A Chaotic field of practice: Financial reporting of the Library collections of Australia's public Universities, 2007-2011
- Authors: Carnegie, Garry , Sidaway, Shannon , West, Brian
- Date: 2013
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Australian Academic and Research Libraries Vol. 44, no. 4 (2013), p. 195-216
- Full Text: false
- Reviewed:
- Description: The accounting practices adopted by Australia's 36 public universities in accounting for their library collections - including heritage and special collections - are identified and analysed. The data is collected from a survey of these institutions' annual reports over the period 2007 to 2011 and the analysis is guided by theoretical perspectives drawn from new institutional sociology (NIS). Consistent with prior research by West and Carnegie (2010), accounting for university library collections is depicted as a chaotic field of practice. Inconsistent and idiosyncratic policies that compromise the overall reliability, comparability and usefulness of university financial reports are observed, along with instances of dramatic valuation adjustments. However, the beginnings of some amelioration of the chaos are also detected, as regulatory activity and a voluntary homogenisation of accounting policies begin to take effect. In particular, a general trend towards more conservative accounting practices is evident as universities perhaps seek to guard against accounting debacles - most notably massive valuation write-downs - of the kind that have been suffered by several institutions over the last decade. Assigning financial values to the library collections and other non-financial resources of not-for-profit public institutions remains a problematic issue. © 2013 Australian Library & Information Association.
- Description: The accounting practices adopted by Australia's 36 public universities in accounting for their library collections - including heritage and special collections - are identified and analysed. The data is collected from a survey of these institutions' annual reports over the period 2007 to 2011 and the analysis is guided by theoretical perspectives drawn from new institutional sociology (NIS). Consistent with prior research by West and Carnegie (2010), accounting for university library collections is depicted as a chaotic field of practice. Inconsistent and idiosyncratic policies that compromise the overall reliability, comparability and usefulness of university financial reports are observed, along with instances of dramatic valuation adjustments. However, the beginnings of some amelioration of the chaos are also detected, as regulatory activity and a voluntary homogenisation of accounting policies begin to take effect. In particular, a general trend towards more conservative accounting practices is evident as universities perhaps seek to guard against accounting debacles - most notably massive valuation write-downs - of the kind that have been suffered by several institutions over the last decade. Assigning financial values to the library collections and other non-financial resources of not-for-profit public institutions remains a problematic issue. © 2013 © 2013 Australian Library & Information Association.
A conceptual analysis of price setting in Australian local government
- Authors: Carnegie, Garry , West, Brian
- Date: 2010
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Australian Accounting Review Vol. 20, no. 2 (2010), p. 110-120
- Full Text: false
- Reviewed:
- Description: A complex set of issues underlies the pricing of the diverse range of goods and services from which Australian local governments derive a significant portion of their revenues. Although local governments have a not-for-profit orientation, they are expected to be financially viable and embrace a broad notion of accountability. They are also expected to influence the behaviour of constituents in accordance with policy decisions, but be equitable in doing so. These and related parameters are discussed and illustrated in order to reveal and elucidate the nature of pricing decisions in local government, and to differentiate the local government context from other price-setting environments.
Accounting's chaotic margins : Financial reporting of the library collections of Australia's public universities, 2002-2006
- Authors: West, Brian , Carnegie, Garry
- Date: 2010
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Accounting, Auditing and Accountability Journal Vol. 23, no. 2 (2010), p. 201-228
- Full Text: false
- Reviewed:
- Description: Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore the circumstances and implications of an episode of accounting change arising from the extended use of accrual accounting within the Australian public sector. The matter under scrutiny is the reporting of the library collections of Australia's public universities as assets in general purpose financial reports. Design/methodology/approach: A survey is undertaken of the annual reports of Australia's 36 public universities for the period 2002 to 2006. The analysis of the findings is informed by new institutional sociology (NIS), with a focus on mimetic processes, and the concept of "accounting's margins". Findings: The survey reveals considerable diversity and subjectivity in the accounting practices adopted, as well as instances of sudden and dramatic changes in carrying values. The financial reporting of library collections is depicted as a "chaotic margin" of accounting, and the technical propriety of attempting to express and account for these non-financial resources in financial terms is rendered problematic. Originality/value: The study questions the reliability and usefulness of the information reported, with implications for the accountability of the institutions surveyed as well as the accounting profession in the comparatively neglected domain of the public sector. © Emerald Group Publishing Limited.
The development of accounting regulation, education, and literature in Australia, 1788-2005
- Authors: Carnegie, Garry
- Date: 2009
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Australian Economic History Review Vol. 49, no. 3 (2009), p. 276-301
- Full Text: false
- Reviewed:
- Description: Accounting involves the recording of events, the preparation and reporting of results and is a key medium in discharging accountability. It pervades organisations and institutions in every country and is a key element of the business fabric and economic development of any nation. This study examines the development of accounting regulation, education, and literature in Australia across five key phases of European settlement from 1788 to 2005 and presents an overview of the major historical trends in each of these periods. The development of accounting and the profession is intimately linked with significant economic development in Australia over 200 years.
- Description: 2003007341
Budgetary earmarking and the control of the extravagant woman in Australia, 1850-1920
- Authors: Carnegie, Garry , Walker, Stephen
- Date: 2007
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Critical Perspectives on Accounting Vol. 18, no. 2 (2007), p. 233-261
- Full Text: false
- Reviewed:
- Description: During the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries Australian women (and Melbournian women in particular) were chastised for extravagance in dress. Excessive expenditure on fashionable clothing was considered a threat to personal solvency and domestic tranquillity. Female profligacy was also deemed self indulgent and unpatriotic in periods of economic and military crisis. Drawing on Zelizer's [Zelizer VA. The social meaning of money. New York: Basic Books; 1994] study of The social meaning of money the paper examines how the state attempted to contain female extravagance in dress by re-orientating spending priorities in household budgets. The earmarking ideology of patriotic thrift was conveyed by apparatuses such as cultural and communications media, the political system and voluntary associations. The earmarking ideology represented an onslaught on fashionable dress, a means of asserting feminine identity in a patriarchal society. The study reveals budgetary earmarking as a social process, which is reflective and constitutive of gendered asymmetries of power in the home.
- Description: C1
- Description: 2003005200
Household accounting in Australia : A microhistorical study
- Authors: Carnegie, Garry , Walker, Stephen
- Date: 2007
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Accounting, Auditing and Accountability Journal Vol. 20, no. 2 (2007), p. 210-236
- Full Text: false
- Reviewed:
- Description: Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to extend the work of Carnegie and Walker and report the results of Part 2 of their study on household accounting in Australia during the period from the 1820s to the 1960s. Design/methodology/ approach - The study adopts a microhistorical approach involving a detailed examination of actual accounting practices in the Australian home based on 18 sets of surviving household records identified as exemplars and supplemented by other sources which permit their contextualisation and interpretation. Findings - The findings point to considerable variety in the accounting practices pursued by individuals and families. Household accounting in Australia was undertaken by both women and men of the middle and landed classes whose surviving household accounts were generally found to comprise one element of diverse and comprehensive personal record keeping systems. The findings indicate points of convergence and divergence in relation to the contemporary prescriptive literature and practice. Originality/value - The paper reflects on the implications of the findings for the notion of the household as a unit of consumption as opposed to production, gender differences in accounting practice and financial responsibility, the relationship between changes in the life course and the commencement and cessation of household accounting, and the relationship between domestic accounting practice and social class. © Emerald Group Publishing Limited.
- Description: C1
- Description: 2003005180
Household accounting in Australia : Prescription and practice from the 1820s to the 1960s
- Authors: Carnegie, Garry , Walker, Stephen
- Date: 2007
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Accounting, Auditing and Accountability Journal Vol. 20, no. 1 (2007), p. 41-73
- Full Text: false
- Reviewed:
- Description: Purpose - Beyond the public world of work, the home provides an arena for examining accounting and gender in everyday life. This study aims to examine household accounting in Australia from the early nineteenth to around the mid-twentieth century. Design/methodology/approach - The study comprises two parts. The first part, as reported in this paper, presents evidence on household accounting as prescribed in the didactic literature in Australia, and evidence of actual accounting practices based on the examination of 76 sets of surviving Australian household records available in public repositories. The second part adopts a microhistorical approach involving the detailed scrutiny of 18 sets of accounting records and relevant biographical and family data on the household accountants involved. Findings - The study indicates that household accounting was an instrument for restraining female consumption, particularly during times of crises, and that accounting in Australian homes focussed on maintaining records of routine transactions as opposed to the preparation of budgets and financial statements. Household accounting in Australia was performed by women and men. The surviving records examined suggest that while areas of financial responsibility were defined by gender there was little evidence of formalised hierarchical accountability between spouses as has been found to be the case in Britain. Originality/value - The study extends knowledge of household accounting and gender. Most historical investigations on this subject draw on instructional literature. The current investigation also examines accounting practice in the home. © Emerald Group Publishing Limited.
- Description: C1
- Description: 2003005179
Accounting's chaotic margins : Financial reporting of the library collections of Australia's public universities
- Authors: West, Brian , Carnegie, Garry
- Date: 2004
- Type: Text , Conference paper
- Relation: Paper presented at the Fourth Asia Pacific Interdisciplinary Research in Accounting Conference, Singapore : 4th - 6th July, 2004
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: This paper explores the circumstances and implications of an episode of accounting change arising from the extended use of accrual accounting within the Australian public sector. The matter under scrutiny is the financial reporting of the library collections of Australia's public universities. Accounting standards applying within the Australian public sector imply that such collections should generally be accounted for as assets in the statements of financial position of the entities that manage them. A survey reveals considerable diversity and subjectivity in the accounting practices adopted in seeking to satisfy this requirement. This raises questions about the reliability and usefulness of the information reported, and renders problematic the technical propriety of attempting to express and account for non-financial resources in financial terms. The financial reporting of library collections is posited as a 'chaotic margin' of accounting and consideration is given to possible explanations for the disorderly state of practice observed.
- Description: E1
- Description: 2003000769
Understanding the dynamics of the Australian accounting profession : A prosopographical study of the founding members of the Incorporated Institute of Accountants, Victoria, 1886 to 1908
- Authors: Carnegie, Garry , Edwards, John , West, Brian
- Date: 2003
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Accounting, Auditing and Accountability Journal Vol. 16, no. 5 (2003), p. 790-820
- Full Text: false
- Reviewed:
- Description: Numerous studies have examined the institutional setting of accounting as a professional occupation. However, institutional deeds and outcomes derive from the behaviour of individual actors, particularly those key players who drive the creation, policy development and outlook of practitioner associations. Recognising this, and in search of a more detailed understanding of the dynamics of professional formation, this study applies the prosopographical method of inquiry to accounting development in Australia during the period 1886 to 1908. Motives and actions are identified with the founding members of the Incorporated Institute of Accountants, Victoria, during this formative era, which saw key personalities transfer their allegiance to the Australasian Corporation of Public Accountants. The beliefs, preferences and ambitions of individual participants are shown to exert significant influence over the process of professional formation, highlighting the capacity of prosopographical studies to augment the predominantly vocational and institutional focus of the prior sociology of professions literature.
- Description: C1
- Description: 2003000616