Adoption and Implementation of the Accounting System for Non-Profit Entities: An Exploratory Analysis of Associations in Burkina Faso

Abstract

Research on accounting reforms for non-profit entities in Africa has rarely combined neo-institutional theory with decoupling, particularly in a context historically marked by a legal and accounting vacuum within the OHADA region. This study analyses Burkina Faso's transition to the Accounting System for Non-Profit Entities (SYCEBNL). It draws on eleven semi-structured interviews with people working in associations, particularly in accounting, finance, administration and governance. The organizations studied have diverse funding arrangements and organizational structures, relying particularly on support from technical and financial partners and on community contributions. Thematic analysis, conducted using NVivo, draws on neo-institutional theory and the concept of decoupling. All respondents described SYCEBNL as mandatory. Four non-exclusive interpretive configurations emerge: prior coupling, coupling in progress, delegated coupling, and peripheral decoupling. Perceived effects mainly concern traceability, accountability, and governance, while the main obstacles relate to available skills, mobilizable resources, and gaps between central structures and local branches. Theoretically, the study proposes three extensions: a typology of coupling configurations, consideration of pre-existing accountability audiences, and identification of a stratification effect of coercive isomorphism when response capacities are unequal.

JEL Classification: M41; M40; L31; L30

Article type: Empirical research