Accounting, Accountants and Accountability

by Norman Macintosh

Overview

In the business world, recent years have seen a growing acknowledgement of the value of intangible assets rather than physical assets. This has precipitated a crisis in the accounting industry: the accounting representations relied upon for years can no longer be taken for granted.

Here, Norman Macintosh argues that we now need to understand accounting in a different manner. Offering several different ways of looking at accounting and accountants, he draws upon the work of eminent thinkers such as Barthes, Baudrillard, Derrida, Foucault, Lyotard and Bahktin. In doing this, he develops revolutionary insights into the nature of accounting, pioneering the introduction of contemporary poststructuralist ideas into accounting theory and practice.

With a wide range of examples and case studies and now available in paperback for the first time, this revolutionary new work will be essential reading for academic and professional accountants along with all those with an interest in the future of accounting.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780415384506
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	11/01/2005
Series:	Routledge Studies in Accounting
Pages:	182
Product dimensions:	6.12(w) x 9.19(h) x (d)

About the Author

Norman Belding Macintosh, Professor Emeritus at Queen’s University Canada, has held visiting professorships at various international institutions, and has consulted for major corporations. He has been awarded the Canadian Academic Accounting Association awards for Distinguished Contribution to Accounting Thought, and for Outstanding Contribution to Accounting Education, and he has edited for and published in a number of accounting journals. He has served as chairperson of the Accounting, Behavior and Organizations section of the American Accounting Association. His previous books received world-wide acclaim.

Table of Contents

1. Introduction 2. Structuralism and Poststructuralism 3. Literary Theory and Accounting 4. Simulacra and Hyperreality 5. Surveillance, Discipline and Punishment 6. Accounting and Truth 7. Heteroglossic Accounting

Editorial Reviews

'In his new book Norman Macintosh presents an introduction to "poststructuralist positions on understanding and exploring what accounting is, what accountants do and the relationships between accounting and accountability". For those who have enjoyed and valued his previous books… there are the characteristics familiar to the author of a well-written text, engaging tone and pleasing clarity. In seven approachable chapters Macintosh directs the accounting researcher or general reader around management and financial reporting issues through the lens of various continental social and literary theorists in an enjoyable and approachable style.' - European Accounting Review

'It is always a pleasure to read anything by Norman Macintosh… He has always been one of the great eclectic thinkers in accounting… This short book is a tour de force and, as with all Norman Macintosh’s work, is well written in an easy engaging style that leaves the reader with much to think about.' - Accounting and Business Research

'This book should be of interest to those who wish to gain a fairly painless and clear introduction to poststructuralist theory and its application to accounting.' - The British Accounting Review

'Macintosh's book should be required reading for anyone who needs to think critically about accounting, whether academic or practioner, rather than merely to study and practice it as a set of mechanistic procedures.' - International Journal of Accounting

'In his new book Norman Macintosh presents an introduction to ‘poststructuralist positions on understanding and exploring what accounting is, what accountants do and the relationships between accounting and accountability. For those who have enjoyed and valued his previous books … there are the characteristics familiar to the author of a well-written text, engaging tone and pleasing clarity. In seven approachable chapters Macintosh directs the accounting researcher or general reader around management and financial reporting issues through the lens of various continental social and literary theorists in an enjoyable and approachable style.' - European Accounting Review

'It is always a pleasure to read anything by Norman Macintosh … He has always been one of the great eclectic thinkers in accounting … This short book is a tour de force and, as with all Norman Macintosh’s work, is well written in an easy engaging style that leaves the reader with much to think about.' - Accounting and Business Research

'This book should be of interest to those who wish to gain a fairly painless and clear introduction to poststructuralist theory and its application to accounting.' - The British Accounting Review

'This book presents a well motivated and carefully constructed argument to explain why poststructuralism [in particular, literary theory] is useful in understanding accounting … [It] aims to inspire the next generation of accounting researchers as well as practitioners as they face the current crisis within the accounting profession and shape the future of the profession.' - Canadian Journal of Administrative Science

'There are two [at least] very strong aspects to this book. The first is that Macintosh introduces his subject clearly and as simply as possible … Secondly, to him this is not an exercise in abstract intellectual exploration as he continually draws attention to the implications for accounting.' - Pacific Accounting Review

From the Publisher