1,721,039 research outputs found
Contemporary public sector accounting research – an international comparison of journal papers
No full textThis paper provides a broad review of the public sector accounting research in recent years, including that undertaken in the US. An analysis of this research reveals a methodological distinction between research undertaken in the US (using predominately functionalist methodologies, accompanied by positivistic quantitative research methods) and that undertaken in the rest of the world (using interpretive and radical/alternative methodologies, with qualitative research methods). The nature, causes and consequences of this distinction are discussed. The paper concludes with an exhortation for PSAR researchers to explore multiparadigmatic methodologies in future research
Development of the accounting profession and practices in the public sector - a hegemonic analysis
No full textThis paper uses Gramsci’s theory of hegemony to analyse the development of the public sector accounting profession and accounting practices in the UK since the nineteenth-century. Three periods of hegemony and accounting development are identified and the relationship between the two phenomena is discussed. The analysis emphasises the non-teleological development of the public sector accounting profession and accounting techniques and clearly places them within an ideological framework which is itself the outcome of a complex interrelation between economic crises, class interests and the state. The paper concludes that the public sector accounting professional body in the UK has played an important hegemonic role in constituting and reflecting ideologies and in reflecting the coercive and consensual approaches adopted by the state. The paper also sets an agenda for a research programme which looks at specific crises and hegemonies in more depth
Governance, accountability and accounting in local government (End of Award Report)
No full textThe core of this proposal is to study the relationship between accounting, governance structures and accountability in local government. Prior research in private and public sector organisations suggests the interrelationship is complex. This complexity has been increased over the past few years in local government as each element has undergone significant change. The research is intended to establish and analyse these changes with a view to theorising the interrelationship. It is also intended to establish the contribution that accounting currently makes to achieving accountability in local government and the improvements which might be made. Accounting in this study is defined comprehensively and comprises financial reports and regulations (for managed and contracted services), budgetary control systems, financial aspects of decision making, audit arrangements and performance measurement systems. The research will comprise four, in depth case studies using a combination of grounded theory and ethnographic methodologies. The focus of the case studies will be upon the role, activities and perceptions of elected representatives and senior managers
Accountability and accounting in the NGO field comprising the UK and Africa – a Bordieusian analysis
No full textThe main purpose of this paper, and its main contribution, is to develop an understanding of accounting and accountability practices and perceptions in NGOs operating in Africa. It draws upon a broad set of Bourdieu’s concepts, comprising field, capital, doxa and habitus alongside the use of grounded theory methods to code and categorise the empirical data. Data was collected from eleven NGOs, selected to provide a comparative set, encompassing national, NGO type and religious affiliation. A contextual field analysis revealed the dominance of Northern NGOs, resulting from their ownership and control of capital, in influencing accountability perceptions and the importance of legitimacy. An organisational analysis revealed the importance of habitus and doxa underpinning conceptions and practices of accountability and accounting, to emerge. It also enabled the identification of ‘existential doxa’ and ’accountability doxa’ which provided the link between the field and the accountability habitus to be understood. The resulting understanding explains accounting and accountability practices as resulting from strategies adopted in response to the accountability habituses, underpinned by doxa, which themselves are responses to the contexts with in which the NGOs operate. The context comprises the field within which NGOs struggle for capital resources, alongside existential choices made by the NGOs themselves. <br/
Budgeting practices and accountability habitus: a grounded theory
No full textThis paper is the first of several emanating from a study of the relationship between accounting, governance and accountability in local government in the UK. A grounded theory methodology was used to discover participants' perceptions of these phenomena in four UK local government organisations. The budget system was found to be the most important organizational process with respect to accountability and this paper focuses on the core relationship discovered between budgetary practices and accountability perceptions. The way in which accountability was perceived and the budgetary practices were quite distinct in each of the four case studies. A grounded theory of this relationship is developed from the case studies to explain these differences. Bourdieu's concept of habitus is used to further develop this grounded theory and to suggest a more formal theory
Organisational culture and budgetary control: a case study from UK local government
No full textThe relationship between organisational culture and financial control systems (FCSs) is one of increasing interest (Dent 1987, Bourn and Ezzamel 1987, Ferguson and Lapsley 1988, Birnberg and Snodgrass 1988, Broadbent 1992, Harrison 1992). Many of these studies have looked at the interaction between culture and FCSs, in public sector organisations. They have used a variety of definitions of culture, though all refer to values and/or beliefs as central to the concept. It seems reasonable to hypothesise that the core beliefs of an organisation will be reflected in the design and operation of the FCS. In testing this broad hypothesis previous research has been informed by either the interpretive paradigm or the functional paradigm. This paper is an attempt to explore the possibilities of working within the functional paradigm and particularly to explore the use of contingency theory in understanding the relationship between organisational culture and financial control. Further, the research uses canonical correlation analysis to investigate the complex contingent relationship as suggested by Williams, McIntosh and Moore (1990
Reform as regulation - accounting, governance and accountability in UK local government
No full textThis paper is an attempt to theorise the recent changes to accounting practices in local government in the UK. The principal theory used is regulation theory, which incorporates aspects of hegemony theory and governance. Regulation theory attempts to explain major changes in national economic structures by examining underlying systems of capital accumulation, regulation and hegemony. Central to these structures and systems are the role and operation of the state and its institutions. Changes in economic structures will result in conditions, which favour different governance structures for these institutions; comprising markets, hierarchies, civil society, and heterarchic combinations. Several researchers in these areas have characterised “traditional” institutional practices as Fordist and are associated with a particular approach to regulation. However, the underlying economic structure is seen to be in crisis and a new Post-Fordist regime may be emerging. Post-Fordism is associated with new institutional practices, particularly decentralised management, contracting out of public services, extended use of public private partnerships and concerns for value for money, charters and league tables. The introduction of such practices may therefore be explained by the changes in underlying structures rather than as a teleological development of accounting. Moreover, some researchers have characterised such changes as representing a fundamental shift from government to governance. The very nature of the relationship between governance, accountability and accounting may therefore have also changed. These issues are explored in the paper
Accounting & NPM in UK Local Government - contributions towards accountability
No full textDespite its size and economic importance, accounting in UK local government is still relatively under-researched. Two important developments which have emerged in recent years across the whole public sector are governance and New Public Management. It is timely to study the contribution which local government accounting makes in this changing context. Governance has proved a particularly contentious concept to define. This study has attempted to understand governance from the participants’ perspective and consequently a grounded theory methodology has been used. The empirical research comprised four UK local authority case studies over a twelve month period. The grounded theory developed makes two important contributions to our knowledge of accounting and NPM in relation to governance and accountability in local government. These are the relative importance of accountability rather than governance per se to participants, and the more significant contribution to accountability made by budgeting practices rather than NPM practices such as performance indicators, contracting out of services and Best Value studies. The reasons for these findings are explored and theorised in the paper, using Bourdieu's concept of habitus
Internal performance management with UK higher education: an amorphous system?
No full textPurpose – The purpose of this paper is to provide insights into the internal performance management of UK universities. Design/methodology/approach – Semi-structured interviews were undertaken with numerous staff within each university, attendance at key meetings and reviews of documentation. Grounded Theory was adopted to analyse the information obtained to understand how the strategy and accounting interacted with performance systems in the universities studied. Findings – An amorphous, decoupled system was identified with poor feedback loops resulting in a lack of accountability and ownership of the system. Research limitations/implications – The research reported on the experiences of two universities through case study analysis. Further research is required to understand the extent to which the issues reported here are more widespread and the implications of such. Practical implications – The paper suggests that the challenge for policy makers/university management is to facilitate a change in the managerial weltanshauung to one where the environment is more conducive to performance management in a constructive manner Originality/value – The notion of managerial weltanshauung in universities is developed and discussed in relation to nurturing performance management. The paper will be of interest to university managers and policy makers
New public management and budgeting practices in Tanzanian central government: "struggling for conformance"
No full textThis paper investigates the budgeting practices in the Tanzanian central government following its adoption of systems of performance budgeting, cash budgeting, and a Medium Term Expenditure Framework. These systems were introduced following exhortations from the bodies such as the UN, the World Bank and the IMF and reflect the New Public Management practices being exhorted worldwide. A grounded theory methodology was used. This methodology is inductive, allowing phenomena to emerge from the participants rather than from prior theory. This ensures both relevance and depth of understanding. The principal research findings from the data concern the central phenomenon of ‘Struggling for Conformance’. Tanzanian central government adopted innovations in order to ensure donor funding by demonstrating its ability to implement imposed budgetary changes. Organisational actors were committed to these reforms through necessity and struggled to implement them, rather than more overtly resisting them. The resulting ‘Struggling for Conformance’ led to the establishment of rhetorical rules and regulations; manipulation of the measurement of performance and the playing of budgeting games. The grounded theory also provided evidence of the coexistence of ceremonial and instrumental use of accounting in organizations and of a strategic deterioration role in the organizatio
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