Accounting and the Virtues of Anarchy

Abstract

The ability of accounting to be used for the purposes of economic, social and political oppression is now well recognised in the critical accounting literature. Accounting is far more than an innocuous technology of rational calculation and accountability upon which management and the efficient operation of markets depend. Its contributions to maintaining the hegemony of the state are primarily through its close association with the protection and promotion of property rights. For the anarchist this relationship is the source of entrenched injustice which alienates individuals from their fundamental, moral nature. Elimination of the state allows justice to be reasserted and society to operate on moral principles. When the very existence of the state is questioned, as does anarchism, understanding of the fundamental nature and contributions of accounting need to be renegotiated.

The Role of Accounting in a Society: Only a techn(olog)ical solution for the problem of economic measurement or also a tool of social ideology?

“…Broader views on accounting as a social (and institutional) practice stem from the fundamental idea (Hines, 1991) that there is no such thing as an independent and unbiased accounting and that there is no such thing as an independent and objective economic reality. The political and economic view of accounting (Arnold, 2009;Baker, 2005;Bryer, 2012;Burchell et al, 1980;1985;Collison, 2003;Cooper, 2015;Cooper & Sherer, 1984;Dillard, 1991;Funnell, 2007;Hopwood, 1990;Rudkin, 2007;Sikka, 2001;Tinker, 1980;Zhang & Andrew, 2014) thus reveals that the background of accounting technology is always ideological and that accounting both reflects prevailing socio-economic relationships and changes alongside them. This view not only reveals current mainstream accounting as the tool/technology of capitalist hegemony and as the means for the dissemination of the principles of capitalism, but also rather critically draws attention to the entrapment of institutional accounting and the accountancy profession in these principles.…”

“…In relation to this, Funell (2007, p. 23) asserted that accounting actually "has no virtue outside that which the social, legal and economic frameworks in which it operates allows it... [and that the] relevance of accounting to a society depends upon the aims of that society". Thus, if society is organized around the principles of competition, the sanctity of private property, and self-interest, then the purposes accounting serves will be the same (Funnell, 2007). We do not need to search far to establish that this is actually true.…”

“…This is especially apparent in light of the criticisms that the adaptation of global accounting regulations has in part lubricated and legitimized the movement toward neoliberalism and the financialization of the global economy (see, for example, Biondi & Suzuki, 2007;Boyer, 2007;Hopwood, 2009 Accounting is thus a language! It is a discourse or communication (Burchell et al, 1980;Francis, 1990;Funnell, 2007), and a rhetoric (Walters, 2004). The representation of economic reality can be viewed as a mechanism for enabling economic discourse with respect to these activities and events (Burchell et al, 1980).…”

“…All of these are social constructs in the sense that they are not based on any natural laws or irreversible reasoning/logic; nevertheless, they are an increasingly important element of our daily economic rationalizations and understanding of the world. They are therefore the products of the agreed-upon technologies, methodologies, theories, and mathematics that enable accounting to communicate a set of values, ideals, expected behavior, and what is approved and disapproved (Funnell, 2007) at least to the same degree as they enable it to communicate independent reality. Thus, accounting is "constructing, sustaining and legitimising political and economic arrangements, institutions and ideological themes" (Guthrie & Parker, 1990, 166, as cited in Funnell, 2007, p. 23).…”

Toward an epistemology for anarchist accounting and stakeholder relationship capability: evidence from Iran

“…This meant using anarchist accounting to, among other things, JAOC 20,4 foster self-organization, perform collective decision-making and thread together the different components. the anarchist accounting for avoiding confusion is considered as social learning, which causes social trust and interaction in the direction of the stakeholders' activities in the framework of the markets and the economic system (Funnell, 2007). Guthrie and Parker (1990) describe accounting reports as tools for "constructing, sustaining and legitimizing political and economic arrangements, institutions and ideological themes .…”