The roles of accounting in organizations and society

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Abstract

The paper seeks to contrast the roles that have been claimed on behalf of accounting with the ways in which accounting functions in practice. It starts by examining the context in which rationales for practice are articulated and the adequacy of such claims. Thereafter consideration is given to how accounting is implicated in both organizational and social practice. The paper concludes with a discussion of the implications for accounting research.

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    We would like to acknowledge the financial support of the Anglo-German Foundation for the Study of Industrial Society and the Foundation for Management Education.

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