IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/crpeac/v99y2024ics1045235424000273.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Accounting paradigms and neoliberalism. A Gramscian interpretative analysis of the evolution of the asset-liability view and revenue-expense view in Italy and the United States (1891–1991)

Author

Listed:
  • Costa, Massimo
  • Coronella, Stefano
  • Valenza, Giuseppe
  • D'Andreamatteo, Antonio

Abstract

This article proposes a historical analysis of the evolution of both the asset-liability and the revenue-expense views as accounting paradigms functional to the expression of the hegemonic relations exercised by the ruling classes in their social contexts. Focusing on the United States and Italy, the study outlines the common trajectories of the development of the revenue-expense accounting system after the initial classical asset-liability phase. It then highlights the differences in terms of the subsequent changes that drove the United States to new asset-liability positions of a financial connotation, whilst, in Italy, they were more oriented towards the consolidation of the revenue-expense view. The research methodology is based on critical accounting history lenses, using Gramsci’s concepts of Integral State, ideology, and intellectuals to analyse and understand the above developments. The study concludes that the asset-liability paradigm, which has been spreading in the United States since the 1960s, has characteristics that are useful for the neoliberal ideology and the implementation of its programme, contributing to the cultural hegemony of financial capitalism. In Italy, on the other hand, there has been the persistence of the revenue-expense paradigm, which has characteristics less compatible with the aforementioned ideology. Central to this dynamic has been the mediation of intellectuals in the accounting bodies of Civil Society and in the apparatuses of Political Society. These paradigms should, therefore, be the subject of renewed interest in the debate of the international scientific community, as well as in professional practice, in order to support the strengthening of a role of accounting intellectuals functional to the interests of the subordinate classes, for a truly emancipatory function of accounting with respect to the current dominant hegemony.

Suggested Citation

  • Costa, Massimo & Coronella, Stefano & Valenza, Giuseppe & D'Andreamatteo, Antonio, 2024. "Accounting paradigms and neoliberalism. A Gramscian interpretative analysis of the evolution of the asset-liability view and revenue-expense view in Italy and the United States (1891–1991)," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 99(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:crpeac:v:99:y:2024:i:c:s1045235424000273
    DOI: 10.1016/j.cpa.2024.102728
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1045235424000273
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.cpa.2024.102728?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. Bakre, Owolabi M. & McCartney, Sean & Fayemi, Simeon Olufemi, 2022. "Accounting as a technology of neoliberalism: The accountability role of IPSAS in Nigeria," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 87(C).
    2. Stefano Coronella, 2015. "Bestani versus Zappiani nella Rivista Italiana di Ragioneria," CONTABILIT? E CULTURA AZIENDALE, FrancoAngeli Editore, vol. 2015(2), pages 27-64.
    3. Haines-Doran, Tom, 2022. "Critical accounting scholarship and social movements: The case of rail privatisation in Britain," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 86(C).
    4. Finau, Glenn & Chand, Satish, 2023. "Resistance is fertile: A Bourdieusian analysis of accounting and land reform in Fiji," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 91(C).
    5. Funnell, Warwick & Jupe, Robert, 2022. "The architecture of accounting and the neoliberal betrayal of life," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 89(C).
    6. Chiapello, Eve, 2017. "Critical accounting research and neoliberalism," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 43(C), pages 47-64.
    7. George, Sendirella & Brown, Judy & Dillard, Jesse, 2023. "Social movement activists’ conceptions of political action and counter-accounting through a critical dialogic accounting and accountability lens," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 91(C).
    8. Gilbert, Christine, 2021. "Debt, accounting, and the transformation of individuals into financially responsible neoliberal subjects," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 77(C).
    9. Ying Zhang & Jane Andrew & Kathy Rudkin, 2012. "Accounting as an instrument of neoliberalisation?," Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 25(8), pages 1266-1289, October.
    10. Tony Tinker, 2005. "The withering of criticism," Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 18(1), pages 100-135, February.
    11. Andrew, Jane & Cahill, Damien, 2017. "Rationalising and resisting neoliberalism: The uneven geography of costs," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 45(C), pages 12-28.
    12. Forsberg, Per, 2023. "Symbols in wood as a means of reciprocity: Accounting and social cohesion in pluralistic economies," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 96(C).
    13. Stephen Zeff, 2007. "The SEC rules historical cost accounting: 1934 to the 1970s," Accounting and Business Research, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 37(S1), pages 49-62.
    14. Andrew Goddard, 2002. "Development of the accounting profession and practices in the public sector – a hegemonic analysis," Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 15(5), pages 655-688, December.
    15. Gilbert, Christine & Everett, Jeff, 2023. "Resistance, hegemony, and critical accounting interventions: Lessons from debates over government debt," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 97(C).
    16. Joerg-Markus Hitz, 2007. "The Decision Usefulness of Fair Value Accounting - A Theoretical Perspective," European Accounting Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 16(2), pages 323-362.
    17. Zhang, Ying & Andrew, Jane, 2014. "Financialisation and the Conceptual Framework," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 25(1), pages 17-26.
    18. Dale Buckmaster & Scott Jones, 1997. "From balance sheet to income statement: a study of a transition in accounting thought in the USA, 1926‐1936," Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 10(2), pages 198-211, May.
    19. Yee, Helen, 2009. "The re-emergence of the public accounting profession in China: A hegemonic analysis," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 20(1), pages 71-92.
    20. Spence, Crawford, 2009. "Social accounting's emancipatory potential: A Gramscian critique," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 20(2), pages 205-227.
    21. Richard Barker & Stephen Penman & Thomas J. Linsmeier & Stephen Cooper, 2020. "Moving the Conceptual Framework Forward: Accounting for Uncertainty," Contemporary Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 37(1), pages 322-357, March.
    22. Enrico Viganò & Richard Mattessich, 2007. "Accounting research in Italy: second half of the 20th century," Review of Accounting and Finance, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 6(1), pages 24-41, February.
    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. Andrew, Jane & Baker, Max, 2020. "The radical potential of leaks in the shadow accounting project: The case of US oil interests in Nigeria," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 82(C).
    2. Lee, Bill & Carlisle, Liam, 2024. "Interpreting an escape from an eviction trap as a social account: A Gramscian reading of a credit union’s policies in support of social housing tenants," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 98(C).
    3. Mantzari, Elisavet & Georgiou, Omiros, 2019. "Ideological hegemony and consent to IFRS: Insights from practitioners in Greece," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 59(C), pages 70-93.
    4. Gilbert, Christine & Everett, Jeff, 2023. "Resistance, hegemony, and critical accounting interventions: Lessons from debates over government debt," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 97(C).
    5. Ala, Alessandro S. & Lapsley, Irvine, 2019. "Accounting for crime in the neoliberal world," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 51(5).
    6. Bakre, Owolabi M. & McCartney, Sean & Fayemi, Simeon Femi & Nurunnabi, Mohammad & Almosa, Saad, 2024. "Neoliberalism, ‘honour’-based regulatory frameworks of accounting and accountability in a social context: An examination of the role of accounting in the management of subsidies on petroleum products ," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 99(C).
    7. Tweedie, Jonathan, 2023. "The emancipatory potential of counter accounting: A Žižekian critique," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 95(C).
    8. Tweedie, Dale, 2024. "Inclusive capitalism as accounting ideology: The case of integrated reporting," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 98(C).
    9. Ahmed, Zahir Uddin & Hopper, Trevor & Wickramasinghe, Danture, 2023. "From Minnow to Mighty: A hegemonic analysis of social accountability in BRAC - the world’s largest development NGO," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 92(C).
    10. Gilbert, Christine & Guénin, Henri, 2024. "The COVID-19 crisis and massive public debts: What should we expect?," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 98(C).
    11. Islam, Muhammad Azizul & Deegan, Craig & Haque, Shamima, 2021. "Corporate human rights performance and moral power: A study of retail MNCs’ supply chains in Bangladesh," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).
    12. Spies-Butcher, Ben & Bryant, Gareth, 2024. "The history and future of the tax state: Possibilities for a new fiscal politics beyond neoliberalism," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 98(C).
    13. Fortin, Mélissa & Pimentel, Erica, 2024. "Bitcoin: An accounting regime," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 99(C).
    14. Zhang, Ying & Andrew, Jane, 2022. "Financialisation and the Conceptual Framework: An update," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 88(C).
    15. Gilbert, Christine & Everett, Jeff & de Castro Casa Nova, Silvia Pereira, 2024. "Patriarchy, capitalism, and accounting: A herstory," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 99(C).
    16. Apostol, Oana & Pop, Alina, 2019. "‘Paying taxes is losing money’: A qualitative study on institutional logics in the tax consultancy field in Romania," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 58(C), pages 1-23.
    17. Haines-Doran, Tom, 2022. "Critical accounting scholarship and social movements: The case of rail privatisation in Britain," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 86(C).
    18. Richard Macve, 2010. "The Case for Deprival Value," Abacus, Accounting Foundation, University of Sydney, vol. 46(1), pages 111-119, March.
    19. Shijie Wang, 2023. "Accounting vs. Politics: Effects of China-US Audit Cooperation on China Concept Stocks," Journal of Applied Finance & Banking, SCIENPRESS Ltd, vol. 13(5), pages 1-6.
    20. Li, Xinxiang & Soobaroyen, Teerooven, 2021. "Accounting, Ideological and Political Work and Chinese multinational operations: A neo-Gramscian perspective," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).

    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:s1045235424000273. 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.