Template for Country Analysis Source sheet
Your Name and Country in the header
Scenario: The firm of XXX CPA’s has had numerous domestic clients open offices in foreign countries. To better serve their client base it was decided that you (an up and coming accountant with the firm) have been asked to perform a country analysis to determine if the country is suitable for a planned expansion of the firm.To enable this expansion the country must have a technology infrastructure in place to support far flung teams operating in a global environment. Answer the questions below and include the answers in the first page of the report.
Should the firm consider this country to establish a business presence for accounting related activities? Yes or No, Why (3 sentence maximum):
Overall Assessment of IT Capability of Country (3 sentences maximum):
Attractiveness of the Country from a Strategic Perspective (3 sentences maximum):
| Dimension | # | Category | High | Med | Low | Comments/Notes/URL Sources |
| Political environment | 1.1 | Political stability | ||||
| 1.2 | Extent of government promotion of accounting policies (AP) and information technology (IT) | |||||
| 1.3 | Trade barriers to AP and IT diffusion | |||||
| Regulation | ||||||
| Accounting | 1.4 | Regulation/restriction of company ownership of an accounting practice | ||||
| 1.5 | Accounting Certification What does it take to be a CPA or equivalent | |||||
| 1.6 | Existence of a formal accounting board | |||||
| 1.7 | Extent of IFRS adoption | |||||
| 1.8 | Extent of native accounting practices in use | |||||
| 1.9 | Accounting standards are set by? | |||||
| Stock Exchanges | 1.10 | Stock exchanges | ||||
| 1.11 | Exchange regulators | |||||
| Educational System | 2.1 | Literacy overall | ||||
| 2.2 | Accounting Literacy | |||||
| 2.3 | IT literacy | |||||
| Language/ | 3.1 | Extent of set of written symbols in native language | ||||
| 3.2 | Extent of knowledge of English | |||||
| Culture | 4.1 | Hofstede MAS | ||||
| 4.2 | Hofstede UAI | |||||
| 4.3 | Hofstede PDI | |||||
| 4.4 | Hofstede (IND) | |||||
| 4.5 | Computer-Based Media Support Index see[1] Van Slyke and Straub[2] | Need to explain the calculation and calculate | ||||
| IT Diffusion | 5.1 | Extent of phones per capita | ||||
| 5.2 | Extent of computers per capita | |||||
| 5.3 | Extent of TV per capita | |||||
| 5.4 | Extent of IT usage | |||||
| Telecommunications Infrastructure | 6.1 | Extent of Internet connections | ||||
| 6.2 | Support for EDI | |||||
| 6.3 | Availability of digital networks | |||||
| 6.4 | Availability of ISDN/fiber | |||||
| Economy | 7.1 | Quality of physical infrastructure | ||||
| 7.2 | Extent of privatization | |||||
| 7.3 | GNP per capita | |||||
| 7.4 | Imports | |||||
| 7.5 | Exports | |||||
| 7.6 | Extent of foreign direct investment from other countries | |||||
| 7.7 | Extent of foreign direct investment to other countries | |||||
| 7.8 | Legal protection for international software copyrights & trade secrets | |||||
Other Pertinent Information:
[1]Van Slyke, C., Lou, H., Belanger, F. & Sridhar, V. (2010). The Influence of Culture on Consumer-Oriented Electronic Commerce Adoption. Journal of Electronic Commerce Research, Vol 11, No 1, 30-40.
[2] Straub, D., Keil, M. and Brenner, W. (1997) “Testing the Technology Acceptance Model across Cultures: A Three Country Study.” Information & Management, Vol. 33, 1-11.