The politics of self-imposed regulations - Has a new day dawned?

Self-imposed regulations represent rules that are defined, followed, and enforced by a private sector constituency. While the term of "self imposed" suggests voluntary acceptance, self-imposed regulations are often motivated by political necessity. An analysis examines the politics of self-imposed regulations as it relates to the accounting profession. Five historical examples are provided to support the tradition-based theory. However, certain recent developments have challenged this theory giving rise to the following question: Is the tradition-based theory seriously flawed or has a new day dawned for the accounting profession with respect to the accounting-based politics of self-imposed regulations. Perhaps the answer lies in the rich stories yet to be told regarding the significance of Uniform Accounting, the Single Audit Act, the Jenkins Committee report, and the Litigation Reform Coalition, to name a few.