Chris Poullaos

The dynamics of "closure" amidst the construction of market, profession, empire and nationhood: An historical analysis of an Australian accounting association, 1886-1903

Abstract This paper argues that Webers class-status-party model enables an in-depth understanding of the cross-border professionalization projects of accountants. Analysis of the activities of the Incorporated Institute of Accountants (VIC) from 1886 to 1903 shows that (a) the concept of monopolistic closure is imprecise; and (b) its activities were significantly shaped by multiple and changing divisions within the association, between it and competing colonial and imperial associations, the actions of ‘autonomous’ state agencies and wider political and communal tensions. Specifically, imperial discourses and institutions, which mutated when transplanted from the metropolitan centre to the penal (then productive) periphery, were material.

Rethinking the profession-state dynamic: The case of the Victorian charter attempt, 1885–1906☆

Abstract Historical analyses of specific professionalization projects and of the profession-state axis have been suggested as possible remedies for the “unexciting routine” into which the sociology of the professions has recently slipped. Accordingly, this essay analyses an attempt by Victorian accountants to attain a Royal Charter from 1904 to 1906 and its antecedent world dating from 1885 to 1903. It tracks the shifting constraints upon, and opportunities available to key players in state agencies and accounting associations. It thereby accounts for the shifts in the aims and strategies of those, the intended and unintended consequences of their actions, and the ultimate outcome of the charter attempt. In doing so it questions the assumption of a tightly defined concept of occupational “monopoly” or “closure” associated with a stable set of strategic imperatives. It also questions the tight coupling of action, interest, and outcome implied by “crude” Marxian analyses, and supports the contention that “professions” are the dynamic outcome of the mutual interaction of “state” and “profession”.

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

Abstract British imperialism not only changed borders, it made the British model of accounting associations and the imaginary of ‘professional accounting men’ known to spaces far from the metropolis (mother state). Imperialism was thus integrative in this sense. In administrative terms, however, a very large, differentiated and spatially dispersed Empire became expensive. It could not be ruled uniformly or in detail and different governance structures emerged. In the settler colonies, relatively autonomous ‘self-government’ embodying variants of British precedents and institutions, provided a loose coupling of centre and periphery. The accounting associations that developed in this type of colony were, then, not compliant clones of the centre but hybrids reflecting the specificity of place and British accommodation of peripheral demands. The result was the emergence of an imperial accountancy arena. These empirics contribute to our understanding of the nineteenth century professionalisation of accounting as a cross-border phenomenon by showing how the strength of weak ties between parts of a periphery characterised by inter-colony differences (as well as similarities) imposed constraints on the imperial centre.

Globalisation, accounting critique and the university

Abstract This essay seeks to promote (further) engagement between critical accounting research and the globalisation literature. Specifically, it discusses (1) how that literature can help to characterise our times, (2) its present and potential future engagement with the critical accounting project and (3) some implications for the university. The argument proceeds by exploring the potentially fruitful connections between, on the one hand, the work of Castells [The Information Age: Economy, Society and Culture, vol. 1, The Rise of the Network Society (1996); vol. II, The Power of Identity (1997); vol. III, End of Millennium (1998) Blackwell, Massachusetts & Oxford], Held et al. [Global Transformations (1999) Polity Press, Cambridge] and Hardt and Negri [Empire (2000) Harvard University Press, Cambridge, USA & London] and, on the other, work published in Critical Perspectives over the last several years. From Held et al. (1999) is taken the notion of globalisation as a temporal process of world-wide connectedness mapped along the dimensions of extensity, intensity, velocity and impact. Taken from Castells’ volumes is a range of insights derived from the informationalist basis of globalisation. Hardt and Negri’s volume posits the emergence of an apparatus of rule (‘Empire’) that throws into the relief the possibility of an emancipatory globalisation. These various positions now have a particular relevance for academics and students as the impact of globalisation reaches into the inner workings of the university.

Mediating between colonizer and colonized in the American empire: Accounting for government moneys in the Philippines

Purpose – The aim of the paper is to argue that accounting practices in colonial systems of government can help to construct the identity and “competency” of colonised communities. Design/methodology/approach – The approach was a historical analysis of the colonial political and economic policies of the USA in the Philippines from 1898 to 1924. The role of accounting practices was demonstrated by focusing on the case of the Philippine National Bank from 1916 to 1924. The bank was created by a wholly-Filipino Legislature when Americans were actively promoting “home rule” by the Filipinos as a prelude to independence. Using Webers theoretical distinction between modern and traditional societies, primary documents on the bank and secondary references of the policies of the USA during the period of study were examined. Findings – It was found that the Americans used controls over government moneys to express their modernity, efficiency and goodness, while the Filipinos resisted them to perpetuate traditional social arrangements in the context of a “modern” Philippine state. The controls “failed” under the stress of such tensions. The Americans concluded that the Filipinos were unable to manage government moneys “properly”, thus denying them their independence. Research limitations/implications – Webers theorization of traditional and modern societies should be applied to understand interactions between coloniser and colonised in cases other than the Philippines. Originality/value – This paper will be valuable to academics and policy makers because it shows that accounting need not be an active agent by colonisers/administrators to appropriate spoils from its colony.

Profession, race and empire: keeping the centre pure, 1921‐1927

Purpose - This paper seeks to examine the social construction of the racialised, colonial subaltern accountant in the British imperial centre in the early twentieth century.. Design/methodology/approach - Primary sources are used to provide an historical analysis of the British accountancy arena in the 1920s, this being the period when “race thinking” first became explicit. Secondary histories of race and empire are used to contextualise this analysis by highlighting: the growth of “race thinking” in the latter part of the nineteenth and the early decades of the twentieth centuries; and the American challenge to British imperial hegemony after the First World War. Findings - This paper tracks the struggles of British accountants in the imperial centre in the 1920s to find a path between racialist attitudes in the imperial centre, their own included and countervailing discourses of non-discrimination. For the Scottish chartered bodies, this involved the development of a Research limitations/implications - Limitations in the primary sources preclude detailed examination of the attitudes of individuals or for all variations in the positions adopted by particular bodies. Practical implications - The troubling thing about the demise of explicit race talk by the end of the 1920s is that Originality/value - This paper shows that the rise of race thinking in Britain did not leave British accountancy untouched; largely through the pressure it placed upon the identity of British accountants

Accounting Professionalization in Developing Countries

The perspectives of the expert contributors reflect the strong growth of research on the topic, as accounting is increasingly recognised as an important factor in development. The book draws commentary and analyses together to inform future research, practice and policy and raises awareness of the actual and potential role of accounting in formulating and executing development policy.

Obituary—Professor W.P. (Bill) Birkett (1940–2004)

Professor Bill Birkett died on 18th August 2004, bringing to an untimely end a distinguished career notable for significant contributions extending beyond the academy to the accounting profession and accounting practice, both within Australia and internationally. He began his academic career in 1962 at the University of New South Wales (UNSW) as an Associate Lecturer in Accountancy. In 1964 he became a lecturer at the University of Sydney (USYD), progressing to senior lecturer there in an era when Ray Chambers was establishing USYD as a major research institution. In 1974 he moved to Kuring-gai College of Advanced Education, to do his own institutionbuilding as the foundation Head of the School of Financial and Administrative Studies before returning to UNSW as Professor of Accounting in 1982. In a frenetic and productive 20 year period there he built up the School of Accounting as Head of School before becoming Associate Dean—Development in the Faculty of Commerce and Economics. In 2003 he took on what turned out to be his last position, Executive Dean, Faculty of Law, Business and the Creative Arts at James Cook University in Townsville. Bill was an innovative institution-builder who engaged in broadening and deepening research profiles and improving the quality of tertiary education while, at the same time, building links to the world of accounting practice through his leadership roles in Australian Centre for Management Accounting Development (ACMAD), CPA Australia and the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC), among others. He also served on numerous committees of CPA Australia (and its predecessors) including the Professional Accounting Education: an international journal Vol. 14, No. 1, 113–117, March 2005