No accounting for risk

At the present time, the relation between accounting praxis and risk is not well understood. Accounting praxis does not appear to regard the risk it identifies with its activities as being different from 'objective risk' - the concept of risk found in positive financial and accounting research. Instead accounting praxis (as reflected in case studies, surveys and other empirical studies) reveal a collection of different, sometimes contradictory, conceptions and 'taken for granted' understandings of risk that are invoked and applied on an ad hoc, case by case basis. The aim of this paper is to demonstrate that the conceptual disarray in accounting for risk is both costly and unnecessary. Taking an interdisciplinary approach to risk research, the authors review developments in risk thinking at the end of the 20th Century and highlight a way forward for accounting through New Paradigm Risk (NPR). Various illustrations and case study examples are drawn upon to reflect the relevance of NPR to accounting praxis

Accounting for human rights : doxic health and safety practices - the accounting lesson from ICL

This paper is concerned with a specific human right - the right to work in a safe environment. It sets out a case for developing a new form of account of health and safety in any organisational setting. It draws upon the theoretical insights of Pierre Bourdieu taking inspiration from his assertion that in order to understand the "logic" of the worlds we live in we need to immerse ourselves into the particularity of an empirical reality. In this case the paper, analyses a preventable industrial disaster which occurred in Glasgow, Scotland which killed nine people and injured 33 others. From this special case of what is possible, the paper unearths the underlying structures of symbolic violence of the UK State, the Health and Safety Executive and capital with respect to health and safety at work. While dealing with one specific country (Scotland), the analysis can be used to question health and safety regimes and other forms of symbolic violence across the globe

KPMG's True Value methodology : a critique of economic reasoning on the value companies create and reduce for society

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to constructively critiquing KPMG’s “True Value methodology” which seeks to quantify in financial terms the value companies create or reduce for society.Design/ methodology/approach: This paper is based on a review of documents produced by KPMG detailing its methodology and corporate reports in the public domain of the True Value methodology applied in practice. The critique is divided into two sections. The first section reviews KPMGs methodological view of a bounded economic reality and offers potential starting points and limitations for a conceptual framing of the ‘methodology’. Practical insights on applying the methodology are offered in the second section. Findings The True Value methodology helps its producers understand the potential risk to future earnings posed by current externalities being internalised. KPMG’s socio-economic framing of future scenarios and financial valuation of environmental and social impacts is limited to a standardised commercial viewpoint. Potential opportunities exist for producers to involve stakeholders in the application of the methodology to form a more inclusive and pluralist conception of risk and values for social and environmental impacts. Originality/ value A constructive critique of this contemporary, financial practice of accounting for externalities developed by KMPG. Practical implications: Offers timely insights for companies using and considering the use of the “True Value” methodology and stakeholders considering their engagement in the application process and/or use of its findings

Corporate environmental performance considerations within bank lending processes : the social construction of risk perception.

SIGLEAvailable from British Library Document Supply Centre-DSC:DXN013001 / BLDSC - British Library Document Supply CentreGBUnited Kingdo

Stewardship and Risk: An Empirically Grounded Theory of Organic Fish Farming in Scotland

It has long been assumed ownership gives farmers incentives to act as stewards for the land. On this basis, quasi-property rights are granted to fish farmers to encourage them to manage risks to the aquatic environment. This paper offers an empirically grounded theorization of fish farmers’ perspectives on these issues. Data were gathered via field research with Scottish salmon farmers who had switched from conventional to organic fish farmers’ risk management strategies offer little support for the view that property rights automatically create incentives for stewardship of the marine environment.Risk, organic, fish farming, grounded theory, Agricultural and Food Policy,

Food security : the Athenian grain-tax law of 374/3 BC

This paper examines the translation of the Athenian Grain-Tax Law established in 374/3 BC, the period often referred to as early Classical antiquity. A particular focus is placed on the potential contribution of 'accounting history' as a means of exploring the use of grain tax to ensure food security. In terms of historic interpretations, the Grain-Tax is a relatively new piece of evidence discovered in the Athenian market place excavations of 1986 and, as yet, not known to have been studied within accounting research. Empirical research for this paper took the form of a hermeneutic analysis. The focus of examination was our translation of a Marble Stele inscribed in Greek with the Athenian Grain-Tax Law of 374/3 BC. This included a linguistic translation by the authors taking into account alternative translations of the Grain-Tax from other disciplines and placing the evidence in context through symbolic interpretations of other artifacts of the time based on fieldwork research. Emphasis was placed on the method of accounting for tax collection depicted by the Grain-Tax. Our interpretation of the tax highlights the challenges of researching the interchangeable nature of grain and coinage as a 'currency' for payment including aspects of measurability alongside accountability and the potential implications of this for the use of the tax system as a means of ensuring food security. Drawing new evidence for accounting research from Classical Athens and further exploring the use of hermeneutics within accounting history as a means to increase the scope of what is viewed as evidence in accounting history

Avoidance of the real and anxiety about the unreal: attachment style and video-gaming

In this article, the authors discuss the light and dark side of attachments and attachment style in physical and digital worlds. They argue that many games offer opportunities for the generation of new and meaningful attachments to both physical and digital others. They discuss two ‘fundamental attachment errors’ and show how these can lead to both ‘light’ outcomes, in terms of opportunities to learn more secure attachment patterns, and ‘dark’ outcomes, where existing dysfunctional behaviours become more pronounced. The authors argue that the avatars which children adopt online have important consequences for their psychosocial development, and that these are mediated through the degree to which the real self is differentiated from the avatar. It is proposed that attachment is a key force in understanding play, and that studying its manifestations and effects in digital playscapes may contribute to understanding the effects of life online, and how insecure attachments may become secure

Barriers to handpump serviceability in Malawi : life-cycle costing for sustainable service delivery

The implementation of handpumps has contributed to increased improved water access. However, 'universal access' as the metric for success within Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6, potentially conceals fundamental barriers for sustainable services and hinders SDG 6 target success. Tariffs, in the form of household contributions, are the most common form of financial provision for the maintenance of rural water supplies. However, the annualised financial resources significantly vary across local contexts. Four tariff scenarios (collected per month, when required for repairs, per year and no tariff) were investigated across the life-cycle of 21 997 Afridev handpumps in Malawi. Known local costs for Afridev components from suppliers in Malawi were used to determine the potential shortfall in financial resources over the handpumps' 15 year design life. Domains that influence functionality, such as the operations, maintenance and quality of infrastructure, were also investigated to identify significant factors impacting the sustainability of the handpumps. Logistic regression indicates sub-standard installations (i.e. seasonality and poor water quality), structural damage to civil works, no preventative maintenance, lack of spare parts on site and a shortfall in potential financial resources were significantly associated with the poor status of infrastructure (broken or worn components) over the life-cycle of the Afridev. The findings highlight the burden placed on rural communities of maintaining inherently unsustainable assets that inevitably hinders lasting service delivery and benefits for rural communities in the SDG period and beyond. This journal i

Hospitality codes and social exchange theory : the Pashtunwali and tourism in Afghanistan

The Afghan people are shrouded in rumor, myth and superstition. Drawing upon insights from military personnel, intelligence operatives, journalists and others, this study uses Social Exchange Theory (SET) to frame our understanding of their underpinning cultural code, the Pashtunwali. The study contributes both theoretically and empirically: The nature of the Pashtunwali highlights that SET cannot adequately frame some cultural exchange practices and a hybrid framework for negotiated and reciprocal exchange is presented. Furthermore, contextually, this is the first study that explores a code of hospitality through a social exchange lens to explore potential tourism development. A framework exists upon which commercial activity can be built without altering beliefs, social dynamics or day to day pursuits. For commercial development to be successful, it must yield similar or greater levels of income to those that currently exist, more importantly, traditions of autonomy and self-dependence will affect employment and training within an emergent tourism industry