The emancipatory potential of counter accounting: A Žižekian critique

Tweedie, Jonathan

doi:10.1016/j.cpa.2022.102505

Cited by 21 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 81 publications

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“…Following Contu (2018), call for academics to continually question moves towards marketisation via their administrative roles, and also to defend the right to express academic freedom in the classroom, as well as through their writing. This may be an Sisyphean struggle (Camus, 1955) and potentially a one that is attritional, or indeed inevitably futile (Bigoni and Mohammed, 2023;Tweedie, 2022Tweedie, , 2023, but paraphrasing Thomson (2013), if we simply propose to do nothing (cry into our pints), then opportunities to provoke the Real in accounting education (and encourage others to do so), and consequently offer an alternative to capitalist realism. may become fewer and further between.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

This is not an exit: accounting education and attempting to escape the capitalist realist “cage”

Yates,

Al Mahameed

2023

ARJ

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Purpose Through this reflexive, theoretically informed polemical piece, this paper aims to seek to reflect on the role of accounting education in United Kingdom Higher Education (UKHE). The authors reignite an old, but pertinent debate, whether accounting graduates should be educated to be accountants or receive a holistic, critical education. Design/methodology/approach The authors adopt a theoretical position drawing on the work of Slavoj Žižek and Mark Fisher, and their fusion of Lacanian psychoanalysis and Marxism, in particular Fisher’s (2009) conceptualisation of “capitalist realism” to take a critical standpoint on the effects that UKHE marketisation is having on the teaching of accounting and other business-related disciplines. Findings The authors outline four key aspects of where accounting education in UKHE is influenced by capitalist realism, as a result of the marketisation of UKHE. Research limitations/implications The paper is a reflexive polemic and so is limited by this written style and presentation. Social implications The authors argue that capitalist realism is a dominant theme that influences accounting education. They propose that universities now, more than ever, must focus on their societal duty to foster critical viewpoints in their graduates and dispose of a model that is subject to capitalist realism ontology. Originality/value The theoretical stance allows for a potentially deeper consideration of issues surrounding marketisation of higher education, from the micro level of social interaction (that of the accounting academic and their impact/perceptions of the reality).

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

This is not an exit: accounting education and attempting to escape the capitalist realist “cage”

Yates,

Al Mahameed

2023

ARJ

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“…Over the last forty years, neoliberalism has been the dominant force with its relentless commodification and exploitation of people and the planet (Andrew and Baker, 2020; Tweedie, 2023). In the context of the extractive industries, “[T]imber, oil, gold and other natural extractives become economic objects whose harvesting is justified in the name of economic growth” (Apostol et al , 2023, p. 1).…”

Section: Silent Shadow and Counter Accountsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…George et al (2023, p. 2) therefore argue that as a result, traditional accounting as well as ESG accounting have “failed to catalyse responsible governance and accountability”. Developments, such as integrated reporting, continue to provide a fallacy of corporate benevolence and reinforce a self-serving shareholder bias and privileged view of sustainability (Vinnari and Laine, 2017; Morrison and Lowe, 2021; George et al , 2023; Tweedie, 2023). Indeed, Tweedie (2023, p. 3) is more critical in arguing that:…”

Section: Silent Shadow and Counter Accountsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Developments, such as integrated reporting, continue to provide a fallacy of corporate benevolence and reinforce a self-serving shareholder bias and privileged view of sustainability (Vinnari and Laine, 2017; Morrison and Lowe, 2021; George et al , 2023; Tweedie, 2023). Indeed, Tweedie (2023, p. 3) is more critical in arguing that:…”

Section: Silent Shadow and Counter Accountsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…To counter this corporate view, Vinnari and Laine (2017, p. 1) call for alternative or external accounts of organisational and institutional activities, “both to counter hegemonic discourses and to create new ways of seeing, [with] a potential [for] emancipatory change in societies” (see also George et al , 2023; Tweedie, 2023; Andrew and Baker, 2020; Tregidga, 2017). Such a change needs to advocate accounting’s potential to help “overturn these injustices” emanating from capitalist exploitation and domination in which has increasingly been used (Tweedie, 2023, p. 2).…”

Section: Silent Shadow and Counter Accountsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Accounting in and by the extractive industries: development of a conceptual framework and avenues for future research

Samkin,

Mihret,

Lemma

2024

MEDAR

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Purpose We develop a conceptual framework as a basis for thinking about the impact of extractive industries and emancipatory potential of alternative accounts. We then review selected alternative accounts literature on some contemporary issues surrounding the extractive industries and identify opportunities for accounting, auditing, and accountability research. We also provide an overview of the other contributions in this special issue. Design/methodology/approach Drawing on alternative accounts from the popular and social media as well as the alternative accounting literature, this primarily discursive paper provides a contemporary literature review of identified issues within the extractive industries highlighting potential areas for future research. The eight papers that make up the special issue are located within a conceptual framework is employed to illustrate each paper’s contribution to the field. Findings While accounting has a rich literature covering some of the issues detailed in this paper, this has not necessarily translated to the extractive industries. Few studies in accounting have got “down and dirty” so to speak and engaged directly with those impacted by companies operating in the extractive industries. Those that have, have focused on specific areas such as the Niger Delta. Although prior studies in the social governance literature have tended to focus on disclosure issues, it is questionable whether this work, while informative, has resulted in any meaningful environmental, social or governance (ESG) changes on the part of the extractive industries. Research limitations/implications The extensive extractive industries literature both from within and outside the accounting discipline makes a comprehensive review impractical. Drawing on both the accounting literature and other disciplines, this paper identifies areas that warrant further investigation through alternative accounts. Originality/value This paper and other contributions to this special issue provide a basis and an agenda for accounting scholars seeking to undertake interdisciplinary research into the extractive industries.

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Authoritarian Neoliberalism and Asylum Seekers: the Silencing of Accounting and Accountability in Offshore Detention Centres

George,

Twyford,

Tanima

2024

J Bus Ethics

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This paper examines how accounting can both entrench and challenge an inhumane and costly neoliberal policy—namely, the Australian government’s offshore detention of asylum seekers. Drawing on Bruff, Rethinking Marxism 26:113–129 (2014) and Smith, Competition & Change 23:192–217 (2019), we acknowledge that the neoliberalism underpinning immigration policies and the practices related to asylum seekers takes an authoritarian tone. Through the securitisation and militarisation of the border, the Australian state politicises and silences marginalised social groups such as asylum-seekers. Studies have exposed accounting as a technology that upholds neoliberalism by representing policy as objective and factual. Curiously, there has been a wilful intention by successive Australian governments to silence the accounting for offshore detention. We seek to demystify this unaccounting and unaccountability by exploring counter-accounts produced by meso-level organisations that support asylum seekers. We apply a close-reading method in analysing limited governmental accounts and various counter-accounts to demonstrate how counter-accounts give visibility to practices that an authoritarian neoliberal regime has obfuscated. We also reflect on the potential for counter-accounting to foster broader social change by holding the Australian government accountable to moral and ethical standards of care for human life. This paper considers the intersections between accounting and authoritarian neoliberalism and presents counter-accounts as mechanisms that can challenge these neoliberal norms.

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The emancipatory potential of counter accounting: A Žižekian critique

Cited by 21 publications

References 81 publications

This is not an exit: accounting education and attempting to escape the capitalist realist “cage”

This is not an exit: accounting education and attempting to escape the capitalist realist “cage”

Accounting in and by the extractive industries: development of a conceptual framework and avenues for future research

Authoritarian Neoliberalism and Asylum Seekers: the Silencing of Accounting and Accountability in Offshore Detention Centres

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