How decisions are taken in the public realm remains a challenging and fascinating question. In joining the debate, accounting researchers have explored if and how different accounting information is used by public managers and politicians. The current literature contributes in assessing which information is considered and with which goals, providing an understanding of techniques in making a final decision on a given issue. But decision making processes are complex, with an interplay of different factors affecting the final output, and with potentially different roles and uses of accounting information. Thus, it may be worth exploring more in depth the roles accounting plays throughout different stages and from the different perspectives of actors involved.
Following the call for more research about “how politicians arrive at decisions, and what information is required for making these decisions” (Van Helden, 2016) and building on the preliminary work of Giacomini et al (2016) that shows that politicians’ use of accounting changes in accordance with the policy cycle and level of conflict, our aim is to further our understanding of the roles of accounting information through the different stages of a political decision making process (agenda-setting, policy formulation, decision-making, implementation and evaluation, Lasswell 1956) from the perspectives of actors involved. Given that accounting can play a role in each of these stages, we are interested in catching changes and variations between them both in terms of uses, functions and contributions of accounting information, and perspectives of different actors.
We adopt an explorative approach to understand how and why accounting information uses changes through the stages and which are the possible dimensions that have an influence on it. Thus, our research questions are twofold: (i) which are the different uses of accounting information through the stages? (ii) what factors may explain differ uses (i.e. level of conflicts, contextual factors, personal factors, relational factors, etc..)? These research questions will also provide some insights on “accounting at work”, shedding light on the role and mechanisms of accounting information in political decision. To answer the research questions, we will provide evidence based on multiple cases of decision-making process built on semi-structured interviews with politicians and public managers aimed at recalling the different stages of a given decision making process, with a focus on uses and role of accounting information at each stage. Coding of the interviews and the comparison of case studies will provide elements on factors leading to variations.
With this study we wish to add insights on uses and roles of accounting information in decision making process adopting users’ perspective. The current literature is not unanimous in stating that politicians and public managers do really use accounting information in an effective way when taking their decisions, and different uses have been recognized. Looking at different stages of the process could be a way to understand why and when users behave differently when it comes to accounting information. Moreover, different styles of “accounting at work” could emerge, contributing to understanding accounting role in shaping decisions in the public realm.
G1 - Accounting and Accountability – Constructing society – History, culture, politics and
