Contemporary Issues in Accounting (6399.4)

Please note these are the 2015 details for this unit
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Contemporary Issues in Accounting
Available teaching periods Delivery mode Location
View teaching periods
EFTSL Credit points Faculty
0.125 3 Faculty Of Business, Government & Law
Discipline Study level HECS Bands
School Of Information Systems & Accounting Level 3 - Undergraduate Advanced Unit Band 4 2021 (Commenced After 1 Jan 2021)
Band 4 2021 (Commenced After 1 Jan Social Work_Exclude 0905)
Band 5 2021 (Commenced Before 1 Jan 2021)
This unit provides a study of contemporary issues in financial and management accounting, perspectives on accounting regulation and public sector accounting, as well as providing a critical analysis of extant and alternative accounting systems. This unit provides a critical assessment of the role(s) and nature of accounting and the values and assumptions underlying accounting systems at both the micro and macro levels of society. It examines a number of sociological, political and philosophical studies that challenge more traditional images of accounting. It also explores interrelationships between accounting and the environment, ethics, industrial relations, management and social responsibility. Ethical issues are embedded throughout the unit.

Learning outcomes

Students who successfully complete this unit will be able to:
1. Critically evaluate accounting in a socio-political context;
2. Critically examine and interpret a variety of theoretical perspectives on the nature of accounting and its role(s) in society;
3. Develop and demonstrate critical reading and creative and critical thinking in challenging the traditional presentation of accounting information;
4. Present a point of view, synthesising different opinions and contrasting opposing points of view;
5. Defend a normative framework for accounting within which to evaluate existing systems and address practical problems; and
6. Critically evaluate the different approaches to theory and research in accounting including positivism and critical theory in contextual areas including accounting regulation, social and environmental accounting, education and financial crises.


Graduate attributes

1. UC graduates are professional - communicate effectively
1. UC graduates are professional - display initiative and drive, and use their organisation skills to plan and manage their workload
1. UC graduates are professional - use creativity, critical thinking, analysis and research skills to solve theoretical and real-world problems
1. UC graduates are professional - work collaboratively as part of a team, negotiate, and resolve conflict
2. UC graduates are global citizens - behave ethically and sustainably in their professional and personal lives
3. UC graduates are lifelong learners - adapt to complexity, ambiguity and change by being flexible and keen to engage with new ideas


Prerequisites

Accounting for Managers, Accounting Systems and Practices, and substantial progress through the Accounting major.

Corequisites

None.

Assumed knowledge

None.
Year Location Teaching period Teaching start date Delivery mode Unit convener
Not available

Required texts

There is no required textbook for this unit, but you are likely to need to consult with textbooks. This unit focuses on developing an understanding contemporary issues in accounting. The existing textbooks in this space tend to be more theory focused. This is a helpful heuristic (a way of understanding issues), but we need to apply these ideas to the issues at hand. Thus, I encourage you to look to textbooks, but in my opinion, you do not need to buy a textbook, if you have access to the library.

Required Reading:

Hines, R., (1988), Financial accounting: In communicating reality, we construct reality. Accounting, Organizations and Society, 13(3), 251–261

Recommended Textbook:

Deegan, C., (2009), Financial Accounting Theory, 3rd Ed., McGraw-Hill, North Ryde NSW. Available from the co-op bookshop on campus.

Gaffikin, M., (2008), Accounting Theory: Research, Regulation and Accounting Practice, Pearson Education, Sydney.

Available from the library.

Note that there are lots of Accounting Theory textbooks in the library. Each will present the information in slightly different ways. We encourage you to read different textbooks and read critically and reflexively.

These might include:

Rankin M. et al., (2012), Contemporary Issues in Accounting, 1st Ed., John Wiley & Sons, Australia Ltd.

Journals               

This is primarily a research-led unit, so it is expected that you will read journal articles. The main journal databases for accounting (and these can be accessed through the library as well) include:

ScienceDirect: www.sciencedirect.com

On ScienceDirect, you have access to major accounting journals including Accounting, Organizations and Society, Critical Perspectives on Accounting, the British Accounting Review and others. Use the advanced search function.

Emerald: http://www.emeraldinsight.com/

On Emerald, there are a number of accounting journals, but the most useful for this unit is Accounting, Auditing and Accountability Journal.

Other leading accounting journals include: The Accounting Review, Journal of Accounting Research, Contemporary Accounting Review, Journal of Accounting and Economics.

Selected Journal Readings:

Introduction to Accounting Theory

Chua, W.F., (1986), Radical developments in accounting thought, The Accounting Review, 61(4), 601-632.

Llewelyn, S., (2003), What counts as "theory" in qualitative management and accounting research? Accounting, Auditing and Accountability Journal, 16(4), 662-708.

Laughlin, R., (1995), Empirical research in accounting: alternative approaches and a case for "middle-range" thinking, Accounting, Auditing and Accountability Journal, 8(1), 63-87.

Accounting and Regulation

Stigler, G. J., (1971), The theory of economic regulation, Bell Journal of Economics and Management Science (Spring), 2-21.

Solomons, D., (1978), The politicisation of accounting, Journal of Accountancy, 146(5), 65-72.

Social and  Environmental Accounting

Bebbington, J., Gray, R., (2001), An account of sustainability: Failure, success and a reconceptualization, Critical Perspectives on Accounting, 12, 557-605.

Welford, R., (1998), Corporate environmental management, technology and sustainable development: Postmodern perspectives and the need for a critical research agenda, Business Strategy and the Environment, 7, 1-12.

Behavioural Research

Coram, P., (2010), The effect of investor sophistication on the influence of non-financial performance indicators on investors' judgements, Accounting and Finance, 50, 263-80.

Seow, J., (2009), Cue usage in financial statement fraud risk assessments: effects of technical knowledge and decision aid use, Accounting and Finance, 49, 183-205.

DiMaggio, P.J., and Powell, W.W., (eds), (1991), The New Institutionalism in Organizational Analysis, Chicago: University of Chicago Press

Accounting and Education

Dillard, J & Tinker, T., (1996), Commodification of business and accounting education: The implications of accreditation, Critical Perspectives on Accounting, 7, 215–225.

Morgan, G., (1988), Accounting as reality construction: Towards a new epistemology for accounting practice, Accounting, Organizations and Society, 13(5), 477-485.

Accounting and Gender

Cooper, C., (2001), From women's liberation to feminism: Reflections in accounting academia, Accounting Forum, 25, 214-245.

Shearer, T.L. and Arrington, C.E., (1993), Accounting in other wor(l)ds: A feminism without reserve, Accounting, Organizations and Society 18(2), 253–272.

Haynes, K., (2010), Other lives in accounting: Critical reflections on oral history methodology in action, Critical Perspectives on Accounting, 21, 221-231.

Accounting and the Visual

Brown, J., (2010), Accounting and visual cultural studies: potentialities, challenges and prospects, Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, 23(4), 482 - 505

Accounting and Critique

Arrington, C.E. & Watkins, A.L., (2002), Maintaining 'critical intent' within a postmodern theoretical perspective on accounting research, Critical Perspectives on Accounting, 13, 139-157.

Hines, R., (1996), Net profit is a God, Accounting Auditing and Accountability Journal, 9, 129-132.

Hines, R., (1989), Financial accounting knowledge, conceptual framework projects and the social construction of the accounting profession, Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, 2, 72-92.

Hines, R.. (1991), The FASB's conceptual framework, financial accounting and the maintenance of the social world, Accounting, Organizations and Society, 16, 313-351.

Cooper, D.J., & Sherer, M.J., (1984), The value of corporate accounting reports – arguments for a political economy of accounting, Accounting, Organizations and Society, 9, 207-234.

The Global Financial Crisis

Laux, C. and Leuz C., (2009), The crisis of fair-value accounting: Making sense of the recent debate, Accounting, Organizations and Society, 34, 826-34.

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Information is provided in the Academic Integrity Policy, Academic Integrity Procedure, and University of Canberra (Student Conduct) Rules 2023. For further advice, visit Study Skills.

Learner engagement

Feedback on your performance during the semester is obtained primarily through the assessment of your performance in the various assessment items. If you are unsure ask the unit convener or your tutor. You are encouraged to seek formative and ongoing feedback from the unit lecturers. We expect you to take charge of your learning and we are happy to facilitate that.

No feedback system is capable of giving you 100% assurance of your performance in the unit.

Participation requirements

You are encouraged strongly to attend all workshops. You should be prepared for active attendance – note taking, answering questions, sharing ideas, etc. Reading someone else's notes is pedagogically less stimulating than your own participation. Students are expected to be on time for classes. All classes will start exactly at the scheduled starting time.

Past experience indicates that student who do not attend classes have difficulty passing the subject. This class is interactive and requires you to develop an opinion, defend that opinion with evidence and reflect on counter-points.

Required IT skills

Students are expected to be able to use Microsoft Word in addition to University systems available over the Internet (e.g. MyUC, Email, E-Reserve, LearnOnline, Library Catalogue, and Library Databases).

Students are encouraged to use Zotero, Endnote or RefWorks for managing references for their research assignment.

Work placement, internships or practicums

There are no work placements, internships or practicums components in this unit.

Additional information

Subject policy on re-submission - Re-submission is not permitted for any item of assessment.

If you are unsure about your assignment or assignment requirements, it is in your interest to approach the course lecturer and tutor prior to the submission of the assignment.