Accounting and the state – an introduction

Abstract

This special double issue of Accounting History presents 10 articles that were presented as conference papers at the sixth Accounting History International Conference (6AHIC) held in Wellington, New Zealand during 18–20 August 2010. The choice of a conference theme is often based on a connection with the location of the conference and/or acknowledged gaps in the literature. For the 6AHIC, both were the case. The conference venue was only a few minutes away from the heart of New Zealand government, and as noted in Nola Buhr’s plenary presentation and the article included in this special issue, the New Zealand government was the first government to adopt accrual accounting for whole of government reporting. Yet more importantly the relationship between the state and accounting is under-represented in the accounting history literature (Funnell, 2007). The 10 articles in this issue of Accounting History reflect aspects of the diversity of the interaction between accounting and the state, as well as the diversity of approaches to accounting history (see Gaffikin, 2011). The articles cover topics from both the technical and the contextual perspectives. They introduce research from nine jurisdictions: Australia, Canada, Fiji, France, Italy, New Zealand, Spain, the United Kingdom, and the USA, and span seven centuries. The leading issue for public sector financial reporting has been the choice of the basis of reporting, specifically cash or accrual, or a modified form of either. Buhr (2012) uses a comparative international history approach to understand how and why five Anglo-American governments sought to introduce accrual accounting in various manners for financial reporting. The author locates the change within the broader understanding of the New Public Management (NPM) reforms beginning in the early 1980s. Buhr also looks back before this time period to earlier calls for the introduction of an accrual basis, reminding us of the futility of the search for origins in accounting history. The changes introduced to accounting, such as the accrual basis, the increased availability and use of accounting information, and the implications of such changes, are fertile areas for research in accounting history. Narayan (2012) and Sharma, Lawrence and Fowler (2012) investigate the impact of the use of accounting technology, including the accrual basis of accounting as a part of NPM. Narayan traces attempts at the commercialization of academic research in universities and the impact of accounting on those attempts. Tracking the changes over a period of 30 years, Narayan illustrates how accounting technology is not neutral in the implementation of government policy, but rather is implicated in the outcomes. In this particular case, Narayan shows how accounting can be an aid in the drive for the commercialization of academic research. Sharma et al. (2012) 448323 ACH173-410.1177/1032373212448323Colquhoun and ParkerAccounting History 2012