Lee C Moerman

Social reporting in the tobacco industry: all smoke and mirrors?

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the process of social reporting as a proactive management strategy to bridge the divide between the social and the economic.Design/methodology/approach – In July 2002 British American Tobacco (BAT) launched its first social report coinciding with the release of the WHOs Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. A case study, utilizing textual analysis of publicly available documents examined through a legitimacy perspective, was used to explore this issue.Findings – This paper asserts that the process, guidelines and assurance employed by BAT for its social report are a management strategy to enter the contested domain of public policy.Research limitations/implications – Since this research is limited to BATs 2001/2002 Social Report and supporting documents, further research could include interviews with key players or a longitudinal study to compare and contrast the social reporting practices of BAT over time.Originality/value – The tobacco industry has ...

People as prophets: liberation theology as a radical perspective on accounting

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to present Latin American liberation theology, a contextual theology, as a radical perspective to inform and critique accounting and issues of accountability. Design/methodology/approach – The notion of sacred and secular is explored as a dualism that limits theological insights at the socio-political level. By rejecting dualism, liberation theology presents an alternative ontological stance. Findings – Studies in critical accounting have focussed on the repressive nature of accounting. This paper provides critical accounting with a theological insight that has the potential to inform an emancipatory or enabling accounting project. Originality/value – Enabling accounting has been studied from the perspective of gender, class, ethnicity and environment. Adopting liberation theology as a critical perspective provides a means of critiquing extant accounting practice from the episteme of the economically marginalised and a Christian mandate for who to enable and why

Pursuing shareholder value: the rhetoric of James Hardie

Abstract In this paper we analyse the media release by James Hardie Industries Limited (JHIL) announcing the establishment of a separate entity to fund current and future asbestos litigation claims using the interpretive tool of rhetorical criticism. At the centre of the corporate reorganisation which alienated asbestos-related liabilities from the corporate group was the concept of shareholder value. This concept was presented as an unequivocal rationale to persuade the public that the reorganisation would resolve the asbestos liability issue and benefit both shareholders and legitimate asbestos claimants alike. Accounting is implicated by the use of accounting concepts such as assets and liabilities to persuade stakeholders of the financial viability of the new entity. These concepts were presented as objective and unproblematic without consideration of the nuances of accounting measurement, recognition and disclosure criteria.

The biblical jubilee: old wineskin for a new wine?

In the Biblical Old Testament a religious framework, Jubilee Law, provides a mandated procedure for dealing with the indebted Hebrew and his property. 1 Emerging from Mosaic Law, this framework is based on alternative perspectives of stewardship and societal economic relationships to the current domination of neo-liberalism in supranational organizations, in particular the international financial institutions. Themes and concepts emerging from Jubilee Law can offer the critical accounting literature a theological lens to critique accounting in the current global arena, especially the debt crisis of poor countries. A theological perspective, grounded in laws that protect the economically vulnerable, provides an alternative emancipatory discourse which has resonated with activist groups and others, and which challenges and critiques contemporary economic practices and offers an ethical framework for mandating social justice.

A green drought: the challenge of mentoring for Australian accounting academics

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to expose the impact of the shortage of senior academics, particularly professors, in Australian accounting schools, to relate the way one school addressed this shortage through a mentoring scheme, and to challenge existing institutional arrangements. Design/methodology/approach - This is a contextualised qualitative case study of a mentoring scheme conducted in an Australian accounting school. Data collected from semi-structured interviews, personal reflections and from Australian university web sites are interpreted theoretically using the metaphor of a “green drought”. Findings - The mentoring scheme achieved some notable successes, but raised many issues and challenges. Mentoring is a multifaceted investment in vocational endeavour and intellectual infrastructure, which will not occur unless creative means are developed over the long term to overcome current and future shortages of academic mentors. Research limitations/implications - This is a qualitative case study, which, therefore, limits its generalisability. However, its contextualisation enables insights to be applied to the wider academic environment. Practical implications - In the Australian and global academic environment, as accounting professors retire in greater numbers, new and creative ways of mentoring will need to be devised. The challenge will be to address longer term issues of academic sustainability, and not just to focus on short-term academic outcomes. Originality/value - A mentoring scheme based on a collegial networking model of mentoring is presented as a means of enhancing academic endeavour through a creative short-term solution to a shortage of accounting professors. The paper exemplifies the theorising power of metaphor in a qualitative study.

Exploring Shadow Accountability: The Case of James Hardie and Asbestos

Abstract Accountability brings to the fore a range of discourses that are said to provide an account. This paper takes the controversial issue of asbestos to explore silent and shadow accounting as a means of providing a more holistic accountability. The practice of silent and shadow accounting is built on a long tradition of counter narratives that expose deficiencies in corporate disclosure and provide shadow accountability for corporate activities. By drawing on these counter accounts from civil society and others, we initially develop a taxonomy of corporate disclosure gaps – praxis, reporting, truth and potential. Using the Silent and Shadow Reports of James Hardie Industries SE, the former dominant manufacturer of asbestos products in Australia, we provide empirical evidence to support an understanding of these disclosure gaps. The shadow metaphor is then invoked to understand the multidimensional concept of shadow accountability.

Accountability, asbestos and indigenous rights: The case of Baryulgil

This paper documents the history of paternalistic state policies and the effects of asbestos mining on the Indigenous community at Baryulgil in northern New South Wales. Despite the lack of profitability, the asbestos operations continued for over 30 years leaving a legacy of asbestos-related health and environmental issues. The shift of responsibility for Indigenous welfare from the State to a corporate entity is evidenced in this historical study using the lens of historical institutionalism. The Baryulgil case is instructive in a number of ways: it demonstrates the subtlety with which human rights abuses can occur in an environment where paternalistic attitudes towards Indigenous peoples prevail; it demonstrates the clash between pursuit of corporate objectives and human rights; and finally it demonstrates the lack of corporate accountability in the asbestos industry.

Accounting for long-tail asbestos liabilities: Metaphor and meaning

Abstract This paper examines the different meanings of the ‘long-tail’ metaphor in the corporate environment. Using the case study of James Hardie Industries, this paper analyses the disclosure of corporate long-tail liabilities arising from asbestos operations under different regulatory frameworks. This analysis demonstrates the long-tail metaphor is redefined and reshaped in accounting discourse to fit with extant reporting frameworks rather than representing any legally enforceable claim or future liability. It also demonstrates that, as well as functioning symbolically to enable understanding of complex phenomena, the long-tail metaphor can be harnessed as a tool to objectify financial risks and justify corporate strategy.

A tale of two asbestos giants: Corporate reports as (auto)biography

Annual reports are situated artefacts which relate a longitudinal grand narrative or corporate (auto)biography. This paper explores the narrative reporting of two former asbestos manufacturers, Turner & Newall in the UK and James Hardie in Australia. Asbestos features prominently in the industrial expansion and decline of both companies as the toxic health effects of this ‘magic mineral’ became evident over time. This paper finds evidence of several distinct phases of reporting of asbestos, from reporting it as a source of unmitigated value, to a source of risk and finally as a threat to corporate viability. Each stage erased or re-situated the prior story of asbestos so that users of individual annual reports may be unaware of the grand narrative of asbestos in its transformation from ‘magic mineral to killer dust’.

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. The 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). The 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. In 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 The 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.