Research seminar by professor Jonathan TWEEDIE - HEC Paris

Department : Accounting and Management Control

Speaker : Jonathan TWEEDIE (University of Manchester)

Building V room Ramanantsoa

Zoom link: https://hec-fr.zoom.us/j/96805934302

“The Non-Production of an Accounting Standard: Climate Change, Emissions Trading, and Legitimacy Maintenance”

Abstract:
We examine work by the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) on accounting for carbon emission allowances. Despite commencing work in 2002, to date, no accounting standard or guidance is in place. To understand how a standard-setter maintains legitimacy while not settling this important financial accounting issue we conduct a qualitative case study of over two decades of archival materials. We investigate non-production of a standard as a means for the IASB to uphold legitimacy and muddle through in circumstances where standardization would leave it open to controversy and resistance. Building on institutional research on communication, we show how non-production unfolds through four communicative patterns: commitment signaling, equivocal messaging, conveying complexity, and downplaying urgency. Our study provides new insights into how standard-setters navigate hard-to-settle accounting issues for which technical accounting solutions remain contested. It also advances understanding of the role of communication in constructing perceptions of legitimacy in contentious standard-setting arenas.