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This study aims to add to the understanding of the significance of football in cities, where most major football clubs are located. Specifically, this study offers a distinctive perspective on what might be regarded as “football cities” by the study's mobilisation of theories of the urban mosaic, the calculable city and identity. This study contributes to the emergent field of popular culture (Jeacle, 2012) and, within this field of popular culture, the significance of soccer. The particular setting of this study is the city. This paper is a contribution to the established accounting literature on city studies but within the neglected study of football in cities.

This paper's focus is on the significance of football clubs in one city. The theoretical approach adopted is a blending of studies of the urban mosaic (Timms, 1975), the calculable city (Lapsley et al., 2010) and the established trend of identification studies in accounting. This investigation was undertaken in the city of Edinburgh by observation of football in city life. This research is a form of participant observation in which the author lived in the city in this study. The researcher undertook interviews with key actors in both football clubs and city management, made use of local media and scrutinised publicly available documents on both the clubs and the city administrations.

This research reveals the importance of the city mosaic in explaining the limited significance of football in this city. This approach underlines the merits of contextual studies. However, the evidence presented also reveals the presence of strong identity relationships between football clubs and the clubs' fans. These results reveal an internal perspective on city management and the activities of football clubs and the clubs' host city. The presence of multiple football clubs in a single city offers more diffuse identity relationships, with football clubs fostering stronger identification with the club than with the city. There is also evidence of single, dual and multiple identity relationships in this study which contrasts with the single identity perspectives of prior accounting research.

The focus of this paper is on the research question posed in the Call for Papers - Is there a Soccer Society? The findings of this study offer only limited evidence of a soccer society.

There is a need to study other cities with football clubs to determine those which are mosaics and those which are dominated by football.

This a study which embraces the importance of social context in finding meaning in accounting research. This paper introduces the novel concept of the city mosaic which is a novel way of understanding different city contexts.

Prior research on football has examined fans' behaviour, financial crises at football clubs and governance structures. This paper extends these earlier analyses by addressing the social context of football clubs in the city. Whilst most accounting research revealed rapid changes in identity during reforms, this study reveals a more complex relationship which aims to build continuity and commitment of fans' identity with the bigger football clubs in this city.

The purpose of this paper is to reflect on the critical themes explored by the five papers in this Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal (AAAJ) special issue and to offer a prospective analysis of issues for further research.

This reflective article provides a contextual outline of the challenges of managing and accounting for the third-sector during times of crisis.

Prior studies have covered aspects of trust, accountability and the use of accounting numbers for performance management in the third sector; however, little is known about how accounting numbers and disclosures can contribute to repairing donor trust and sensemaking following adverse events or how accounting numbers and disclosures can be used to navigate uncertainty. Drawing on accountability, trust and sensemaking literature, the papers in this AAAJ special issue contribute to closing this gap.

Whilst the papers presented in this AAAJ special issue provide valuable insights into the challenges faced by third-sector organisations (TSOs) in times of crisis, several vital gaps that merit further investigations have been identified.

This paper and AAAJ special issue provide a set of original empirical and theoretical contributions that can be used to advance further investigations into the complex issues faced by the third sector.

The purpose of this paper is to provide an evaluation of public sector research in the 1998–2018 period.

The paper uses the extant literature of this era to study the theorisation of, and the findings of, public sector research.

This is a vibrant field of a study in a wide range of study settings and with many interdisciplinary studies. The influence of new public management is pervasive over this period. There are numerous instances of innovations in study settings, in key findings and the approach taken by investigators.

This is not a comprehensive review of all literature in this period.

This study also explored the relevance of academic research of this era to policymaking by governments.

This paper offers a distinctive critique of theorisation of public sector accounting research. It reveals the dominant theoretical reference points in use during this period and observes the increasing tendency for theoretical pluralism to investigate complex study settings.

The purpose of this paper is to add to our understanding of the nature of accrual accounting by examining the process involved in its construction, as a dynamic and controversial process. This paper reveals how it is built and constantly modified, reinforced or negated during the process of implementation.

This paper’s focus on a government initiative with multiple actors present in the laboratory. Specifically, this study offers a close examination of the day-to-day activities of a laboratory case study; it focuses on participant observation in video conference calls. The discussions held by the project teams are analyzed to extend our inquiry into the most intimate aspects of fact construction (Latour and Woolgar, 1979). These excerpts illustrate the processes of accrual accounting construction and open up the possibility of studying the emergence of accrual accounting through the lens of an action net.

The evidence collected reveals the absence of a well-defined template for implementing accrual accounting in government. These results reveal an elaborate process of improvisation and fabrication in the design of this accounting system and a fragile network in action.

Prior research on accrual accounting in government focuses on the examination of existing accrual accounting systems with somewhat puzzling results on lack of use. In this study, the perspective has been shifted from focusing on accrual accounting as self-evident (Lapsley et al., 2009) to examine its construction. This paper examines this tension between the apparent certainties as espoused by practitioners and the problematic nature of accrual accounting in government. It extends our knowledge of “black box accrual accounting,” and shows that it is a fluid object with significant discretion in the determination of practice.

The purpose of this paper is to study the pandemic from the perspective of the UK health-care system and risk management.

This paper follows a storytelling perspective. The author reflects on his experiences through the lens of research on health care and risk management.

The impact of the pandemic has been so massive that it has challenged the capacity of the UKs National Health Service. The political influences at work have not always promoted best practice in risk management and indicate blame-avoidance strategies by politicians.

A single country experience of COVID-19.

There are major issues of asset management, of delays in decision-making, of supply chain problems and the need to reform processes of handling of crisis management.

This is an individual account of experiences of the pandemic.

The primary purpose of this paper is to provide an analysis of the key perspectives that emerge in this Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal (AAAJ) Special Issue as a basis for determining the existence or otherwise of a Soccer Society, as well as reflecting on the challenges that evidence of corruption in soccer (the beautiful game) has had on the game to date. Reflections on these matters are then utilised to offer a prospective analysis of issues for further research.

The paper is a reflective analysis that draws on existing societal work to provide key dimensions of accounting and accountability for significant organisations in the world of sport in general and soccer in particular.

Much prior research on soccer has largely focussed on the internal workings of soccer organisations, with little discussion of the importance of context. This paper explores the influence of the game more broadly. Moreover, a number of the papers included illustrate an overwhelming sense of joy and pleasure from experiences of the beautiful game, as well as providing evidence of the general societal good that can flow from it. However, the study also highlights concerns emanating from weak, and seemingly pliable, governance, regulatory and accountability regimes that provide a fertile field for corruption and sportswashing.

This paper highlights a research agenda as an encouragement to interdisciplinary accounting researchers to investigate accountability and governance issues as a basis for evidence-based discussions of the impact of soccer and its regulation.

This paper specifically, and the Special Issue more broadly, offers a set of original empirical and theoretical contributions with respect to an activity that has faced limited scrutiny and consideration by academic accountants. Together, they offer a substantive body of work to enable future research in this area.

There is a longstanding debate over the role of modern business methods in the contemporary non-profit organisation (NPO). Critics of business practices assert that they may undermine the missions of NPOs. The aim of this paper is to contribute to this debate. Many accounting researchers have shifted research focus to concepts such as trust and crises. These are important topics. But they may overshadow practices which are taken for granted as accepted practice which does not merit re-examination.

This qualitative project is based on an initial survey followed by comparative case studies of three NPOs. The researchers have used both interviews and documentary analysis in this study.

The contention that the adoption of business-like practices undermines the fundamental aim of altruism of NPOs is challenged by the findings of this paper. The very concept of altruism is not a single unifying concept in NPOs – it is a contested idea. However, and most importantly, in this research there is no evidence of mission drift by NPOs which adopt business practices. This research highlights the way many NPO CEOs are mission-driven but also pragmatic bricoleurs in their consideration of new business practices. Most importantly, these case studies demonstrate a variation in practices within the participating organisations. This raises challenging questions about a receptive context for the adoption of new business practices which are explored in this paper.

The case studies in this paper are from the UK, and further studies in different operating contexts in other countries would be useful. In particular, the finding that the fundamental ethos of NPOs is not challenged by being business-like merits further research. There is also scope for further research on what constitutes a receptive context for the adoption of new business practices by NPOs.

This study reveals the potential significance of NPO boards, particularly non-executive directors, in the shaping of organisational practices. There is evidence in this study of NPOs recruiting business experts for purposes of legitimation. But this study also shows how business expertise can be mobilised to enhance NPO performance by bricoleurs in NPO who are highly motivated individuals who will adopt useful business practices to hand if they improve charity outcomes.

The NPO organisations are motivated by the desire to make a difference to the lives of people who are vulnerable or disadvantaged. This study has interesting implications for managers and directors of NPOs on their effectiveness.

This study challenges the critical view that becoming more business-like undermines the fundamental ethos of altruism in NPOs. This is an important finding, but this study also reveals the recruitment of business expertise by NPOs purely for purposes of legitimation. However, these legitimating practices differ from the well-established view of isomorphism in the field of NPOs and suggests that, on the contrary, there is a variation in practice within the NPO field which has important implications for donors, regulators, directors and managers of NPOs.

This paper aims to examine the trajectory of public management reforms in Italy. This experience indicates the complexity of managerialism in countries with a legalistic system and where public administration cultures have been, and continue to be, embedded in politics.

The analysis of managerial reforms in Italy was carried out with a documentary analysis. In addition to official reports and acts of parliament, the analysis was based on monitoring the government websites and innovative channels (e.g. Facebook) which communicated the progress of the later reforms.

The paper shows how modernization of public services has been a continuous priority in the agenda of the Italian Government across four phases: an early attempt in the late 1970s; a lively, phase for Italian managerial reforms in the 1990s; a later advocacy in the 2000s of a specific new public management (NPM) element – performance management; an after-crises reform aimed at reducing public expenditure.

The paper takes a historical and long-term perspective to analyse the success and failure of NPM reforms implementation in Italy. Differently from previous studies, this papers analyses NPM reforms in a longitudinal perspective, to show how the legalistic culture of Italy continues to affect the implementation of NPM reforms.