Based on the acceptance of the importance of clear definitions and concepts, we explore conventional definitions of accounting and chart their change and development. While accounting's definitions have evolved, they do not, in our view, adequately reflect accounting as social and moral practice but rather continue to position accounting as a technical practice, despite the valuable work of key accounting scholars particularly over the last four decades. We highlight the social and moral aspects of accounting and propose a new definition of accounting for the 2020s to stimulate discussion, debate and improvement. In our opinion, accounting has a way to go to reach its true potential.

whistleblowing, moral autonomy, ethical distance, moral agency,

The paper reports on research undertaken in three organisations seeking to explore anomie at work. This research explores whether a distinction in the levels of anomie between people’s perception of the work and non-work contexts exists in three organisations, that is whether people are more likely to feel more hopeless and helpless in their work or non-work life. It also looks at whether people in different organisations have significantly different levels of anomie. A significant difference in the non-work anomie between organisations, but no significant difference in work anomie between organisations, was found. In the three organisations researched, the anomie score in the non-work context is lower than in the work context, indicating that respondents perceive the work context as more anomic. The work anomie for the total sample was found to be significantly higher that the non-work anomie. The implications for ethical behaviour at work and business ethics are discussed. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media, Inc. 2006Anomie, morality, business ethics, work anomie,

duty, legislation, obligation, right, whistleblowing, whistleblowing policies,

No abstract

The International Public Sector Accounting Standards Board of the International Federation of Accountants issued exposure draft ED78 Property Plant and Equipment in April 2021. It proposes valuing ‘heritage items’ for recognition as ‘heritage assets’ in statements of financial position. This proposed requirement for global application casts the spotlight on a highly controversial topic in regulated financial reporting. The monetary valuation of cultural, heritage and scientific collections of public not‐for‐profit museums, art galleries and similar repositories has been subject to considerable discussion and debate for the past three decades. Our purpose is to critically examine this perennial financial reporting controversary, in the context of the three conceptions of accounting: accounting as technical practice, social practice and moral practice as articulated in the definition of accounting proposed by Carnegie et al. (2021a, 2021b) for discussion, debate and potential adoption in the accounting profession, including by accounting standard setters in all sectors. This article is intended to challenge accounting to enhanced self‐awareness in reaching its full potential.

anomie, anomia, business ethics, ethical behaviour,

PurposeThis research examines the impact of organisational culture on the ethical judgement and ethical intention of corporate accountants in Vietnam.Design/methodology/approachThe study relies on survey data collected from 283 practising accountants in Vietnam. Organisational culture was measured using the Organisational Culture Assessment Instrument, developed by Cameron and Quinn (2011). The Instrument is developed based on the competing values framework comprised of four distinct cultures: clan, hierarchy, market and adhocracy. Ethical judgement and ethical intention were measured based on respondent responses to five ethical scenarios, each linked to a principle of professional conduct in the code of ethics.FindingsThe findings indicate that the clan culture (family oriented) is dominant and has a significant positive influence on accountants' ethical judgement and ethical intention. Respondents in the clan culture evaluate scenarios more ethically compared with accountants in the adhocracy and market cultures but not the hierarchy culture. Accountants who emphasise the adhocracy and market cultures display a more relaxed attitude towards unethical scenarios whereas respondents in the hierarchy culture (rule oriented) display the highest ethical attitude.Research limitations/implicationsThe code of ethics, its content and how it is interpreted and applied may differ between professions, organisations or cultures.Originality/valueOrganisational research on ethical decision-making is ample but few studies link organisational culture with ethical judgement and ethical intention from the perspective of individual accountants.