The Annual General Meeting as an Accountability Mechanism

Cordery, Carolyn J.

doi:10.2139/ssrn.1286930

Cited by 14 publications

(25 citation statements)

References 24 publications

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“…Its legal origins in fact date back to the 1844 Joint Stock Companies (Registration) Act and the Companies Clauses Consolidation Act of 1845. However, as Cordery (2005) observes, this legislation does not actually reveal the rationale for holding an AGM in the first instance. The answer to such a query may be found in the governance of the English parish in the Middle Ages.…”

Section: An Anatomy Of the Meetingmentioning

confidence: 96%

“…As Vaivio (2006) observes, the meeting is an example of a space which has escaped "the accounting eye". The recent work of Cordery (2005) is an important exception to this neglect. She has investigated one particular form of meeting, which is also the focus of interest of this study: the AGM.…”

Section: An Anatomy Of the Meetingmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The answer to such a query may be found in the governance of the English parish in the Middle Ages. Cordery's (2005) comprehensive historical review of local government practices in England since the fifteenth century identified the importance of the public meeting in ensuring accountability. It was this long established custom of accountability, she argues, that was also adopted by the early joint stock companies and which ultimately became enshrined in corporate law (Cordery, 2005, p.12).…”

Section: An Anatomy Of the Meetingmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Indeed, with the exception of Catasús and Johed (2007) it is a topic that has rarely been considered by management researchers more generally. A recent contribution by Cordery (2005) has helped redress this past neglect within the accounting domain at least and highlight the potential power of the AGM as a mechanism of accountability. The AGM is also an important forum for the disclosure of financial and non-financial information.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Accounting and the annual general meeting: the case of the Edinburgh University Tea Club, 1920—45

Jeacle

2008

Accounting History

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This study investigates the historical role of the annual general meeting (AGM) and, in particular, examines the role of the AGM as an accountability mechanism. Few studies have adopted the context of the AGM, or organizational meetings generally, as a site for studying accounting's role. The specific setting for this study, a ladies tea club, is also novel as a locale for accounting research more generally. In this regard, the article attempts to advance an appreciation of the role of accounting in everyday life. The investigation involves a review of the minutes of the AGM of the Edinburgh University Tea Club for a period of 25 years from the time of its establishment in 1920. Such a review reveals a rich social history of the club's operations and provides a context for a more complete understanding of accounting's role in organizational and social functioning.

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Section: An Anatomy Of the Meetingmentioning

confidence: 96%

Section: An Anatomy Of the Meetingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: An Anatomy Of the Meetingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Accounting and the annual general meeting: the case of the Edinburgh University Tea Club, 1920—45

Jeacle

2008

Accounting History

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“…Macmillan (2008) (2015) Published an annual report Cutt et al (1996); Edwards and Hulme (1996) Held an AGM of members Cordery (2005); Laughlin (1990) Had our financial data independently audited or reviewed Christensen and Ebrahim (2006); Goddard and Assad (2006) Published a budget (1-2 years) Kluvers (2001); Laughlin (1990); Parker (2003) Gained accreditation for our services from an independent organisation…”

Section: Strategicmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dominant stakeholders, activity and accountability discharge in the CSO sector

Cordery

Sim

2017

Financ Acc Manag

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Civil society organisations (CSOs) comprise a diverse range of associations, including non-governmental organisations (NGOs), community groups, political parties and social networks. Nevertheless, despite heterogeneity, regulators, funders and donors often treat CSOs as homogeneous when demanding accountability. This paper highlights differences in to whom CSOs across different categories (or types) perceive themselves to be accountable, what for and the different practices they undertake to discharge accountability.It calls for stakeholders to acknowledge diversity in accountability across different CSO types. This survey-based research finds CSOs weight upwards and downwards stakeholders equally, and undertake voluminous reporting. They would benefit from negotiating multiple-use mechanisms, especially with dominant stakeholders. In combining stakeholder and accountability theory, the research highlights specific CSO types needing further study.

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Grassroots accountability: the practical and symbolic aspects of performance

Millar

Mueller

Carter

2023

AAAJ

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PurposeThe paper provides a theoretical framework for interdisciplinary accounting scholars interested in performances of accountability in front of live audiences.Design/methodology/approachThis is a processual case study of “Falkirk in crisis” that covers the period from September 2021 to September 2022. The focus of this paper is two-fan-Q&A sessions held in October 2021 and June 2022. Both are naturally occurring discussions between two groups such as are found in previous research on routine events and accountability. This is a theoretically consequential case study.FindingsA key insight of the paper is to identify the practical and symbolic dimensions of accountability. The paper demonstrates the need to align these two dimensions when responding to questions: a practical question demands a practical answer and a symbolic question requires a symbolic answer. Second, the paper argues that most fields contain conflicting logics and highlights that a complete performance of accountability needs to cover the different conflicting logics within the field. In this case, this means paying full attention to both the communitarian and results logics. A third finding is that a performance of accountability cannot succeed if the audience rejects attempts to impose an unpalatable definition of the situation. If these three conditions are not met, the performance is bound to fail.Research limitations/implicationsAn important theoretical coontribution of the study is the application of Jeffery Alexander’s work on political performance to public performances of accountability.Practical implicationsThe phenomenon explored in the paper (what the authors term “grassroots accountability”) has broad applicability to any situation in organizational or civic life where the power apex of an organization is required to engage with a group of informed and committed stakeholders – the “community”. For those who find themselves in the position of the fans in this study, the observations set out in the empirical narrative can serve as a useful practical guide. Attempts to answer a practical complaint with a symbolic answer (or vice versa) should be challenged as evasive.Social implicationsThis paper studies an engagement of elite actors with ordinary (or grassroots) actors. The study shows important rules of engagement, including the importance of respecting the power of practical questions and the need to engage with these questions appropriately.Originality/valueThis paper offers a new vista for interdisciplinary accounting by synthesizing the accountability literature with the political performance literature. Specifically, the paper employs Jeffery Alexander’s work on practical and symbolic performance to study the microprocesses underpinning successful and unsuccessful performances of accountability.

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The Annual General Meeting as an Accountability Mechanism

Cited by 14 publications

References 24 publications

Accounting and the annual general meeting: the case of the Edinburgh University Tea Club, 1920—45

Accounting and the annual general meeting: the case of the Edinburgh University Tea Club, 1920—45

Dominant stakeholders, activity and accountability discharge in the CSO sector

Grassroots accountability: the practical and symbolic aspects of performance

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