IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/wly/coacre/v37y2020i1p485-513.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Auditing and the Development of the Modern State

Author

Listed:
  • Clinton Free
  • Vaughan S. Radcliffe
  • Crawford Spence
  • Mitchell J. Stein

Abstract

Previous research has highlighted the crucial roles that accounting plays in both the construction and development of the state. However, only limited attention has been paid to how accounting is both conceived and implemented as a technology of government. Taking a historical perspective, and through extensive archival analysis of the Canadian experience, we explore here the ways in which accounting practices were significantly expanded and elaborated over time. Progressively, accounting was successful in increasingly infiltrating the machinery of the state, resulting in greater power and influence being accorded to state accounting professionals. We contribute to existing governmentality research on accounting in two principal ways. First, we demonstrate how the territorializing power of accounting has transnational dimensions. The Canadian initiative was galvanized by simultaneous initiatives taking place in the United Kingdom, the United States, and a range of other Commonwealth nations. The similar trajectories of these various initiatives leads to a view of accounting as something that is co‐constructed across borders, a process we refer to here as transnational territorialization. Second, we demonstrate the crucial role played by key individuals in this transnational territorialization. Auditors general worked both individually and in concert to skillfully sell the evaluative potential of accounting to key power brokers in the state apparatus, thereby creating advantageous positions for themselves. This highlights the crucial role required by skillful and reflexive social agents in the elaboration of accounting technologies, something that hitherto has been underappreciated in extant literature on both auditing and governmentality. L'audit et le développement de l'état moderne De précédentes études ont mis en lumière le rôle crucial que joue la comptabilité dans la construction ainsi que le développement de l'état. Toutefois, la façon dont la comptabilité est conçue et mise en œuvre à titre de technologie de gouvernement n'a suscité que peu d'intérêt. Les auteurs adoptent une perspective historique et procèdent à une vaste analyse de données d'archives sur l'expérience canadienne afin d'étudier de quelles façons les méthodes comptables ont été considérablement étendues et perfectionnées au fil du temps. Petit à petit, la comptabilité a réussi à pénétrer plus avant l'appareil de l'état, de sorte que le pouvoir et l'influence accordés aux professionnels de la comptabilité étatique ont augmenté. La contribution des auteurs à la recherche comptable existante sur la gouvernementalité se présente en deux volets principaux. En premier lieu, les auteurs expliquent en quoi le pouvoir de territorialisation de la comptabilité a des dimensions transnationales. L'initiative canadienne a été stimulée par les initiatives simultanées du Royaume‐Uni, des États‐Unis et de divers autres pays du Commonwealth. Les trajectoires similaires de ces diverses initiatives nous amènent à envisager la comptabilité comme étant une coconstruction dépassant les frontières, un processus que les auteurs appellent la territorialisation transnationale. En second lieu, les auteurs démontrent l'importance cruciale du rôle qu'ont joué les intervenants clés dans cette territorialisation transnationale. Les vérificateurs généraux se sont efforcés, tant individuellement que collectivement, de faire valoir avec habileté le potentiel évaluatif de la comptabilité auprès des principaux fondés de pouvoir des appareils l'état, s'attribuant ainsi une position avantageuse. Ces constatations mettent en lumière le rôle indispensable que sont appelés à jouer les agents sociaux habiles et réfléchis dans l'élaboration des technologies comptables, rôle qui, jusqu'à présent, n'a pas été apprécié à sa juste valeur dans les écrits existants sur l'audit des comptes publics.

Suggested Citation

  • Clinton Free & Vaughan S. Radcliffe & Crawford Spence & Mitchell J. Stein, 2020. "Auditing and the Development of the Modern State," Contemporary Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 37(1), pages 485-513, March.
  • Handle: RePEc:wly:coacre:v:37:y:2020:i:1:p:485-513
    DOI: 10.1111/1911-3846.12497
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1111/1911-3846.12497
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1111/1911-3846.12497?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
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Miller, Peter & Kurunmäki, Liisa & O'Leary, Ted, 2008. "Accounting, hybrids and the management of risk," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 33(7-8), pages 942-967.
    2. Marie-Laure Salles-Djelic & Sigrid Quack, 2003. "Theoretical Building Blocks for a Research Agenda Linking Globalization and Institutions," Post-Print hal-01892014, HAL.
    3. Radcliffe, Vaughan S., 1998. "Efficiency audit: An assembly of rationalities and programmes," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 23(4), pages 377-410, May.
    4. 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.
    5. Suddaby, Roy & Cooper, David J. & Greenwood, Royston, 2007. "Transnational regulation of professional services: Governance dynamics of field level organizational change," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 32(4-5), pages 333-362.
    6. Clinton Free, 2007. "Supply†Chain Accounting Practices in the UK Retail Sector: Enabling or Coercing Collaboration?," Contemporary Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 24(3), pages 897-933, September.
    7. Fligstein, Neil, 2001. "Social Skill and the Theory of Fields," Center for Culture, Organizations and Politics, Working Paper Series qt26m187b1, Center for Culture, Organizations and Politics of theInstitute for Research on Labor and Employment, UC Berkeley.
    8. I. Lapsley & C. K. M. Pong, 2000. "Modernization versus problematization: value-for-money audit in public services," European Accounting Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 9(4), pages 541-567.
    9. Clinton Free & Vaughan Radcliffe, 2009. "Accountability in Crisis: The Sponsorship Scandal and the Office of the Comptroller General in Canada," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 84(2), pages 189-208, January.
    10. Radcliffe, Vaughan S., 1999. "Knowing efficiency: the enactment of efficiency in efficiency auditing," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 24(4), pages 333-362, May.
    11. Danielle Morin, 2011. "Serving as magistrate at the FrenchCour des comptes," Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 24(6), pages 718-750, August.
    12. Lee Parker, 2004. "'Presenting' the past: perspectives on time for accounting and management history," Accounting History Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 14(1), pages 1-27.
    13. Clinton Free & Vaughan Radcliffe & Brent White, 2013. "Crisis, Committees and Consultants: The Rise of Value-For-Money Auditing in the Federal Public Sector in Canada," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 113(3), pages 441-459, March.
    14. Gendron, Yves & Cooper, David J. & Townley, Barbara, 2007. "The construction of auditing expertise in measuring government performance," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 32(1-2), pages 101-129.
    15. Marie-Laure Salles-Djelic & Sigrid Quack, 2003. "Globalization and institutions : redefining the rules of the economic game," Post-Print hal-01892012, HAL.
    16. Crawford Spence & Marion Brivot, 2011. "'No French, no more': language-based exclusion in North America's first professional accounting association, 1879-1927," Accounting History Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 21(2), pages 163-184.
    17. Dale Flesher & Marilyn Zarzeski, 2002. "The roots of operational (value-for-money) auditing in English-speaking nations," Accounting and Business Research, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 32(2), pages 93-104.
    18. Radcliffe, Vaughan S. & Spence, Crawford & Stein, Mitchell & Wilkinson, Brett, 2018. "Professional repositioning during times of institutional change: The case of tax practitioners and changing moral boundaries," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 66(C), pages 45-59.
    19. Chua, Wai Fong & Poullaos, Chris, 2002. "The Empire Strikes Back? An exploration of centre-periphery interaction between the ICAEW and accounting associations in the self-governing colonies of Australia, Canada and South Africa, 1880-1907," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 27(4-5), pages 409-445.
    20. Vaughan S. Radcliffe & Crawford Spence & Mitchell Stein, 2017. "The Impotence of Accountability: The Relationship Between Greater Transparency and Corporate Reform," Contemporary Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 34(1), pages 622-657, March.
    21. repec:hal:spmain:info:hdl:2441/5oojir5leh8icq847ddt2lej75 is not listed on IDEAS
    22. Stephen P. Walker, 2015. "Accounting and Preserving the American Way of Life," Contemporary Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 32(4), pages 1676-1713, December.
    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. Ferry, Laurence & Funnell, Warwick & Oldroyd, David, 2023. "A genealogical and archaeological examination of the development of corporate governance and disciplinary power in English local government c.1970–2010," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 109(C).
    2. Martinez, Daniel E. & Pflueger, Dane & Palermo, Tommaso, 2022. "Accounting and the territorialization of markets: A field study of the Colorado cannabis market," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 102(C).
    3. Martinez, Daniel E. & Pflueger, Dane & Palermo, Tommaso, 2022. "Accounting and the territorialization of markets: a field study of the Colorado cannabis market," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 113756, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.

    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. Ferry, Laurence & Funnell, Warwick & Oldroyd, David, 2023. "A genealogical and archaeological examination of the development of corporate governance and disciplinary power in English local government c.1970–2010," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 109(C).
    2. Clinton Free & Vaughan Radcliffe & Brent White, 2013. "Crisis, Committees and Consultants: The Rise of Value-For-Money Auditing in the Federal Public Sector in Canada," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 113(3), pages 441-459, March.
    3. Dean Neu & Jeff Everett & Abu Shiraz Rahaman, 2013. "Internal Auditing and Corruption within Government: The Case of the Canadian Sponsorship Program," Contemporary Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 30(3), pages 1223-1250, September.
    4. Mennicken, Andrea, 2010. "From inspection to auditing: Audit and markets as linked ecologies," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 35(3), pages 334-359, April.
    5. Stuart Kells, 2011. "The Seven Deadly Sins of Performance Auditing: Implications for Monitoring Public Audit Institutions," Australian Accounting Review, CPA Australia, vol. 21(4), pages 383-396, December.
    6. 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.
    7. Funnell, Warwick & Wade, Margaret, 2012. "Negotiating the credibility of performance auditing," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 23(6), pages 434-450.
    8. Mihret, Dessalegn Getie & Alshareef, Mohammed Naif & Bazhair, Ayman, 2017. "Accounting professionalization and the state: The case of Saudi Arabia," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 45(C), pages 29-47.
    9. Baudot, Lisa & Cooper, David J., 2022. "Regulatory mandates and responses to uncomfortable knowledge: The case of country-by-country reporting in the extractive sector," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 99(C).
    10. Mennicken, Andrea, 2010. "From inspection to auditing: audit and markets as linked ecologies," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 27054, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    11. Alon, Anna & Dwyer, Peggy D., 2016. "SEC's acceptance of IFRS-based financial reporting: An examination based in institutional theory," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 1-16.
    12. Gilbert, Christine, 2022. "The audit of public debt: Auditing as a device for political resistance in a neoliberal era," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 85(C).
    13. Annisette, Marcia, 2017. "Discourse of the professions: The making, normalizing and taming of Ontario's “foreign-trained accountant”," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 60(C), pages 37-61.
    14. Çakmaklı, Anıl Divarcı & Boone, Christophe & van Witteloostuijn, Arjen, 2020. "Identity realization, multiple logics and legitimacy: Organizational foundings during the emergence of the Dutch accounting industry," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 83(C).
    15. Radcliffe, Vaughan S. & Spence, Crawford & Stein, Mitchell & Wilkinson, Brett, 2018. "Professional repositioning during times of institutional change: The case of tax practitioners and changing moral boundaries," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 66(C), pages 45-59.
    16. Eckersley, Peter & Ferry, Laurence & Zakaria, Zamzulaila, 2014. "A ‘panoptical’ or ‘synoptical’ approach to monitoring performance? Local public services in England and the widening accountability gap," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 25(6), pages 529-538.
    17. Free, Clinton & Salterio, Steven E. & Shearer, Teri, 2009. "The construction of auditability: MBA rankings and assurance in practice," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 34(1), pages 119-140, January.
    18. Prabhir Poruthiyil, 2013. "Weaning Business Ethics from Strategic Economism: The Development Ethics Perspective," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 116(4), pages 735-749, September.
    19. Maran, Laura & Bracci, Enrico & Funnell, Warwick, 2016. "Accounting and the management of power: Napoleon’s occupation of the commune of Ferrara (1796–1799)," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 34(C), pages 60-78.
    20. Mihret, Dessalegn Getie & Mirshekary, Soheila & Yaftian, Ali, 2020. "Accounting professionalization, the state, and transnational capitalism: The case of Iran," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 82(C).

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    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:wly:coacre:v:37:y:2020:i:1:p:485-513. 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: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://doi.org/10.1111/(ISSN)1911-3846 .

    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.