IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/crpeac/v25y2014i7p652-669.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Accounting for suffering: Calculative practices in the field of disaster relief

Author

Listed:
  • Sargiacomo, Massimo
  • Ianni, Luca
  • Everett, Jeff

Abstract

This study examines the role of accounting and other calculative practices in the context of a natural disaster and subsequent emergency-relief effort. Relying on document analysis and interviews with key participants, the study chronologically examines when, how, and with what effects accounting and other associated practices were mobilized in the follow-up to an earthquake that occurred in the Abruzzo region of central Italy in 2009. The study considers these practices through the three lenses of private-interest maximization, inequality, and suffering. The study shows how accounting actors simultaneously serve multiple ethical masters, and how one of these can come to dominate accounting's ‘moral economy’. In so doing, the study helps bridge the gap between ethics and critical accounting research.

Suggested Citation

  • Sargiacomo, Massimo & Ianni, Luca & Everett, Jeff, 2014. "Accounting for suffering: Calculative practices in the field of disaster relief," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 25(7), pages 652-669.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:crpeac:v:25:y:2014:i:7:p:652-669
    DOI: 10.1016/j.cpa.2014.03.011
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1045235414000458
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.cpa.2014.03.011?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Mark Shenkin & Andrea B. Coulson, 2007. "Accountability through activism: learning from Bourdieu," Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 20(2), pages 297-317, April.
    2. Sumohon Matilal & Heather Höpfl, 2009. "Accounting for the Bhopal disaster: footnotes and photographs," Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 22(6), pages 953-972, July.
    3. Kastberg, Gustaf, 2014. "Framing shared services," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 25(8), pages 743-756.
    4. Baker, C. Richard, 2014. "Breakdowns of accountability in the face of natural disasters: The case of Hurricane Katrina," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 25(7), pages 620-632.
    5. B. Malsch & Y. Gendron & F. Grazzini, 2011. "Investigating interdisciplinary translations: The influence of Pierre Bourdieu on accounting literature," Post-Print halshs-00783872, HAL.
    6. Bertrand Malsch & Yves Gendron & Frédérique Grazzini, 2011. "Investigating interdisciplinary translations," Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 24(2), pages 194-228, February.
    7. Williams, Paul F., 1989. "The logic of positive accounting research," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 14(5-6), pages 455-468, October.
    8. Cooper, Christine & Coulson, Andrea & Taylor, Phil, 2011. "Accounting for human rights: Doxic health and safety practices – The accounting lesson from ICL," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 22(8), pages 738-758.
    9. Everett, Jeff & Friesen, Constance, 2010. "Humanitarian accountability and performance in the Théâtre de l’Absurde," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 21(6), pages 468-485.
    10. repec:taf:cityxx:v:11:y:2007:i:1:p:81-99 is not listed on IDEAS
    11. Everett, Jeff & Neu, Dean & Rahaman, Abu Shiraz, 2007. "Accounting and the global fight against corruption," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 32(6), pages 513-542, August.
    12. Christine Cooper & Joanne Johnston, 2012. "Vulgate accountability: insights from the field of football," Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 25(4), pages 602-634, May.
    13. Shearer, Teri, 2002. "Ethics and accountability: from the for-itself to the for-the-other," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 27(6), pages 541-573, August.
    14. Malsch, Bertrand & Guénin-Paracini, Henri, 2013. "The moral potential of individualism and instrumental reason in accounting research," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 24(1), pages 74-82.
    15. Walker, Stephen P., 2014. "Drought, resettlement and accounting," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 25(7), pages 604-619.
    16. B. Malsch & Y. Gendron & F. Grazzini, 2011. "Investigating interdisciplinary translations: The influence of Pierre Bourdieu on accounting literature," Post-Print halshs-00586846, HAL.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Gendron, Yves, 2018. "On the elusive nature of critical (accounting) research," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 50(C), pages 1-12.
    2. Lai, Alessandro & Leoni, Giulia & Stacchezzini, Riccardo, 2014. "The socializing effects of accounting in flood recovery," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 25(7), pages 579-603.
    3. Finau, Glenn & Chand, Satish, 2023. "Resistance is fertile: A Bourdieusian analysis of accounting and land reform in Fiji," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 91(C).
    4. Perkiss, Stephanie & Moerman, Lee, 2020. "Hurricane Katrina: Exploring justice and fairness as a sociology of common good(s)," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 67.
    5. Massimo Sargiacomo, 2018. "The Routledge Companion to Qualitative Accounting Research Methods," Accounting in Europe, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 15(1), pages 149-151, January.
    6. Sargiacomo, Massimo, 2015. "Earthquakes, exceptional government and extraordinary accounting," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 42(C), pages 67-89.
    7. Matilal, Sumohon & Adhikari, Pawan, 2020. "Accounting in Bhopal: Making catastrophe," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 72(C).
    8. Frey-Heger, Corinna & Barrett, Michael, 2021. "Possibilities and limits of social accountability: The consequences of visibility as recognition and exposure in refugee crises," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 89(C).
    9. Jonida Carungu & Nicola Paolicelli, 2018. "L?intervento della Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena e il contributo del book-keeping nel "render conto" sulla gestione del terremoto del 1798," CONTABILIT? E CULTURA AZIENDALE, FrancoAngeli Editore, vol. 2018(2), pages 85-117.
    10. Lehman, Cheryl R. & Hammond, Theresa & Agyemang, Gloria, 2018. "Accounting for crime in the US: Race, class and the spectacle of fear," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 56(C), pages 63-75.
    11. Stefania Servalli & Massimo Sargiacomo, 2021. "Natural disasters and accounting: Which contributions form the past?," CONTABILIT? E CULTURA AZIENDALE, FrancoAngeli Editore, vol. 0(1), pages 5-9.
    12. Gilbert, Christine, 2021. "Debt, accounting, and the transformation of individuals into financially responsible neoliberal subjects," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 77(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Farjaudon, Anne-Laure & Morales, Jérémy, 2013. "In search of consensus: The role of accounting in the definition and reproduction of dominant interests," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 24(2), pages 154-171.
    2. Cooper, Christine & Coulson, Andrea B., 2014. "Accounting activism and Bourdieu's ‘collective intellectual’ – Reflections on the ICL Case," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 25(3), pages 237-254.
    3. Goddard, Andrew, 2021. "Accountability and accounting in the NGO field comprising the UK and Africa – A Bordieusian analysis," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).
    4. Modell, Sven, 2017. "Critical realist accounting research: In search of its emancipatory potential," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 42(C), pages 20-35.
    5. Ejiogu, Amanze & Ambituuni, Ambisisi & Ejiogu, Chibuzo, 2021. "Accounting for accounting’s role in the neoliberalization processes of social housing in England: A Bourdieusian perspective," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 80(C).
    6. Matilal, Sumohon & Adhikari, Pawan, 2020. "Accounting in Bhopal: Making catastrophe," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 72(C).
    7. Gracia, Louise & Oats, Lynne, 2012. "Boundary work and tax regulation: A Bourdieusian view," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 37(5), pages 304-321.
    8. Leanne Johnstone, 2019. "Theorising and conceptualising the sustainability control system for effective sustainability management," Journal of Management Control: Zeitschrift für Planung und Unternehmenssteuerung, Springer, vol. 30(1), pages 25-64, April.
    9. Gendron, Yves, 2018. "On the elusive nature of critical (accounting) research," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 50(C), pages 1-12.
    10. Killian, Sheila, 2015. "“For lack of accountability”: The logic of the price in Ireland’s Magdalen Laundries," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 43(C), pages 17-32.
    11. Chen, Lei & Danbolt, Jo & Holland, John, 2018. "Information about bank intangibles, analyst information intermediation, and the role of knowledge and social forces in the ‘market for information’," Accounting forum, Elsevier, vol. 42(3), pages 261-276.
    12. Lai, Alessandro & Leoni, Giulia & Stacchezzini, Riccardo, 2014. "The socializing effects of accounting in flood recovery," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 25(7), pages 579-603.
    13. Perkiss, Stephanie & Moerman, Lee, 2020. "Hurricane Katrina: Exploring justice and fairness as a sociology of common good(s)," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 67.
    14. Cooper, Christine & Lapsley, Irvine, 2021. "Hillsborough: The fight for accountability," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).
    15. Anesa, Mattia & Gillespie, Nicole & Spee, A. Paul & Sadiq, Kerrie, 2019. "The legitimation of corporate tax minimization," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 75(C), pages 17-39.
    16. Charl de Villiers & Matteo La Torre & Vida Botes, 2022. "Accounting and social capital: A review and reflections on future research opportunities," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 62(4), pages 4485-4521, December.
    17. Karen Benson & Peter M Clarkson & Tom Smith & Irene Tutticci, 2015. "A review of accounting research in the Asia Pacific region," Australian Journal of Management, Australian School of Business, vol. 40(1), pages 36-88, February.
    18. Anne-Laure Farjaudon & Jérémy Morales, 2012. "In search of consensus : The role of accounting in the definition and reproduction of dominant interests," Post-Print hal-01630503, HAL.
    19. Gendron, Yves & Rodrigue, Michelle, 2021. "On the centrality of peripheral research and the dangers of tight boundary gatekeeping," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 76(C).
    20. Ferhat D. Zengul & Nurettin Oner & James D. Byrd & Arline Savage, 2021. "Revealing Research Themes and Trends in 30 Top‐ranking Accounting Journals: A Text‐mining Approach," Abacus, Accounting Foundation, University of Sydney, vol. 57(3), pages 468-501, September.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:crpeac:v:25:y:2014:i:7:p:652-669. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.journals.elsevier.com/critical-perspectives-on-accounting/ .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.