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The purpose of this paper is to outline an ecofeminist lens for the analysis of accounting, which is applied to: first, the critique of corporate social responsibility reporting (CSRR); second, the elaboration of elements of a framework for a new accounting – corporate nature responsibility reporting (CNRR) – as a response to the critique of CSRR; and, third, the consideration of elements of an enabling and emancipatory praxis in the context of CNRR, including a sketch of a research agenda.

The paper presents a critical application of aspects of the ecofeminist critique of Western dualism and its emphasis on wholeness, interconnectedness and relatedness, including its particular delineation of nature, to the critique and design of accounting.

Insights from the application of an ecofeminist lens to the critique of CSRR raise questions about the suitability of the western notion of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and its associated accounting currently in use. In order to go beyond critique, the paper introduces the notions of corporate nature responsibility (CNR) and CNRR and offers an outline of key elements of CNRR and an emancipatory praxis in the context of CNRR, including a sketch of a research agenda. The author’s elaborations suggest that in order to overcome the limitations of CSR and CSRR, a corporation ought to be concerned about its broader and holistic CNR. And, it should provide a CNR report, as part of a holistic CNRR concerned with the performance of the company in the context of CNR.

Through creating new visibilities, CNRR has the potential to enhance the well-being of people and nature more generally.

Ecofeminism’s critique of western dichotomous thinking has been given little consideration in prior studies of accounting. The paper thus draws attention to the relevance of an ecofeminist theoretical lens for the critique and design of accounting by focussing on CSRR. The paper introduces the concepts of CNR and CNRR to address the limitations of CSRR as currently practiced.

The purpose of this paper is to explore perceptions and lived experiences of Sierra Leonean chartered and aspiring accountants, vis-à-vis their professional identity with a particular focus on two elements of postcolonial theory, hybridity and diaspora.

A qualitative methodological framework was employed. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 18 participants about their perceptions of their professional identity and their professional experiences both within and outside Sierra Leone.

The current professionalisation process is conceptualised as a postcolonial third space where hybrid professional accountants are constructed. Professional hybridity blurs the local/global praxis being positioned as both local and global accountants. Participants experience difficulty “fitting into” the local accountancy context as a consequence of their hybridisation. As such, a diaspora effect is induced which often culminates in emigration to advanced countries. The paper concludes that although the current model engenders emancipatory social movements for individuals through hybridity and diaspora, it is nonetheless counterproductive for Sierra Leone’s economic development and the local profession in particular.

This study has significant implications for understanding how the intervention of global professional bodies in developing countries shapes the professionalisation process as well as perceptions and lived experiences of chartered and aspiring accountants in these countries.

While extant literature implicates the legacies of colonialism/imperialism on the institutional development of accountancy (represented by recognised professional bodies), this paper employs the critical lens of postcolonial theory to conceptualise the lived experiences of individuals who are directly impacted by such institutional arrangements.

Seeks to extend debates about the emancipatory potential of the internet by commenting on Sikka's reflections (in this issue) on the papers by Gallhofer et al. and by Paisey and Paisey (both papers in this issue).

Response to Sikka's reflections, with an elaboration of the intersection of the critical and postmodern in this work as a means of extending the debate.

The benefits of the internet vis‐à‐vis counter accounting and emancipatory change should not be taken for granted; rather the internet is another site of struggle in which to intervene. The internet, however, does alter opportunities.

Insights for a counter accounting practice on the net.

Extends debates over the internet and online reporting in facilitating emancipatory accounting.

This essay sets out to introduce the special issue.

The essay introduces the focus of the special issue, the manifestation of the phenomenon of online reporting and the issues it engenders in relation to accounting, and briefly reviews the contribution of the articles in the issue.

Finds that the papers in this special issue extend the understanding of the interface between online reporting and accounting.

The essay locates the contributions of the issue within a problematic, whereby online reporting is understood critically, interpretively and contextually in terms of its actualities and potentialities.

Accounting is problematically shaped by a culture of spin. In the practice of accounting, presentational management risks assuming greater importance than an open and clear communication motivated by a concern to serve the public interest. We elaborate upon this problematic feature of contemporary practice and suggest pointers towards responding to the challenge it poses in terms of a better way for accounting in the new millennium.

The purpose of this paper is to provide a response to “Analysing accounting discourse: avoiding the ‘fallacy of internalism’”, an article by Ferguson in which a work by Gallhofer et al. is critiqued.

The paper responds to critique by Ferguson that one of their papers does not consider the “social‐historical contexts of text production, transmission and reception”. It also looks at Ferguson's challenge of critical discourse analysis (CDA) and its political motivation.

The paper defends Gallhofer et al. in that they chose to “promote critical discourse analysis respecting the focus of accounting and finance” and that the aim of their work was pedagogical. They chose to focus on the production of the texts rather than their reception because the work wanted to gain insights into how accounting texts are read and mobilised by radical activists in pursuance of their emancipatory goals, especially through CDA.

The paper provides a defence of a previous paper of the authors, which was concerned with emancipatory change, evident in Fairclough's version of CDA.

The purpose of this paper is to add to efforts to treat the relationship between accounting, democracy and emancipation more seriously, giving recognition to difference in this context. To open up space for emancipatory praxis vis-à-vis accounting, the authors articulate a delineation of accounting as a differentiated universal and emphasise the significance of an appreciation of accounting as contextually situated. The authors outline implications of a reading of new pragmatism for emancipatory praxis in relation to accounting that takes democracy and difference seriously.

Critical and analytical argument reflecting upon previous literature in the humanities and social sciences (e.g. Laclau and Mouffe, 2001) and in accounting (e.g. Gallhofer and Haslam, 2003; Bebbington et al., 2007; Brown, 2009, 2010; Blackburn et al., 2014; Brown and Dillard, 2013a, b; Dillard and Yuthas, 2013) to consider further accounting’s alignment to an emancipatory praxis taking democracy and difference seriously.

A vision and framing of emancipatory praxis vis-à-vis accounting is put forward as a contribution that the authors hope stimulates further discussion.

The authors extend and bolster previous literature seeking to align accounting and emancipation through further reflection upon new pragmatist perspectives on democracy and difference. In the articulations and emphases here, the authors make some particular contributions including notably the following. The accounting delineation, which includes appreciation of accounting as a differentiated universal, and a considered approach to appreciation of accounting as contextually situated help to open up further space for praxis vis-à-vis accounting. The authors offer a general outline of accounting’s positioning vis-à-vis a reading of a new pragmatist perspective on emancipatory praxis. The authors articulate the perspective in terms of key principles of design for emancipatory praxis vis-à-vis accounting: take seriously an accounting delineation freeing accounting from unnecessary constraints; engage with all accountings in accord with a principle of prioritisation; engage with accounting in a way appreciative of its properties, dimensions and contextual situatedness; engage more generally in a new pragmatist praxis. This adds support to and extends prior literature. The authors elaborate in this context how appreciation of a new pragmatist continuum thinking that helps to highlight and bring out emancipatory and repressive dimensions of accounting can properly inform interaction with existing as well as new envisaged accountings, including what the authors term here “official” accountings.

This paper reviews Pacific Accounting Review, 1988–96. Against the background of an historical overview of the journal's development, the paper includes analyses of publications and citations in the journal. The paper looks forward to the future progress of Pacific Accounting Review.

The purpose of this paper is to elaborate upon the notion of counter accounting, to assess the potentiality of online reports for counter accounting and hence for counter accounting's emancipatory potential as online reporting, to assess the extent to which this potential is being realised and to suggest ways forward from a critical perspective.

There are several components to a critical interpretive analysis: critical evaluative analysis, informed to some extent by prior literature in diverse fields; web survey; questionnaire survey; case study.

Web‐based counter accounting may be understood as having emancipatory potential, some of which is being realised in practice. Not all the positive potential is, however, being realised as one might hope: things that might properly be done are not always being done. And there are threats to progress in the future.

Clarification of a notion of counter accounting incorporating the activity of groups such as pressure groups and NGOs; rare study into practices and opinions in this context through a critical evaluative lens.

This paper adds to a focus of the social accounting literature (on perceptions and attitudes to social accounting) by seeking to offer insights into Syrian accountants' attitudes towards, and perceptions of, social accounting in Syria in the first decade of the twenty‐first century, with particular attention to its role, future development and implementation.

The paper takes the form of an analysis of interviews of Syrian accountants; contextual analysis (and an appreciation of the prior literature).

Syrian accountants' perceptions are shaped by developments in Syria's socio‐political and economic context, encompassing imperialism/colonialism, globalisation and cultural specificities, including Islam. Interviewees perceived a significant role for a social accounting – that would parallel the Western form of social accounting – in enhancing well‐being in the dynamic context. At the same time, they were reluctant to see the development and implementation of this accounting in Syria as an urgent issue, so that this social accounting might be left initially at least with an even more marginal part to play than in the West. The study suggests that a combination of forces – global developments, Western imperialism and Syria's colonial history – have had a substantively repressive rather than progressive impact on the development of social accounting in Syria vis‐à‐vis its more positive potential.

All limitations of interview research apply. This study focuses on Syria in a context when economic transition was a major issue. Further studies of economies in transition would be of interest.

An awareness of how the local and the global interact in debates over social accounting can provide insights for policy makers concerned with accounting regulation.

The focus on Syria, a non‐Western country, enriches the social accounting literature, which focuses mainly on Western developments.