Jayne Bisman

Interrogating accountability: An illustration of the use of Leximancer software for qualitative data analysis

Purpose - The paper has a dual purpose, being to report on an interrogation of concepts and contexts of accountability used in the accounting literature and to illustrate the application of a qualitative data analysis software tool in this interrogation. Design/methodology/approach - A content analysis was undertaken of 114 journal articles related to accountability and published in highly ranked accounting journals from 2000 to 2007. Findings - Accountability is a concept used in a variety of contexts, particularly in connection with public accountabilities and accountability in the public sector, as well as within social contexts. The emphasis appears to be on accountability reporting in these settings, with less concern for the management perspective. The variety of contextual usage and categorisations of the term “accountability” indicate it has not become more precise over the period in question. Research limitations/implications - Since only 21 accounting journals are sampled, there is scope for investigating accountability concepts across a broader base of publication outlets. The findings suggest that greater effort should be devoted to developing frameworks of accountability, researching accountability in relatively under-explored contexts and settings, and considerable scope for researchers to more frequently utilise computer-assisted qualitative data analysis in content analysis studies concerning accounting and accountability. Originality/value - While there is anecdotal evidence of the elusive nature of accountability, this paper provides a window on conceptions of accountability employed by accounting scholars and the contexts in which accountability is discussed and researched. Further, the use of the Leximancer software tool in qualitative content analysis is demonstrated, noting that the accounting literature is currently devoid of examples of applications of this software.

Surveying the landscape: The first 15 years of Accounting History as an international journal:

Accounting History celebrated a milestone at the end of 2010 – its first 15 years as an international refereed journal. This paper examines and provides commentary on the articles that have appeared in the journal from 1996 to 2010 using a series of thematic landscapes depicting dominant research trends and trajectories. Addressed are issues connected with the emergence of new themes, methods and topics, and the relative decline of other areas of historical accounting research. The investigation of these landscapes also provided the opportunity to explore and advance ideas concerning some unanswered calls and prospects in mapping the future content and profile of Accounting History.

Cite and seek: Exploring accounting history through citation analysis of the specialist accounting history journals, 1996 to 2008

Elements of the history of research publications on accounting’s past are examined through an analysis of citations appearing in 546 articles published from 1996 to 2008 in the three specialized, English language, accounting history journals. The purpose was to enlighten understandings of this corpus of literature, particularly through the exploration of the significance, interrelationships and comparative dimensions of this journal network and its scholarly community. There was an observable insularity in citation patterns within the specialist journals, and yet a degree of heterogeneity across these journals. The analysis also defined a group of core, commonly cited articles in these journals, although all such articles were drawn from generalist accounting journals, with the extent of citations to the broader business, economic and management history literatures illustrating minimal engagement with these related disciplines. The findings suggest that while accounting history, as a discipline, can foster excellence in research, there is considerable scope for addressing identified deficiencies in the literature and for expanding the research community to enliven the discipline.

Engaged pedagogy: a study of the use of reflective journals in accounting education

This paper provides a report on a study of innovation in postgraduate education in which a reflective learning journal was used for formal assessment purposes in a management accounting course. Prompted by the discourse on the shortcomings of accounting education in terms of learning processes, learning experiences and learning outcomes, the reflective journal was designed to address concerns related to poor uptake of teaching and learning innovations in the discipline and recognised deficiencies in the generic competencies of accounting graduates. Utilising action research methods, the incremental approach to the implementation of the assessment activity is described and evaluated based on an analysis of 73 journal submissions across a five‐year period. The results, while based on a sample of limited size, indicated a dichotomy in surface versus deep approaches to learning in reference to the assessment task, but with improvements in student performances and learning outcomes when more radical change to the learning journal assessment item was introduced.

The census as accounting artefact: A research note with illustrations from the early Australian colonial period

Carnegie and Napier (1996, p.7) call for studies in accounting history which expand or reinterpret the archive, contending that the results can provide “insight into accountings present and future through its past”. In this article the census is revealed as specifically grounded within the domain of accounting, and is presented as an artefact arising from a range of necessities to account and to satisfy obligations to be accountable. The prior, limited use made of census data in accounting history studies is detailed, and a number of historical censuses examined from an accounting perspective. Particularly emphasized and exemplified are early colonial Australian censuses and musters. A discussion of the potential for using this largely unmined archive in informing a range of studies of accountings past, based on a variety of historiographical approaches, is developed and offered as a means for extending and supplementing existing research agendas in accounting history.

Budgeting for famine in Tudor England, 1527--1528: social and policy perspectives

This paper considers a unique budget document of the sixteenth century prepared for the Crown to facilitate decision-making and resource (re)allocation via the market in a period of dearth – specifically, the Corn Commissions instituted to cope with the East Anglian Famine of 1527–1528. The budgetary procedure is detailed, together with discussion of the economic, political, and social contexts, and the significance of the Commissions as the foundation for subsequent developments in English public welfare policy. The document and policy of the commissions are critically evaluated as mechanisms of political and social control, which produced adverse behavioural responses and social outcomes.

Peter Leopold's Reform of Tuscany (1774): management, organization and regulation at the local level

The eighteenth century is considered a crucial period in terms of the rise of the modern State. During this century, the logic of organization of several large European Empires began to emerge in the fragmented Italian panorama through the Lorena familys domination of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany. Peter Leopold of the Lorena dynasty inherited the Grand Duchy in 1765 and implemented his Reform of the Municipalities in 1774. This Reform contributed to modernizing the State and undermined most of the ancient privileges that had been established by the previous rulers of the Grand Duchy. The aim of this paper is to highlight both the government/organizational drivers of that Reform, and the relationship between central and municipal levels of governmental organization, including insights drawn from Michel Foucaults conception of governmentality in interpreting the implications of the Reform. The study is based on primary source materials from the State Archives of Florence and Galeata, and contributes to the extant, yet scarce literature on public sector management and organization of the period, and enriches understandings of the economic and accounting issues that were rationales for the Reform.

Making the mainstream: An analysis of the scholarly literature on accounting in China, 1999‐2008

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to present the results of an analysis of 137 articles concerning accounting in the Peoples Republic of China (PRC) published in 25 of the mainstream English language accounting journals from 1999 to 2008. Design/methodology/approach - Within the tradition of bibliometric evaluation of literature in scholarly accounting journals, a content analysis is undertaken of the journal articles to identify and evaluate a range of features and trends in relation to publication outlets, authorship, research design and methods and subject matter. Findings - While prior studies have suggested the literature on accounting in the PRC is relatively immature, the analysis reveals an increased sophistication in relation to the subject matter, research paradigms and methods and characteristics of authorship of this literature within mainstream accounting journals. Research limitations/implications - Since a sample of only 25 mainstream international accounting journals is utilised, there remains obvious potential for examining the literature published in other types and other rankings of journals. Practical implications - Results of the analysis reveal apparent scope for researchers of accounting in China to investigate a broader range of topics, utilise an extended panoply of research perspectives and methods, and encourage new and emerging researchers to the area. Originality/value - The paper represents a follow-up to an earlier study on the topic, providing comparisons and contrasts with that earlier work. Further, the current review also explores significant issues arising from the analysis and provides several suggestions for furthering the research effort in this field.

Old fossils and accounting history

Purpose - This poem aims to present a satirical critique and a defence of the role of accounting historians. Design/methodology/approach - The approach takes the form of traditional Italian Findings - The work explores common stereotypes and misconceptions about accounting historians and addresses these by explaining the value of the accounting historian in providing “insights into accountings present and future through its past”. Originality/value - By using a poetic form developed around the time (and place) of the “birth” of double entry accounting, there is a resonance of form with theme, given the focus on the endeavours of accounting historians.