IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/crpeac/v22y2011i6p593-607.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Framing financial responsibility: An analysis of the limitations of accounting

Author

Listed:
  • Bay, Charlotta

Abstract

In organisations, accounting—understood broadly as calculative practices—is claimed to serve as a critical vehicle when introducing forms of individual financial responsibility. Whereas most prior accounting research has been preoccupied with asserting this claim, this paper opens an opportunity to examine the limitations of accounting as a technology of responsibilisation. It does so by moving the empirical focus beyond the borders of people's work settings and into the private sphere of everyday life, investigating governmental efforts to turn high school students into financially responsible citizens. The analysis, informed by framing theory, reveals that the efficiency of accounting is conditioned by people's calculative understanding. Hence, in situations where individuals are expected to lack this basic calculative competency, accounting is presumed to be inappropriate as a means of introducing financial responsibility. This has implications for re-considering how the relation between accounting and responsibility is constituted.

Suggested Citation

  • Bay, Charlotta, 2011. "Framing financial responsibility: An analysis of the limitations of accounting," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 22(6), pages 593-607.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:crpeac:v:22:y:2011:i:6:p:593-607
    DOI: 10.1016/j.cpa.2011.03.001
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1045235411000554
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.cpa.2011.03.001?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. Power, Michael, 1992. "After calculation? Reflection on critique of economic reason by Andre Gorz," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 17(5), pages 477-499, July.
    2. Roberts, John & Scapens, Robert, 1985. "Accounting systems and systems of accountability -- understanding accounting practices in their organisational contexts," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 10(4), pages 443-456, October.
    3. Walker, Stephen P., 2003. "Professionalisation or incarceration? Household engineering, accounting and the domestic ideal," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 28(7-8), pages 743-772.
    4. Sinclair, Amanda, 1995. "The chameleon of accountability: Forms and discourses," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 20(2-3), pages 219-237.
    5. Dennis A. Gioia & Kumar Chittipeddi, 1991. "Sensemaking and sensegiving in strategic change initiation," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 12(6), pages 433-448, September.
    6. Ingrid Jeacle, 2009. "Accounting and everyday life: towards a cultural context for accounting research," Qualitative Research in Accounting & Management, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 6(3), pages 120-136, July.
    7. Vollmer, Hendrik, 2007. "How to do more with numbers: Elementary stakes, framing, keying, and the three-dimensional character of numerical signs," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 32(6), pages 577-600, August.
    8. Miller, Peter & O'Leary, Ted, 1987. "Accounting and the construction of the governable person," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 12(3), pages 235-265, April.
    9. Skærbæk, Peter & Tryggestad, Kjell, 2010. "The role of accounting devices in performing corporate strategy," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 35(1), pages 108-124, January.
    10. Garry D. Carnegie & Stephen P. Walker, 2007. "Household accounting in Australia: a microhistorical study," Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 20(2), pages 210-236, April.
    11. Choudhury, Nandan, 1988. "The seeking of accounting where it is not: Towards a theory of non-accounting in organizational settings," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 13(6), pages 549-557, October.
    12. Hopwood, Anthony G., 1994. "Accounting and everyday life: An introduction," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 19(3), pages 299-301, April.
    13. 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.
    14. Miller, Peter & O'Leary, Ted, 1990. "Making accountancy practical," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 15(5), pages 479-498.
    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. Andrea Dello Sbarba & Alessandro Marelli, 2018. "Family-controlled businesses and management control: the framing of “shareholder-oriented” practices," Journal of Management Control: Zeitschrift für Planung und Unternehmenssteuerung, Springer, vol. 28(4), pages 417-456, February.
    2. Gendron, Yves, 2018. "Beyond conventional boundaries: Corporate governance as inspiration for critical accounting research," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 55(C), pages 1-11.
    3. Duval, Anne-Marie & Gendron, Yves & Roux-Dufort, Christophe, 2015. "Exhibiting nongovernmental organizations: Reifying the performance discourse through framing power," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 29(C), pages 31-53.
    4. Nappert, Pier-Luc & Plante, Maude, 2023. "The assetization of baseball players: Instrumentalizing promise with signing bonuses and human capital contracts," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 105(C).
    5. Eelco van Wijk & Peter Mascini, 2022. "The responsibilization of entrepreneurs in legalized local prostitution in the Netherlands," Regulation & Governance, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 16(3), pages 875-891, July.
    6. Andrea Dello Sbarba & Riccardo Giannetti & Alessandro Marelli, 2020. "Private equity firms and management control: the framing of shareholder-oriented practices," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 24(4), pages 953-987, December.
    7. Bujaki, Merridee L. & Gaudet, Stéphanie & Iuliano, Rosa M., 2017. "Governmentality and identity construction through 50 years of personal income tax returns: The case of an immigrant couple in Canada," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 46(C), pages 54-74.
    8. Yang, ChunLei & Modell, Sven, 2015. "Shareholder orientation and the framing of management control practices: A field study in a Chinese state-owned enterprise," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 45(C), pages 1-23.
    9. Amari Mouna & Jarboui Anis & David McMillan, 2015. "The factors forming investor’s failure: Is financial literacy a matter? Viewing test by cognitive mapping technique," Cogent Economics & Finance, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 3(1), pages 1057923-105, December.
    10. Stolowy, Hervé & Paugam, Luc & Gendron, Yves, 2022. "Competing for narrative authority in capital markets: Activist short sellers vs. financial analysts," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 100(C).
    11. Bay, Charlotta & Catasús, Bino & Johed, Gustav, 2014. "Situating financial literacy," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 25(1), pages 36-45.
    12. Durocher, Sylvain & Georgiou, Omiros, 2022. "Framing accounting for goodwill: Intractable controversies between users and standard setters," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 89(C).
    13. Cooper, Christine, 2015. "Accounting for the fictitious: A Marxist contribution to understanding accounting's roles in the financial crisis," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 30(C), pages 63-82.
    14. Maltby, Josephine Anne, 2014. "Bringing back Thrift Week: Neo-liberalism and the rediscovery of thrift," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 25(2), pages 115-127.
    15. Gilbert, Christine, 2021. "Debt, accounting, and the transformation of individuals into financially responsible neoliberal subjects," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 77(C).
    16. Fourcade, Marion & Healy, Kieran, 2013. "Classification situations: Life-chances in the neoliberal era," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 38(8), pages 559-572.

    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. Bay, Charlotta, 2018. "Makeover accounting: Investigating the meaning-making practices of financial accounts," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 64(C), pages 44-54.
    2. Alawattage, Chandana & Azure, John De-Clerk, 2021. "Behind the World Bank’s ringing declarations of “social accountability”: Ghana’s public financial management reform," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).
    3. Cuckston, Thomas, 2022. "Accounts of NGO performance as calculative spaces: Wild Animals, wildlife restoration and strategic agency," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 84(C).
    4. Lai, Alessandro & Leoni, Giulia & Stacchezzini, Riccardo, 2014. "The socializing effects of accounting in flood recovery," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 25(7), pages 579-603.
    5. Brown, Judy, 2009. "Democracy, sustainability and dialogic accounting technologies: Taking pluralism seriously," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 20(3), pages 313-342.
    6. Bujaki, Merridee L. & Gaudet, Stéphanie & Iuliano, Rosa M., 2017. "Governmentality and identity construction through 50 years of personal income tax returns: The case of an immigrant couple in Canada," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 46(C), pages 54-74.
    7. Shearer, Teri, 2002. "Ethics and accountability: from the for-itself to the for-the-other," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 27(6), pages 541-573, August.
    8. Walker, S. P., 1998. "How to secure your husband's esteem. Accounting and private patriarchy in the British middle class household during the nineteenth century," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 23(5-6), pages 485-514.
    9. Davie, Shanta S.K., 2008. "An autoethnography of accounting knowledge production: Serendipitous and fortuitous choices for understanding our social world," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 19(7), pages 1054-1079.
    10. Balluchi, Federica & Lazzini, Arianna & Torelli, Riccardo, 2021. "Accounting and music: The role of Giuseppe Verdi in shaping the 19th century culture industry," OSF Preprints 5hz87, Center for Open Science.
    11. Messner, Martin, 2009. "The limits of accountability," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 34(8), pages 918-938, November.
    12. Kelum Jayasinghe & Dennis Thomas, 2009. "The preservation of indigenous accounting systems in a subaltern community," Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 22(3), pages 351-378, March.
    13. Gilbert, Christine, 2021. "Debt, accounting, and the transformation of individuals into financially responsible neoliberal subjects," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 77(C).
    14. Chakhovich, Terhi & McGoun, Elton G., 2016. "Why grids in accounting?," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 34(C), pages 36-59.
    15. Diab, Ahmed A., 2021. "The appearance of community logics in management accounting and control: Evidence from an Egyptian sugar beet village," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).
    16. Jensen, Mads Langballe & Agyemang, Gloria & Lehman, Cheryl R., 2021. "Accountabilities, invisibilities and silences in a Danish slave trading company on the Gold Coast in the early 18th century," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 77(C).
    17. Habersam, Michael & Piber, Martin & Skoog, Matti, 2013. "Knowledge balance sheets in Austrian universities: The implementation, use, and re-shaping of measurement and management practices," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 24(4), pages 319-337.
    18. Lorino, Philippe & Mourey, Damien & Schmidt, Géraldine, 2017. "Goffman's theory of frames and situated meaning-making in performance reviews. The case of a category management approach in the French retail sector," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 58(C), pages 32-49.
    19. Quattrone, Paolo, 2009. "Books to be practiced: Memory, the power of the visual, and the success of accounting," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 34(1), pages 85-118, January.
    20. Md. Mahmudul Alam & Jamaliah Said & Mohamad Azizal Abd Aziz, 2018. "Role of integrity system, internal control system and leadership practices on the accountability practices in the public sectors of Malaysia," Social Responsibility Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 15(7), pages 955-976, December.

    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:crpeac:v:22:y:2011:i:6:p:593-607. 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/critical-perspectives-on-accounting/ .

    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.