountability, and accountants) has been a device of imperialism, colonialism, and postcolonialism, and therefore has had deleterious effects on Indigenous peoples in former colonies and continues to negatively impact immigrants in postcolonial OECD countries, is under‐researched. This structured literature review synthesizes studies in the accounting literature that have investigated imperialism, colonialism, and postcolonialism and identifies opportunities for future research. This study is part of a broader research project that reviewed 161 articles on accounting and discrimination. This article, based on 65 of the articles reviewed for the broader project, discusses existing knowledge on imperialism, colonialism, and postcolonialism. The author finds that the exclusion of Indigenous peoples in colonial times is shaped by perpetual oppressive relations. In the postcolonial United States and Old Commonwealth countries (Canada, Australia, and New Zealand), these power relations are sustained by professions through the continuing exclusion of racialized people and immigrants, many from previous colonies. This study proposes future research directions to advance the decolonization of accounting research by foregrounding alternative perspectives of Indigeneity—such as Black Indigeneity—and enabling accounting scholars to confront the various subthemes of imperialism and postcolonialism in accounting, including Western accounting and accountability, professionalization, emancipatory accounting, and Indigenous knowledge and accounts.