Separating and integrating non-financial and financial measures: a case study of a sporting organization playing the value-in-kind (VIK) game

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to characterise types of practices – or “routings” as they are denoted in this paper – that have been developed to incorporate non-financial inscriptions, representing value-in-kind (VIK) sponsorship resources, into accounting systems.

Design/methodology/approach

This study adopts field-based research, utilising Latour's (1999) concept of “circulating reference”, to illustrate how VIK (non-cash) resources were managed in an Australian sporting organization.

Findings

This paper contributes to our understanding of: first, how accounting infrastructure is constituted and stabilised by a network of multiple and overlapping accounting practices; second, how VIK resources are allocated and managed via local practices; and third, the importance of “budget relief” as a method of valuation in accounting practice.

Research limitations/implications

Our paper has implications for understanding how financial and non-financial accounting inscriptions are related in practice, requiring both integration and separation within networks of multiple and overlapping routings of accounting practices.

Originality/value

Our work highlights previously unexplored accounting practices, which assist in the process of utilizing VIK resources in the context of a sporting organization.

Citation

Burfitt, B.A., Baxter, J. and Mouritsen, J. (2020), "Separating and integrating non-financial and financial measures: a case study of a sporting organization playing the value-in-kind (VIK) game", Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Vol. 33 No. 8, pp. 1871-1907. https://doi.org/10.1108/AAAJ-06-2018-3543