THE THREAT OF ETHICAL ACCOUNTANTS: AN APPLICATION OF FOUCAULT'S CONCEPT OF ETHICS TO ACCOUNTING EDUCATION AND SOME THOUGHTS ON ETHICALLY EDUCATING FOR THE OTHER

There are an increasing number of papers within the accounting literature which are concerned with the relationship between accounting education and the ethics of accountants (see, e.g. Gray, 1994). This paper attempts to contribute to this literature. It draws on the work of Michel Foucault to argue that ethical accountants may pose just as great a threat to society as unethical ones. The paper initially explains Foucault's work on power/knowledge and delineates his novel perspective on how power may operate through an individuals sense of moral identity. It is argued that the way accountancy is taught may predispose accountants to discipline themselves in such a way that they behave in a manner which serves the interests of capitalism and subjugates opposition to it. However, the paper also draws on Foucault's notion of resistance to explain how accounting education might be able to produce students who could represent a threat to this hegemony.