The value of accounting discourse in conditions of accelerating change

Abstract

This study investigates the complex relationships between organisational strategic change, developing accountabilities, and materialised values in the emerging public-service network. The study highlights the importance of bilateral governance, relational forms of behaviour, and the voluntary exchange of information that is based upon shared values and that regulates networked behaviour in a much less overt way than formal attempts at control. In these circumstances accountancy basically serves as an assistant, helping to mediate, shape and construct inter-organisational relations through various socio-economic and discursive power-based mechanisms. The results indicate that for some organisations value-based management may still have elements of value-adding contributions of a more non-financial and social nature despite the veneer of the rhetoric. In combining participation in development work, work in practice, and theoretical analysis, the study carries both theoretical and practical implications.