The field of visual research in management studies is developing rapidly and has reached a point of maturity where it is useful to bring together and evaluate existing work in this area and to critically assess its current impact and future prospects. Visual research is broadly defined to encompass a variety of forms, including pictures, graphs, film, web pages and architecture. It also incorporates work from several sub-disciplines (organization studies, marketing, accounting, human resources, tourism and IT), and includes research based on pre-existing visual material and studies that use researchergenerated visual data. The authors begin by considering the growing recognition of the visual turn in management research as a counterweight to the linguistic turn, while also discussing reasons for resistance to visual approaches. Next, they review research that uses visual methods to study management and organization and suggest that visual management studies may be categorized according to whether methods used are empirically driven or theory based. This categorization highlights the philosophical, theoretical and interdisciplinary underpinnings of visual management studies. It also enables the visual to be accorded a status equivalent to linguistic meaning, through dispelling the realist assumptions that have impeded analytical development of visual management studies to date.

Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to formulate an analytical model for interpreting photographs in accountability statements from Barthes' celebrated theoretical work on photography, La chambre claire; to offer a study of the communication of accountability by an NGO through the first detailed analysis, within accountability literature, of one photograph. Design/methodology/approach -The study establishes a conceptual framework for examining photography based on La chambre claire's contrast of rational codes (Studium) with intuitive elements (Punctum). An application of the framework is provided in considering the heterogeneity and accountability of NGOs through an examination of the Oxfam Annual Review 2003/2004 front cover photograph. Findings -The framework is enlightening: the photograph's Studium reflects the complexity of Oxfam's dual engagement in the corporate and charitable sectors, and the developed and developing worlds; its Punctum arouses sentiment and compassion.Research limitations/implications -The study provides a model which may be applied to the wealth of photographs produced by contemporary organizations; the framework encompasses promotional images as well as photographic art, and is well suited to figurative photography. It is limited regarding photographs of a hybrid or abstract nature. Practical implications -The analysis is of interest to accounting researchers, practitioners, trainees, auditors and any user of accounting and accountability statements. It illuminates the way in which photographs highlight, complement and supplement information more traditionally communicated in numbers and words. Originality/value -The paper adds to research into NGOs; augments theoretical work on photographs in accountability literature; and expands the empirical literature on the interpretation of photographs in accounting and accountability statements.

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Purpose-The purpose of this paper is to add to theoretical and empirical work on the rhetoric of narratives and pictures in annual reporting by using the lens of repetition to examine the Annual Reviews of British Telecommunications (BT) plc. Design/methodology/approach-The study constructs a conceptual framework of repetition in signifiants (from rhetoric) and signifiés (from philosophy, notably Barthes, Deleuze, Eliade and Jankélévitch). Signifiants are established by reference to rhetorical figures based in repetition: anadiplosis, anaphora, alliteration/rhyme and lists. Signifiés are indicated as conscious rhetorical emphasis, and unconscious reflections of sameness and difference; networks and links; and, of particular interest during the "dot.com" years, exuberance and compulsion; differentiation, ritual and reassurance. The framework is used to analyse BT plc's Annual Reviews from 1996-2001. Findings-The application of the framework is enlightening: repetition is shown to be prevalent in BT plc's Annual Reviews, especially during the "dot.com" years. Repetition emphasises BT plc's intangible assets; less consciously, repetition reflects BT plc's corporate identity and its participation in the "dot.com" era. Research limitations/implications-The paper provides a model which may be applied to the wealth of discretionary narratives and pictures in contemporary annual reporting. It would also benefit from the assessment of readership impact. Practical implications-The analysis is of interest to accounting researchers, practitioners, trainees, auditors and any user of accounting and accountability statements. It illuminates the way in which discretionary words and pictures highlight and supplement accounting information. Originality/value-The paper augments theoretical and empirical work on the significance of narratives and pictures in accounting.

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