Govern(mentality) and Accounting: the Influence of Different Enlightenment Discourses in Two Spanish Cases (1761–1777)

New perspectives in accounting history have uncovered previously unattended relations between accounting and government. Earlier Foucauldian analyses of governments have not explained sufficiently the relations of accounting practices to governmental discourses in order to manage populations.
This work uses the governmentality frame to analyse the role of accounting in two organizations located in the south of Spain in the second half of the eighteenth century: the New Settlements of Sierra Morena and Andalucia (NSs) and the Royal Tobacco Factory of Seville (RTFS). The period studied is remarkable because it was the apogee of the Enlightenment in Spain. From the standpoint of government, this period facilitated a new way to manage populations. The present work has drawn on Foucault's concept of governmentality in order to discover how accounting worked in two government-supported organizations independently of the discourses that pervaded each one. Drawing on the reticulation of the space, the use of rules and accounting from the governmental perspective, we analyse those institutions.
The article concludes that the reticulation of space is an essential apparatus to exert action at a distance; the rules are a type of government technology; and, overall, accounting is a practice for the mastery of the population independently from the discourse of the institution.     

我国政府会计权责制改革初探

随着“新公共管理运动”的兴起,改革政府会计引入权责发生制逐渐成为世界上许多国家的共识.而我国经过30多年的改革开放,市场经济环境已经发生了巨大变化,尤其是政府职能的转换、公共财政体制的改革、政府绩效评价制度的建设等,均对反映政府经济活动的政府会计信息提出了更高的要求,实行政府会计改革、引入权责制的呼声也日益高涨.本文从...     

The Withdrawal of Current Cost Accounting in the United Kingdom: A Study of the Accounting Standards Committee

Evidence from the archives of the U.K. Accounting Standards Committee (ASC) is used to trace the events leading to the withdrawal of the current cost accounting standard, SSAP 16, from 1980 to 1988. Three central issues are addressed. First, the ASC's role as a regulatory body is considered in the light of the failure to obtain compliance with SSAP 16 and to find an acceptable replacement. Second, the decline in support for SSAP 16 is explained in terms of changes in the economic environment. Third, the roles of different interest groups in the process are analysed.     

政府会计二元结构体系中的概念框架研究

我国理论界已达成"政府会计由预算会计和财务会计两大相对独立的系统构成"的新共识。政府会计二元结构格局的形成决定了人们迫切需要运用二元结构思维重新考究政府会计概念框架的构建,以指引即将展开的政府会计改革。二元结构新理念可以融入政府会计目标、政府会计核算对象与适用范围、政府会计主体、政府会计信息质量特征、政府会计核算基础与计量属性、政府会计要素、政府财务报告等概念框架及其表现形式之中,进而形成新的政府会计概念框架体系。     

从医院会计变迁看新中国政府会计发展70年

新中国成立70年来,我国政府会计改革与发展取得了巨大成就,初步建立起具有中国特色的统一政府会计制度,为国家治理体系和治理能力建设提供了重要的基础设施。作为政府会计的重要组成部分,医院会计成为新中国政府会计70年的生动缩影。70年演变过程中,医院会计与政府会计之间具有显著的制度离合与互动发展特征,这种离合与互动清晰地折射出我国政府会计渐进改革、螺旋上升的曲折发展路径。本文通过回顾医院会计变迁历程,从更微观和更深入的视角总结新中国政府会计70年发展的基本经验和教训,探索我国政府会计发展规律,并展望未来发展趋势。     

Examining the differences between United States Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (U.S. GAAP) and International Accounting Standards (IAS): implications for the harmonization of accounting standards

Current trends indicate continued movement towards the harmonization of accounting standards, but not without difficulty and concern. At times, the political and financial market pressure, push the movement in opposite directions. The paper discusses the conceptual framework used in establishing Global Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) (International Accounting Standards, IAS) and U.S. GAAP. Numerous transactional examples are illustrated under both Global GAAP and U.S. GAAP treatment. Several country specific references are presented demonstrating the difficulty in achieving harmonization. Implications for harmonization of accounting standards include arguments “for” and “against” Global GAAP.     

Accounting for Fair Competition between Private and Public Sector Armaments Manufacturers in Victorian Britain

Failures in rifle supply during the Crimean War (1853–56) caused the British government to seek a more reliable method for procuring weapons for military use. Fact‐finding missions to US rifle manufacturers led to the introduction of the ‘American system of manufacturing’ at a purpose‐built factory in north London. The extension of gun‐making facilities at the Royal Small Arms Factory, Enfield Lock, was accompanied by major accounting innovations driven by society's desire for ‘cheap and efficient’ government and, within a laissez‐faire environment, the need to ensure fair competition between private and public suppliers of military goods. Accounting practices based on ‘strictly commercial principles’ were then disseminated to other government military manufacturing establishments located at the Woolwich Arsenal. The historical knowledge revealed in this paper adds a new dimension to existing accounting historiography, which focuses principally on the business sector as the driving force for accounting change in Britain.     

Adapting not Adopting: 1958 - 74. Accounting and Managerial 'Reform' in the Early NHS

This paper examines accounting and managerial reform in the public sector National Health Service (NHS) hospitals in the UK from 1958-74. This period is often regarded as one of 'consolidation' (Klein, 1995; Webster, 1998) after the 'turmoil' of the early years of the NHS, though there were a number of attempts to improve 'efficiency' through initiatives largely rooted in commercial practice. There was a deeply embedded respect for local self governance rather than central 'command and control' (Harrison, 1988; Klein, 1995) and more ambitious reforms were avoided. Accounting practitioners and senior civil servants appeared to be content to adjust existing accounting processes rather than embrace major change. The paper concludes with a review of possible factors mitigating against more radical accounting innovation.     

会计法视角下会计人员的权益保障

会计人员的权益保障对于会计人员依法独立履行职责以及会计职能的实现、会计职业道德的弘扬、经济领域职务违法犯罪的预防都具有不可替代的作用.在我国现行《会计法》中,已经初步形成了会计人员权益保障的制度体系,但由于立法经验的不足,会计人员的权益的切实保障仍存在若干障碍.完善会计人员的权益保障体系,我国《会计法》应强化对会计人员的倾斜性保护,增设权益救济的具体程序,设立会计行业性协会制度.     

Analysing the role of sustainable development indicators in accounting for and constructing a Sustainable Scotland

The main objective of this paper was to analyse how sustainable development indicators impacted upon the integration of sustainable development into the governing of Scotland. A major concern was whether an accounting technology could represent this complex multi-dimensional and interdisciplinary concept. We analysed the relationship between the official sustainable development strategy of the Scottish Executive and the associated indicator set using an analytics of government framework (Dean, M. (1999). Governmentality: Power and rule in modern society. London: Sage Publications. Dean, M. (2007). Governing societies. Berkshire: Open University Press). We observed a lack of alignment between these sustainable development indicators and the visions, fields of visibilities, forms of knowledge and techniques of government contained in this strategy. Critical aspects of this strategy were omitted from the indicator set and we argue that these indicators did not to effectively measure progress towards a Sustainable Scotland but that they could calculatively capture and distort the sustainable development governing process. The analytical framework used allowed us to problematise these indicators and contribute to a wider discourse on the composition and nature of sustainable development indicators.     

Accounting for the furniture,fittings & equipment reserve in hotels

The somewhat idiosyncratic accounting procedure of maintaining reserves to fund furniture, fittings and equipment (FF&E) capital expenditure in hotels mediated by a management contract is examined. Five research objectives have been pursued: (i) ascertaining contrasting motives of owners and operators with respect to FF&E reserve accounting; (ii) determining FF&E reserve accounting approaches adopted in hotels; (iii) determining the amount assigned to FF&E reserves in hotels; (iv) determining the sufficiency of FF&E reserves in hotels; and (v) appraising the degree of ease with which hotel operators can draw on FF&E reserve funds. These objectives have been pursued through the analysis of qualitative field data as well as survey data collected in Australia and New Zealand. The study’s more significant findings include the determination that, consistent with the wishes of operators, maintaining cash funded FF&E reserves is the most popular approach (particularly in small hotels). It has also been found that FF&E reserves are 40 per cent underfunded. This deficiency beckons a question over whether hotel FF&E reserve accounting serves any meaningful role.     

The Development of a Conceptual Framework for the Design,Delivery, and Assessment of a Typical Management Accounting Syllabus

This article identifies common issues relating to management accounting education in order to determine whether using a competency‐based approach would assist educators in the design, delivery, and assessment of syllabi at educational institutions. A conceptual framework is developed and discussed with regard to the critical success factors methodology to design syllabi that assist educators in attaining the main outcomes in the delivery and assessment of the curriculum. This framework is applied to a typical management accounting curriculum to demonstrate how this approach will enable educators to design, deliver, and assess their syllabi in line with the critical outcomes required. In following this approach, lecturers would constantly have to focus on the knowledge and issues that are relevant and critical for students to understand and apply in order to achieve the aim of the syllabi.     

Performance-based Incentives and the Behavior of Accounting Academics: Responding to Changes

Abstract

When laws change the rules of the game, it is important to observe the effects on the players' behavior. Some effects can be anticipated while others are difficult to enunciate before the law comes into force. In this paper we have analyzed articles authored by Spanish accounting academics between 1996 and 2005 to assess the impact of a change in the Spanish university regulation. Results indicate a switch from publishing professional papers to academic ones and also to change research methodologies in order to meet the new requirements. This was to be expected due to the explicit mention of the law in favor of academic journals. However, we have also detected a significant decrease in the publication of professional papers. These side-effects could have a negative impact on the transmission of knowledge from university to society putting the relationship between accounting research and professional practice in jeopardy.     

A Possibilitarian History of Price Change Accounting in the UK: 1971-1985

This paper offers a 'possibilitarian' analysis of the history of price change accounting in the UK, exploring how events might have turned out differently at a number of key nodal points. It argues that a stable current cost accounting regime could have been established significantly before SSAP16 was in fact adopted or, alternately, that the retreat from SSAP16 could have been managed in a way that would have maintained compliance with current cost accounting. Had a substantial period of widespread compliance within a stable regime eventuated, a quite different dynamic might have emerged, including significant user pressure to maintain current cost accounting, thereby underpinning the regime and leading to its long-term survival.     

公司治理结构中会计目标的法律经济学解释——兼论我国会计法律制度的完善

公司治理涉及各种利益相关者责权利的划分和制衡。会计是连接权利和利益的纽带,会计信息质量在公司治理结构中扮演着重要的角色。公司治理中对各种利益相关者的约束与制衡机制需要以会计信息作保障。会计目标与公司治理目标具有内在的关联性,在我国公司目前所处的经济环境下,公司目标是影响公司治理结构的重要因素.会计法律制度的完善对我国公司治理具有重要的意义。     

Walter Mahlberg's Valuation Theory: An Anomaly in the Development of Inflation Accounting

Walter Mahlberg's inflation-accounting treatise of 1921, Bilanztechnik und Bewertung bei schwankender Währung , contains the first book-length price-level-adjustment model in the literature. As the title of the book indicates, Mahlberg treated the matter of restatement technique and the matter of asset valuation during inflation as distinct topics. Mahlberg's restatement technique was not without immediate influence in Germany and has been addressed previously in English-language publications. His valuation theory, on the other hand, had little effect on contemporary developments and remains an anomaly in the literature today. In particular, Mahlberg saw the effect of certain specific price-level changes—those whose rate of change exceeded general inflation—as giving rise to unavoidable future losses; losses, he maintained, that should be recognized currently. Since Mahlberg's theory is generally unknown outside Germany, the present paper first provides English-speaking audiences with an explication of the logic that led Mahlberg to his unique conclusion. It then argues that although Mahlberg's valuation theory represents a cul-de-sac in the development of inflation accounting itself, it ironically may have contributed to Henry Sweeney's 1936 concept of 'unrealized appreciation', which is an early conceptualization of a holding gain, net of inflation.     

The Loser's Curse: Accounting for the Transaction Costs of Takeover and the Distortion of Takeover Motives

Studies for major stock markets of share price movements in the period around a takeover show that target company shareholders typically experience large gains in wealth but that acquiring company shareholders do not. The reasons for this asymmetry–and, in particular, for the absence of gains for the shareholders of the companies which initiate the deal–are imperfectly understood. This note suggests one factor contributing to those results. It argues that accounting practice prescribed by the main standard setters is non‐neutral towards ‘successful’ and ‘unsuccessful’ bidders with respect to reporting the transaction costs of bidding. It shows how the prescribed accounting treatment of these costs affects performance measures used in salary contracts as well as in the markets for executives and for corporate control. The result is that the managers of bidding companies will have an ‘arti ?cial’ incentive to in ?ate their bid price or to go ahead with a bid which offers no bene ?t to their shareholders. Ironically, the main standard setters seem minded soon to prohibit the only accounting technique which does not distort these incentives.     

我国环境会计实施中的问题及对策探讨

我国环境会计在实施过程中存在诸多问题,如人才问题、确认与计量问题、环保法律法规体系的建设问题等。为此,必须不断提高企业财会人员素质,制定统一的确认标准,制定适合我国现实的计量方法与模式,建立健全环境会计的规范标准。     

政治问责视角下的政府财务信息供求机制研究

资本市场中的会计改革已经证实,宏观制度因素能够影响资本市场中的财务信息供求。在公共领域,学者们发现宏观层面的制度变化也对政府会计信息的供求机制产生影响。政治问责形式根据制度环境变迁,从而改变政府会计信息供求关系,引起政府会计改革,但将政治问责与财务信息供求联系起来的研究却屈指可数。论文从政治问责视角切入研究我国政府财务信息供求问题,从理论上探讨了政治问责与信息供求机制的内在关系;较为全面、系统地梳理了我国政治问责与政府财务信息供求的历史与现状;从我国目前的实际情况出发,结合具体案例进行论证,提出了相关的政府会计信息披露的政策建议。。     

非寿险业实施《企业会计准则解释第2号》的预期经济后果分析

保险业全面实施<企业会计准则解释第2号>,是中国保险业和保险会计准则发展史上新的里程碑,它的实施必然会产生一定的经济后果.人们在对经济后果思考的同时,也对新准则的执行效力和是否能推动中国保险业持续与稳定发展表示担忧.本文首先归纳和总结非寿险业实施保险新会计准则的预期正面经济后果,其次探讨其实施新准则的预期负面经济后果,...