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Doing the truth: religion – deconstruction – justice, and accounting

Author

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  • John Francis McKernan
  • Katarzyna Kosmala

Abstract

Purpose - The paper's purpose is to use religious thought to inform accounting, and in particular to make a contribution to the ongoing debates concerning the merits of rules‐ and principles‐based accounting systems and the value of a rule‐overriding requirement of fair presentation in financial reporting. Design/methodology/approach - The paper applies to accounting a conception of religion that is heavily influenced by Jacques Derrida's writings on religion and deconstruction. In order to clarify the nature of this religion and to facilitate appreciation of its significance for accounting it is progressively recast, in the paper, first in terms of deconstruction and then in terms of a demand for an infinite justice. Findings - At the core of the paper, religious responsibility, as a demand for justice, in accounting is explored through Derrida's analysis of the relation between justice and law, which is found to have clear application to accounting in terms of an aporetic tension between an infinite demand for fairness in accounting and accounting regulation. Practical implications - The analysis implies that the pursuit of justice as fairness in accounting, “doing the truth” in accounting, will always demand the negotiation of an unstable and difficult mediation between the poles of regulation and fairness, the calculable and the incalculable, the possible and the impossible. Originality/value - The paper draws on the postsecular current in religion to make a novel contribution to the critical and interdisciplinary awareness in accounting that has begun to unsettle the hold that certain modernist dichotomies, such as that of myth and reason, have had on accounting thought.

Suggested Citation

  • John Francis McKernan & Katarzyna Kosmala, 2007. "Doing the truth: religion – deconstruction – justice, and accounting," Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 20(5), pages 729-764, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:eme:aaajpp:v:20:y:2007:i:5:p:729-764
    DOI: 10.1108/09513570710779027
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Emmanuel, Clive & Garrod, Neil, 2004. "Rules- versus judgement-based accounting disclosure in the UK," Journal of Accounting and Public Policy, Elsevier, vol. 23(6), pages 441-455.
    2. Lee Moerman, 2006. "People as prophets: liberation theology as a radical perspective on accounting," Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Emerald Group Publishing, vol. 19(2), pages 169-185, February.
    3. Arrington, C. Edward & Francis, Jere R., 1989. "Letting the chat out of the bag: Deconstruction, privilege and accounting research," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 14(1-2), pages 1-28, January.
    4. Schweiker, William, 1993. "Accounting for ourselves: Accounting practice and the discourse of ethics," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 18(2-3), pages 231-252, April.
    5. McSWEENEY, BRENDAN, 1997. "The Unbearable Ambiguity Of Accounting," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 22(7), pages 691-712, October.
    6. 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.
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Deaconu Adela, 2011. "Principles- And Rules-Based Accounting Debate. Implications For An Emergent Country," Annals of Faculty of Economics, University of Oradea, Faculty of Economics, vol. 1(1), pages 602-608, July.
    2. Yasmin, Sofia & Ghafran, Chaudhry, 2019. "The problematics of accountability: Internal responses to external pressures in exposed organisations," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 64(C).
    3. Vassili Joannides & Stéphane Jaumier, 2011. "Accounterability ou l'accountability par la bande," Post-Print hal-00645359, HAL.
    4. repec:dau:papers:123456789/7608 is not listed on IDEAS
    5. Joannides, Vassili, 2012. "Accounterability and the problematics of accountability," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 23(3), pages 244-257.
    6. Harney, Stefano & Dunne, Stephen, 2013. "More than nothing? Accounting, business, and management studies, and the research audit," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 24(4), pages 338-349.
    7. Okamoto, Noriaki, 2011. "Collective intentionality and aggressive earnings management: Developing Norman Macintosh's arguments in the debate over principles- versus rules-based accounting standards," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 22(2), pages 236-242.
    8. Gallhofer, Sonja & Haslam, Jim, 2011. "Emancipation, the spiritual and accounting," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 22(5), pages 500-509.
    9. McKernan, John Francis, 2011. "Deconstruction and the responsibilities of the accounting academic," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 22(7), pages 698-713.
    10. Roberts, John & Wang, Timothy, 2019. "Faithful representation as an ‘objective mirage’: A Saussurean analysis of accounting and its participation in the financial crisis," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 65(C).
    11. Vassili Joannides & Nicolas Berland, 2010. "Keeping Accounts By The Book: The Revelation(S) Of Accounting," Post-Print hal-00477759, HAL.
    12. McPhail, Ken, 2011. "A review of the emergence of post-secular critical accounting and a provocation from radical orthodoxy," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 22(5), pages 516-528.
    13. Shapiro, Brian, 2009. "A comparative analysis of theological and critical perspectives on emancipatory praxis through accounting," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 20(8), pages 944-955.
    14. Samir Ayoub & Keith Hooper, 2009. "Les freins culturels à l'adoption des IFRS en Europe : une analyse du cas français," Post-Print halshs-00456196, HAL.
    15. Vassili Joannides & Stéphane Jaumier, 2011. "Accounterability ou l'accountability par la bande," Grenoble Ecole de Management (Post-Print) hal-00645359, HAL.
    16. Gallhofer, Sonja & Haslam, Jim, 2019. "Some reflections on the construct of emancipatory accounting: Shifting meaning and the possibilities of a new pragmatism," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 63(C).
    17. Vassili Joannides, 2012. "Accounterability and the problematics of accountability," Post-Print hal-00676561, HAL.

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