Vida Botes

Does accounting construct the identity of firms as purely self-interested or as socially responsible?

Purpose - – The purpose of this paper is to argue that it is time for change in the way the paper teach, theories and practice accounting. Traditional accounting practice constructs the identity of the accountable entity as purely self-interested. Yet, there is evidence that firms do engage in broader activities. This paper aims to explain and illustrate that there are groups of firms that engage in socially responsible activities, yet their accounting systems still assume autopoietic behavior. Accounting should resonate with social expectations, but at present it does not. Design/methodology/approach - – Literature concerning theories of biological autopoiesis and social equivalents are reviewed. They are related to accounting practices, and to concepts of open and closed systems. The theories are related to survey results of socially responsible activities practiced by firms. National surveys undertaken in New Zealand at three-year intervals are the basis of the empirical content of the paper. Findings - – There is evidence that firms behave socially and environmentally responsibly. Yet accounting practice does not encourage such behaviour. Accounting practice has to be able to construct the identity of the accountable entity so that it pursues more than its own self-interest, and resonate with societal expectations. Research limitations/implications - – The paper is unconventional. It challenges extant practice. Its theoretical content may not appeal to many traditional accountants. Originality/value - – The theory and empirics are original. The theory of autopoiesis is illustrated through survey evidence of business practices.

Is accounting education sufficiently sustainable

Purpose – This study aims to examine to what extent and how effective sustainability education has been at the tertiary accounting education level. The New Zealand (NZ) Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment identified that sustainability education, as part of university education, is important, though NZ universities currently perform poorly in this area. This study looks at the important issue of sustainability education in the context of the emerging field of ecological economics and new understanding in business role and function of society where accounting education represents the precondition in meeting the challenges successfully. Design/methodology/approach – A mixed method approach was used for this investigation combining quantitative and qualitative research methods to provide more depth to the analysis. Both interviews and online surveys were conducted to determine the perceptions held by both academics and graduates, of the extent and adequacy of sustainability education with NZ unive...

An inside look at the process of diversity in a South African accounting department in recent decades

At the end of apartheid in South Africa, universities had to diversify their student population. This autoethnography tells the story of one tertiary institution where the diversification process happened in a fair and transparent manner. Can lessons be learned from the way the institution (staff and students) implemented diversity? The purpose of this article is to contribute to accounting history, using a woman’s voice to recount and analyse challenges that the head of the accounting department faced in diversifying. Reflecting on the experiences helps to progress past the experience and provide an understanding of social capital harvested to enable diversification. The diversification process within the South African context is unique and contrasts to other diversity studies, as it focuses on the marginalisation and/or exclusion faced by a majority group when taken into a dominant minority group setting. This study has implications for those facing increased diversity in education due to globalisation.

A gap in management accounting education: fact or fiction

Purpose The aim of this paper is to gain insights into the gap that persists between management accounting education (MAE) and practice. Design/methodology/approach MAE is examined from four perspectives of the balanced scorecard (BSC), in terms of what is being taught at tertiary level: customer satisfaction, learning and growth, internal business and financial. A survey questionnaire was sent to management accountants selected randomly from a list of practicing management accountants identified by the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants in South Africa. Findings The study finds support for allegations that a gap exists between MAE and practice and indicates that to address this gap, a holistic focus using the four perspectives of the BSC would be useful to investigate the gap. Research limitations/implications Previous studies in relation to the gap in management education have focused on the lack of skills provided by tertiary education. As one of the few studies to focus on the overall performance of MAE, this study identifies that the gap is not limited to the provision of adequate skills. The findings show that the gap is significant in terms of customer perspective but is not significant in relation to the internal business, learning and growth and financial perspectives of the BSC. The study provides deeper insights into the gap and will help tertiary education providers to improve their performance. Practical implications As one of the few studies on gaps between MAE and practice, the study provides insights to the potential gaps. The findings serve as a basis for further empirical and theoretical enquiries. Originality/value The study contributes to the management accounting literature by focusing on the gap in MAE using a BSC approach. Rather than single out the lack of skills provided by MAE as a reason for the gap, this paper provides information on the four areas of the BSC as ways to identify the gap.

All the world’s a stage

Purpose – The aim is to portray the role that accounts play in society through representation in colour.Design/methodology/approach – This is a fictional poem.Findings – The author uses an existing poem by playwright William Shakespeare and adapts it to reflect the role of accountants in society.Originality/value – Using poetic rhyme, this paper represents a unique attempt to write about the different roles of accountants in modern society.

Flight of fantasy: writing a full proof “code” for ethics

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to portray the Code of Ethics in digital format, by using a markup language like C Design/methodology/approach - Using wordplay the design consists of the technical formulation of a piece of hybrid code written in the language C Findings - The programmer constructs the Revised Code of Ethics released by the International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants (IESBA) of the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) in July 2009, in “code”, to ensure that it is free from errors. Originality/value - This paper, utilizing wordplay, represents a unique attempt to write the Code of Ethics in such a way that if executed by a computer it would be infallible to human judgement error, hence reducing the expectation gap of auditing and assertions.