Accountability, Representation and Control

Module code: MN7262

This module explores the theoretical foundations of accounting and its behavioural consequences. Through the close reading of key texts and drawing upon a range of social theories, you'll examine how accounting representations work, issues of neutrality and subjectivity, contemporary aspects of accountability and accounting as a key technology in organisational control.

Topics covered

• The representational basis of accounting and the consequences of such partial and subjective representations
• Theoretical basis of accounting and its behavioural consequences
• Issues associated with accounting, in particular contemporary aspects of accountability and control
• The political context of accounting decisions, policy choices and representations both within organisations and in external publications
• Fundamentals of accounting systems and practice
• The connections that accounting creates between different actors and institutions, and the operation of those institutions