Ken Crofts | Charles Sturt University (original) (raw)

Papers by Ken Crofts

Research paper thumbnail of Accountability reporting for community and social welfare by a large benevolent institution: A pilot study

Abstract: With the increasing devolution of service delivery from government to non profit organi... more Abstract: With the increasing devolution of service delivery from government to non profit organisations (NPOs), there has been an escalating flow of public funds 1 to NPOs through a variety of funding mechanisms including grants, competitive tendering and annual funding allocations. Given this rise in publicly funded, but privately provided services, and the largely discretionary nature of grant funding, it is important for both the public funding agency and the funding recipient to be accountable for the use of these public funds.

Research paper thumbnail of Interrogating Accountability: An Illustration of the Use of Leximancer Software for Qualitative Data Analysis

Qualitative Research, Jan 1, 2010

Purpose – The paper has a dual purpose, being to report on an interrogation of concepts and conte... more Purpose – The paper has a dual purpose, being to report on an interrogation of concepts and contexts of accountability used in the accounting literature and to illustrate the application of a qualitative data analysis software tool in this interrogation.

Design/methodology/approach – A content analysis was undertaken of 114 journal articles related to accountability and published in highly ranked accounting journals from 2000 to 2007.

Findings – Accountability is a concept used in a variety of contexts, particularly in connection with public accountabilities and accountability in the public sector, as well as within social contexts. The emphasis appears to be on accountability reporting in these settings, with less concern for the management perspective. The variety of contextual usage and categorisations of the term “accountability” indicate it has not become more precise over the period in question.

Research limitations/implications – Since only 21 accounting journals are sampled, there is scope for investigating accountability concepts across a broader base of publication outlets. The findings suggest that greater effort should be devoted to developing frameworks of accountability, researching accountability in relatively under-explored contexts and settings, and considerable scope for researchers to more frequently utilise computer-assisted qualitative data analysis in content analysis studies concerning accounting and accountability.

Originality/value – While there is anecdotal evidence of the elusive nature of accountability, this paper provides a window on conceptions of accountability employed by accounting scholars and the contexts in which accountability is discussed and researched. Further, the use of the Leximancer software tool in qualitative content analysis is demonstrated, noting that the accounting literature is currently devoid of examples of applications of this software.

Research paper thumbnail of Perceptions of accountability in Australian faith-based social welfare organisations

Third Sector Review, Jan 1, 2009

With the increasing devolution of service-delivery from government to the third sector, there has... more With the increasing devolution of service-delivery from government to the
third sector, there has been an escalating flow of public funds to faithbased
social-welfare organisations through a variety of funding mechanisms,
including grants, competitive tendering and annual funding allocations. This
research paper analyses the effect this increased flow of funding has had
on the sacred and secular matters of three large faith-based social-welfare
organisations, based on the perceptions of accountability by managers within
these organisations. The conclusions from the study are that all three case
organisations were able to resist secularisation arising from the increased
government funding by focusing on their core mission of meeting needs of
the poor and marginalised, as exemplified by Christ. There had been an
increase in financial accountability obligations arising in the faith-based
social-welfare organisations, but this did not appear to detract from the
‘sacred central sanctuary’ of these organisations.

Research paper thumbnail of Financial and Social Accountability of Community Groups and the Provision of Public Sector Seed Funding: A Case Study

Research paper thumbnail of Are Discretionary Public Funding Models for the Australian Third Sector an Anomaly Under the New Public Management Regime

The application of public choice theory to the public sector has ushered in an era of public serv... more The application of public choice theory to the public sector has ushered in an era of public service reforms referred to in the literature as the New Public Management (NPM). These reforms have concentrated on efficiency, effectiveness and performance. One of the outcomes from the adoption of the NPM is the outsourcing of delivery of public services. As a result,

Research paper thumbnail of The Changing Accountability Relationship Between NGOs and Government Grant Funding Agencies Under NPM

Research paper thumbnail of Using Onscreen-Action-Capture Tutorials to Enhance Student Learning of MYOB Software

Proceedings of the Second Innovation in Accounting …

Research paper thumbnail of Developing a Student Centric MBA Subject: My Adventures In Online Learning

Bright ideas and evolving evidence, Jan 1, 2005

Research paper thumbnail of Accountability reporting for community and social welfare by a large benevolent institution: A pilot study

Abstract: With the increasing devolution of service delivery from government to non profit organi... more Abstract: With the increasing devolution of service delivery from government to non profit organisations (NPOs), there has been an escalating flow of public funds 1 to NPOs through a variety of funding mechanisms including grants, competitive tendering and annual funding allocations. Given this rise in publicly funded, but privately provided services, and the largely discretionary nature of grant funding, it is important for both the public funding agency and the funding recipient to be accountable for the use of these public funds.

Research paper thumbnail of Interrogating Accountability: An Illustration of the Use of Leximancer Software for Qualitative Data Analysis

Qualitative Research, Jan 1, 2010

Purpose – The paper has a dual purpose, being to report on an interrogation of concepts and conte... more Purpose – The paper has a dual purpose, being to report on an interrogation of concepts and contexts of accountability used in the accounting literature and to illustrate the application of a qualitative data analysis software tool in this interrogation.

Design/methodology/approach – A content analysis was undertaken of 114 journal articles related to accountability and published in highly ranked accounting journals from 2000 to 2007.

Findings – Accountability is a concept used in a variety of contexts, particularly in connection with public accountabilities and accountability in the public sector, as well as within social contexts. The emphasis appears to be on accountability reporting in these settings, with less concern for the management perspective. The variety of contextual usage and categorisations of the term “accountability” indicate it has not become more precise over the period in question.

Research limitations/implications – Since only 21 accounting journals are sampled, there is scope for investigating accountability concepts across a broader base of publication outlets. The findings suggest that greater effort should be devoted to developing frameworks of accountability, researching accountability in relatively under-explored contexts and settings, and considerable scope for researchers to more frequently utilise computer-assisted qualitative data analysis in content analysis studies concerning accounting and accountability.

Originality/value – While there is anecdotal evidence of the elusive nature of accountability, this paper provides a window on conceptions of accountability employed by accounting scholars and the contexts in which accountability is discussed and researched. Further, the use of the Leximancer software tool in qualitative content analysis is demonstrated, noting that the accounting literature is currently devoid of examples of applications of this software.

Research paper thumbnail of Perceptions of accountability in Australian faith-based social welfare organisations

Third Sector Review, Jan 1, 2009

With the increasing devolution of service-delivery from government to the third sector, there has... more With the increasing devolution of service-delivery from government to the
third sector, there has been an escalating flow of public funds to faithbased
social-welfare organisations through a variety of funding mechanisms,
including grants, competitive tendering and annual funding allocations. This
research paper analyses the effect this increased flow of funding has had
on the sacred and secular matters of three large faith-based social-welfare
organisations, based on the perceptions of accountability by managers within
these organisations. The conclusions from the study are that all three case
organisations were able to resist secularisation arising from the increased
government funding by focusing on their core mission of meeting needs of
the poor and marginalised, as exemplified by Christ. There had been an
increase in financial accountability obligations arising in the faith-based
social-welfare organisations, but this did not appear to detract from the
‘sacred central sanctuary’ of these organisations.

Research paper thumbnail of Financial and Social Accountability of Community Groups and the Provision of Public Sector Seed Funding: A Case Study

Research paper thumbnail of Are Discretionary Public Funding Models for the Australian Third Sector an Anomaly Under the New Public Management Regime

The application of public choice theory to the public sector has ushered in an era of public serv... more The application of public choice theory to the public sector has ushered in an era of public service reforms referred to in the literature as the New Public Management (NPM). These reforms have concentrated on efficiency, effectiveness and performance. One of the outcomes from the adoption of the NPM is the outsourcing of delivery of public services. As a result,

Research paper thumbnail of The Changing Accountability Relationship Between NGOs and Government Grant Funding Agencies Under NPM

Research paper thumbnail of Using Onscreen-Action-Capture Tutorials to Enhance Student Learning of MYOB Software

Proceedings of the Second Innovation in Accounting …

Research paper thumbnail of Developing a Student Centric MBA Subject: My Adventures In Online Learning

Bright ideas and evolving evidence, Jan 1, 2005