A conceptual model of accountants' communication inside not-for-profit organisations

Abstract

Accounting communication within organisations can be critical to organisational success, yet aside from formal reports, it has largely been overlooked by accounting researchers. Not-forprofit organisations play a significant societal role and have features that distinguish them from for-profit corporations. This paper aims to further our understanding of accountants' everyday communication in the unique not-for-profit environment, developing a theoretical model of influences on accountants' communication. In the qualitative tradition, interviews were conducted with accountants working in not-for-profit organisations in three Australian states. Using the lens of strong structuration theory and applying thematic analysis to the interview transcripts enabled the generation of themes relating to the influences on not-for-profit accountants' communication within their organisations. These influences included the resource constraints of the not-for-profit environment, accountants' organisational position, their perceptions of their colleagues' needs and their role perceptions. Drawing on strong structuration concepts, a model is developed to demonstrate the influences on accountants' communication.

Distinguished Professor Lee Parker: A biography

“…He was my doctoral supervisor at the University of South Australia from January 2010 to June 2014. We have published two articles together (Daff and Parker, 2020;Daff and Parker, 2021). The positive experience of my doctoral project no doubt influenced me to highlight Lee's distinguished career and admirable traits (Daff, 2012).…”

Structural Barriers to Accounting Users’ Interactions: A Critical Analysis of Earning Conferences

“…Second, prior research on verbal communication mainly focused on intra-organizational interaction (e.g. Hall, 2010;Daff & Parker, 2021), but this research supplements and complements existing studies by examining verbal communication between banks' management and external accounting users. Third, this research facilitates the recognizing, understanding, and addressing of the hitherto often overlooked and assumed Q&A structure.…”

“…Hall (2010), for example, proposed that within organizations managers prefer to interact with accounting through verbal rather than textual communication to deliver meanings, facilitate exchanges of information, ideas, concerns, and promote discussion, while Stone (2011) found small business managers' communication to favor rich verbal communication. Daff and Parker's (2021) recent examination of accountants' communication choice within an organization, however, found that verbal communication varies according to who accountants are communicating with and the topic of concern.…”

What Role Do Design Factors Play in Applying Performance Measurement Systems in Nonprofit Organizations?

“…Hence, accountability is an alternative to providing legal reports and measures that enhance legitimacy (Cordery and Sinclair 2013;Moxham 2014). Besides, external and internal accounting can support the organizational success once the stakeholders, especially the internal ones, can perceive their roles and outcomes (Daff and Parker 2021).…”

“…NPOs' characteristics include legal and financial restrictions, depending on donors, findings, or subsidies (Daff and Parker 2021). This dependence on resources can determine organizational survival.…”