Management Control Systems are intended to affect behaviour of people within organisations in order to ensure that particular aims and objectives are achieved. This paper considers the Management Control Systems that are developed for the management of research within universities. A key purpose is to explore the internal control systems developed to manage research within university UK Business and Management Schools, in response to externally imposed Management Control Systems. The paper considers the Research Excellence Framework and the previous Research Assessment Exercises as externally imposed Management Control Systems and examines university organisational reactions to this. The paper builds on previous literature that has identified perverse outcomes from the use of performance management systems (a particular form of management control) within organisations. It analyses the resistance and coping strategies that result from the imposition of a measurement system. In particular, the paper considers the extent to which academics have developed their own measurement strategies and raises the possibility that these contribute to even greater control over individual academics. The paper draws on Bourdieu's concept of "symbolic violence" to demonstrate how individual attitudes and behaviour may contribute to the use of dysfunctional management control systems. The paper offers a research agenda for empirically investigating these issues further.

Purpose – This paper advocates for critical accounting’s contribution to immigration deliberations as part of its agenda for advancing social justice. The purpose of this paper is to illustrate accounting as implicated in immigration policies of three advanced economies. Design/methodology/approach – The authors suggest that neoliberal immigration policies are operationalized through the responsibilization of individuals, corporations and universities. By examining three immigration policies from the USA, Canada and the UK, the paper clarifies how accounting technologies facilitate responsibilization techniques, making immigration governable. Additionally, by employing immigrant narratives as counter accounts, the impacts of immigrant lived experiences can be witnessed. Findings – Accounting upholds neoliberal principles of life by expanding market mentalities and governance, through technologies of measurement, reports, audits and surveillance. A neoliberal strategy of responsibilization contributes to divesting authority for immigration policy in an attempt to erase the social and moral agency of immigrants, with accounting integral to this process. However the social cannot be eradicated as the work illustrates in the narratives and counter accounts that immigrants create. Research limitations/implications – The work reveals the illusion of accounting as neutral. As no single story captures the nuances and complexities of immigration practices, further exploration is encouraged. Originality/value – The work is a unique contribution to the underdeveloped study of immigration in critical accounting. By unmasking accounting’s role and revealing techniques underpinning immigration discourses, enhanced ways of researching immigration are possible.

The purpose of this paper is to ascertain how upward accountability processes can be enabling in, or constraining to, the effective deployment of development aid funding. Methodology: The paper derives its primary insights from in-depth interviews and focus groups with nongovernmental organization (NGO) fieldworkers working and delivering development aid in Northern Ghana. It analyses inductively the perspectives of fieldworkers to explain their experiences of upward accountability. Findings: The fieldworkers' perception of upward accountability was mainly one of external control, in response to which they enacted a skilful form of compliance accountability. This perception of control failed to stifle their initiative and intrinsic commitment to beneficiaries. The fieldworkers craved 'conversations for accountability', in which they had a voice in the development of upward accountability metrics, thereby enabling them to fulfil their sense of felt responsibility to beneficiaries. While aspects of 'conversations for accountability' were emerging in fieldworker-funder interactions, it was unclear to what extent funders were committed to further advancing them. Overall, our analysis unveils how felt responsibility mediates for, and partly diminishes, the perceived negative impacts on aid effectiveness of upward accountability processes informed by a focus on control. Originality: We examine the potential of upward accountability processes using in-depth analyses of the actual experiences of those involved in delivering NGO services at the grassroots level. We contribute to emerging work in this vein by enriching our understanding of local constituencies' experiences of accountability processes more generally, especially the impact these mechanisms have on NGO operational activities. We also unveil the mediating role fieldworkers' 'felt responsibility' to beneficiaries' plays in moderating the perceived negative impacts on aid effectiveness of upward accountability processes.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to offer a retrospective and prospective analysis of the themes explored in the 2006 Accounting, Auditing and Accountability Journal special issue on non-governmental organisation (NGO) accountability. Design/methodology/approach The paper is a reflective review essay. Findings The paper outlines how a number of themes in the 2006 special issue addressing downward accountability, hierarchical accountability and management control have been subsequently developed in a selection of papers from the accounting literature. The development of these themes leads to several suggestions for future research in NGO accountability. Originality/value The paper offers a systematic, original perspective on recent developments in certain areas of the field of NGO accountability.

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