IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/crpeac/v99y2024ics1045235424000200.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Decoupled accounting in a non-profit context: An explanation for stable management accounting?

Author

Listed:
  • Clerkin, Brendan
  • Quinn, Martin
  • Connolly, Ciaran

Abstract

While extant literature on decoupling tends to focus on for-profit organizations, this paper examines the non-profit context, where donors are the most salient stakeholders and accountability to donors is paramount. Specifically, this research explores why management accounting in some non-profit contexts may be both decoupled and coupled from other accounting in the same context. Based on data from three large case study organizations, the findings indicate that donors’ demands for compliance-based financial accounting information, rather than for performance information, limits the availability and use of management accounting information; in essence, leaving it decoupled and coupled in different aspects. This is potentially to the detriment of organizational performance, and by association to beneficiaries and donors.

Suggested Citation

  • Clerkin, Brendan & Quinn, Martin & Connolly, Ciaran, 2024. "Decoupled accounting in a non-profit context: An explanation for stable management accounting?," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 99(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:crpeac:v:99:y:2024:i:c:s1045235424000200
    DOI: 10.1016/j.cpa.2024.102721
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1045235424000200
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.cpa.2024.102721?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. Covaleski, Mark A. & Dirsmith, Mark W. & Weiss, Jane M., 2013. "The social construction, challenge and transformation of a budgetary regime: The endogenization of welfare regulation by institutional entrepreneurs," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 38(5), pages 333-364.
    2. repec:eme:aaaj00:09513570010353710 is not listed on IDEAS
    3. Jack, Lisa & Kholeif, Ahmed, 2008. "Enterprise Resource Planning and a contest to limit the role of management accountants: A strong structuration perspective," Accounting forum, Elsevier, vol. 32(1), pages 30-45.
    4. Bino Catasús & Sofi Ersson & Jan‐Erik Gröjer & Fan Yang Wallentin, 2007. "What gets measured gets … on indicating, mobilizing and acting," Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 20(4), pages 505-521, July.
    5. Hans Englund & Jonas Gerdin & Gun Abrahamsson, 2013. "Accounting ambiguity and structural change," Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 26(3), pages 423-448, March.
    6. Brass, Jennifer N. & Longhofer, Wesley & Robinson, Rachel S. & Schnable, Allison, 2018. "NGOs and international development: A review of thirty-five years of scholarship," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 112(C), pages 136-149.
    7. Abu Shiraz Rahaman & Jeff Everett & Dean Neu, 2007. "Accounting and the move to privatize water services in Africa," Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 20(5), pages 637-670, September.
    8. Umesh Sharma & Stewart Lawrence & Alan Lowe, 2014. "Accountants as institutional entrepreneurs: changing routines in a telecommunications company," Qualitative Research in Accounting & Management, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 11(3), pages 190-214, September.
    9. Malmmose, Margit & Kure, Nikolaj, 2021. "Putting the patient first? The story of a decoupled hospital management quality initiative," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 80(C).
    10. Thomas Lawrence & Roy Suddaby & Bernard Leca, 2009. "Introduction: theorizing and studying institutional work," Post-Print hal-00576557, HAL.
    11. Alawattage, Chandana & Wickramasinghe, Danture, 2008. "Appearance of accounting in a political hegemony," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 19(3), pages 293-339.
    12. Cherrie Yang & Deryl Northcott & Rowena Sinclair, 2017. "The accountability information needs of key charity funders," Public Money & Management, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 37(3), pages 173-180, April.
    13. Vakil, Anna C., 1997. "Confronting the classification problem: Toward a taxonomy of NGOs," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 25(12), pages 2057-2070, December.
    14. repec:eme:aaaj00:aaaj-09-2016-2722 is not listed on IDEAS
    15. Trevor Hopper & Mathew Tsamenyi & Shahzad Uddin & Danture Wickramasinghe, 2009. "Management accounting in less developed countries: what is known and needs knowing," Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 22(3), pages 469-514, March.
    16. Lassou, Philippe J.C. & Hopper, Trevor & Tsamenyi, Mathew & Murinde, Victor, 2019. "Varieties of neo-colonialism: Government accounting reforms in Anglophone and Francophone Africa – Benin and Ghana compared," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 65(C).
    17. T. Lawrence & R. Suddaby & B. Leca, 2009. "Introduction : Theorizing and studying institutional work," Post-Print hal-00808954, HAL.
    18. Sean Byrne & Bernard Pierce, 2007. "Towards a More Comprehensive Understanding of the Roles of Management Accountants," European Accounting Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 16(3), pages 469-498.
    19. How, Shi-Min & Alawattage, Chandana, 2012. "Accounting decoupled: A case study of accounting regime change in a Malaysian company," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 23(6), pages 403-419.
    20. Andrew Hind, 2017. "New development: Fundraising in UK charities—stepping back from the abyss," Public Money & Management, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 37(3), pages 205-210, April.
    21. repec:eme:aaaj00:09513571311311883 is not listed on IDEAS
    22. Edward N. Gamble & Haley A. Beer, 2017. "Spiritually Informed Not-for-profit Performance Measurement," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 141(3), pages 451-468, March.
    23. Lounsbury, Michael, 2008. "Institutional rationality and practice variation: New directions in the institutional analysis of practice," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 33(4-5), pages 349-361.
    24. Napier, Christopher J., 2006. "Accounts of change: 30 years of historical accounting research," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 31(4-5), pages 445-507.
    25. João Oliveira & Martin Quinn, 2015. "Interactions of rules and routines: re-thinking rules," Journal of Accounting & Organizational Change, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 11(4), pages 503-526, November.
    26. Roberts, John, 2018. "Managing only with transparency: The strategic functions of ignorance," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 55(C), pages 53-60.
    27. Kilfoyle, Eksa & Richardson, Alan J., 2011. "Agency and structure in budgeting: Thesis, antithesis and synthesis," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 22(2), pages 183-199.
    28. Kraus, Kalle & Kennergren, Cecilia & von Unge, Amelie, 2017. "The interplay between ideological control and formal management control systems – A case study of a non-governmental organisation," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 63(C), pages 42-59.
    29. Ciaran Connolly & Noel Hyndman, 2017. "The donor–beneficiary charity accountability paradox: a tale of two stakeholders," Public Money & Management, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 37(3), pages 157-164, April.
    30. Abu Shiraz Rahaman & Jeff Everett & Dean Neu, 2007. "Accounting and the move to privatize water services in Africa," Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 20(5), pages 637-670, September.
    31. repec:eme:aaaj00:09513570710778992 is not listed on IDEAS
    32. Ebrahim, Alnoor, 2003. "Accountability In Practice: Mechanisms for NGOs," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 31(5), pages 813-829, May.
    33. Gloria Agyemang & Brendan O’Dwyer & Jeffrey Unerman, 2019. "NGO accountability: retrospective and prospective academic contributions," Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 32(8), pages 2353-2366, July.
    34. repec:eme:aaaj00:09513570910945697 is not listed on IDEAS
    35. Chenhall, Robert H. & Hall, Matthew & Smith, David, 2017. "The expressive role of performance measurement systems: a field study of a mental health development project," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 46364, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    36. Trevor Hopper & Maria Major, 2007. "Extending Institutional Analysis through Theoretical Triangulation: Regulation and Activity-Based Costing in Portuguese Telecommunications," European Accounting Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 16(1), pages 59-97.
    37. John Burns, 2000. "The dynamics of accounting change Inter‐play between new practices, routines, institutions, power and politics," Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 13(5), pages 566-596, December.
    38. Anil Narayan & John Stittle, 2018. "The role of accounting in transforming public tertiary institutions in New Zealand," Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 31(2), pages 503-530, February.
    39. Khan, Habib Zaman & Bose, Sudipta & Johns, Raechel, 2020. "Regulatory influences on CSR practices within banks in an emerging economy: Do banks merely comply?," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 71(C).
    40. Hans Englund & Jonas Gerdin & Gun Abrahamsson, 2013. "Accounting ambiguity and structural change," Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 26(3), pages 423-448, March.
    41. Lisa Jack & Ahmed Kholeif, 2008. "Enterprise Resource Planning and a contest to limit the role of management accountants: A strong structuration perspective," Accounting Forum, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 32(1), pages 30-45, March.
    42. Clerkin, Brendan & Quinn, Martin, 2021. "Institutional agents missing in action?: Management accounting at non-governmental organisations," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 80(C).
    43. A.K. Siti‐Nabiha & Robert W. Scapens, 2005. "Stability and change: an institutionalist study of management accounting change," Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 18(1), pages 44-73, February.
    44. Trevor Hopper & Mathew Tsamenyi & Shahzad Uddin & Danture Wickramasinghe, 2009. "Management accounting in less developed countries: what is known and needs knowing," Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 22(3), pages 469-514, March.
    45. Alpa Dhanani, 2009. "Accountability of UK charities," Public Money & Management, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 29(3), pages 183-190, May.
    46. Connolly, Ciaran & Hyndman, Noel & McConville, Danielle, 2013. "UK charity accounting: An exercise in widening stakeholder engagement," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 45(1), pages 58-69.
    47. Ciaran Connolly & Noel Hyndman, 2013. "Towards Charity Accountability: Narrowing the gap between provision and needs?," Public Management Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 15(7), pages 945-968, October.
    48. Danielle McConville, 2017. "New development: Transparent impact reporting in charity annual reports—benefits, challenges and areas for development," Public Money & Management, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 37(3), pages 211-216, April.
    49. Riccardo Mussari & Patrizio Monfardini, 2010. "Practices of Social Reporting in Public Sector and Non-profit Organizations," Public Management Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 12(4), pages 487-492, July.
    50. Chenhall, Robert H. & Hall, Matthew & Smith, David, 2017. "The expressive role of performance measurement systems: A field study of a mental health development project," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 63(C), pages 60-75.
    51. Hopper, Trevor & Lassou, Philippe & Soobaroyen, Teerooven, 2017. "Globalisation, accounting and developing countries," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 43(C), pages 125-148.
    52. Chenhall, Robert H. & Hall, Matthew & Smith, David, 2013. "Performance measurement, modes of evaluation and the development of compromising accounts," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 51294, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    53. Grisard, Claudine & Annisette, Marcia & Graham, Cameron, 2020. "Performative agency and incremental change in a CSR context," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 82(C).
    54. Olga Volkoff & Diane M. Strong & Michael B. Elmes, 2007. "Technological Embeddedness and Organizational Change," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 18(5), pages 832-848, October.
    55. Gabriel Piña & Claudia N. Avellaneda, 2018. "Municipal isomorphism: testing the effects of vertical and horizontal collaboration," Public Management Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 20(4), pages 445-468, April.
    56. Andrew Goddard & Mussa Juma Assad, 2006. "Accounting and navigating legitimacy in Tanzanian NGOs," Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 19(3), pages 377-404, May.
    57. repec:eme:aaaj00:aaaj-06-2018-3507 is not listed on IDEAS
    58. Lassou, Philippe J.C. & Hopper, Trevor & Ntim, Collins, 2021. "How the colonial legacy frames state audit institutions in Benin that fail to curb corruption," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).
    59. Chenhall, Robert H. & Hall, Matthew & Smith, David, 2010. "Social capital and management control systems: A study of a non-government organization," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 35(8), pages 737-756, November.
    60. Graham, Cameron & Grisard, Claudine, 2019. "Rich man, poor man, beggar man, thief: Accounting and the stigma of poverty," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 59(C), pages 32-51.
    61. Belinda Luke, 2016. "Measuring and Reporting on Social Performance: From Numbers and Narratives to a Useful Reporting Framework for Social Enterprises," Social and Environmental Accountability Journal, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 36(2), pages 103-123, May.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    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. Boomsma, Roel & O'Dwyer, Brendan, 2019. "Constituting the governable NGO: The correlation between conduct and counter-conduct in the evolution of funder-NGO accountability relations," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 72(C), pages 1-20.
    2. Cazenave, Bruno & Morales, Jeremy, 2024. "Against new humanitarian management: Prefigurative accounting in the humanitarian field," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 99(C).
    3. Hall, Matthew & O'Dwyer, Brendan, 2017. "Accounting, non-governmental organizations and civil society: The importance of nonprofit organizations to understanding accounting, organizations and society," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 63(C), pages 1-5.
    4. Clerkin, Brendan & Quinn, Martin, 2021. "Institutional agents missing in action?: Management accounting at non-governmental organisations," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 80(C).
    5. Urquía-Grande, Elena & Estébanez, Raquel Pérez & Alcaraz-Quiles, Francisco José, 2022. "Impact of Non-Profit Organizations’ Accountability: Empirical evidence from the democratic Republic of Congo," World Development Perspectives, Elsevier, vol. 28(C).
    6. 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).
    7. Baxter, Jane & Carlsson-Wall, Martin & Chua, Wai Fong & Kraus, Kalle, 2019. "Accounting and passionate interests: The case of a Swedish football club," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 74(C), pages 21-40.
    8. Kraus, Kalle & Kennergren, Cecilia & von Unge, Amelie, 2017. "The interplay between ideological control and formal management control systems – A case study of a non-governmental organisation," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 63(C), pages 42-59.
    9. Daff, Lyn & Parker, Lee D., 2021. "A conceptual model of accountants' communication inside not-for-profit organisations," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 53(3).
    10. Serge Agbodjo & Konan Anderson Seny Kan, 2024. "Toward a consciencism of accounting research on the African continent: A review of the international literature [Pour un consciencisme de la recherche comptable sur le continent africain : un état ," Post-Print halshs-04830453, HAL.
    11. Lu Jiao & Graeme Harrison & Jinhua Chen, 2023. "Revenue growth in not‐for‐profit organisations: The effects of interactive and diagnostic controls and organisational culture," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 63(2), pages 2273-2294, June.
    12. Ang, Soon Yong & Wickramasinghe, Danture, 2023. "Ethical disputes, coordinating acts and NGO accountability: Evidence from an NGO river-care programme in Malaysia," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 92(C).
    13. Alawattage, Chandana & Alsaid, Loai Ali, 2018. "Accounting and structural reforms: A case study of Egyptian electricity," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 50(C), pages 15-35.
    14. Adhikari, Pawan & Upadhaya, Bedanand & Wijethilake, Chaminda & Dhakal Adhikari, Shovita, 2023. "The sociomateriality of digitalisation in Nepalese NGOs," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 55(5).
    15. 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.
    16. Kaufman, Matt & Covaleski, Mark A., 2019. "Budget formality and informality as a tool for organizing and governance amidst divergent institutional logics," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 75(C), pages 40-58.
    17. Yang, Cherrie & Northcott, Deryl, 2018. "Unveiling the role of identity accountability in shaping charity outcome measurement practices," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 50(2), pages 214-226.
    18. 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).
    19. 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.
    20. Serge Agbodjo & Konan Anderson Seny Kan, 2024. "Toward a consciencism of accounting research on the African continent: A review of the international literature [Pour un consciencisme de la recherche comptable sur le continent africain : un état ," Grenoble Ecole de Management (Post-Print) halshs-04830453, HAL.

    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:99:y:2024:i:c:s1045235424000200. 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.