Clinton Free

The Use of Graphics in Promoting Management Ideas: An Analysis of the Balanced Scorecard, 1992-2010

This paper focuses on the role of graphics in the propagation of the balanced scorecard through the persuasive capacity of graphism to “scientize” management ideas. Scientization, through professionalization of knowledge, rationalization of management and the empowerment of human actorhood, is widely seen as an important element in embedding new management concepts, tools and techniques; a determination based on some version of the positivist belief that science offers a privileged access to reality. We demonstrate that the use of graphics has played an important role in promoting the claims made by proponents of the balanced scorecard by portraying the technique as both scientific and as descended from a venerable tradition of knowledge. Specifically, we argue that graphics are mobilized to (1) enable the technique to be portrayed as developing linearly and cumulatively towards the present vantage, from flawed measurement to management break-through, (2) enable promoters of the balanced scorecard to defensibly extend claims about the balanced scorecard (i.e., rationalize management through the visual representation of causality and strategic focus) and (3) open up multiple interpretations and iterations of concepts which aid and enable the empowerment of human actorhood (i.e., management).

Annexing New Audit Spaces: Challenges and Adaptations

Purpose - – The purpose of this paper is to examine attempts at jurisdictional expansion in the audit field. Specifically, the authors critically analyse the professional implications of “new audit spaces”, that is, novel auditing and assurance services that have emerged at intersections between audit and other fields such as the environment, the public sector, sport and education. The purpose is two-fold. First, to better understand the dynamics of new audit spaces, and second, to highlight the major challenges and adaptations prompted by these dynamics. Design/methodology/approach - – Drawing on Bourdieu’s theory of practice, the authors highlight and problematise four issues central to the construction of new audit spaces: independence; reporting; professional accreditation; and the nature of the audit role. Findings - – The audit profession has experienced mixed success in seeking to annex new audit spaces; in some instances, practices initially located at the margins of auditing have moved towards its centre, while elsewhere projects have been abandoned, colonised by others or remain in flux. In these ventures, the accounting profession is brought into competition with other bodies of expertise and modes of practice. In new audit spaces, core elements of auditing, as conventionally conceived, are transmogrified as they travel. Originality/value - – This analysis calls into question some of the “sacred cows” of auditing and challenges the transferability of the capitals and habitus of the accounting profession in other domains. Future research avenues are suggested.

Pathways to accountant fraud: Australian evidence and analysis

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore pathways to fraud perpetrated in accounting-related roles, focusing both on situationally driven attitudes and contextual elements. Design/methodology/approach – Drawing on an anomie-based criminological taxonomy developed by Waring et al. (1995) and Weisburd and Waring (2001), which highlights individual attitudes and situational elements and their connection to illegitimate behaviour, the authors perform a qualitative content analysis of available media and court-reported information on a hand-collected database of 192 accountant frauds in Australia during the period 2001-2011. Findings – The analysis highlights four distinct pathways to accountant fraud – crisis responders, opportunity takers, opportunity seekers and deviance seekers – and the relative distribution of identified cases among these pathways. It also identifies the prevalence of gambling, female offenders, small and medium enterprises as victims, as factors in fraud, as well as the relativ...

Media coverage of accounting: the NRL salary cap crisis

Purpose - – Arguing that the print media act as a claims-making forum for the social construction and contestation of crises, the aim of this paper is to explore how the print media mediated two audits commissioned following a high-profile salary cap breach in the National Rugby League (NRL) in Australia. Design/methodology/approach - – This paper draws upon critical discourse analysis to examine the media coverage of the two audits by the two major Australian media organisations, News Limited and Fairfax Media Limited. The analysis is based on a qualitative study complemented by quantitative techniques that explore critical incidents and representations in the daily press. Findings - – The paper illustrates the way in which News Limited, the owner of the infringing club, mobilised its media platform to promote favourable viewpoints and interpretations and how these were challenged in the Fairfax press. Evidence of both coverage bias and statement bias in the treatment of the two audits is produced. Originality/value - – This paper provides evidence that commercial interests of owner/publishers coloured media coverage of the two audits, which were central pillars of the crisis management strategy of News Limited and the NRL. Implications for the medias contribution to public accountability, accounting outputs and impression management, and the growing commercial diversification and reach of media outlets are considered.

A research note on control practice and culture at Enron

At the time of its demise in 2001, the Enron Corporation could boast of its comprehensive, state-of-the-art management control and governance systems. Yet these controls were rendered ineffective in the companys last few years. This article identifies the radical change in Enrons corporate culture that took place from the Lay-Kinder era (1986–1996) to the Lay-Skilling era (1997–2001). It argues that this was a major cause of neutralizing these controls, which in turn proved to be a major factor in Enrons fall into bankruptcy. The article draws on Scheins (1993, Legitimating clinical research in the study of organizational culture, Journal of Counselling and Development, 71, 703–708; 1996, 2004) framework of cultural practice to develop our analysis. Thus, it supports Simons (1990, 1995) urging to more meaningfully include corporate culture in management control research studies. The article contributes to the literature by drawing attention to the rich but untold story of Enrons governance and control and also extends the research linking corporate culture and control systems.