Knowing “the price of everything and the value of nothing”: accounting for heritage assets

Abstract

If you would like to write for this, or any other Emerald publication, then please use our Emerald for Authors service information about how to choose which publication to write for and submission guidelines are available for all. Please visit www.emeraldinsight.com/authors for more information. About Emerald www.emeraldinsight.comEmerald is a global publisher linking research and practice to the benefit of society. The company manages a portfolio of more than 290 journals and over 2,350 books and book series volumes, as well as providing an extensive range of online products and additional customer resources and services.Emerald is both COUNTER 4 and TRANSFER compliant. The organization is a partner of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and also works with Portico and the LOCKSS initiative for digital archive preservation. AbstractPurpose -This paper aims to examine the conceptual arguments surrounding accounting for heritage assets and the resistance by some New Zealand museums to a mandatory valuing of their holdings. Design/methodology/approach -Evidence was derived from museum annual reports, interviews and personal communications with representatives of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of New Zealand (ICANZ) and a range of New Zealand museums. Findings -ICANZ's requirement that heritage assets be accounted for in a manner similar to other assets is shown as deriving from a managerialist rationality which, in espousing sector neutrality, assumes an unproblematic stance to the particular nature and circumstances of museums and their holdings. Resisting the imposition of the standard, New Zealand's regional museums evince an identity tied more strongly to notions of aesthetic, cultural and social value implicit in curatorship, than to a concern with the economic value of their holdings. Museum managers and accountants prefer to direct their attention to what they see as more vitally important tasks related to the conservation, preservation and maintenance of heritage assets, rather than to divert scarce funds to what they see as an academic exercise in accounting. Originality/value -The paper points to some of the difficulties inherent in the application of a one-size-fits-all application of an accounting standard to entities and assets differentiated in their purpose and essence.

Museum and art gallery experience space characteristics: an entertaining show or a contemplative bathe?

“…This is sometimes presented as a confl ict between traditional views of worthiness in a continued process of conservation of authentic materials for the purpose of refl ective sociocultural learning -herein considered as a cultural 'bathing' effect for visitors out of their everyday experience -as opposed to modernist views that museums should alter their approach to be more entertaining and accessible (often through the adoption of new technology), deemed to be relevant to integration within current everyday lifestyles and behaviours. Although there have been evident attempts to reach a balanced view by some of the debate participants (Gilmore and Rentschler, 2002), the two sides can often be perceived as taking mutually exclusive positions in purpose, design, funding, activity and desired outcomes between, on the one side, a strong priority given to culture and custodianship concerns within a largely humanistic, learning orientation (Hewison, 1987;Fowler, 1992;Goulding, 1999Goulding, , 2000aGoulding, , 2000bHooper et al, 2005) and, on the other, to predominantly commercial and managerialist concerns within a technologically up to date, marketing orientation (Cossons, 1985;Hall, 1997;Lennon and Graham, 2001;Carmen and José, 2008).…”

Accounting for Heritage, Cultural and Community Assets – Alternative Metrics from a New Zealand Māori Educational Institution

“…Prior to the 1980s most public NFP entities were subject to only limited reporting obligations regarding their functions of stewardship of HCA (Easton, 1997;Lehman, 2001;Hooper & Kearins, 2005). Commonly, they were required to account for funds employed in the acquisition, maintenance, extension, replacement, and disposal of such assets, and to report on their 'operations' for specified stakeholders (usually limited to government ministries), using a range of means for 'valuing' the HCA held under their stewardship.…”

Accounting for heritage assets: Does measuring economic value ‘kill the cat’?

“…There exists considerable scepticism about measuring heritage assets for inclusion on financial statements. Hooper, Kearins and Green (2005) in a study of museums in New Zealand found that museum managers sought to reflect curatorship values in their annual reports and rejected the application of accounting standards requiring the inclusion of heritage assets.…”