Accounting as a social practice: US railroad regulation, value of service accounting, and regional economic development

Abstract

Employing a methodological model proposed by Anthony G. Hopwood and refined by Peter Miller, which emphasizes the role of accounting as a social practice, this study examines how the US Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) accepted the application of the value of service accounting in rate-setting to facilitate the redistribution of income and wealth to the undeveloped economies of the South and West regions of the US.

Combining war damages accounting and accounting for the natural world with social-organisational repercussions

“…The cost accounting system analysed in the article concerns both war accounting and agricultural accounting and it can be interpreted as an engine of socio-organisational change. This study considers Miller's (1994) framework on the roles of the accounting tool, and Acikgoz et al's (2022) notion of social accounting and applies them to the agricultural sector and the war damages to hemp warehouses. Based on Acikgoz et al's (2022) and Miller's (1994) considerations, the accounting tool would assume the features of: Technology: The war accounts allow us to quantify the damage caused by the WWII bombings to the hemp warehouses and to the fields used for cultivation.…”

“…This study considers Miller's (1994) framework on the roles of the accounting tool, and Acikgoz et al's (2022) notion of social accounting and applies them to the agricultural sector and the war damages to hemp warehouses. Based on Acikgoz et al's (2022) and Miller's (1994) considerations, the accounting tool would assume the features of: Technology: The war accounts allow us to quantify the damage caused by the WWII bombings to the hemp warehouses and to the fields used for cultivation. Agricultural accounting leads to the calculation of the costs associated with the cultivation of hemp.…”

“…Accounting rationalises social and institutional circumstances that would otherwise remain hidden or poorly considered. In the current case, accounting allows us to clarify the reasons for behaviours, attitudes, riots and rallies that influenced reform initiatives (Acikgoz et al, 2022; Baker and Quéré, 2014; Carnegie et al, 2020; Doron, 2016; Fowler and Keeper, 2016; Radcliffe et al, 2017). Reconstituent: The knowledge that accounting systems create may influence government actions and the resulting changes in context (Chandler, 2004; McDonough et al, 2020).…”

“…In the present study, the authors follow this interpretation of accounting. By using the model of Acikgoz et al (2022), the authors consider the role of accounting in preempting reforms, such as the 1950 agrarian reform. This study shows how accounting (understood as a system of measurement) combines reporting requirements (although not compulsory) with political objectives of social welfare, generating awareness and knowledge about the conditions of hemp growers, and thus leading to the reform of the agricultural system.…”