Grahame Thompson

Is accounting rhetorical? Methodology, Luca Pacioli and printing☆

Abstract This paper critically assesses the use of the linguistic model within accounting discourse and the related interest in rhetorical formulations. It involves a re-analysis of the “foundations of accounting” associated with the name of Luca Pacioli in the late Middle Ages. The discussion concentrates upon the institutional matrix in which accounting emerged in the sixteenth century. In particular it stresses the role of three crucial institutions; the Church, the pedagogic appratuses and the publishing house. Along with the more fully explored role of the commercial organisations during the period, these institutions provided the contours in which we can understand how and why accounting in its particular modern form emerged.

Is all the world a complex network

Each of these four books provides an examination of two key features haunting current social science analysis: networks and complexity. Indeed, if one were looking for the likely ‘next big thing’ in social science exploration, a strong case could be made that it will be exactly ‘networks and complexity’. There is an excited embrace of these twin concepts among an increasing range of social scientific (and humanities) research, detailed at great length in these books. Rather suddenly networks and complexity are all the rage (though in economics these have had a longer pedigree – see the discussion and references in Barabási, chapter 14, and Buchanan, chapter 11, both of which deal with complex networks and the economy).Given the formidable premium on ‘doing something different’ or ‘thinking differently’ in our intellectual culture – particularly in its more avant-garde quarters – we can only expect the rapid development of this particular set of conceptual tools. Whether these endure, of course, is another matter.2 But probably these will prove to be more robust than most. As will become clear in a moment their twin formulation has the advantage of neatly incorporating several other current intellectual fashions under the ‘network and complexity’ conceptual umbrella, notably ‘globalization’ and the ‘information society’.

The firm as a ‘dispersed’ social agency ∗

What is the status of objectives as far as firms are concerned? This paper argues that the manner in which the objectives of firms and the like are conceived by management consultants and within economics is probably wrong or at least open to serious doubt. The paper tries to re-formulate the character of objectives by not conceiving of the firm as a unitary locus of means and ends but by seeing it as an entity through which a number of often conflicting and ambiguous practices of calculation and assessment pass. The pertinence of this conception with respect to some of the themes of orthodox ‘theory of the firm’ literature is discussed later in the paper.

Global corporate citizenship: what does it mean?

This article investigates the relationship between corporate social responsibility and a phrase that is fast becoming a preferred description of much the same thing but now set in an international context, namely global corporate citizenship. It is argued that the distinction between these two has not been clearly enough made in the literature. In clarifying the difference, the political nature of the idea of citizenship is focused upon and the politics of introducing triple-line considerations into the activity of transnational corporations is explored. An engagement with a wide range of civil society actors by corporations to further the ‘ethical’ agenda, a reconsideration of ‘corporate democracy’ in an international context, and the idea of a ‘progressive capitalist’ group of companies that might spear-head genuine corporate citizenship are concentrated upon in this assessment. Finally, the politics of an alliance for global corporate citizenship is broached that would take companies well beyond the limited agenda of just noting and attending to their social and environmental responsibilities.

‘Financial Globalisation’ and the ‘Crisis’: A Critical Assessment and ‘What is to be Done’?

Do we have a genuine global financial system? This article challenges the strong notion that the recent financial crisis was global in scope. It argues the international financial system is quite differentiated, being made up of domestic-national, supranational regional and international aspects. The system is characterised by contagion, however, and the article goes on to consider the role of this in generating spill-overs into the wider economic mechanism. Given this characterisation of the financial system the implications for how to organise a regulatory response are pursued. Here the argument is that the principle of ‘distributed preparedness for resilience’ should guide this response not a new set of top-down global rules and norms organised once again by the institutions of global economic governance.

Inflation accounting in a theory of calculation

Abstract How should we conceptualize the issue of inflation accounting? This is the problem raised and discussed in this paper. It represents a case study of the recent U.K. inflation accounting debate, but tries to set this within the context of how financial calculation more generally is organised and its social determinants. Two particularly distinctive features of the analysis are the ways in which this debate is related to the idea of financial calculation as “sign”, and the non-reduction of the “interests” located in the debate to expressions of some pre-given social position. Finally the wider implications of this non-orthodox approach are assessed.

The relationship between the Financial and industrial sector in the U. K. economy

The article attempts to specify the relationship between industrial and commercial activity and the financial system within the UK economy. It does this in two ways. In the first place through a discussion of the different forms and circuits of capital which designate of the important relationships and categories integrating the financial and the industrial sectors. Secondly it assesses the specific form of the circuit of finance capital within the UK economic formation and points to some of the implications of this for the proposals to take into public ownership the Commercial Banks and Insurance Companies.

What's in the frame? How the financial crisis is being packaged for public consumption1

The financial crisis continues unabated, escalating almost on a daily basis. But how is it being framed for public consumption? What kind of narratives are emerging that will tell the story of the financial crisis and of who, or what, is to blame for it? How is this being framed and assembled for public consumption? This will shape the popular political imagination about the crisis, and is highly contested as a result. I think there are several main ways this is being presented, which overlap and are not yet at all stable. Of course, these may not be the only frames and they are by no means fully coherent in their own terms. Nor is it clear down which route events will take us. What we have is a still highly volatile situation: a humiliated regulatory elite, a cowed business sector, a disillusioned and uncertain political class and a vengeful public a potent (should one say ‘toxic’?) mix indeed. And the crisis itself is far from over. It is important to recognize, however, that every presentation of these events is also a diagnostic and every description involves a prescription. So there are no innocent descriptive presentations that should be taken just at face value: the shape of the political imagination is too important for this to be the case. I suggest that there are two important academic frames and four main popular ones that are ‘in play’ in early 2009 and I begin with the academic frames which may be more enduring and are likely to grow in importance. The two that come immediately to mind are whether these events herald a genuine ‘epochal change’ or whether they are just a ‘conjunctural rupture’. Quite a lot hangs on this distinction. Epochal change is attractive from the point of view of academics because it allows them to indulge their skills as critical analysts of

Getting to know the knowledge economy: ICTs, networks and governance

Do we live in a new information-based networked economy? This is the underlying issue raised in this article. Confronting the claims made that such an economy is in the making provides the opportunity to discuss some ideas about the reconfiguration of knowledge that the interaction of ICTs with networks is providing. The extent and importance of ICTs is analysed and their potential impact on the evolution of economic activity investigated. The question of how to ‘govern’ these interactions is also broached. Perhaps somewhat paradoxically, a key argument made is that the advent of ICTs is pressing networks into a deeper engagement with tacit knowledge and the reappraisal of the virtues of craft production.

Capitalist profit calculation and inflation accounting

How are profits calculated under capitalism? This paper discusses the forms of profit calculation that have been put forward by the accounting profession to deal with the problem of inflation. In so doing it also raises the issue of the disjuncture between the calculation of profit made by the capitalist enterprise/ firm and that generally associated with Marx and subsequent Marxist writings. Finally, the paper addresses the wider issue opened up by the debate about ‘inflation accounting’; in particular the question of the legal constitution of corporate trading bodies and the control of the flow of investible money- capital within the economy.