Gilling, DonBettison, DavidGilling, MargaretLawrence, Stewart R.2026-06-162026-06-161990https://hdl.handle.net/10289/18366One of the major problems of researching management accounting practice has been that of research practice. Traditional methods have not been able to yield insights into the richness and diversity of accounting practices in organisational processes. The perspective adopted in this thesis is that accounting practice is a symbolic and value-laden phenomenon that can only be understood in action. One way to understand accounting in action is to undertake a processual, interpretive study of an organisation and its development. The aim is to understand accounting practices where they have been developed and where they are used, as part of the ‘lived experience’ of organisational actors. The organisational setting for this study was that of a medium-sized English book publishing company. The distinctive culture that developed affects and is affected by accounting procedures. The way in which actors called upon and employed accounting procedures in their everyday projects, and the way in which these projects were understood and justified through accounting rationales, are described. The work of the management accountant is influenced both by the particular organisational setting and by the generally accepted constructs through which the professional accountant interprets the world. There is a tension between the rational and the social aspects of accounting practice. Those using accounting systems experience the systems’ inadequacies as purely technical-rational devices. The practice of accounting is actively involved in the regulation, even manipulation, of interpersonal relationships. Accountants have to transcend technique and necessarily become involved in organisational activities as cultural and moral agents. A movement away from a technical conception of management accounting towards a communicative function and understanding is suggested. Such a change in perspective would require an appreciation of the more general interpretive schemes, of which ‘accounting’ is a part, that actors use to understand their reality. It would involve an understanding of the partial nature of the accountants’ perspective and the effect that technical management accounting language and routines have on interpersonal relationships. The next generation of management accountants may regard such understanding as an essential characteristic of ‘practice’. Research using the interpretive approach could play a part in the creation of this new professional perspective.enAll items in Research Commons are provided for private study and research purposes and are protected by copyright with all rights reserved unless otherwise indicated.Thesis