Kathleen A Cooper

Mary Addison Hamilton, Australia’s First Lady of numbers

The name Mary Addison Hamilton (Addie) does not appear in any of the recorded histories of the accounting profession in Australia even though there is ample evidence to suggest that she is deserving of such a place. Addie was one of the first women to achieve membership of one of Australias recognized professional accounting bodies and, thereby, one of the first in the British Empire. This distinction was achieved in the early twentieth century, when restriction of women entering the professions was common. In addition, Addie achieved a permanent position in the public sector at a time when Australian women were traditionally denied such positions. This article is a celebration and acknowledgment of the achievements of this remarkable woman who worked tirelessly as a clerk in the public service while using her accounting skills to train new accountants and assist a number of charitable and not-for-profit organizations.

Accounting by women: fear, favour and the path to professional recognition for Australian women accountants

This article traces the campaign by women in Australia to gain admission to accounting bodies and is set within the context of views of the abilities and place of women in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. In general, women were perceived as having neither the nature nor the intelligence for the commercial world and were better suited to being companions to men rather than competitors. The article demonstrates that even though some men thought that men and women should have equal opportunities, many others actively or passively resisted any movement that would allow women to compete with men within the workplace, including the profession of accounting. For almost 40 years, women faced opposition to gaining membership of professional accounting bodies in the UK and Australia, on the basis that the rights of men were favoured along with a fear that these rights would be compromised if women had equal rights to compete in the workforce.

An Epistemic Community as Influencer and Implementer in Local Government Accounting in Australia

This paper adopts an epistemic community framework to explicate the dual role of epistemic communities as influencers of accounting policy within regulatory space and as implementers who effect change within the domain of accounting. n nThe context is the adoption and implementation of fair value accounting within local government in New South Wales (NSW). The roles and functions of Australian local government are extensive, and include the development and maintenance of infrastructure, provision of recreational facilities, certain health and community services, buildings, cultural facilities, and in some cases, water and sewerage (Australian Local Government Association, 2009). n nThe NSW state Department of Local Government (DLG) is responsible for legislation and policy development to ensure that local councils are able to deliver ‘quality services to their communities in a sustainable manner’ (DLG, 2008c). These local councils receive revenue from various sources including property rates, government grants and user-pays service provision. n nIn July 2006 the DLG issued Circular 06-453 to councils (DLG, 2006c), mandating the staged adoption of fair value measurement of infrastructure assets. This directive followed the policy of NSW State Treasury (NSW Treasury, 2007),4 and an independent inquiry into the financial sustainability of local councils (LGSA, 2006). It was an attempt to resolve the inconsistency in public sector asset valuation in NSW Local Governments, and to provide greater usefulness and comparability of financial statements.5 The focus of this study is the mobilization of accounting change by the DLG within this wider political context. When a regulatory problem arises, those with political power seek advice from professionals with relevant skill and expertise (Potter, 2005). This paper explores the way in which professionals diffuse accounting ‘problems’ and the associated accounting solutions ‘across time and space’ (Potter, 2005, p. 277). The DLG’s fair value accounting policy emanated from a ‘regulatory space’ (Hancher and Moran, 1989)6 as a result of negotiations between many parties, including accounting and finance professionals. Operating within the local government sector, these professionals were identified by the DLG as being capable of providing helpful input. They were also responsible for the implementation of the new olicy within local councils. Accordingly they have been dentified as an pistemic community with the ability to ranslate regulatory power by changing he domain of ccounting (Potter, 2005, p. 278).7 n nThe paper is organised as follows. The background to the LG’s decision to require the introduction of fair value accounting for infrastructure assets is explored. Following this, the method of the study is described, and the epistemic community framework outlined. In the next sections, evidence of the influencing and implementing roles of epistemic groups is provided. Finally, conclusions are drawn about the significance of these groups both within regulatory space in developing accounting regulation, and in embedding change within the domain of accounting.