Constructing Constructivism in Management Accounting Education: Reflections from a Teaching Cycle with Innovative Learning Elements

The study addresses the possibility of integrating some elements of the ‘radical constructivist’ approach to management accounting teaching. It answers the following two questions: to what extent should management accounting educators construct a ‘radical constructivist’ foundation to guide active learning? and in which ways can management accounting educators use qualitative methods to facilitate ‘radical constructivist’ education? The study uses a teaching cycle that implements innovative learning elements, e.g. learning from ordinary people, designed following the principles of ‘radical constructivism’, to engage students with ‘externalities’ at the center of their knowledge construction. It adopts an ethnographic approach comprising interviews and participant observation for the data collection, followed by the application of qualitative content and narrative analysis of the data. The study findings and reflections illustrate that the majority of students respond positively to radical constructivist learning if the educators can develop an innovative problem-solving and authentic environment that is close to their real lives. The radical constructivist teaching cycle discussed in this study has challenged the mind-sets of the management accounting students since it altered the traditional objectivist academic learning approaches that students were familiar with. Its use of qualitative methods facilitated active learning. Student feedback was sought as part of the qualitative design, which provided a constructive mechanism for the students and educators to learn and unlearn from their mistakes. This process enriched the understanding of learners (students) as well as educators of successful engagement in radical constructivist management accounting education and provides a base upon which to design future teaching cycles. The paper provides proof of the ability of accounting educators, as change-agents, to apply radical constructivist epistemology combined with multiple qualitative research methods by creating new constructive learning structures and cultures associated with innovative deep-learning tasks in management accounting education

(2022). Public Sector Accounting in Developing Countries: What We Know and What we Still Need to Know in General and in the African Context in Particular

This review paper examines the achievements, unintended consequences and the changing contexts of public sector accounting reforms in developing countries. In so doing, it points to two important directions for advancing public sector accounting research in developing countries in general and Africa in particular. Firstly, it suggests moving away from the narrow technical contextualisation and the ‘consultancy-based functionalist’ approaches offered by New Public Management (NPM) over the last three decades. Secondly, it advocates rethinking the imposition of the Word Bank’s development discourses on developing countries and applying the notion of ‘development’ as more of an analytical concept that can capture the idea of ‘publicness’, rather than as a phenomenon specific to a developing country context. This may enable public sector accounting research to implicate public value through accounting, which could have lasting impacts on developing countries’ societal and economic development

Enacting “accountability in collaborative governance”: lessons in emergency management and earthquake recovery from the 2010–2011 Canterbury Earthquakes

Purpose: The paper illustrates how accountability of collaborative governance was constituted in the context of disaster managerial work carried out by the Government, local authorities, and Māori community organisations, after the 2010-2011 Canterbury earthquakes in New Zealand. Methodology: A case study detailing the communitarian approach to disaster recovery management by a nationalised Māori earthquake response network is contrasted with the formal emergency management infrastructure’s response to the Canterbury earthquakes. Findings: Critical analysis of the effectiveness and failures of these approaches highlights the institutional and cultural political issues that hinder the institutionalization of collaborative and accountable governance in the fields of disaster risk reduction and emergency management. Implications: The paper contributes to the accountability research and practice in general and disaster accountability in particular by addressing a more multifaceted model of “accountability combined with collaborative governance” as a way to build on and critique some of the seemingly more narrow views of accountability. Originality: The study presents rare insights on the interactions between formal and community level accountability and collaborative governance in the context of New Public Governance (NPG)

Government accounting reforms in Sub-Saharan African countries and the selective ignorance of the epistemic community:A competing logics perspective

The objective of this paper is two-fold. First, it assesses existing local accounting and financial reporting practices in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), focusing on the extent to which recent government financial statements published by ten selected countries adhere to mainstream qualitative features of public sector reporting. Second, it investigates the multiple institutional logics at play in the context of government accounting reforms (GARs) in SSA, involving international organisations, epistemic community members, policy makers and local actors. Data for the study are drawn from a content analysis and disclosure scoring of ten SSA government financial statements, supplemented by forty semi-structured interviews carried out in Nigeria and Tanzania. Our findings demonstrate how the generalised assumptive logics of international organisations, coupled with the market and professional logics of epistemic community members and state logics of local politicians, have led to the marginalisation of ‘good’ existing accounting and financial reporting practice in SSA (as reflected by the extent to which government financial statements adhere to mainstream features of public sector reporting) - while providing the countries with a strong impetus for undertaking a transition towards large-scale GARs involving accrual accounting and IPSASs. The role of the epistemic community in selectively ignoring the positive aspects of local accounting practice is a significant impediment. In this way, members of this epistemic community continue to execute their ‘relational power’ generated through professional knowledge, expertise and elite connections over the local actors, hence upholding the generalised assumptive logics. The paper argues that public accountability and transparency can be strengthened in SSA countries provided there is an ‘intelligent’ application of existing regulations and accounting systems, rather than seeking to merely replace them with externally imposed large-scale GARs

Guest editorial Accounting, Accountability and Global Development: Key perspectives

Purpose:This paper provides a review and reflection on the contributions of the special issue papers on accounting, accountability and global development. Design/methodology/approach:The journal review approach is adopted to identify the emergent themes, contributions and potential for future studies from the prior literature and accepted papers. Findings:The findings from the selected papers represent three emergent inter-related themes on accounting, accountability and development: i.) financialization and ‘intellectual’ colonization of the developed world; ii.) the nexus between the Western world/epistemic community and the local elites; and iii.) the ‘resistance’ against the above through exploring the role of state and local actors in securing better life-chances for the people and the environment in emerging economies.Research limitations/implications:This paper implicates observations and directions for future research in accounting, accountability and development in emerging economies: (i) success vs failure of development initiatives, (ii) successful ‘resistance’ and emancipation, (iii) role of State in the development discourse, and (iv) COVID-19 and ‘new normality’. Originality/valueThis special issue papers problematise and extend the knowledge on accounting, accountability and development, particularly in relation to emerging economies and provides a way forward

(2021). Carbon Credit Risk Mitigation of Deforestation: A Study on the Performance of P2H Products and Services in Indonesia

This study aims to analyze the performances of the Indonesian government's P2H products and services that target the prevention and repair of forest damage. The methodology used is a systematic literature review that identifies, assesses, and interprets this chosen research topic's findings. The study attempts to answer three formulated research questions: (i) How to map P2H policies that aligned with the carbon credit risk mitigation of deforestation?; (ii) How to investigate which products of P2H can contribute to the carbon credit risk mitigation?; (iii) How to measure the impact of P2H to prevent deforestation?. The systematic literature review findings highlight that the Indonesian government has adopted some important provisions and institutions, namely P2H products and services, and carried out loan disbursements to prevent forest destruction, i.e., the forestry business and environmental investment financing. The findings also indicate that while the government most extensively disbursed some loans such as community forest enterprises (HR), there was a low level of loan disbursement for community forest-based loans (HKm) because of the constraints faced by farmers in arable land that produce seasonal crops. Therefore, the study implicates that the forest destruction, particularly in Indonesia, resulting from illegal logging by local communities, needs to be further prevented by increasing the public knowledge on sustainability impact of deforestation and also by increasing them assess and opportunities for the public welfare, alternative livelihood, and micro-business activities. The study findings also make an original contribution to the literature on the carbon credit risk mitigation of forest damage, as it illustrated on a government-sponsored innovative P2H scheme, i.e., disbursement of loans, aiming to reduce and prevent forest destruction

Bio-Politics and Calculative Technologies in COVID Governance: Reflections From England

Background Through the extensive use of public media, the government of England was heavily involved in encouraging and instructing people on how to manage their life during COVID-19. This model of health emergency governance replicates the practice of ‘calculative technologies’ and ‘bio-politics’ embedded in population management. Previous research on COVID-19 governance both in the UK and beyond provides varied revelations on broader ‘technologies of government’ and bio-politics by numerous governments. However, rarely have any studies explicitly and distinctively highlighted the unique ‘calculative technologies” mobilised by governments within their bio-politically designed “technologies of government” to compel the populations to manage their lives under their COVID guidance. The paper therefor examines how the UK government deployed “calculative technologies”, as part of its strategies of health governance and governmentality during the first wave of COVID-19 in England

Multiple Rationalities of Participatory Budgeting in Indigenous Communities: Evidence from Indonesia

Purpose: This paper analyses participatory budgeting in two Indonesian indigenous communities, illustrating how the World Bank sponsored neo-liberal model of ‘technical rational’ PB is overshadowed by local values and wisdom, consisting of sophisticated, pre-existing rationalities for public participation. Design/methodology/approach: Adopting a qualitative and interpretive case study approach, the study draws on data from semi-structured interviewswith key stakeholdersand periods of participant observation. The paper utilises Weber’s characterisations of rationality to analyse the PB process in indigenous communities. Findings: The co-existence of both formal (technical) and substantive rationalities leads two Indonesian indigenous communities to execute participatory budgetingpragmatically. The formal budgetary mechanisms (Musrenbang), cascaded down from central and local governments, are melded with, and co-exist alongside, a tradition of public participation deriving from local cultural values and wisdom (Rembug warga). Reciprocal relationships and trust based on a pre-existing substantive rationality result in community members adapting budget practices while also preserving their local culture and resisting the encroachment of neo-liberal initiatives. The paper offers deeper analysis of the unintended consequences of attempting to implement technical rational accounting reforms and practices in indigenous settings. Originality/value: The paper provides important insights into the way the interplay between formal and substantive rationality impacts on accounting and budgeting practices in indigenous communities. Our study also presents a unique case in emerging economy contexts in which neoliberal initiatives have been outmanoeuvred in the process of preserving indigenous values and wisdom

Public-sector performance auditing in a political hegemony: A case study of Indonesia

Debate over public-sector auditors’ independence has focused largely on Western developed democracies. Drawing on Gramsci’s theory of hegemony, this study explores how the political hegemony and ideology influence public-sector auditors’ independence and audit quality in a developing country, Indonesia. In contrast to the widely accepted belief that public-sector auditors’ independence is guaranteed by the legislature, this study argues that active intervention by the political hegemony undermines this independence and thus impairs audit quality. The study’s document analysis and in-depth interviews conducted with technical controllers, supervisors and investigators at the Supreme Audit Institution in Indonesia reveal that the political hegemony and ideology influence auditors’ cognition. This study enhances understanding of how the political hegemony, supported by the imperium, ruling-class psychology and spheres of influence, substantially erodes auditors’ constitutive role, giving rise to concerns about value for taxpayers’ money and public-sector effectiveness and efficiency