The spatial downgrading of accounting clerks: the case of Pont-à-Mousson

Abstract

Research into accountancy has concentrated largely on professional accountants and has tended to ignore accounting clerks. Based on a micro-historical approach and the case of a French company as a starting point, this study explores the evolution of workspace and demonstrates how the space allocated to accountants changed during the inter-war period. We adopt Bourdieu's notion of social space to bring together spatial practices and overhead cost calculations, and Foucault's analysis of space to define office space mobility. This work sheds light on the influence of Taylorism on the accounting world, how it affected accounting clerks and, finally, the social downgrading that resulted from the reconfiguration of workspaces. This research contributes to the history of the workspace and to the history of the separation between accounting clerks and chartered accountants.