Ingrid Jeacle

Accounting and the construction of the standard body

Abstract Early twenty first century Western society is commonly portrayed as a consumer society. Yet accounting research has to date neglected to explore the possible role of accounting technique in the intricate linkages between consumption, body size and individualism. This paper seeks to examine an accounting innovation introduced by early twentieth century department store management. The paper unravels the workings of garment alteration overhead allocations and the linkages between such accounting innovation and the creation of the statistical standard body size.

From moral evaluation to rationalization: accounting and the shifting technologies of credit

Abstract The purpose of this essay is to stimulate an examination of the nature of consumer credit and accountings role in its techniques of operation. The site of this examination is the US department store of the 1920/1930s. Our study, informed by Foucauldian concepts of disciplinary power and governmentality, reveals that a new mode of record keeping played a decisive role in the creation of an alternative to local knowledge in the granting of credit. This manifested itself in new accounting techniques, particularly, the analysis of age-based accounts receivable.

Accounting and popular culture: framing a research agenda

Purpose - The objective of this paper is to recognize the richness in exploring the inter-linkages between accounting and popular culture. Such an investigation should reap returns in not only furthering an understanding of accounting, but also the ways and means in which notions of accountability and audit permeate our everyday lives. In addition, it attempts to capture the significant transformative influence of accounting, and calculative practices more generally, in the actual shaping of the contours of the cultural context. Finally, it briefly introduces the six papers in this AAAJ special issue. Design/methodology/approach - The paper draws on literature from the fields of both accounting and cultural studies to set out a theoretically informed framework for the future examination of the myriad ways in which accounting is entwined with the popular. Findings - The paper argues a case for the study of accounting within the domain of popular culture, proposes two theoretical lenses from which to examine the inter-linkages between these two disciplines, and presents a diverse range of research possibilities for further scholarly inquiry in the field. Originality/value - Traditionally regarded as trivial and unworthy of academic attention, research into the regular rituals that pervade the everyday is now a legitimate field of scholarly inquiry among social and cultural theorists. Accounting researchers, however, have remained relatively aloof from this general trend, preferring to seek solace in the sphere of the corporation rather than the coffee shop. This paper is novel in that it attempts to broaden the scope of accounting scholarship into the new domain of popular culture.

Accounting and everyday life: towards a cultural context for accounting research

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to set out a research agenda for the study of accounting and everyday life. Reiterating Hopwoods seminal call, the paper aims to stress the importance of the everyday for furthering not only an understanding of accounting practice, but also culture more generally. For example, the study of the everyday may shed light on the calculative technologies at play in significant cultural shifts and transformations. Design/methodology/approach - The paper draws on secondary literature to illustrate the potential of adopting a cultural context in accounting research. In addition, it also suggests new research sites firmly embedded in the everyday. Findings - The paper is structured around three sections, each of which examines a particular aspect of everyday culture. In consumerism, the role of an overhead allocation technique in the creation of garment standardised sizing systems is explored. The potential role of accounting within the contemporary fashion industry is also suggested in this section. In the home section, the impact of standard costing practices in the dissemination of a classically inspired style of interior design and exterior architecture is discussed. In the final section, the significance of leisure and entertainment in everyday life is considered and some suggestions made regarding sites for future research in this field. Originality/value - The papers value arises from highlighting the potential of the everyday as a site for furthering an understating of accounting. In particular, it calls on researchers to recognise the significance of the everyday and to broaden the cultural context of their studies to encompass everyday activities.

Fashioning the popular masses: accounting as mediator between creativity and control

Purpose - The paper aims to investigate accountings role as a mediating instrument between the tensions of creativity and control within the price competitive world of the fashion chain store. Design/methodology/approach - The paper employs a case study approach, gathering interview data from key members within a UK fashion chain, and uses Goffmans work on impression management to inform its theoretical argumentation. Findings - Drawing on Goffman, the paper considers the roles adopted by organizational actors within fashion retailing and the actions they pursue in order to maintain a team performance. The authors suggest that accounting, as a form of stage prop, helps to sustain this team impression by mediating between the creativity and control concerns inherent in fashion design. In the process, they also gain some understanding of the use of accounting by actors beyond the confines of an organizations finance function. Originality/value - Despite the magnitude of the fashion industry and its dominance in the identity construction of both individual and streetscape, the role of accounting within this domain of popular culture has remained remarkably unexplored. This paper attempts to redress such scholarly neglect. It also furthers an understanding of the relatively unexplored role of accounting as a mediating instrument within the complex dialectic of creativity and control.

“Going to the movies”: accounting and twentieth century cinema

Purpose - Since its emergence in the early twentieth century, cinema has acquired a cultural identity. As purveyor of light entertainment, the local movie palace sold escapism at a cheap price. It also acted as an important social apparatus that regulated everyday mannerisms and appearance. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the box office ledger of a UK picture house and to consider the role of the accounting document as a medium through which both local and broader social and historical norms can be reflected. Design/methodology/approach - The paper primarily employs archival sources. It examines the box office ledger of the Edinburgh Playhouse cinema for the period 1929-1973. This ledger is held within the National Archive of Scotland. Secondary sources are also drawn upon to provide a social and historical context to the study. Findings - The analysis of the box office ledger illustrates the potential value of an accounting document as a source of social history. Not only does this single ledger mirror the defining moments in British cinema history, it also helps inform the conception of what constitutes accounting, shapes the perception of contemporary strategic management accounting rhetoric, and further an appreciation of the relationship between accounting and everyday life. Originality/value - The entertainment industry has been largely ignored within accounting scholarship. Such neglect is lamentable given both the scale of the industry and its impact on contemporary culture. This paper is an attempt to redress this neglect by examining one component of the entertainment business, cinema, through the medium of an accounting document.

The taming of the buyer: the retail inventory method and the early twentieth century department store

Abstract This paper seeks to explore the workings of an accounting technique in an established domicile of consumption: the department store. We investigate the widespread adoption of the Retail Inventory Method by US department stores from 1920 to 1930. Our analysis reveals a constellation of events situated against a backdrop of new programmatic discourses that gave rise to the adoption of the method. The technical properties of the method created visibilities in store operations which substantiated a recasting of internal power relations. The resulting shifts facilitated the emergence of organizational arrangements familiar to the early twenty-first century consumer.

Creative spaces in interdisciplinary accounting research

Purpose - – The purpose of this paper is to consider the role of interdisciplinary accounting research and suggest ways of broadening its creative scope to embrace significant contemporary phenomenon. Design/methodology/approach - – The paper is conceptual in nature and therefore draws only on secondary sources. Findings - – The paper suggests that one of the defining features of interdisciplinary accounting research is that it should be a creative space in which novel ideas emerge and new agendas flourish. The authors identify three such creative spaces of scholarly inquiry: the media space, the virtual space and the popular culture space. Originality/value - – The paper identifies three new creative spaces in which interdisciplinary accounting research may continue to flourish. It also identifies a possible threat to creativity within future interdisciplinary accounting research.

Accounting and the construction of the standard house

Georgian architecture dominates much of the urban vista of the British Isles and is also evident in many former British colonies. A product of the eighteenth century, it is an architectural style richly embedded in its social and political context. The defining feature of a Georgian building: a perfectly proportioned, standardized and symmetrical facade echoes the balance inherent in Pacioli’s double entry treatise. The purpose of this paper is to examine the role of accounting in the construction and widespread adoption of the standard Georgian house. It finds that eighteenth century builders’ price books (“estimators”), disseminating detailed materials and labour costing information on all components of house construction, inherently acted as norms or standards of cost behaviour. Essentially, it is argued, they constituted a form of human accountability which, located within a broader network of diverse actors, culminated in the diffusion of Georgian Classicism.

“And the BAFTA goes to […]”: the assurance role of the auditor in the film awards ceremony

Purpose - – The purpose of this paper is to examine the role of the Official Scrutineer in the annual film awards ceremony of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA), a role currently occupied by the audit firm Deloitte. The case of BAFTA provides an illustrative example of the increasing demand for discretionary assurance services from audit firms (Free Design/methodology/approach - – The paper gathers interview data from within the case organization (BAFTA), its Official Scrutineers (Deloitte), BAFTA voting members, sponsors, award winners and film industry commentators. Findings - – Drawing on Goffmans (1959) work on impression management to inform its theoretical argumentation, the analysis of results from 36 interviews indicates that Deloitte are highly effective in delivering a successful performance to their audience; they convey a very convincing impression of trust and assurance. The paper therefore suggests the importance of performance ritual in the auditors role as assurance provider. Additionally, it argues that such a performance may be particularly effective, in the eyes of the audience, when played by a well known audit firm. Originality/value - – The paper highlights the expanding territorial scope of assurance provision by audit firms. By focusing on a glamorous media event, it also furthers an understanding of the role of accounting within the domain of popular culture.