Traditional accountants and business professionals : Portraying the accounting profession after Enron
- Authors: Carnegie, Garry , Napier, Christopher
- Date: 2010
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Accounting, Organizations and Society Vol. 35, no. 3 (2010), p. 360-376
- Full Text: false
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- Description: 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. © 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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
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- 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
Making accounting accountable in the public sector
- Authors: Carnegie, Garry , West, Brian
- Date: 2005
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Critical Perspectives on Accounting Vol. 16, no. 7 (2005), p. 905-928
- Full Text: false
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- Description: Accounting is conventionally constituted and practised as a quantitative discipline which emphasises the use of money values. Where such values are unavailable or inappropriate, non-money quantifications or qualitative forms of information take precedence. However, the boundaries of conventional accounting remain imprecisely defined and this creates a jurisdictional tension between monetary and non-monetary systems of accountability. This issue is examined within the context of the Australian and New Zealand public sectors, where recent regulatory changes have mandated the valuation for financial reporting purposes of a broad range of government controlled resources that are of a non-financial character. Rationales for this expanded use of money values are re-evaluated within the context of practical and theoretical issues associated with their application, particularly with regard to the accountability of public sector institutions. This accountability theme is then extended in terms of the need to make accounting itself more accountable within the public sector. © 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
- Description: C1
- Description: 2003001073
Implications for third party actions against auditors of recently failed US companies and decision-usefulness objective under the New York Rule
- Authors: Karan, Ram
- Date: 2004
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Critical Perspectives on Accounting Vol. 15, no. 6-7 (2004), p. 927-941
- Full Text: false
- Reviewed:
- Description: As the saga of recent corporate collapses in the US unfolds, actions by third parties against the auditors are likely to be brought before the courts, particularly in New York, which is the home of collapses such as Enron and WorldCom and their auditors, Arthur Andersen. Through analysis of cases decided under the New York Rule, this paper elucidates the policy of the courts with respect to auditors' duty of care to non-contractual third parties and the associated decision-usefulness objective of financial reporting. The observed vacillating circumambulation of the courts' policy leaves both auditors' duty of care to third parties and the proclaimed decision-usefulness objective ambivalent, if not dubious, at best. The turbulence caused by the recent corporate collapses may, however, force the courts to re-weigh the interest in freedom of action against the interest in security on the scale of reconstituted social values and perhaps commence another vacillating circumambulation. © 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
- Description: C1
- Description: 2003000791
F.E. Vigars' "Station Book-keeping": A specialist Australian text enabling the adaptation and transfer of accounting technology
- Authors: Carnegie, Garry , Foreman, Peter , West, Brian
- Date: 2006
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Accounting Historians Journal Vol. 33, no. 2 (2006), p. 103-130
- Full Text: false
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- Description: Studies of early Australian accounting texts and their authors have yet to be augmented by examinations of the subsequent specialist books which were written to guide accounting practice within specific domains, such as the pastoral and mining industries. This study examines the contents, use, and influence of an early specialist pastoral accounting text entitled Station Book-keeping, which was published in Australia in five editions over the period 1900 to 1937. The life and career of the book's author, Francis Ernest Vigars, are also outlined. Station Book-keeping described and advocated a comprehensive system of double-entry accounting for pastoral stations and is posited as a key medium by which this technology was adapted and transferred for use by these entities. In turn, it is argued that Vigars' book, by extending the use of conventional accounting technique, facilitated greater involvement by professional accountants within a major Australian industry.
- Description: C1
- Description: 2003001787
IES 4 - Ethics education revisited
- Authors: Dellaportas, Steven , Leung, Philomena , Cooper, Barry , Jackling, Beverley
- Date: 2006
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Australian accounting review Vol. 16, no. 38/1 (2006), p. 4-12
- Full Text: false
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- Description: In 2003, the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) issued a set of International Education Standards (IES). IES 4 Professional Values, Ethics and Attitudes aims to equip candidates for membership of an IFAC member body with the appropriate professional values, ethics and attitudes to function as professional accountants. This paper explores the implications of IES 4 and analyses some of the challenges arising from an international professional accounting body prescribing ethics education. It concludes with an overview of considerations to be addressed to ensure that the implementation of IES 4 is successful.
- Description: C1
- Description: 2003001769
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
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
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- 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.
The development of the specialist accounting history literature in the English language : An analysis by gender
- Authors: Carnegie, Garry , Potter, Brad , McWatters, Cheryl
- Date: 2003
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal Vol. 16, no. 2 (2003), p. 186-207
- Full Text: false
- Reviewed:
- Description: This study focusses on the participation of women in the development of the specialist international accounting history literature. Based on an examination of the three specialist, internationally refereed, accounting history journals in the English language from the time of first publication in each case to the year 2000, the study provides evidence of the involvement of women through publication and also through their membership of editorial boards and editorial advisory boards. In doing so, the study builds on the earlier work of Carnegie and Potter in 2000 and aims to augment our understanding of publishing patterns in the specialist international accounting history literature.
- Description: C1
- Description: 2003002507
Professional accounting bodies' perceptions of ethical issues, causes of ethical failure and ethics education
- Authors: Jackling, Beverley , Cooper, Barry , Leung, Philomena , Dellaportas, Steven
- Date: 2007
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Managerial Auditing Journal Vol. 22, no. 9 (2007), p. 928-944
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Purpose - Given the calls for increased ethics education following recent corporate collapses, this paper aims to examine the significance of ethical issues that challenge the profession and, more specifically, professional accounting bodies. Design/methodology/approach - The study assesses the perceptions via an online survey of 66 professional accounting bodies worldwide in respect of ethical issues, potential causes of ethical failure and the need for ethics education. Findings - Respondents identified a number of important challenges including conflicts of interest, earnings management and whistle-blowing. The findings also demonstrate strong support for participation in prescribing the nature of ethics education by members of professional accounting bodies. Research limitations/implications - The results of this study are based on feedback from 41 per cent of member bodies of the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC). Despite a number of follow-up reminder notices, some regions are under-represented in the responses to the survey distributed to the (then) 160 member bodies of IFAC. Geographic isolation and language limitations contributed to the failure to gain a higher response rate. Practical implications - The findings demonstrate that professional bodies support ethics education at the pre- and post-qualifying levels of education and a willingness to take an active role in promoting ethics education to their members. Originality/value - By addressing member bodies' attitudes to ethics education, this paper fills a gap in prior literature that has been restricted to addressing the attitudes of academics, students and business organisations.
- Description: C1
Accounting change in central government : The adoption of double entry bookkeeping at the Portuguese Royal Treasury (1761)
- Authors: Gomes, Delfina , Carnegie, Garry , Rodrigues, Lucia Lima
- Date: 2008
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Accounting, Auditing and Accountability Journal Vol. 21, no. 8 (2008), p. 1144-1184
- Full Text: false
- Reviewed:
- Description: Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to look at the adoption of double entry bookkeeping at the Royal Treasury, Portugal, on its establishment in 1761 and the factors contributing to this development. The Royal Treasury was the first central government organization in Portugal to adopt double entry bookkeeping and was a crucial first step in the institutionalisation of the technique in Portuguese public administration. Design/methodology/approach - Set firmly in the archive, this paper adopts new institutional sociology (NIS) to inform the findings of the local, time-specific accounting policy and practice at the Portuguese Royal Treasury. Findings - Embedded within the broader European context, this study identifies the key pressures exerted upon the Royal Treasury on its formation in 1761, which resulted in major accounting change within Portuguese central government from that date. The study provides further evidence of the importance of the state in the institutionalization of accounting practices by means of coercive pressures and highlights for Portugal the importance of individual actors who, as powerful change agents, made key decisions that influenced accounting change. Originality/value - This study examines a major instance of accounting change in European central government and broadens the application of NIS in accounting history research to a different country - Portugal - and to a different time - the eighteenth century. It also serves to illuminate the difficulties of collecting pertinent evidence pertaining to this long-dated time period in identifying certain forms of institutional pressures. © Emerald Group Publishing Limited.
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.
How well does accrual accounting fit the public sector?
- Authors: Carnegie, Garry , West, Brian
- Date: 2003
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Australian Journal of Public Administration Vol. 62, no. 2 (Jun 2003), p. 83-86
- Full Text: false
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- Description: In this 'controversy' we challenge the unqualified application of full accrual accounting within the Australian public sector. In particular attention is directed to the recognition and valuation for financial reporting purposes of public sector resources that are of a non-financial nature, such as library and museum collections. Our main contention is that attempting to recognise such resources at monetary values within the financial reports of public sector organisations is a contrived, imprecise and inappropriate practice that threatens to occlude rather than enable the accountability of public sector institutions and their managers. Building from this accountability theme, we present perspectives on promoting accountability for the technical accounting practices which have been imposed within the public sector.
- Description: C1
- Description: 2003000618
Exploring the dimensions of the international accounting history community
- Authors: Carnegie, Garry , Rodrigues, Lucia Lima
- Date: 2007
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Accounting History Vol. 12, no. 4 (2007), p. 441-464
- Full Text: false
- Reviewed:
- Description: This study explores the present-day dimensions of the international accounting history community with a focus on examining the formal (that is institutionalized) and informal (that is non-institutionalized) arrangements for accounting history in various countries and regions. Following a review of recent commentaries on the state of accounting history, the study elucidates the dimensions of the field where accounting history associations or special interest groups operate, comprising Australia and New Zealand, China, Italy, Japan, Portugal, Spain and the USA, and also depicts the informal arrangements in place for the accounting history community as identified in France and in the UK. The study is intended to enhance understanding of the nature, size and dynamics of this expanding group of scholars and to assist any future enquiries into the drivers of organizational success and the relative health of accounting history in the different jurisdictions.
- Description: C1
- Description: 2003005177
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
Selective commercialisation of public sector accounting and its consequences for public accountability
- Authors: Karan, Ram
- Date: 2003
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Australian Accounting Review Vol. 13, no. 31 (2003), p. 15-25
- Full Text: false
- Reviewed:
- Description: C1
- Description: 2003000608
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
Financial hardship and financial literacy : A case study from the Gippsland region
- Authors: Tennant, Judith , Wright, Jill , Jackson, Dorothy
- Date: 2009
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: JASSA Vol. 2009, no. 2 (2009), p. 10-15
- Full Text: false
- Reviewed:
- Description: Our research indicates that while inadequate financial literacy is a contributing factor to financial hardship, other factors such as inadequate income are important. We find no significant relationship between 'sex' and 'financial literacy'. Our study also indicates that financial counsellors play an essential role in the provision of appropriately targeted financial advice and education.]
Impact of entry mode on students' approaches to learning: a study of accounting students
- Authors: Abhayawansa, Subhash , Tempone, Irene , Pillay, Soma
- Date: 2012
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Accounting Education: An International Journal Vol. 21, no. 4 (2012), p. 341-361
- Full Text: false
- Reviewed:
- Description: This study examines the impact of prior learning experience on students' approaches to learning (SAL). It compares SAL of accounting students admitted to university in Australia on the basis of Institutes of Technical and Further Education (TAFE) qualifications (TAFE-to-university) and through direct entry mode (Year 12-to-university). The motivation for the study lies in the need to understand potential learning differences to inform learning interventions for optimal learning outcomes for all students—regardless of entry mode. The findings suggest that prior TAFE learning experience impacts SAL in university. However, the findings question the stereotypical view of the TAFE learning context as fostering surface approaches to learning, as higher scores on deep and achieving approaches were recorded by TAFE-to-university students. The level of adoption of a surface approach was found to be less among students undertaking predominantly third-year units regardless of entry mode. This study's findings have important implications for designing curricula and assessment for accounting units to cater for all students from different educational pathways, for university teachers to adopt an inclusive approach, and for higher education access policy.
Football history off the field: utilising archived accounting reports to challenge "myths" about the history of an Australian football club
- Authors: Halabi, Abdel , Frost, Lionel , Lightbody, Margaret
- Date: 2012
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Accounting History Vol. 17, no. 1 (2012), p. 63-81
- Full Text: false
- Reviewed: