The Accounting Academic

129 Pages·2014·3.781 MB·English

by  Grant Samkin,Annika Schneider,Charl de Villiers

M
e
d
ita
ri ISSN2049-372X
A
Volume22 Number1 2014 cc Volume22 Number1 2014
o
u
n
ta
n
c
y
R
e
s
e
Meditari Accountancy Research arc Meditari Accountancy
h
Research
Number 1
The accounting academic
GuestEditors:GrantSamkinandAnnikaSchneider
1 Editorialadvisoryboard
2 Theaccountingacademic
GrantSamkinandAnnikaSchneider
20 Australianaccountingacademics:challengesandpossibilities
JamesGuthrie,ElaineEvansandRogerBurritt The accounting academic
38 SUPER-VISION?Personalexperiencesofanaccountingacademic
StewartLawrence Guest Editors: Grant Samkin and
54 TheAustralianaccountingacademicinthe1950s:R.J.Chambersandnetworksofaccounting
Annika Schneider
research
MartinE.PerssonandChristopherJ.Napier
77 Usinguniversitywebsitestoprofileaccountingacademicsandtheirresearchoutput:athree
countrystudy
GrantSamkinandAnnikaSchneider
107 Educatingprofessionals:describingtheknowledgeagencyofAccountingacademics
IlseLubbe V
o
lu
m
e
2
2
N
u
m
b
e
r
1
2
0
1
4
w
w
w
.e
m
e
ra
ld
in
s
ig Access this journal online
h
t.co www.emeraldinsight.com/medar.htm
ISBN978-1-78441-351-4 www.emeraldinsight.com m
EDITORIALADVISORY UrtonAnderson MaryLow Editorial
UniversityofTexasatAustin,USA TheUniversityofWaikato,
BOARD
ShahidAnsari NewZealand advisory board
VivienA.Beattie BabsonCollege,USA HabibMahama
LancasterUniversityManagement KarinBarac AustralianNationalUniversity,
School,LancasterUniversity, UniversityofPretoria,SouthAfrica Australia
Lancaster,UK SebastianBecker WarrenMaroun
JaneBroadbent HECParis,France UniversityoftheWitwatersrand,
RoyalHolloway,Universityof A.Brettenny SouthAfrica 1
London,UK NelsonMandelaMetropolitan C.Nobes
JohnBurns University,SouthAfrica RoyalHollowayUniversityof
UniversityofExeter,UK B.W.Bruwer London,UK
CharlesCho UniversityofStellenbosch, KrishnaReddy
ESSECBusinessSchool,France SouthAfrica UniversityofWaikato,NewZealand
CraigDeegan P.W.Buys ElmarieSadler
RMITUniversity,Australia North-WestUniversity,SouthAfrica UniversityofSouthAfrica,
JesseDillard DanieCoetsee SouthAfrica
VictoriaUniversityofWellington, UniversityofJohannesburg, DanielaSangiorgi
NewZealandandUniversityof SouthAfrica UniversitadeBologna,Italy
CentralFlorida,USA StephenCoetzee GerritSarens
RobGray UniversityofPretoria,SouthAfrica UniversitéCatholiquedeLouvain,
UniversityofStAndrews,UK E.D.Cook Belgium
JamesGuthrie UniversityofLouisiana,USA K.Sartorius
Universita‘diBologna,Italyand ChristoCronje UniversityoftheWitwatersrand,
MacquarieUniversity,Australia UniversityofSouthAfrica, SouthAfrica
ElaineHarris SouthAfrica UmeshSharma
UniversityofRoehampton,UK StevenDellaportas UniversityofWaikato,NewZealand
KathrynHaynes RMITUniversity,Australia BenedettaSiboni
NewcastleUniversity,UK JohnDumay Universita‘diBologna,Italy
TanHunTong UniversityofSydney,Australia E.M.Stack
NanyangTechnologicalUniversity,
Singapore FedericaFarneti RhodesUniversity,SouthAfrica
Universita‘diBologna,Italy LesleyStainbank
DVaenbdrearbJielttUerniversity,USA JeffreyFaux UniversityofKwa-ZuluNatal,
UniversityofBallarat,Australia SouthAfrica
ChristopherNapier
RoyalHolloway,Universityof N.Fry D.E.Stout
London,UK UniversityofWestEngland,UK YoungstownStateUniversity,USA
StefanSchaltegger D.G.Gouws SatoshiSugahara
LeuphanaUniversityLüneburg, UniversityofPretoria,SouthAfrica HiroshimaShudoUniversity,Japan
Germany AbdelHalabi MathewTsamenyi
JillSolomon MonashUniversity,Australia ChinaEuropeInternationalBusiness
HenleyBusinessSchool,UK AssociateProfessorNoel School,Ghana
AndrewStark Harding S.P.J.VonWielligh
TheUniversityofManchester,UK UniversityofNewSouthWales, UniversityofStellenbosch,
Australia SouthAfrica
DonnaStreet
UniversityofDayton,USA JulieHarrison T.L.Voogt
TheUniversityofAuckland, UniversityofJohannesburg,
CarolTilt
FlindersUniversity,Australia NewZealand SouthAfrica
AssociateProfessorKristyL. JamesHazelton M.Walpole
Towry MacquarieUniversity,Australia UniversityofNewSouthWales,
GoizuetaBusinessSchool,Emory BeverleyJackling Australia
University,Atlanta,Georgia,USA VictoriaUniversity,Australia P.Willis
EnricoUliana C.Joseph DublinCityUniversity,Ireland
UniversityofCapeTown,SouthAfrica MaraUniversityofTechnology TrevorWilmhurst
JeffreyUnerman (UITM),Malaysia UniversityofTasmania,Australia
RoyalHolloway,Universityof A.D.Koekemoer H.C.Wingard
London,UK UniversityoftheFreeState, TheUniversityofSouthAfrica,
ChrisvanStaden SouthAfrica SouthAfrica
UniversityofCanterbury, StewartLawrence NormanWong
NewZealand TheUniversityofWaikato, UniversityofAucklandBusiness
NewZealand School,NewZealand
EDITORIALBOARD AssociateProfessorS.K.Lodhia M.P.Wormald MeditariAccountancyResearch
ChrisAkroyd AssociateProfessor,Universityof UniversityofCapeTown, Vol.22No.1,2014
OregonStateUniversity,USA SouthAustralia,Australia SouthAfrica p.1
©EmeraldGroupPublishingLimited
0249-372X
Thecurrentissueandfulltextarchiveofthisjournalisavailableat
www.emeraldinsight.com/2049-372X.htm
MEDAR The accounting academic
22,1
Grant Samkin and Annika Schneider
Department of Accounting, University of Waikato, Hamilton, New Zealand
2
Abstract
Purpose–This paper aims to consider the accounting academic, the environment in which the
academicoperatesandthechallengestheyface.
Design/methodology/approach–Thispaperexploresanumberofissuesrelatingtotheaccounting
academic.Thefivepapersthatmakeupthespecialissuearelocatedwithinaframeworkwhichisused
toillustratehoweachonecontributestothefield.Thispaperisprimarilydiscursiveinnature.
Findings–Thetheoretical,methodologicalandempiricalapproachesusedinthepapersthatmakeup
this special issue are described. In addition, the paper suggests that the accounting academic will
remainafertileareaforfutureresearch.
Practicalimplications–This portrayal of accounting academics is of interest to accounting
researchers,accountinghistorians,universitymanagersandindividualacademics.
Originality/value–This special issue provides a range of examples of research relevant to the
accountingacademicandsetsanagendaforfutureresearch.
Keywords Autoethnography,Accountingresearch,Self-reflection,Scholarship,Diegesis,
Accountingacademic,Researchoutput,Personalaccounts
PapertypeConceptualpaper
Introduction
Research on the accounting academic is fragmented with a thorough search of the
literature being needed to identify previous contributions. The special issue, which
considers the accounting academic, the environment in which they operate and the
challenges they face, was motivated primarily by what was perceived as the relative
absenceofresearchonthesubjectofthe“accountingacademic”.Aswillbeshownbythe
varietyofcontributionsinthisspecialissue,anumberofapproachesareavailableto
researcherswishingtoengageinthispotentiallyfruitfulareaofstudy.
Otherthanbroadgeneralisationssuchasacademic,professionalqualificationsand,
perhaps, levels of research output, little is known about the accounting academic
“everyperson”.Theseincludequestionssuchas:
• Whatmotivatesindividualstogiveuplucrativeaccountingpracticesorleavethe
profession?
JELclassification–M40,M41
CharldeVilliers,theEditorofMeditariAccountancyResearch,isthankedforprovidingthe
authors with the privilege of editing this first special issue to be published by the journal.
Additionally,StewartLawrenceandBrennanAllenarethankedforthecommentsprovidedon
MeditariAccountancyResearch earlierdraftsofthiseditorial.
Vol.22No.1,2014
pp.2-19 Appreciationisexpressedtothereferees,whoseanonymouscommentsassistedinenhancing
©EmeraldGroupPublishingLimited the quality of this paper. Appreciation is also expressed to Professor Charl de Villiers who
2049-372X
DOI10.1108/MEDAR-05-2014-0041 personallyhandledthereviewprocessforthispaper.
• What is known about the diversity of the individuals engaged in accounting The accounting
academe,thesocialpracticesoftheaccountingacademic,theindividualpressures
academic
theyface?
• Howtheyareovercome?
While answers to some of these questions can be found in the gender and critical
literature,contributionsarelimited.Thepurposeofthisspecialissuethenistoprovide 3
aforumthroughwhichtheaccountingacademiccanbeexplored.Theliteraturereview
thatfollowsisusedtopositionthepapersthatmakeupthisspecialissue.
Institutionalchangestoworkenvironmenthavemajorimpactsonacademics.These
changes impact how individuals undertake the teaching, research and community/
service/administration components of their work, engage with their colleagues and
studentsor,ultimately,whethertheyremainintheacademe.Aschangesinworkimpact
all employees, the institutional changes that have occurred in higher education are
reviewedfirst.ThisreviewwillofnecessitydrawontheworkundertakeninAustralia
andtheUK,asthisisprimarilywherethebulkofthepublishedresearchoriginates.This
setsuptheliteratureusedtohighlightthepressuresfacedbytheaccountingacademic.
The different vehicles of autoethnographies, personal accounts, biographies and
autobiographies used by individuals to communicate their stories, or the stories of
others,toreadersarethenintroduced.Giventhattheaccountingacademicisrequiredto
focusonscholarship,thenotionofscholarshipisdiscussed.
Institutional changes
Sincethe1990s,numerousinstitutionalchangeshaveoccurredamonghighereducation
providers.InanumberofcountriesincludingAustralia,NewZealandandtheUK,key
reforms termed “new public management” were aimed at the privatisation,
commercialisationandcorporatisationofthepublicsector(Parkeretal.,1998;Parker,
2002, 2010, 2011, 2012a, 2012b). Under the new public management reforms, direct
deliveryareassuchaseducation,healthandwelfarewereoutsourced(Parker,2010).
These“newpublicmanagement”reformshavehadaparticularimpactonuniversities.In
thecountriesinwhichtheyhavebeenintroduced,thesereformshaveincluded:
• changinguniversityfundingmodels;
• adoptionofacorporatisedenvironment;
• commercialised education where knowledge has become a privaterevenue
generatingassetandexportproduct;
• evolvingpublicexpectations;
• increasedaccountability;
• increasedcompetitionbetweenuniversitiesandfromprivatesectorproviders;
• deteriorationinstaff/studentratioacrossuniversities;and
• educational massification through customised education (Adams, 1998; Guthrie
and Parker, 2014; Parker, 2002, 2010, 2011, 2012a, 2012b; Parker et al., 1998;
Subramaniam,2003;WrightandChalmers,2010).
Inthismanagerialised,market-basedenvironment,Parkeretal.(1998)arguethatthe
traditional teaching, research, community/service/administration forms of academic
MEDAR labourhavebecomemorehighlystructured,intensifiedandcommodified(Daviesand
Thomas,2002;GuthrieandNeumann,2007;NewmanandGuthrie,2002;Thomasand
22,1
Davies,2002).Thiscommodification:
[…] encompasses the efforts by labour to adapt its work in order to secure the means of
generatingincomeforsupportingitsexistence,aswellastheexternalpressuresdesignedto
redesignworkandtocontrolitsothatlabouroperatesinwaysandproducesoutcomesthat
4 meetmanagerialrequirements(Parkeretal.,1998,p.373).
Accounting academics face additional pressures associated with the research
assessmentexercisesthathavebeenintroducedincountriesincluding,butnotlimited
to,Australia,Italy,HongKong,Singapore,NewZealandandtheUK.Theseresearch
assessment exercises constitute a performance system that measures output against
internationalbenchmarks.Academicsalsofacepressuresassociatedwiththedriveby
senior university management to obtain external accreditation, as it is viewed as an
externalmarkofqualityandaformofpubliclegitimisation(Lightbody,2010a,2010b).
In Australia and New Zealand, this external accreditation is obtained from
organisations such as the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business, a
US-based business school accrediting body, the Association of MBAs and European
QualityImprovementSystem.
Finally, accounting academics face increasing pressures associated with a rapidly
changing discipline. These include the adoption of and frequent amendments
(particularlysurroundingfinancialinstrumentsandgroupaccounting)toInternational
AccountingStandardsandInternationalAuditingStandardsandtheimpactsthatthese
changeshaveonteaching;criticismofthe“stateofwork-ready”accountinggraduates
(Evans et al., 2010; Guthrie et al., 2014); and broadening of accounting work to
encompass aspects of social reporting, corporate governance, sustainability and risk
management(Guthrieetal.,2014).
Pressuresfacingaccountingacademics
Thesechangeshavehadamajorimpactonacademicstaff,andimpedetheirabilityto
maintain an appropriate teaching, research, community/service/administration and
work/life balance. For example, in Australia and New Zealand, changes in the
government funding model have placed pressures on universities to maximise full
fee-paying business students (Evans et al., 2010). This has had a number of
consequences.Theseincludeclasssizesofupto1900inthefirstyear;1,300inthesecond
year;andstudenttostaffratiosof70:1(GuthrieandParker,2014;Guthrieetal.,2014;
James,2008),aswellasalargenumberofinternationalstudentswherethelanguageof
tuitionisnottheirnativelanguage.Thishasresultedinincreasedworkloads(James,
2008;WrightandChalmers,2010)coupledwith“greateraccountabilityacrossarangeof
research and teaching and learning indicators” (Wright and Chalmers, 2010, p. 72).
Research assessment and accreditation exercises have resulted in senior university
management demands for greater research productivity. This has translated into
universitiesrequiringincreasingresearchoutputasnecessaryforcareeradvancement.
Thedemandforincreasedproductivityhasseenfurtherpressurebeingplacedonjunior
staffalreadyburdenedwithdemandingteachingandassociatedadministrativeduties
tocommence,progressandcompletetheirPhDs,aswellasengageinotherresearch.All
outputsand“activities”aresubjecttocontinuousmonitoring(James,2008).
WhileacademicsincountriessuchasAustralia,NewZealandandtheUKhaveto The accounting
deal with corporatised and commercialised university environments and research
academic
assessment and accreditation exercises, their colleagues in developing countries face
verydifferentbutnolesschallengingworkenvironments.Theseinclude:
• largeclasssizes;
• studentsfromdisadvantagededucationalbackgrounds;
5
• lackofteachingresources;
• poorsalaries;
• threatstoacademicfreedom;and
• complyingwithgovernmenttransformationandgrowthstrategies.
Inonesuchdevelopingcountry,SouthAfrica,reformswereundertakentotransformthe
post-apartheid education sector. This included the merger of a number of higher
education providers to create new universities. In addition, a number of institutional
changes have been made that will impact the nature and extent of research being
undertaken. Accounting academics, in particular, are likely to be impacted by these
changes, as they traditionally do not engage in research to the same level as their
colleaguesinAustralia,Europe,NewZealand,theUKandtheUSA.
Thesechangeshavevariouslybeenidentifiedas:
• aspirationsofresearch-ledSouthAfricanuniversitiestoengageinscholarship;
• complyingwithlegislativequalityassuranceobligations;
• introductionofnewfundingformulae;and
• compliancewithDepartmentofEducation’s(2007).
HigherEducationQualificationsFramework,whichrequiresbachelorhonoursdegrees
tocontainaresearchcomponent(Hesketh,2011;vanderSchyf,2008).
ThereisanabsenceofprofessorialstaffinSouthAfricawithextensiveresearchand
publishingexperience(SamkinandSchneider,2014).Asaresult,accountingacademics
indevelopingcountries,includingthoseatSouthAfricanuniversitieswhoattemptto
increase their research output will have to contend with an absence of research
leadership,orwhatIrvineetal.(2010)describeasthe“drought”ofsenioraccounting
academics(Evansetal.,2010).
Autoethnographies, personal accounts and biographies
A number of vehicles exist through which stories or accounts can be communicated.
Theseincludeautoethnographies,personalaccounts,biographiesandautobiographies.
Howthesedifferentvehicleshavebeenusedinaccountingresearchisdetailedbelow.
Autoethnographies
While autoethnographic narratives are seldom used in accounting research (Davie,
2008;Haynes,2006),theyhavefoundtractioninothermanagementdisciplines(Dillon,
2012; Ellis, 2011). Autoethnography is a research approach that describes and
systematicallyanalysespersonalexperiencestounderstandculturalexperience(Davie,
2008;Ellisetal.,2010;Haynes,2006,2011).Autoethnographyisaformofself-reflective
MEDAR autobiographical writing through which the personal is connected to the cultural by
analysingtheselfwithinasocialcontext(Haynes,2011;HaynesandFearfull,2008).
22,1
Essentially, autoethnographies are retrospective narratives or accounts about
personal experiences where the researcher is the participant or the subject of the
research.Assuch,theresearcherbecomesthestoryteller.Inanautoethnography,the
narratives take the form of self-reflections on the processes of personal discovery,
6 makingchoicesand/ortheinteractionswithothers(Davie,2008;Haynes,2006,2011).
Ultimately, the experiences of the researcher inform the account. Autoethnography
facilitates an understanding of subjectivity unavailable through other methods of
research by focussing on the author as the object of the study (Harding et al., 2010).
Autoethnographies can encompass more than traditional writing. Various other art
forms may be used to generate insights, including narratives, autobiographical
vignettes, poetry, stream-of-consciousness, displays of artefacts, photographs,
drawingsandliveperformances(EllingsonandEllis,2008;HaynesandFearfull,2008).
Withinaccounting,studiesincorporatinganautoethnographicelementarelimited.
Haynes and Fearfull (2008) locate their study in gendered relations and position of
women in the academy. Within this location, autobiographical vignettes are used to
“focusthelensofdiscoveryuponourselvesor,perhapsmoreappropriately,ourselves,in
ordertoexploreoursomewhatconflictingidentitypositionsaswomeninaccounting
and management academia” (Haynes and Fearfull, 2008, p. 186). This form of
introspection, they argue, provides the identities and experiences of others to be
understood.Hardingetal.(2010)useethnography,autoethnography,theoriesoftheself
andqueertheorytotellthestoryofwhoistheaccountingandmanagementacademic
who reflects upon the self? Davie’s (2008, p. 1,055) authethnography, grounded in
self-reflectionandcriticaltheory,isalivedaccountofthe“serendipitousandfortuitous
choices”madewhilstundertakingresearchinaccountingforherdoctoralstudiesata
university in the UK. What makes Davie’s (2008) narrative different is that it is
constructed from a multicultural background from within a politically divided
multiracialsocietyinwhichshewasborn,raisedandeducated.Injustifyingwhyher
reconstructionofexperienceswasimportant,Davie(2008,p.1,056)explains:
Thisautoethnographyfurtherbreaksthesilenceabouthowanindividualcomestoadopta
particulartheorisinginaccountingresearch.IncontradistinctiontoLowe(2004)thispaperis
notabouta“toy-horse-like”reactiontoaparticularmethodologicalchoice.Ratherthepaper
aimstospeaktoanaudience“outthere”strugglingtomakesenseofthegreatsuccessstories
far removed from their own experiences. It emphasises that doing accounting research in
searchofnewinsightisaverycomplexandamessyprocessofknowledgeproduction.
Understanding how to evaluate autoethnographic research is important. It is not
possibletoapplythetraditionalmeaningofreliability,generalizabilityandvaliditythat
are usually associated with social science research (Haynes, 2011). As an
autoethnography does not seek an objective truth (Haynes, 2011), alternative
positioning of reliability, generalizability and validity is required. For example,
questionsofreliabilityrefertothenarrator’scredibility.“Couldthenarratorhavehad
theexperiencesdescribed,givenavailable‘factualevidence’”(Ellisetal.,2010)?Validity
referstothefeelingthatitevokesinreaders,“afeelingthattheexperiencedescribedis
lifelike,believableandpossible;afeelingthatwhathasbeenrepresentedcouldbetrue”
(Ellis et al., 2010). Is the story coherent? Can the readers connect with the writers?
Finally,inauthoethnographicresearch,generalizability:
[…] moves from respondents to readers, and is always being tested by readers as they The accounting
determineifastoryspeakstothemabouttheirexperienceoraboutthelivesofothersthey
academic
know(Ellisetal.,2010).
Personalnarrativesoraccounts
Analternativeformofautoethnographyispersonalnarrativesoraccounts.Theseare
7
described by Ellis et al. (2010) as “stories about authors who view themselves as the
phenomenon and write evocative narratives specifically focused on their academic,
research,andpersonallives”.Althoughnotnumerous,anumberofpersonalnarratives
oraccountsappearintheaccountingliterature(Hopkins,2004;Irvine,2003;Laine,2006;
Perrin,1998;Samkin,2011;Stone,1996).
Stone(1996)providesapersonalaccountofmanagingthetenureprocess.Becauseof
hisloveofskiing,Stone(1996)usesthemetaphor“dancewithamountain”todescribe
hisexperiencewiththetenureprocess.Stoneexplainsthatalthoughmountainsappear
stable, immovable and invariant, the reality is very different. Stone draws on his
experienceasanewPhDgraduatetomakesuggestionsonhowassistantprofessorscan
managethetenureprocess.Perrin(1998)looksbackovernearly25yearsofpublicsector
accountingintheUKduringtheperiodwhenaccrualsaccountingbegantoreplacecash
accounting in the operational branches of the public sector. Irvine (2003) provides a
personal account of some of the confidentiality issues arising during a qualitative
researchprojectwithinalargereligious/charitableorganisation,whileHopkins(2004)
describes her account of taking a case for sexual discrimination against Price
Waterhousewhenshefailedtomakepartner.Laine’s(2006)accountdetailshispersonal
experiences of taking his first steps in the academy as a Social and Environmental
Accountingresearcher,whileSamkin(2011)documentshisexperienceofnavigatingthe
journalreviewprocess.
Whilepersonalnarrativesandaccountsareusuallynon-fictional,fictionalstoriesare
consideredavaluableresearchtoolinthat“literaturecanconveyinsights[…]inaway
thatis[…]vividandmemorable,[and]expandsunderstandingofdeeperandsubtler
realms […]” (Jermier and Domagalski, 2000, p. 62). Fictional narratives can be told
throughadiegesis,(“narrative”inGreek).Adiegesisisaformoffictionalstorytelling
that presents a view of the world as experienced by the characters in situations and
eventsofthenarrative(Abbott,2002).Thenarrator,whocanspeakfromthe“inside”as
aparticularcharacter,ortheinvisiblenarratororanall-knowingnarratorwhospeaks
from the “outside” and who is entirely separate from the events, situations and
charactersinthestory,tellsthenarrative.Theuseofdiegesisinaccountingresearchis
limited. One example is that of Burritt (2012) who makes use of personal reflection
through a diegesis to consider the developments in relation to the content of a 2012
specialissueofAccounting,Auditing&AccountabilityJournal,andinahypodiegesisto
reflect on the relationship between academic outpourings and practitioners in the
context of environmental performance and accountability relating to a 1997 special
issueofAccounting,Auditing&AccountabilityJournalwhichheedited.
Biographiesandautobiographies
Much like individual biographies detailed in the Accounting Hall of Fame (The Ohio
State University, 2014), obituaries in academic journals celebrate the impact the
deceasedhadonthediscipline,aswellastheaccomplishmentsandthecontributions
MEDAR theymadetothescholarshipofaccounting(Burows,1997;Grahametal.,2011;Guthrie
andParker,2010;Klumpes,2003;MladenovicandPoullaos,2005;Power,2000).These
22,1
pieces serve to remind readers that as an academic discipline, accounting has been
blessedwithamultitudeofoutstandingscholars.WhiletheAccountingHallofFame
primarily comprises deceased North American academics, it is also important to
recognisethecontributionofotheracademicsthathavemadeasignificantcontribution
8 to,aswellasexpanding,theboundariesofthediscipline.
While biographies and obituary pieces are useful, they are in reality perhaps best
described as ex post facto narratives of the accomplishments and the research and
teachingcontributionsofindividuals.Detailedbiographiesthatevaluatetheextentand
contributiontoaccountingandorganisationallifeofindividualsarelimited.Thosethat
havebeencompletedrelatetoinfluentialfigures(Matthews,2000;Parker,1984,1994;
Spruill and Wootton, 1995). Nevertheless, the potential exists for biographical work,
particularly focusing on those who may have been marginalised or excluded from
accountingresearch(HammondandSikka,1996).
Autobiographies are, however, more limited, especially those by individuals still
entrenchedwithinanacademiccareer.Althoughresearchthatmakesuseofnarrative
and biographical methods is increasing in the social sciences, it remains limited in
accounting. An exception is Haynes (2006) who makes use of an autobiographical
narrativetoresearchthelivedexperienceofaccountants,drawnfromherexperienceof
accounting,academiaandmotherhood.However,thenatureofthisparticularnarrative
meansthatitformsonlyasmallportionofheroverallstory.
The nature of scholarship
Anacademic’scurrencyandrelevanceissustainedthroughtheactivitiesincorporated
withinthecommunity/service/administrationcomponentoftheirwork.Thisincludes
consulting, involvement with standard setting, policy formulation and analysis and
involvementwiththeprofession.However,thisisnotanacademicscholarship.Gray
et al. (2002, p. 12) describe scholarship as encompassing “the individual’s pursuit of
learningandunderstandingthroughformalresearch,reading,reflection,discussionand
writing”.
Scholarship is an integral part of academic life. Scholarship embodies a thirst for
knowledge.Itinvolvesasystematicsearch.AsGrayetal.(2002,pp.9-10)soeloquently
explain,scholarshiprequires:
[…]theaspirationtopursueeruditionandthe(arguablyunachievable)goalofbecominga
learnedpersonisasinenonquaofacademiclife.Withoutit,teachingfallsintoSterling’s(1973)
criticism that all that is taught is prior practice, and universities fail to offer any
counter-hegemonicmoment(sic)butbecome,rather,manufacturersofmassdegree-bearing
students.
Scholarshipisanintellectualquestthatrequiresbothinspirationandinvolvementor
socialisation within an academic community (Irvine et al., 2010). Most importantly,
however,thevalueofscholarshipistestedandconfirmedbyitsdisseminationthrough
teaching, workshops, conversations, conferences and various forms of publications
(Grayetal.,2002).
While an important aspect of academic work, it is important to recognise that
scholarshipencompassesmorethanteaching.InSouthAfrica,theprofessionalbody,
the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (SAICA), has entered into the
debateastowhatconstitutesscholarship.Whiletheyacceptthatscholarshipincludes The accounting
peer-reviewedandprofessionaljournalpublications,theybelievethatitalsoincludes
academic
consulting work and participation in standard setting (Olivier, 2014). This is a view
supported by a number of academics in that country who argue for a redefinition of
scholarshiptoinclude:
• contributiontopolicydocuments;
9
• theaccountingstandardsettingprocess;and
• revisiting definitions underpinning structures of financial accounting (Hesketh,
2011;Lubbe,2013).
Thatis,essentiallynarrowingthedefinitionofscholarshiptomerelya“contributionto
accountingknowledgeandcapacitytopromotedefensibleimprovementstofinancial
reporting”(Hesketh,2011,p.27).
However, danger exists in enabling professional bodies, firms and others with
narrowself-intereststodefinescholarship.Forexample,professionalbodiescontrolthe
accreditationofuniversitiesthroughtheimpositionofcurriculaandsyllabithatrequire
anarrowfocusontechnicalteachingtodevelopthe“high-levelfinancialskills”needed
byacountry.Tohelpthemachievethis,theprofessionattemptstodepictaccountingas
a value-free, neutral portrayal of reality or stated another way as impartial and
independent (Davie, 2008). This has been achieved according to Sikka and Willmott
(1997,p.158)throughtheaccountingprofessionsurroundingitself:
[…] with narratives of even-handed public behaviour, professional ethics and discipline
through which it rehearses and sustains the dominant fable of “progress” embedded in
accountinghistory.Inthisfable,heroicprofessionalbodiesandtheirleadersbattleagainstthe
oddsand,amidstthechaos,introduceorderandprotectthepublicfromdiversetroublesand
dangers.
Some,however,considerthisportrayaltobeamyth.Anumberofacademicshavebecome
increasingly critical of existing accounting practice and, in particular, of the accounting
profession.Theseindividualshavedisseminatedtheirscholarshipthroughthemediumof
the mass media as well as peer reviewed journal publications to expose the accounting
professionaspurveyorsof“darkpractices”(Cousinsetal.,1998;Cousinsetal.,2004;Mitchell
andSikka,2002,2011;Sikka,2013,2014;TaxJusticeNetwork,2014).Scholarshipshould,
therefore,wherenecessary,incorporateacriticalcomponent.Thiscouldincludeacritical
evaluation of the role of the accounting profession and its related disciplines, such as
auditing,insociety(Cousinsetal.,1998;Cousinsetal.,2004;MitchellandSikka,2002,2011;
Sikka,2013,2014;TaxJusticeNetwork,2014).Thiscriticalevaluationshould,accordingto
Samkin(2010,p.238),includeanexaminationof:
[…] the behaviour of individual accountants and accounting firms, schemes sold by
accountingfirmsaimedatreducingtaxes,accountingfirminvolvementinmoneylaundering
activities, the lobbying of accounting standard setting bodies by accounting firms, and
corporateabuseofaccountingtechniques.
The danger of professional bodies such as the SAICA together with those large
professional firms that sponsor chairs of accounting, entering into the debate on the
natureofscholarship,isthataccreditationorfundingmaybeusedtoinfluencewhat
constitutesscholarship.InSouthAfrica,theaccountingprofession’scontrolofcurricula