Abstract

The accounting and finance profession has traditionally emphasized compliance, precision, and risk control. However, rapid digital transformation and increasing organizational complexity have intensified expectations for professionals to contribute strategically to innovation while maintaining professional accountability. This study explores the emergence of “Governed Intrapreneurship,” a context-specific form of intrapreneurial behavior within regulated accounting and finance environments. Using a qualitative research design, in-depth interviews were conducted with 15 key informants, including accounting and finance executives, human resource managers, and academic experts in Thailand’s private sector. Data were analyzed using thematic analysis. The findings reveal that accounting and finance professionals increasingly experience tension between traditional compliance-oriented responsibilities and organizational demands for innovation and adaptability. The study identifies Governed Intrapreneurship as a distinct professional orientation characterized by bounded innovation, ethical accountability, governance-sensitive creativity, and calculated risk management. Major barriers to intrapreneurial development include excessive routine workloads, perfectionism culture, hierarchical structures, and fear of professional error. In contrast, supportive learning cultures, psychological safety, leadership support, and greater decision-making autonomy were found to strengthen innovation-oriented behavior within professional boundaries. The study contributes to the literature by extending intrapreneurship theory into regulated professional contexts and proposing Governed Intrapreneurship as a conceptual framework for developing future-ready accounting and finance professionals. Implications for higher education include curriculum redesign emphasizing innovation capability, experiential learning, interdisciplinary collaboration, and entrepreneurial mindset development.

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