IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/bracre/v50y2018i2p161-173.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The power of language in legitimating public-sector reforms: When politicians “talk” accounting

Author

Listed:
  • Liguori, Mariannunziata
  • Steccolini, Ileana

Abstract

Language can play an essential role in shaping how accounting reforms and the information around them are communicated and legitimated. However, scant consideration has been given to study what happens when politicians are the decision makers of accounting changes. This paper explores the political use of language by investigating how the Members of Parliament discuss about public-sector accounting reforms, and deploy different rhetorical strategies to legitimate or de-legitimate them. Through the analysis of Italian parliamentary debates in the 1990s and 2000s, this study highlights how the use of language can facilitate the exercise of power by deploying arguments rhetorically dominated by authorisation and moralisation strategies. The rhetorical arguments brought forward allow politicians to disguise their loss of power in favour of the European Union, depicting their actions and proposals as necessary and/or in favour of the public interest.

Suggested Citation

  • Liguori, Mariannunziata & Steccolini, Ileana, 2018. "The power of language in legitimating public-sector reforms: When politicians “talk” accounting," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 50(2), pages 161-173.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:bracre:v:50:y:2018:i:2:p:161-173
    DOI: 10.1016/j.bar.2017.09.006
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0890838917300562
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.bar.2017.09.006?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Enrico Bracci & Christopher Humphrey & Jodie Moll & Ileana Steccolini, 2015. "Public sector accounting, accountability and austerity: more than balancing the books?," Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 28(6), pages 878-908, August.
    2. Ezzamel, M. & Hyndman, N. & Johnsen, A. & Lapsley, I., 2014. "Reforming central government: An evaluation of an accounting innovation," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 25(4), pages 409-422.
    3. Sandy Edward Green Jr & Yuan Li, 2011. "Rhetorical Institutionalism: Language, Agency, and Structure in Institutional Theory since Alvesson 1993," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 48(7), pages 1662-1697, November.
    4. Hyndman, Noel & Liguori, Mariannunziata & Meyer, Renate E. & Polzer, Tobias & Rota, Silvia & Seiwald, Johann, 2014. "The translation and sedimentation of accounting reforms. A comparison of the UK, Austrian and Italian experiences," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 25(4), pages 388-408.
    5. Noel Hyndman & Mariannunziata Liguori, 2016. "Justifying accounting change through global discourses and legitimation strategies. The case of the UK central government," Accounting and Business Research, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 46(4), pages 390-421, June.
    6. Sue Llewellyn & Markus J. Milne, 2007. "Accounting as codified discourse," Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 20(6), pages 805-824, October.
    7. Mariannunziata Liguori & Ileana Steccolini, 2012. "Accounting change: explaining the outcomes, interpreting the process," Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 25(1), pages 27-70, January.
    8. Mark Christensen & Peter Skærbæk, 2007. "Framing and overflowing of public sector accountability innovations," Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 20(1), pages 101-132, March.
    9. Peter Skærbæk & Mark Christensen, 2015. "Auditing and the Purification of Blame," Contemporary Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 32(3), pages 1263-1284, September.
    10. Reto Flury & Kuno Schedler, 2006. "Political Versus Managerial Use of Cost and Performance Accounting," Public Money & Management, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 26(4), pages 229-234, September.
    11. Saliterer, Iris & Korac, Sanja, 2013. "Performance information use by politicians and public managers for internal control and external accountability purposes," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 24(7), pages 502-517.
    12. Hood, Christopher, 1995. "The "new public management" in the 1980s: Variations on a theme," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 20(2-3), pages 93-109.
    13. Covaleski, Mark A. & Dirsmith, Mark W. & Rittenberg, Larry, 2003. "Jurisdictional disputes over professional work: the institutionalization of the global knowledge expert," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 28(4), pages 323-355, May.
    14. Niina Erkama & Eero Vaara, 2010. "Struggles over legitimacy in global organizational restructuring : A Rhetorical perspective on legitimation strategies and dynamics in a shutdown case," Post-Print hal-02312530, HAL.
    15. Panozzo, Fabrizio, 2000. "Management by decree. Paradoxes in the reform of the Italian public sector," Scandinavian Journal of Management, Elsevier, vol. 16(4), pages 357-373, December.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Manel Benzerafa-Alilat & Nino Tandilashvili & Marion Friscia, 2023. "Do parliamentarians use the audits they commission from the Court of Auditors? Exploratory research [Les parlementaires utilisent-ils les audits qu’ils commanditent à la Cour des comptes ? Recherch," Post-Print hal-04390793, HAL.
    2. Hyndman, Noel & McKillop, Donal, 2018. "Public services and charities: Accounting, accountability and governance at a time of change," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 50(2), pages 143-148.
    3. Susana Jorge & Sónia Nogueira & Maria Antónia Jesus, 2023. "Financial Information Use In Parliamentary Debates In A Changing Context," Public Organization Review, Springer, vol. 23(4), pages 1611-1638, December.
    4. Louisi Francis Moura & Edson Pinheiro Lima & Fernando Deschamps & Eileen Van Aken & Sergio Eduardo Gouvea da Costa & Rafael Duarte & Rafael Araujo Kluska, 2022. "What Role Do Design Factors Play in Applying Performance Measurement Systems in Nonprofit Organizations?," Administrative Sciences, MDPI, vol. 12(2), pages 1-17, March.
    5. Ferry, Laurence & Midgley, Henry & Haslam, Jim, 2024. "Democracy, accountability, accounting and trust: A critical perspective reflecting on a UK Parliamentary inquiry into the role of government accounts," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 99(C).
    6. La Torre, Matteo & Dumay, John & Rea, Michele Antonio & Abhayawansa, Subhash, 2020. "A journey towards a safe harbour: The rhetorical process of the International Integrated Reporting Council," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 52(2).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. La Torre, Matteo & Dumay, John & Rea, Michele Antonio & Abhayawansa, Subhash, 2020. "A journey towards a safe harbour: The rhetorical process of the International Integrated Reporting Council," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 52(2).
    2. Elaine Stewart & Ciaran Connolly, 2021. "Recent UK Central Government Accounting Reforms: Claimed Benefits and Experienced Outcomes," Abacus, Accounting Foundation, University of Sydney, vol. 57(3), pages 557-592, September.
    3. Hossfeld, Heiko, 2018. "Legitimation and institutionalization of managerial practices. The role of organizational rhetoric," Scandinavian Journal of Management, Elsevier, vol. 34(1), pages 9-21.
    4. Rasim Serdar Kurdoglu, 2020. "The Mirage of Procedural Justice and the Primacy of Interactional Justice in Organizations," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 167(3), pages 495-512, December.
    5. Funnell, Warwick & Wade, Margaret, 2012. "Negotiating the credibility of performance auditing," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 23(6), pages 434-450.
    6. Hyndman, Noel & Liguori, Mariannunziata & Meyer, Renate E. & Polzer, Tobias & Rota, Silvia & Seiwald, Johann, 2014. "The translation and sedimentation of accounting reforms. A comparison of the UK, Austrian and Italian experiences," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 25(4), pages 388-408.
    7. Michael S. McLeod & Joshua B. Sears & Gaylen N. Chandler & G. Tyge Payne & Keith H. Brigham, 2022. "Rhetoric, Risk, and Investment: Letting the Numbers Speak for Themselves," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 59(7), pages 1657-1687, November.
    8. Maria Lusiani, 2013. "Formal planning and the reshaping of public sector professional work," Working Papers 33, Venice School of Management - Department of Management, Università Ca' Foscari Venezia.
    9. Staci A. Kenno & Michelle C. Lau & Barbara J. Sainty, 2018. "In Search of a Theory of Budgeting: A Literature Review," Accounting Perspectives, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 17(4), pages 507-553, December.
    10. Grzegorz Bucior & Aleksandra Zurawik, 2022. "The Autonomy of Public Sector Units in the Process of Formulating Accounting Policy – Evidence from Poland," European Research Studies Journal, European Research Studies Journal, vol. 0(3), pages 555-581.
    11. Sutheewasinnon, Prapaipim & Hoque, Zahirul & Nyamori, Robert Ochoki, 2016. "Development of a performance management system in the Thailand public sector: Isomorphism and the role and strategies of institutional entrepreneurs," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 40(C), pages 26-44.
    12. Virva Salmivaara & Ewald Kibler, 2020. "“Rhetoric Mix†of Argumentations: How Policy Rhetoric Conveys Meaning of Entrepreneurship for Sustainable Development," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 44(4), pages 700-732, July.
    13. Elizabeth Goodrick & Lee C. Jarvis & Trish Reay, 2020. "Preserving a Professional Institution: Emotion in Discursive Institutional Work," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 57(4), pages 735-774, June.
    14. Mauro, Sara Giovanna & Cinquini, Lino & Pianezzi, Daniela, 2021. "New Public Management between reality and illusion: Analysing the validity of performance-based budgeting," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 53(6).
    15. Ulrike Schmidt & Thomas Günther, 2016. "Public sector accounting research in the higher education sector: a systematic literature review," Management Review Quarterly, Springer, vol. 66(4), pages 235-265, December.
    16. Maran, Laura & Bracci, Enrico & Inglis, Robert, 2018. "Performance management systems' stability: Unfolding the human factor – A case from the Italian public sector," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 50(3), pages 324-339.
    17. Abdullah, Aminah & Khadaroo, Iqbal & Napier, Christopher J., 2018. "Managing the performance of arts organisations: Pursuing heterogeneous objectives in an era of austerity," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 50(2), pages 174-184.
    18. Hyndman, Noel & McKillop, Donal, 2018. "Public services and charities: Accounting, accountability and governance at a time of change," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 50(2), pages 143-148.
    19. Adhikari, Pawan & Kuruppu, Chamara & Matilal, Sumohon, 2013. "Dissemination and institutionalization of public sector accounting reforms in less developed countries: A comparative study of the Nepalese and Sri Lankan central governments," Accounting forum, Elsevier, vol. 37(3), pages 213-230.
    20. Becker, Sebastian D. & Jagalla, Tobias & Skærbæk, Peter, 2014. "The translation of accrual accounting and budgeting and the reconfiguration of public sector accountants’ identities," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 25(4), pages 324-338.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:bracre:v:50:y:2018:i:2:p:161-173. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.journals.elsevier.com/the-british-accounting-review .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.