Accounting and the emergence of care pathways in the National Health Service

This paper examines the effects of New Public Management reforms on the information infrastructure underpinning the work of public service professionals. Focussing on the case of the British National Health Service (NHS), the paper argues that hospital accounting reforms played a significant role in the emergence of standardised models of clinical practice. The paper moreover argues that, under the label ‘care pathways’, such standardised models of clinical practice became embedded in the information infrastructure of the NHS and concludes by discussing their implications for the work of doctors and hospital accountants.     

International Professional Labour Markets and the Narratives of Accountants

This paper analyses the emergence of an international labour market in accountancy and the role it plays in the careers of Big Six Irish accountants. It suggests that within Irish accountancy an international hierarchy has arisen which places sites such as London above areas like Bermuda. The justifications for this hierarchy are often technical, i.e. one learns new accounting techniques in London but not in Bermuda. However, although technical justifications play a role in this hierarchy, the paper argues that its emergence has more to do with narrative than with technical factors. That is, it is argued that Irish accountants perceive core sites as being more “progressive” than peripheral areas and in order to display their ambition and adherence to “progressive” accounting values they migrate to the core and not the periphery. This narrative coincides with a wider narrative in Ireland, which claims professional migration is a good thing because it means Irish professionals learn new skills in the core and bring these back thus enabling the state, and the firms they work for, become competitive in an increasingly global economy. This narrative rejects the concept that professional migration is a reflection of Ireland's economic dependence in favour of viewing it as a sign of progress.     

CAP Forum on Forensic Accounting in the Post‐Enron World: Education for Investigative and Forensic Accounting*/FORMATION ET JURICOMPTABILITÉ

Recent financial scandals have raised the awareness that accountants should be alert to potential fraud and other economic disputes and can provide significant assistance in preventing, investigating, and resolving such matters. Forensic accountants provide these services with knowledge of court requirements and proceedings so that effective legal action is possible, even though most actions are concluded without the involvement of the courts. Although forensic accounting was growing in importance even before Enron and the Sarbanes‐Oxley Act, the ensuing tightening of the securities regulations in both Canada and the United States triggered recognition that accounting students and professionals need a fuller understanding of fraud and other economic crimes, and how to find, prevent, and resolve them, as well as the career choices that could be involved. While some of this material is covered in auditing texts and courses, emerging expectations will require the enhancement and restructuring of forensic accounting education within university programs, and will encourage more interest in graduate specialist professional designations. This paper has two objectives: to offer insights into the design and delivery of forensic accounting programs, and into the availability of professional programs; and to provide some exploratory evidence on the type of services currently rendered by investigative and forensic accountants in Canada.     

Traditional accountants and business professionals: Portraying the accounting profession after Enron

Society’s perception of the legitimacy of the accounting profession and its members is grounded in the verbal and visual images of accountants that are projected not only by accountants themselves but also by the media. The paper uses the critical literature on stereotypes to examine how books written for a general readership on Enron and other recent corporate failures portray accountants and accounting, and the implications their authors draw for corporate governance and the survival of the financial system. The paper explores how commentators have analyzed the changing activities of accountants (including the rise of consulting) and have contrasted the personalities of “founding fathers” of the US accounting profession with their early 21st-century successors. The paper concludes that changing stereotypes of accountants are evidence of “negative signals of movement” for accounting as a profession.     

管理会计的发展与展望

我国管理会计的发展呈现出以下特点:大多数企业的信息系统依然是为财务会计而非管理会计设计的。而在管理会计的教育界,这种局限性体现在:一方面,对已有的管理会计应用经验缺乏总结和提高。另一方面,学术界投入的力量比较少,学者们不肯深入实践去调查,去总结经验。甚至可以说,长期以来理论界过于偏重财务会计。21世纪我国管理会计发展的关键是要充分发挥管理会计的作用,提高企业经济效益,因此,必须从推动管理会计发展的原动力出发,立足于我国的国情。现代管理会计具有系统化、规范化、职业化、社会化和国际化的发展趋势。     

Syrian women accountants’ attitudes and experiences at work in the context of globalization

The purpose of this study is to explore how globalization is impacting on the experiences of Syrian women accountants working in the accounting and finance professions. The study uses postcolonial theory to interpret face-to-face in depth interviews with female accountants and in particular their experiences and attitudes regarding wearing or not wearing the hijab in Syria. Insights from the interviews reveal that Syrian women accountants have been able to use the practice of veiling in order to negotiate greater opportunities for access to work in a patriarchal context. Nonetheless, the increased influence in recent years of private/Western accounting and finance firms has mainly hindered women, especially veiled women’s ability to access and progress at work. The study suggests that the issue of female clothing for Muslim women is still overemphasized in the East and West. The paper argues for the need to go beyond the politics of the hijab and to focus on addressing broader socio-political, cultural and global conditions that are contributing to Syrian women’s marginalization in the accounting and finance professions, and beyond.     

会计电算化后财务工作转向研究

信息技术的广泛应用,会计电算化的普及,对传统的会计核算模式及会计人员工作方式提出了新的挑战,在会计电算化应用面越来越广的情况下,现行财务会计如何适应转变日益紧迫,本文试图从基础工作、财会人员本身及财会工作内容三个方面如何适应新形式进行阐述,并提出相关的解决策略。     

A rejoinder

This paper takes the position that the task of accountants is to provide information as free bias as possible that will be useful to decision makers (possibly including accountants themselves) who may be concerned with social and economic issues. Though accountants may sometimes fail to achieve the faithful representation of economic phenomena, that should be their goal. In developing this argument, the paper criticizes Radical Accounting, as represented by Tony Tinker's Paper Prophets, and others who assert that accounting policies should be chosen for their supposedly desirable economic consequences rather than for their capacity to depict relevant phenomena faithfully. Like journalists, accountants should report the news, not make it. Neutrality in accounting may not always be easy to secure, but without it the credibility of accounting is endangered.     

New accounts: Towards a reframing of social accounting

This paper is a speculative and exploratory essay on the emerging field of social accounting. In essence, the paper explores whether the fact that most social accounting has, traditionally at any rate, being promulgated by accountants might be a partial explanation for its self-disciplining limitations and, arguably, its weak inroads into discourse and practice. Through the lens of Erik Olin Wright's work, the paper reconsiders the potential of the social accounting project(s) and argues for the importance of accounts as a means of interstitial transformation as a complement to the traditional privileging of accounts directed towards symbiotic transformations.     

The accounting profession in Egypt: Its origin and development

The purpose of this paper is to present a historical review of the evolution of accounting and the accounting profession in Egypt. Such a review aims at providing the perspectives necessary to understand and evaluate the contemporary scene. The origin of accounting practices in Egypt can be traced to ancient Egyptian civilization, and the temples exhibit paintings of early accounting records and activities. Modern accounting practices can be dated from November 1883, when Egypt adopted the Commerce ACT. In the ensuing 125 years (1883–2008), Egyptian accounting practice can be divided into three stages: record keeping (1883–1939); financial reporting under changing economic regimes (1939–1975); and the move to adopt international accounting standards in an attempt to liberalize and integrate the Egyptian economy into the global economy (1975–). Each one of these stages reflects the impact of the socioeconomic conditions prevailing at the time. The evolution of accounting in Egypt demonstrates its ability to adapt in response to changing conditions. While there are several lessons to be drawn, and their relevance is noted, it is especially important for the accounting profession to anticipate changes in order to be responsive, in a timely manner, to the changing needs of the society.     

Deprivation,social class and social mobility at Big Four and non-Big Four firms

Using the work of Bourdieu and Savage, this paper investigates social class and social mobility among chartered accountants who qualified with The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland in 2009. We find that these accountants tend to come from privileged backgrounds and that those who qualified with Big Four firms possess more economic, social and cultural capital than those who qualify with other firms. Our study provides fresh insights into how elements of social class interact with social background. In contrast with the prevailing view that there is limited social mobility in the accountancy profession, we find some evidence of social mobility, suggesting that current debates are based on contestable assumptions. We also find that chartered accountants from more deprived backgrounds as indicated by childhood postcode often have a father who has a professional or managerial occupation, so are not deprived on all measures. Where those from more deprived backgrounds accessed chartered accountancy careers, this was at the expense of people whose parents held lower rather than higher professional or managerial jobs. This suggests that the most advantaged maintain access to chartered accountancy but those from more middling professional homes are displaced when those from more deprived backgrounds gain access.     

Accounting and management in the social dialogue: the experience of fifty years of works councils in France

This paper analyses the conditions of the birth of works councils in France in 1945 and how the practice of their economic competence has evolved. It studies the ways in which the relationships have developed between the principal parties: trade unions, business management and chartered accountants. It aims to show how the use of accounting and management information has contributed to the legitimization of the works council as an institution.     

注册会计师的任期和强制轮换与会计盈余稳健性——来自沪深A股上市公司的经验证据

本文实证检验了注册会计师定期轮换规定对我国上市公司会计报告盈余稳健性的影响。研究发现:签字注册会计师任期对客户公司的会计报告盈余稳健性的影响受到会计师事务所与客户公司经济依存度的作用,在事务所经济重要程度较低的客户公司中,签字会计师任期的延长显著降低会计报告的盈余稳健性;而在事务所经济重要程度较高的客户公司中,任期与会计盈余稳健性的关系则并不明确。同时,上市公司在按照《关于证券期货审计业务签字注册会计师定期轮换的规定》更替签字注册会计师后,会计稳健性并未发生显著变化。这表明尽管注册会计师定期轮换规定的实施在我国是必要的,但其实施规定对上市公司盈余稳健性的提高并不完善。本文建议未来轮换规定可以考虑在事务所轮换层面提供更细致的要求,削弱现有轮换规定下客户公司与事务所长期合作关系。     

A work role perspective of accountants in local government service departments

In most of the largest U.K. local authorities the financial control function is highly centralised with no qualified accountant or controller located in each spending department. There now may be the beginnings of a trend towards employing accountants within service departments. The paper analyses how this new segment of public sector accounting appears to be becoming established, how the role of these accountants is being developed and the contrasting occupational values of accountants in service departments and those in the finance department. It is also shown how the existence of a strong accounting profession in local government can lead to different aspects of both the financial control structure and process in comparison with central government such that research results on the latter may not automatically hold at local level.     

Recent developments in the accounting profession in New Zealand: A case of deprofessionalization?

The international accounting literature is replete with references to the importance of professionalization of accounting in its development. While professionalization of accounting is progressing at a rapid rate in many developing countries, the recent developments in some western industrialized countries seem to suggest a different trend. This paper proposes to investigate these developments and provide a critical analysis focusing on one western industrialized country (i.e., New Zealand).Evidence is provided in the paper to show that (a) the boundaries between accountancy and other occupations are becoming increasingly blurred; (b) the dominance of accounting controls in organizations is being challenged; (c) the profession does not control access to accounting knowledge; and (d) the profession is unable to prevent government intervention in the areas of work standards, and bureaucratic controls in the work place. The paper argues that the recent changes in the accounting profession in New Zealand suggest a trend towards deprofessionalization.     

Management accounting as normal social science

The publication of “Management accounting change: Approaches and perspectives” (Wickramasinghe, D., & Alawattage, C. (2007). Management accounting change: Approaches and perspectives. London, New York: Routledge) provides an occasion for considering the extent to which management accounting has become a normal social science. This review essay argues that management accounting is a social science defined by a pluralism of approaches, and it identifies the generalization of social perspectives on management accounting, and particularly their ability to transcend technical and economic aspects of accounting practice, as crucial components in reproducing this specific form of expertise. Contrary to Kuhnian expectations, this social science hosts a multiplicity of paradigms, and its scientists are not exclusively concerned with the subtlest and most esoteric aspects of the phenomena under study. Instead, as social scientists management accountants are generalists as much as they are specialists.     

American Accountants in 1880

Although much has been written about the foundation and maturation of the early US public accountancy profession, little is known about the community of American accountants that existed prior to the main foundational events of the 1880s and 1890s. Using data extracted from the 1880 US Census, this study provides a contextualised review of American accountants in that year. Contextual factors include the population and manufacturing economy of the US in 1880, and other accounting service providers such as auditors and bookkeepers. The study reveals a very small community of accountants relative to the US population and manufacturing economy, occupational and economic distinctions between accountants, auditors and bookkeepers, little evidence of public accountancy as a significant occupation, the presence of a small female subset of the accountant community, and a significant proportion of accountants associated with lower socio-economic classifications and immigration. The evidence of the study is consistent with contemporary comments recorded by British public accountants and American bookkeepers.     

On the emergence of strategic management accounting: An institutional perspective

Strategic management accounting (SMA) has been presented as an efficacious approach to strategy formulation and implementation. It also suggests accountants move away from purely financial concerns to give consideration to wider business issues. Management accounting change has attracted significant research attention in recent years. This case study explores the issues which surround change and which enable the adoption of SMA and the repositioning of management accountants to become more strategic. The empirical enquiry is based in one company through a prolonged series of interviews and meetings which enabled activities over a number of years to be reviewed. This revealed an increasing strategic role for management accountants in informing strategic decision‐making and how this role came into being. The research is informed by institutional theories and neoinstitutionalism in particular, to interpret the external and internal influences on the change in roles of some management accountants and the outputs of their work.     

The role of internet-related technologies in shaping the work of accountants: New directions for accounting research

This paper reviews the accounting literature that focuses on four Internet-related technologies that have the potential to dramatically change and disrupt the work of accountants and accounting researchers in the near future. These include cloud, big data, blockchain, and artificial intelligence (AI). For instance, access to distributed ledgers (blockchain) and big data supported by cloud-based analytics tools and AI will automate decision making to a large extent. These technologies may significantly improve financial visibility and allow more timely intervention due to the perpetual nature of accounting. However, given the number of tasks technology has relieved of accountants, these technologies may also lead to concerns about the profession's legitimacy. The findings suggest that scholars have not given sufficient attention to these technologies and how these technologies affect the everyday work of accountants. Research is urgently needed to understand the new kinds of accounting required to manage firms in the changing digital economy and to determine the new skills and competencies accountants may need to master to remain relevant and add value. The paper outlines a set of questions to guide future research.     

Importing accounting: the case of Trinidad and Tobago

In the period immediately following its achieving independence, Trinidad and Tobago switched from a pattern of importing British professional accountants to one of importing British professional qualifications. It was also in this period that the first professional accounting association appeared: that is, eighty years after such bodies emerged in Britain and her settler colonies. This paper seeks to explain why the achievement of political independence in Trinidad and Tobago (and perhaps in some other British non-settler colonies) signified a critical turning point in the development of a local accounting profession. The paper also explores how the history of importing accounting impacted on the contemporary organization of the profession in Trinidad and Tobago.