IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/crpeac/v38y2016icp1-13.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Accounting for heritage assets: Does measuring economic value ‘kill the cat’?

Author

Listed:
  • Ellwood, Sheila
  • Greenwood, Margaret

Abstract

Recent changes in accounting directives for heritage assets held by government, local authorities and charities in the UK required their recognition in the financial statements and the measurement of their economic value. Subsequently, numerous sales of heritage assets by local authorities have occurred. We examine the intrusion of economic value into the realm of cultural assets and investigate two cases: the National Portrait Gallery and Tower Hamlets Council. The observation of economic and cultural value is considered. The National Portrait Gallery largely resisted the pressure to place economic values on its collections of portraiture and continues to increase its extensive collections. The London council in a deprived borough, Tower Hamlets, followed the Code of Practice on local authority accounting regarding recognition and valuation of assets and decided to sell its major heritage asset, a Henry Moore sculpture. We examine how measuring value can affect the observed reality: did the very act of measuring a heritage asset in financial terms change the situation? We develop a frame of analysis based on scientific observation theory applied within the socially constructed world of accounting. Accounting constructed a ‘reality’ (Hines, 1988) that included items of economic value that were primarily held for their cultural properties, but observing (measuring) their economic value may affect the perception of the cultural value of the item. Drawing on quantum physics we borrow from Schrödinger’s thought experiment, commonly referred to as ‘Schrödinger’s cat’, and from Heisenberg’s uncertainty principle to suggest that though not killing the cat, observation of the economic value of an accounting element can lead to a change in the perceived cultural value. Thought experiments from quantum physics can provide new ways of exploring the measurement (observation) of different values. Precision in measuring one attribute can cause the perception of other attributes (values) to change. This is particularly important as accounting moves to reporting on an integrated value approach (International Integrated Reporting Council (IIRC), 2013).

Suggested Citation

  • Ellwood, Sheila & Greenwood, Margaret, 2016. "Accounting for heritage assets: Does measuring economic value ‘kill the cat’?," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 38(C), pages 1-13.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:crpeac:v:38:y:2016:i:c:p:1-13
    DOI: 10.1016/j.cpa.2015.05.009
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1045235415001021
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.cpa.2015.05.009?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. Lucien Karpik, 2010. "Valuing the Unique: The Economics of Singularities," Economics Books, Princeton University Press, edition 1, number 9215.
    2. G.D. Carnegie & P.W. Wolnizer, 1995. "The Financial Value Of Cultural, Heritage And Scientific Collections: An Accounting Fiction," Australian Accounting Review, CPA Australia, vol. 5(9), pages 31-47, June.
    3. Unknown, 2013. "SAEA 2013 Annual Meetings," Journal of Agricultural and Applied Economics, Southern Agricultural Economics Association, vol. 45, pages 1-1, August.
    4. Ferri, Paolo & Zan, Luca, 2014. "Ten years after: The rise and fall of managerial autonomy in Pompeii," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 25(4), pages 368-387.
    5. anonymous, 2012. "New St. Louis Fed banking and economic research," Central Banker, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, issue Winter.
    6. AfDB AfDB, . "Zambia Country Office Annual Report 2012," Annual Report, African Development Bank, number 975.
    7. Hochfellner, Daniela & Müller, Dana & Schmucker, Alexandra & Roß, Elisabeth, 2012. "Data protection at the Research Data Centre," FDZ Methodenreport 201206_en, Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany].
    8. ., 2013. "Methodology and research framework," Chapters, in: The Geography of the Internet, chapter 3, pages 67-80, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    9. Kondrashova-didenko V. & Didenko L., 2010. "The intellectual capital: concepts vs constructs," Bulletin of Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv. Economics. Вісник Киiвського нацiонального унiверситету iм. Тараса Шевченка. Серiя: Економiка, CyberLeninka;Издательско-полиграфический центр «Киевский университет», issue 117, pages 26-30.
    10. AfDB AfDB, . "Annual Report 2012 (Arabic Version)," Annual Report, African Development Bank, number 462.
    11. ., 2012. "Conclusion and a Research Agenda," Chapters, in: Why is there Money?, chapter 14, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    12. Frank Micallef & Graham Peirson, 1997. "Financial Reporting of Cultural, Heritage, Scientific and Community Collections," Australian Accounting Review, CPA Australia, vol. 7(13), pages 31-37, May.
    13. W. Michael Hanemann, 1994. "Valuing the Environment through Contingent Valuation," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 8(4), pages 19-43, Fall.
    14. CGIAR Research Program on Water, Land and Ecosystems (WLE)., 2014. "Gender strategy," IWMI Books, Reports H046341, International Water Management Institute.
    15. Li, Cheng, 2010. "Savings, investment, and capital mobility within China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 21(1), pages 14-23, March.
    16. anonymous, 2013. "Recent St. Louis Fed banking and economic research," Central Banker, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, issue Spring.
    17. Irvine Lapsley, 2009. "New Public Management: The Cruellest Invention of the Human Spirit?1," Abacus, Accounting Foundation, University of Sydney, vol. 45(1), pages 1-21, March.
    18. CGIAR Research Program on Water, Land and Ecosystems (WLE), 2014. "Gender strategy," IWMI Books, International Water Management Institute, number 208758.
    19. Cheng Li, 2010. "Savings, investment, and capital mobility within China," Post-Print hal-00693048, HAL.
    20. Li Qi, 2010. "Capital flows and domestic market integration in China," Journal of Chinese Economic and Business Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 8(1), pages 67-94.
    21. Mark H. A. Davis & Sébastien Lleo, 2014. "Fund Separation and Fractional Kelly Strategies," World Scientific Book Chapters, in: RISK-SENSITIVE INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT, chapter 9, pages 207-226, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    22. 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.
    23. Hines, Ruth D., 1988. "Financial accounting: In communicating reality, we construct reality," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 13(3), pages 251-261, April.
    24. N/A, 2012. "The Future of Falls Research," Clinical Nursing Research, , vol. 21(1), pages 3-5, February.
    25. Michael Hutter & Ilde Rizzo (ed.), 1997. "Economic Perspectives on Cultural Heritage," Palgrave Macmillan Books, Palgrave Macmillan, number 978-1-349-25824-6, March.
    26. Jena, K.K. & Hardy, B. (ed.), 2012. "Advances in Temperate Rice Research," IRRI Books, International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), number 164415.
    27. AfDB AfDB, . "Annual Report 2012," Annual Report, African Development Bank, number 461.
    28. Sheila Ellwood, 2003. "Bridging the GAAP across the UK public sector," Accounting and Business Research, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 33(2), pages 105-121.
    29. Sheila Ellwood & Sue Newbury, 2006. "A bridge too far: a common conceptual framework for commercial and public benefit entities," Accounting and Business Research, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 36(1), pages 19-32.
    30. Jerry Hausman, 2012. "Contingent Valuation: From Dubious to Hopeless," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 26(4), pages 43-56, Fall.
    31. -, 2010. "Capital flows to Latin America: recent developments," Oficina de la CEPAL en Washington (Estudios e Investigaciones) 28872, Naciones Unidas Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe (CEPAL).
    32. AfDB AfDB, . "Annual Report 2012 (Portuguese Version)," Annual Report, African Development Bank, number 463.
    33. Ron Hodges & Howard Mellett, 2003. "Reporting public sector financial results," Public Management Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 5(1), pages 99-113, March.
    34. WorldFish, 2013. "Annual report 2012/13," Monographs, The WorldFish Center, number 40306, April.
    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. Hedi Baazaoui, 2020. "For A New Method Of Calculating The Disclosure Index," Copernican Journal of Finance & Accounting, Uniwersytet Mikolaja Kopernika, vol. 9(2), pages 9-24.
    2. Neu, Dean, 2023. "Fragile assets: Street gangs and the extortion business," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 95(C).
    3. Llewellyn, Sue & Begkos, Christos & Ellwood, Sheila & Mellingwood, Chris, 2022. "Public value and pricing in English hospitals: Value creation or value extraction?," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 85(C).
    4. 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.
    5. Antonelli, Valerio & Bigoni, Michele & Funnell, Warwick & Mattia Cafaro, Emanuela & Deidda Gagliardo, Enrico, 2023. "Popular culture and totalitarianism: Accounting for propaganda in Italy under the Fascist regime (1934–1945)," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 96(C).
    6. Weetman, Pauline, 2018. "Financial reporting in Europe: Prospects for research," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 36(2), pages 153-160.
    7. Ellie Norris & Shawgat Kutubi & Steven Greenland, 2022. "Accounting and First Nations: A Systematic Literature Review and Directions for Future Research," Australian Accounting Review, CPA Australia, vol. 32(2), pages 156-180, June.
    8. Damiano Montani & Francesco Perrini & Daniele Gervasio & Andrea Pulcini, 2017. "The Importance of “Contextualisation” in Small and Medium-Sized Firms Valuation: Evidences from an Italian Case Study," International Journal of Business and Management, Canadian Center of Science and Education, vol. 13(1), pages 1-70, December.
    9. David Heald & Ron Hodges, 2018. "Accounting for government guarantees: perspectives on fiscal transparency from four modes of accounting," Accounting and Business Research, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 48(7), pages 782-804, November.

    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. Marshall, Jonathan Paul, 2016. "Disordering fantasies of coal and technology: Carbon capture and storage in Australia," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 99(C), pages 288-298.
    2. Tarek Roshdy Gebba & Mohamed Gamal Aboelmaged, 2016. "Corporate Governance of UAE Financial Institutions: A Comparative Study between Conventional and Islamic Banks," Journal of Applied Finance & Banking, SCIENPRESS Ltd, vol. 6(5), pages 1-7.
    3. Diana Hancock & Wayne Passmore, 2015. "How Does the Federal Reserve's Large-Scale Asset Purchases (LSAPs) Influence Mortgage-Backed Securities (MBS) Yields and U.S. Mortgage Rates?," Real Estate Economics, American Real Estate and Urban Economics Association, vol. 43(4), pages 855-890, November.
    4. Ebert, Laura & La Menza, Tania, 2015. "Chile, copper and resource revenue: A holistic approach to assessing commodity dependence," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 43(C), pages 101-111.
    5. Flood, Mark D. & Lemieux, Victoria L. & Varga, Margaret & William Wong, B.L., 2016. "The application of visual analytics to financial stability monitoring," Journal of Financial Stability, Elsevier, vol. 27(C), pages 180-197.
    6. Khraiwish Dalabeeh, Ali S., 2017. "Techno-economic analysis of wind power generation for selected locations in Jordan," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 101(C), pages 1369-1378.
    7. Molyneaux, Lynette & Wagner, Liam & Foster, John, 2016. "Rural electrification in India: Galilee Basin coal versus decentralised renewable energy micro grids," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 89(C), pages 422-436.
    8. Williams, Christopher & Lukoianova (Vashchilko), Tatiana & Martinez, Candace A., 2017. "The moderating effect of bilateral investment treaty stringency on the relationship between political instability and subsidiary ownership choice," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 26(1), pages 1-11.
    9. Abbott, Malcolm & Cohen, Bruce, 2016. "The privatization and de-privatization of rail industry assets in Australia and New Zealand," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 41(C), pages 48-56.
    10. World Bank Group, 2015. "FYR Macedonia Public Expenditure Review," World Bank Publications - Reports 23808, The World Bank Group.
    11. Mahanta, Ratul & Chowdhury, Jayashree & Nath, Hiranya K., 2016. "Health costs of arsenic contamination of drinking water in Assam, India," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 49(C), pages 30-42.
    12. García-Posada, Miguel & Marchetti, Marcos, 2016. "The bank lending channel of unconventional monetary policy: The impact of the VLTROs on credit supply in Spain," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 58(C), pages 427-441.
    13. Filogamo, Luana & Peri, Giorgia & Rizzo, Gianfranco & Giaccone, Antonino, 2014. "On the classification of large residential buildings stocks by sample typologies for energy planning purposes," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 135(C), pages 825-835.
    14. Yang, Daojian & Qi, Ershi & Li, Yajiao, 2015. "Quick response and supply chain structure with strategic consumers," Omega, Elsevier, vol. 52(C), pages 1-14.
    15. Vázquez-Rowe, Ian & Reyna, Janet L. & García-Torres, Samy & Kahhat, Ramzy, 2015. "Is climate change-centrism an optimal policy making strategy to set national electricity mixes?," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 159(C), pages 108-116.
    16. Bird, Lori & Lew, Debra & Milligan, Michael & Carlini, E. Maria & Estanqueiro, Ana & Flynn, Damian & Gomez-Lazaro, Emilio & Holttinen, Hannele & Menemenlis, Nickie & Orths, Antje & Eriksen, Peter Børr, 2016. "Wind and solar energy curtailment: A review of international experience," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 65(C), pages 577-586.
    17. Jaber, J.O. & Elkarmi, Fawwaz & Alasis, Emil & Kostas, Anagnostopoulos, 2015. "Employment of renewable energy in Jordan: Current status, SWOT and problem analysis," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 49(C), pages 490-499.
    18. Haerer, Drew & Pratson, Lincoln, 2015. "Employment trends in the U.S. Electricity Sector, 2008–2012," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 82(C), pages 85-98.
    19. Korhonen, Jouni & Snäkin, Juha-Pekka, 2015. "Quantifying the relationship of resilience and eco-efficiency in complex adaptive energy systems," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 120(C), pages 83-92.
    20. Lechman, Ewa & Marszk, Adam, 2015. "ICT technologies and financial innovations: The case of exchange traded funds in Brazil, Japan, Mexico, South Korea and the United States," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 99(C), pages 355-376.

    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:38:y:2016:i:c:p:1-13. 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.