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Article
Publication date: 16 January 2017

Ingrid Jeacle

Online user reviews have increasingly become a popular means by which the lay person can both procure advice and offer personal opinions. Amazon, the electronic retail giant, is a…

3555

Abstract

Purpose

Online user reviews have increasingly become a popular means by which the lay person can both procure advice and offer personal opinions. Amazon, the electronic retail giant, is a prominent example of a site which hosts such user generated content; the opinions of its repository of reviewers have become an important source of assurance provision. The purpose of this paper is to suggest that Amazon provides an example of how audit logics have entered new spaces. In Amazon, the author witnesses the construction of auditability in the virtual world. This may explain the popularity and authority seemingly enjoyed by user reviews.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper uses the methodological approach of netnography (Kozinets, 2002). This new methodology has emerged in order to undertake ethnographic research within virtual communities. Applying this methodology to the case of Amazon involved becoming familiar with the operational features of the site and analysing its textual discourse.

Findings

The paper identifies in Amazon, Power’s (1996) three examples of how auditability is invoked: through rhetorics of measurability, auditable systems of control, and reliance on experts. The paper therefore argues that online user reviews are reflective of the extension of audit society into the virtual world.

Originality/value

The paper explores the possibilities of the virtual world for accounting research, a world which is an increasingly prominent feature of popular culture. In addition, the paper responds to recent calls to examine the processes of assurance provision beyond the traditional domain of financial audit.

Details

Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, vol. 30 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0951-3574

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 May 2020

Alan Lowe, Yesh Nama, Alice Bryer, Nihel Chabrak, Claire Dambrin, Ingrid Jeacle, Johnny Lind, Philippe Lorino, Keith Robson, Chiara Bottausci, Crawford Spence, Chris Carter and Ekaterina Svetlova

The purpose of this paper is to report the outcome of an interdisciplinary discussion on the concepts of profit and profitability and various ways in which we could potentially…

2275

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to report the outcome of an interdisciplinary discussion on the concepts of profit and profitability and various ways in which we could potentially problematize these concepts. It is our hope that a much greater attention or reconsideration of the problematization of profit and related accounting numbers will be fostered in part by the exchanges we include here.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper adopts an interdisciplinary discussion approach and brings into conversation ideas and views of several scholars on problematizing profit and profitability in various contexts and explores potential implications of such problematization.

Findings

Profit and profitability measures make invisible the collective endeavour of people who work hard (backstage) to achieve a desired profit level for a division and/or an organization. Profit tends to preclude the social process of debate around contradictions among the ends and means of collective activity. An inherent message that we can discern from our contributors is the typical failure of managers to appreciate the value of critical theory and interpretive research for them. Practitioners and positivist researchers seem to be so influenced by neo-liberal economic ideas that organizations are distrusted and at times reviled in their attachment to profit.

Research limitations/implications

Problematizing opens-up the potential for interesting and significant theoretical insights. A much greater pragmatic and theoretical reconsideration of profit and profitability will be fostered by the exchanges we include here.

Originality/value

In setting out a future research agenda, this paper fosters theoretical and methodological pluralism in the research community focussing on problematizing profit and profitability in various settings. The discussion perspectives offered in this paper provides not only a basis for further research in this critical area of discourse and regulation on the role and status of profit and profitability but also emancipatory potential for practitioners (to be reflective of their practices and their undesired consequences of such practices) whose overarching focus is on these accounting numbers.

Details

Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, vol. 1233 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0951-3574

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 9 February 2022

Ingrid Jeacle and Chris Carter

This paper aims to consider the impact of Michael Power’s (1997) Audit Society thesis for understanding the rise of audit logics in the virtual world.

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to consider the impact of Michael Power’s (1997) Audit Society thesis for understanding the rise of audit logics in the virtual world.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper reviews some of the key concepts in Audit Society and discusses them with reference to the role of the user review.

Findings

The paper argues that user reviews are an illustrative example of Audit Society in the online world, with notions of independence, measurability and expertise being deployed to create a sense of comfort and trust.

Originality/value

The paper enhances our understanding of the impact of Audit Society on everyday lives with particular reference to the lives of the digital citizen.

Details

Qualitative Research in Accounting & Management, vol. 19 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1176-6093

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 10 November 2022

Ingrid Jeacle

This paper examines the calculative practices used by the Slave Compensation Commission to value a slave for the purposes of compensating slave owners on the abolishment of…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper examines the calculative practices used by the Slave Compensation Commission to value a slave for the purposes of compensating slave owners on the abolishment of slavery across the British colonies in 1833. It contributes to accounting research in the field of valuation, particularly to understanding the practices of valuing human life.

Design/methodology/approach

The methodology is primarily archival and draws on the records of the Slave Compensation Commission held at the British National Archives (Kew).

Findings

The paper makes two contributions to the literature. Firstly, it contributes to the valuation studies literature by suggesting the significance of understanding the practice of valuation as a product of the dynamics of strategic action fields (Fligstein and McAdam, 2012). Secondly, it contributes to the theory of strategic action fields by revealing the role of calculative technologies in supporting the organizational apparatus of valuation within the Slave Compensation Commission, and therefore suggests the powerful role of accounting in stabilizing a strategic action field.

Originality/value

The paper provides novel insights into the monetary commensuration of life and the role of calculative technologies in that valuation process.

Details

Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, vol. 36 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0951-3574

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 4 May 2012

Ingrid Jeacle

The objective of this paper is to recognize the richness in exploring the inter‐linkages between accounting and popular culture. Such an investigation should reap returns in not…

4280

Abstract

Purpose

The objective of this paper is to recognize the richness in exploring the inter‐linkages between accounting and popular culture. Such an investigation should reap returns in not only furthering an understanding of accounting, but also the ways and means in which notions of accountability and audit permeate our everyday lives. In addition, it attempts to capture the significant transformative influence of accounting, and calculative practices more generally, in the actual shaping of the contours of the cultural context. Finally, it briefly introduces the six papers in this AAAJ special issue.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper draws on literature from the fields of both accounting and cultural studies to set out a theoretically informed framework for the future examination of the myriad ways in which accounting is entwined with the popular.

Findings

The paper argues a case for the study of accounting within the domain of popular culture, proposes two theoretical lenses from which to examine the inter‐linkages between these two disciplines, and presents a diverse range of research possibilities for further scholarly inquiry in the field.

Originality/value

Traditionally regarded as trivial and unworthy of academic attention, research into the regular rituals that pervade the everyday is now a legitimate field of scholarly inquiry among social and cultural theorists. Accounting researchers, however, have remained relatively aloof from this general trend, preferring to seek solace in the sphere of the corporation rather than the coffee shop. This paper is novel in that it attempts to broaden the scope of accounting scholarship into the new domain of popular culture.

Details

Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, vol. 25 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0951-3574

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 4 May 2012

Ingrid Jeacle and Chris Carter

The paper aims to investigate accounting's role as a mediating instrument between the tensions of creativity and control within the price competitive world of the fashion chain…

5006

Abstract

Purpose

The paper aims to investigate accounting's role as a mediating instrument between the tensions of creativity and control within the price competitive world of the fashion chain store.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper employs a case study approach, gathering interview data from key members within a UK fashion chain, and uses Goffman's work on impression management to inform its theoretical argumentation.

Findings

Drawing on Goffman, the paper considers the roles adopted by organizational actors within fashion retailing and the actions they pursue in order to maintain a team performance. The authors suggest that accounting, as a form of stage prop, helps to sustain this team impression by mediating between the creativity and control concerns inherent in fashion design. In the process, they also gain some understanding of the use of accounting by actors beyond the confines of an organization's finance function.

Originality/value

Despite the magnitude of the fashion industry and its dominance in the identity construction of both individual and streetscape, the role of accounting within this domain of popular culture has remained remarkably unexplored. This paper attempts to redress such scholarly neglect. It also furthers an understanding of the relatively unexplored role of accounting as a mediating instrument within the complex dialectic of creativity and control.

Details

Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, vol. 25 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0951-3574

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 4 May 2012

Frances Miley and Andrew Read

The accountant has been characterised in popular culture as dull and boring. Accounting scholarship consistently describes this stereotype as negative. The purpose of this…

4901

Abstract

Purpose

The accountant has been characterised in popular culture as dull and boring. Accounting scholarship consistently describes this stereotype as negative. The purpose of this research is to enhance our understanding of this stereotype by comparing the characterisation of the accountant found in contemporary jokes with a similar characterisation found in commedia dell'arte, which is a form of improvisational theatre.

Design/methodology/approach

This research employs netnography to identify the stereotype of the accountant portrayed in jokes on social networking sites. To enrich our understanding of the stereotype of the characterisation of the accountant in contemporary jokes, it is compared with the characterisation of il dottore, the stock character of the professional man in commedia dell'arte.

Findings

The characterisation of the accountant in contemporary jokes is consistent with characterisations of the accountant in other areas of popular culture, confirming that the stereotype is widely entrenched in popular culture. Contemporary jokes provide a more detailed characterisation than previously identified in accounting scholarship. Since the stereotype of il dottore in commedia dell'arte resembles the stereotype of the accountant as portrayed in contemporary jokes, studying commedia dell'arte provides an approach that enhances our understanding of the characterisation of the accountant in popular culture.

Originality/value

The contribution of this research to accounting scholarship is the deployment of commedia dell'arte to capture the essence of the stereotype of the accountant as portrayed in popular culture. Extending the definition of popular culture to include contemporary jokes brings a unique use of netnography to accounting scholarship.

Details

Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, vol. 25 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0951-3574

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 10 July 2009

Ingrid Jeacle

The purpose of this paper is to set out a research agenda for the study of accounting and everyday life. Reiterating Hopwood's seminal call, the paper aims to stress the…

2499

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to set out a research agenda for the study of accounting and everyday life. Reiterating Hopwood's seminal call, the paper aims to stress the importance of the everyday for furthering not only an understanding of accounting practice, but also culture more generally. For example, the study of the everyday may shed light on the calculative technologies at play in significant cultural shifts and transformations.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper draws on secondary literature to illustrate the potential of adopting a cultural context in accounting research. In addition, it also suggests new research sites firmly embedded in the everyday.

Findings

The paper is structured around three sections, each of which examines a particular aspect of everyday culture. In consumerism, the role of an overhead allocation technique in the creation of garment standardised sizing systems is explored. The potential role of accounting within the contemporary fashion industry is also suggested in this section. In the home section, the impact of standard costing practices in the dissemination of a classically inspired style of interior design and exterior architecture is discussed. In the final section, the significance of leisure and entertainment in everyday life is considered and some suggestions made regarding sites for future research in this field.

Originality/value

The paper's value arises from highlighting the potential of the everyday as a site for furthering an understating of accounting. In particular, it calls on researchers to recognise the significance of the everyday and to broaden the cultural context of their studies to encompass everyday activities.

Details

Qualitative Research in Accounting & Management, vol. 6 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1176-6093

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 2 October 2014

Ingrid Jeacle and Chris Carter

The purpose of this paper is to consider the role of interdisciplinary accounting research and suggest ways of broadening its creative scope to embrace significant contemporary…

2172

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to consider the role of interdisciplinary accounting research and suggest ways of broadening its creative scope to embrace significant contemporary phenomenon.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper is conceptual in nature and therefore draws only on secondary sources.

Findings

The paper suggests that one of the defining features of interdisciplinary accounting research is that it should be a creative space in which novel ideas emerge and new agendas flourish. The authors identify three such creative spaces of scholarly inquiry: the media space, the virtual space and the popular culture space.

Originality/value

The paper identifies three new creative spaces in which interdisciplinary accounting research may continue to flourish. It also identifies a possible threat to creativity within future interdisciplinary accounting research.

Details

Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, vol. 27 no. 8
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0951-3574

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 4 May 2012

William J. Jackson, Audrey S. Paterson, Christopher K.M. Pong and Simona Scarparo

This paper seeks to extend the development of the historical accounting research agenda further into the area of popular culture. The work examines the discourses that surrounded…

1699

Abstract

Purpose

This paper seeks to extend the development of the historical accounting research agenda further into the area of popular culture. The work examines the discourses that surrounded the drinking of alcohol in nineteenth century Britain and explores how an accounting failure disrupted the tension between the two established competing discourses, leading to a significant impact on UK drinking culture at the end of the nineteenth century.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper employs both primary and secondary sources. Secondary sources are used to develop the main themes of the discourses deployed by the temperance societies and the whisky companies. Primary sources derived from the contemporary press are employed, as necessary, in support.

Findings

The paper demonstrates that accounting, although it may not be central to a discourse or other social structure, can still have a profound impact upon cultural practices. The potential for research into culture and accounting should not therefore be dismissed if no immediate or concrete relationship between culture and accounting can be determined. Further support is provided for studies that seek to expand the accounting research agenda into new territories.

Originality/value

The study of popular culture is relatively novel in accounting research. This paper seeks to add to this research by exploring an area of cultural activity that has hitherto been neglected by researchers, i.e. by exploring how an accounting incident impacted upon the historical consumption of Scotch whisky in the UK.

Details

Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, vol. 25 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0951-3574

Keywords

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