Preface

It was a delight to receive this invitation from Accounting Streams to prepare the Preface for Principles of Accounting. Why is this book important? The answer is in two parts. Firstly, this innovative and timely book requires readers to think beyond the typically narrow perception of accounting as beyond the technical; accounting is indeed more than a “grab-bag” of methods, procedures, and techniques to learn and apply in professional practice.1 Secondly, the community of forward-looking educators and researchers have shared their expertise and latest research to embody “Sharing, Transparency, Reporting and Ethics. Accounting for Management and Society” as a motto for accounting moving towards its full potential in the world.

This book responds to repeated and long-issued calls from within the academic accounting community for the broadening of accounting education to focus attention on accounting education on the nature roles, uses, and impacts of accounting in the world. Accounting is a multidimensional technical, social and moral practice and lies at the heart of shaping a better world.

Accounting is enabling, disabling and pervasive in society. It exists and operates in all social and organisational contexts. This book provides a sense of the omnipresence of accounting in society. Accounting is more than the “means of accounting” or “the doing of accounting”; these are already “hyper-developed”.2 Rather, accounting is “a practice embedded in social relations”.3 Powell and McGuigan (2023; 2024) argue for a move away from a reliance on anthropocentric viewpoints (2023), arguing that “developing compassionate responses in accounting presents a meaningful way to operationalise the multidimensional nature of accounting, particularly its social and moral aspects …, thus contributing to restoring ecological balance and supporting the flourishing of human and non-human life” (2024, p. 1788).

We acknowledge that the term ‘stakeholder’ is increasingly contested due to its colonial connotations, and we seek to limit its usage. However, at the current time the term is used in journal articles and in several theories, for example stakeholder theory and stakeholder capitalism. In those contexts, we will continue to use the term ‘stakeholder’.

While accounting informs decision making and is enacted for accountability purposes, it also helps create and shape the present and future of national, regional and global societies and their people. This is evidenced in the wide spectrum of stakeholders to which accountability extends, which has gained general acceptance during the past three decades, moving “beyond the traditional role of providing a financial account to owners of capital, in particular, shareholders”.4

This book is positioned as a resource to be widely shared, which embraces the broader purpose of accounting and its economic, social, moral, and technical underpinnings. Whether changing or change-resistant, accounting has consequences for human behaviour, for shaping the organisational culture, and for conditioning the way we think and what we do. Accounting Streams is a key and inspirational development for reimagining accounting education, developing the skills and understanding for current and future students who are the next generation of professional accountants to aspire to the betterment of the world. Accountants can indeed save the planet, but not when accounting is taught and studied as technical practice alone.

Accounting Streams presents this work as an impetus to accounting’s future leadership in shaping a better world. This necessitates shaping a fairer and more sustainable world and contributes to the collective, longstanding mission of gaining our sustenance from Planet Earth today and into the future. How accounting can shape a better world for humans and nonhumans collectively, in serving the public interest, is the business of accounting! It is a pleasure to endorse Principles of Accounting and the worthwhile agenda that it supports in accounting education, research and professional practice.

Garry D. Carnegie
Emeritus Professor of RMIT University

References

  • Bryer, A.R. (2011). Accounting as learnt social practice: The case of the empresas recuperadas in Argentina. Accounting, Organizations and Society, 36(8), 478–495.
  • Carnegie, G., Parker, L. and Tsahuridu, E. (2021b). Redefining accounting for tomorrow. Knowledge Gateway, IFAC (published 6 April).
  • Carnegie, G., Parker, L., & Tsahuridu, E. (2021). It’s 2020: What is accounting today?. Australian Accounting Review, 31(1), 65–73.
  • Gray, R., Owen, D. and Adams, C. (1996). Accounting & Accountability: Changes and Challenges in Corporate Social and Environmental Reporting. Prentice Hall, London.
  • Miller, P and Powell, M. (2013). Accounting, organizing, and economizing: connecting accounting research and organisational activity. The Academy of Management Annuals, 7(1), 557–605.
  • O’Connell, B., Carnegie, G.D., Carter, A.J., de Lange, P., Hancock, P. Helliar, C.V. and Watty, K. (2015). Shaping the Future of Accounting in Business Education in Australia, CPA, Australia, Melbourne.
  • Powell, L. and McGuigan, N. (2023). Responding to crises: rewilding accounting education for the anthropocene. Meditari Accountancy Research, 31(1), 101–120.
  • Powell, L. and McGuigan, N. (2024). Looking within: cultivating compassion for shaping sustainable mindsets in accounting education. Meditari Accountancy Research, 32(5), 1787–1808.

Praise for Principles of Accounting

This textbook is a superb online resource that supports students and lecturers. This introductory textbook takes a broad, contemporary, and contextual approach to introduce accounting. It views the subject from a wide perspective, acknowledging accounting’s role beyond the technical and practical, including its social and moral dimensions. The units are thoroughly underpinned by a background and context rooted in the history of the subject and the profession. Unit 2, for example, explains what it means to be an accountant, providing both the historical context of the profession and its current-day role. This successfully provides the reader with essential background information to embed knowledge. The whole textbook is interactive and contains interesting vignettes, case studies, and short tests to facilitate learning.

What truly sets this textbook apart is its ability to balance theoretical concepts with practical application, ensuring that learners gain a holistic understanding of accounting. Its use of real-world examples and engaging, interactive features fosters critical thinking and active learning. Moreover, the inclusion of contemporary issues—such as sustainability, ethics, and technological advancements—broadens the scope of traditional accounting education, making the content relevant to current and future challenges in the profession.

Overall, this resource is not just an introduction to accounting but a tool that encourages deeper reflection on the role and impact of accounting in society. It is an invaluable guide for students beginning their accounting journey and for educators aiming to provide a rich and dynamic learning experience. Highly recommended for anyone seeking a comprehensive, modern, and thought-provoking approach to the field.

Professor Karen McBride
University of Portsmouth
November 2024

  1. Miller and Powell, 2013; O’Connell et al., 2015 ↩

  2. Carnegie et al., 2021a, p. 69; 2021b ↩

  3. Bryer, 2011, p. 478 ↩

  4. Gray et al., 1996, p. 3 ↩