Readers of this column will know that by profession I am a Chartered Accountant, and after qualifying, I chose to take the academic route, getting a fellowship to do a PhD at the London School of Economics, and then teaching and actively researching at various Universities. As a social scientist, I am keen to make the public aware of Dharma’s vast cultural inheritance and prescience. This week, I wish to share my personal journey as an academic in Britain – a story which few of you are likely to believe.
What does a Professor of Accounting and Finance research, and how does this research influence society, are questions which very few professional accountants can answer – such is the gap between practice and scholarship. If the same questions were asked of a medical scientist, people would have no problem in understanding what they do – conducting advanced research to help cure people and save lives. So why then do we have a problem with Accounting, when the Dharmic communities are full of distinguished accountants? The main reason is that the professions have chosen a very pragmatic path, and abandoned science and theory in their desire to please big business and serve the global industries of profit-maximising and tax avoidance. Corporatism has overcome professionalism. Experts argue that they no longer deserve to be called professional bodies and are in fact trade associations or trade unions – this should be seen as very shameful by leaders of professional bodies. Sadly, their profits and student numbers keep growing so there is a deep reticence to change.
I am pleased to announce the recent publication of a new global ‘Handbook of Accounting in Society’, skilfully compiled and edited by Professor Hendrik Vollmer at Warwick University and published by Edward Elgar.
It has research articles from leading experts in the field, on subjects ranging from environment, sustainability, inequality, racism, public sector accounting, faith and cultural influences on accounting, globalisation, colonialism and activism in accounting. For readers who are unaware of the depth and breadth of research in this field, this is a valuable handbook, exposing how complex and varied the field of accounting practice is, and how real and lasting its influences are on nature, society and the economy. It makes the discipline of accounting seem very interesting to research. Curious accounting professionals ought to make a special effort to use this book as a way to reflect on the depth and breadth of global research in the field from highly qualified expert scientists – it will help them find meaning and purpose in what they do.
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I have two chapters in the book, one of which is an auto-ethnographic account of racism in British Higher Education. This charts my personal story of breaking the glass ceiling, which often seemed like a stone wall, with even mentors twisting the dagger at my research enthusiasm and teaching excellence. It was a very painful chapter to write, but I was clear in my motive – to help inform and educate people about the subtlety of racism even in elite institutions, and the ignorance of the personal mental and emotional consequences. There are a large number of minorities who love accounting and see in the academy an opportunity to share their knowledge, but often discover barriers to their progression, and denials of promotion or tenure.
I develop the phrase ‘double-black’, explaining that when our colour is different and our theories too are Dharmic or non-white, we doubly expose ourselves to deeper depths of discrimination. Refusing to become intellectual or professional coconuts (brown outside and white inside) can be very painful. Our intentions to help improve the world and share this wisdom can be seen as threatening rather than enabling. Empire was built on a presumption of cultural supremacy and that attitude still pervades the social sciences.
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In the profession of accounting, there has been a tendency in the UK for our people to set up their own ‘ethnic’ firms as they could not get promotion within mainstream firms including the Big Four. Many of these are thriving today and have global clients. However, the fact remains that the large international firms ‘use’ our graduates and filter us out routinely, finding some excuse or another. Many smart accountants leave very early own knowing that there will be no future for them. Furthermore, the record of the Big 4 firms in terms of audit quality, corporate tax avoidance and financial scandals shows that they are more interested in profits than in professionalism and public interest protection. This means that those of us who want integrity and ethics to be at the heart of our professional conduct discover that these institutions are highly commercial and aggressive. Professionals from Dharmic cultures can help them build a trust-worthy firm, but instead they are often rooted out as they do not fit into the corporate greed machine. Read this book, share and discuss it with your colleagues and discover how for many academics, public interest protection is at the heart of their educational enterprise. They have not been corporatised.
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Professor Atul K. Shah [@atulkshah] teaches and writes about Indian wisdom on business, culture and community at various UK universities and is a renowned international author, speaker and broadcaster.