Storing and shielding: financial management behaviour in a church organization

Lightbody, Margaret

doi:10.1108/09513570010323245

Cited by 63 publications

(95 citation statements)

References 18 publications

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“…Booth (1993, p. 56) concurred with Hinings and Foster (1973) that if funds are short, there is a tendency to "conserve and control" them, while Lightbody (2000) identified "storing" mechanisms to conserve funds, and "shielding" procedures to hide them from view. Laughlin (1988) likewise observed that resistance to the use of accounting in the Church of England could be reduced during times of financial stress.…”

Section: Organizational Resourcesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Balancing money and mission in a local church budget

Irvine

2005

Accounting, Auditing &Amp; Accountability Journal

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Purpose. This study of budgeting practices and attitudes to budgeting in a local church uses framework to consider the potential conflict between the "sacred" agenda of the church and the "secular" nature of accounting. Design/methodology/approach. Over a six month period, the author conducted a series of semi-structured interviews with key church leaders, and studied financial reports and the minutes of church meetings. Findings. Clergy and lay people alike, far from viewing accounting as an unwelcome intrusion into their church's sacred agenda, integrated belief in their church's mission with the need to raise and manage the money necessary to mobilise that mission. Research limitations/implications.Religion and religious organizations occupy a greater importance in society than academic accounting research would indicate, and this paper represents a response to that academic blind spot. Opportunities abound for further studies of the contribution accounting makes to other religious organizations, and to non-profit organizations whose goals are not primarily wealth creation. Practical implications. All organizations, even those with a sacred agenda, need to confront the reality of money and accounting if they are to achieve success. If they are unable to obtain or account for the resources they need for their mission, their ability to fulfil that mission is likely to be compromised. Originality/value. By portraying accounting as an enabling and liberating contributor to a church's fulfilment of its spiritual mission, this study demonstrates that attitudes to accounting are inextricably intertwined with religious beliefs, and that accounting can be a valuable tool in a cooperative attempt to implement a spiritual vision.

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Section: Organizational Resourcesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Balancing money and mission in a local church budget

Irvine

2005

Accounting, Auditing &Amp; Accountability Journal

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“…Mais il nous semble que l'étude des rapports entre les managers financiers et les défenseurs de la mission dans une organisation religieuse (Lightbody, 2000) présente un caractère faussement novateur. En effet, cette question, formulée par Laughlin (1988) et Booth (1993, est devenue centrale dans les recherches sur la comptabilité des organisations religieuses (McPhail, et al, 2004(McPhail, et al, , 2005.…”

Section: Des Questions De Recherche Nouvelles Et D'autres Faussement unclassified

“…Six articles optent pour une méthodologie par entretiens (Lightbody, 2000, Norris, 2002, Goddard, 2004, Goddard et Assad, 2006, Solomon et Solomon, 2006, Efferin et Hopper, 2007 Lorsque la pratique de la grounded theory consiste seulement en la conduite d'entretiens, ceux-ci sont généralement enregistrés et retranscrits (Lightbody, 2000 ;Norris, 2002 ;Goddard, 2004 ;Goddard et Assad, 2006 ;Solomon et Solomon, 2006). Lorsque l'enregistrement n'est pas permis, les réponses aux questions font l'objet d'une première synthèse avant d'être complétées par d'autres entretiens (Efferin et Hopper, 2007).…”

Section: Les éTudes Par Entretiensunclassified

“…En soulignant le fossé entre la mission sacrée de l'église et le caractère séculier des comportements de protection des ressources, Lightbody (2000) enrichit la théorie du fossé sacré-séculier telle que découverte par Laughlin (1988) et Booth (1993. (Roberts, 1991(Roberts, , 1996, Goddard et Assad envisagent que des travaux ultérieurs puissent enrichir et approfondir les leurs.…”

Section: Des Théories Substantives En Devenirunclassified

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Grounded theory : quels usages dans les recherches en contrôle de gestion ?

Joannidès¹,

Berland²

2008

Comptabilité Contrôle Audit

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Résumé :Cet article a pour objet de présenter les principaux enjeux liés à la production de connaissances avec la grounded theory en contrôle de gestion. La recherche est une étude bibliographique confrontant les pratiques de la grounded theory avec les recommandations de ses fondateurs (Glaser et Strauss, 1967;Strauss et Corbin, 1998). Après avoir présenté les principes et usages de la grounded theory, nous montrons la diversité d'utilisation de cette méthodologie dans les recherches en contrôle de gestion à travers onze articles revendiquant ce positionnement. Mots-clés: grounded theory, connaissance, recherche qualitative, conceptualisation, théorisationGrounded theory: what uses in management accounting research? Abstract:The present paper draws on the main issues in the production of scientific knowledge based upon grounded theory in management accounting research. This piece of work is a bibliographic study confronting grounded theory practices with the expectations of its founders (Glaser et Strauss, 1967;Strauss et Corbin, 1998). After we shed light on the principles and issues in the discovery of a grounded theory, we bring insights into the variety of uses thereof throughout eleven articles claiming that positioning.

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“…This sacred-secular paradigm has been influential in attempting to understand the role of accounting and accountability practices within religious bodies despite criticism of its theoretical framing (Hardy and Ballis 2005;Jacobs 2005), alleged internal inconsistency (Hardy and Ballis 2005) and doubts about its ability to provide scholars with the means to interpret the specific context of a variety of religious institutions (Abdul-Raham and Goddart 1998;Cordery 2006;Ezzamel 2005;Fonfeder et al 2003;Jacobs and Walker 2005;Lightbody 2000;Irvine 2005). …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Rethinking the sacred and secular divide

Bigoni

Gagliardo

Funnell

2013

Accounting, Auditing &Amp; Accountability Journal

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Abstract:Purpose -Informed by the work of Laughlin and Booth, the paper analyses the role of accounting and accountability practices within the 15 th century Roman Catholic Church, more specifically within the Diocese of Ferrara (northern Italy), in order to determine the presence of a sacred-secular dichotomy. Pope Eugenius IV had embarked upon a comprehensive reform of the Church to counter the spreading moral corruption within the clergy and the subsequent disaffection with the Church by many believers. The reforms were notable not only for the Pope's determination to restore the moral authority and power of the Church but for the essential contributions of 'profane' financial and accounting practices to the success of the reforms. Design/methodology/approach -Original 15th century Latin documents and account books of the Diocese of Ferrara are used to highlight the link between the new sacred values imposed by Pope Eugenius IV's reforms and accounting and accountability practices.Findings -The documents reveal that secular accounting and accountability practices were not regarded as necessarily antithetical to religious values, as would be expected by Laughlin and Booth. Instead, they were seen to assume a role which was complementary to the Church's religious mission. Indeed, they were essential to its sacred mission during a period in which the Pope sought to arrest the moral decay of the clergy and reinstate the Church's authority.Research implications/limitations -The paper shows that the sacred-secular dichotomy cannot be considered as a priori valid in space and time. There is also scope for examining other Italian dioceses where there was little evidence of Pope Eugenius' reforms.Originality/value -The paper presents a critique of the sacred-secular divide paradigm by considering an under-researched period and a non Anglo-Saxon context.

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Storing and shielding: financial management behaviour in a church organization

Cited by 63 publications

References 18 publications

Balancing money and mission in a local church budget

Balancing money and mission in a local church budget

Grounded theory : quels usages dans les recherches en contrôle de gestion ?

Rethinking the sacred and secular divide

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