reconceptulising accounting and its connections to strategy
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Reconceptulising Accounting and its Connections to Strategy. Wai Fong Chua University of New South Wales. Aim. To reconceptualise how we research accounting and its connections to strategy. Accounting – verb or noun? Over-emphasis on noun form. Strategy – verb or noun? - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
Reconceptulising Accounting and its Connections to Strategy
Wai Fong Chua Wai Fong Chua
University of New South Wales
Aim
To reconceptualise how we research accounting and its
connections to strategy.
Accounting, Measuring, Reporting and Strategizing – Re-Using Verbs
Accounting – verb or noun?
Over-emphasis on noun form.
Strategy – verb or noun?
Over-emphasis on noun.
What is wrong with the over-emphasis on nouns? Accounting and strategy become black boxes.
We ignore an analysis of:
Activities.
Connections between activities.
Connections among activities.
Connections among actors, actants in particular space-times.
Multiple translations and transformations of accounting and strategy.
We ignore accounting and strategising.
What does it mean to study accounting/strategy as verbs?
Localizing the global (Latour 2005).
Redistribute the local (Latour 2005).
Connecting sites and time.
Globalising the local.
Accounting / Strategy
Mediator
↓
Active
Translator
Transformer
Mediated Activities
Translated Activities
What does it mean to study accounting/strategy as verbs?
The enactment of strategy is:
A constant movement; circulates in networks.
A fluid translation and re-translation.
Occurs in multiple sets and times.
Is mediated by numerous actors (human and non-human), texts, numbers.
Research Design and MethodsLocalising the global co-product
The field study
OzCom
Major telecommunications carrier
Incorporated in Australia in 1991
Large capital investments in early years averaging AUD$600 million per annum
Market capitalization of AUD$20 billion (as at 2000)
The alliance: OzCom Infrastructure
OzCom, Atlantic, EuroCom, Suppliers A and B
Research Design and Methods Data collection
Data Analysis
NUDIST
Strauss and Corbin’s coding framework
Approximate Period Covered October 1997 - December 1999 Length of Time 26 Months Interviews 27 Meetings and Presentations attended 61 Observation Days (ranging from ½ day to full day) 28 Documents ##
Network of Relationships in OzCom Infrastructure
OzCom Infrastructure
OzCom
Finance Engineering
Procurement
Suppliers
Accounting Technologies
Project Milestones
BPIs Price Schedules
Cost Experiments
Buyer Group
Market Demand
Government
EuroCom
Atlantic Ready-made Technology
Ready-made Prices
Global Prices
License
More Expertise
‘Inadequate’ Forecasting Technology
Benchmarking
Benchmarking
Local Support 80% Australian Content
80% Australian Content
Analyzing OzCom Infrastructure in its Action Net
The formative years
Building a telecommunication network “Ready-made” technology “Value generating” partners “Ready-made” prices
An attempt to manage: “time is the essence” Project milestones measure Privileging time over cost
Cost overruns
Analyzing OzCom Infrastructure in its Action Net (Cont’d)
Designing two control frameworks
Fixed price schedules Business performance indices (BPIs)
Idiosyncratic interpretation of “value” and “BPI failure”
Ambiguities Asymmetries
Control frameworks as sources of controversy and conflict
Analyzing OzCom Infrastructure in its Action Net (Cont’d)
Devising accounting control measures
Cost per subscriber measure
Focusing on committed/capacity cost
Total cost does not matter! Cost per subscriber will control costs
“Low success” with the cost per subscriber measure Growth in the subscriber base Inadequate sales forecasting system
Analyzing OzCom Infrastructure in its Action Net (Cont’d)
Operation break-even (OBE) measure
Focusing on committed cost and “network support cost”
Struggles to define OBE Inviting suppliers to craft a measure Accessing vital commercially-sensitive data Cooperation??
Abandoning OBE
Analyzing OzCom Infrastructure in its Action Net (Cont’d)
Incentive scheme and budget constraints
Recasting the cost problem as an incentive problem Segregating ‘total’ cost into:
“network support costs”, and “other network costs”
Linking payment for “network support costs” to BPIs Weak diagnostic capacity Ambiguity
Analyzing OzCom Infrastructure in its Action Net (Cont’d)
Incentive scheme and budget constraints (Cont’d)
Imposing budget constraints on “other network costs” Asymmetrical distribution of knowledge Growth in market demand for ICT
Linking BPIs and total spend to supply managers’ compensation
Analyzing OzCom Infrastructure in its Action Net (Cont’d)
Enlisting the support of allies
“Internal” support Engineering vs. Finance
“International user group” Benchmarking
EuroCom Negotiating “global prices”
Localizing the Global
Embedding a ‘strategic alliance’ in local action.
Redistributing the local
The unseen presence of EuroCom, Atlantic
Diverse actors
Struggles over accounting
Remaking of accounting
Remaking of strategic alliance.
Connecting sites and times
Atlantic, EuroCom. Then and now.
Globalizing the local?
Theorizing the empirics