Communication, disclosure and power games: a figurational approach to understanding CPA Australia's corporate governance scandal

Giacomo Pigatto, John Dumay, Lino Cinquini () and Andrea Tenucci

Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, 2023, vol. 36, issue 9, 446-482

Abstract: Purpose - This research aims to examine and understand the rationales and modalities behind the use of disclosure before, during and after a corporate governance scandal involving CPA Australia (CPAA). Design/methodology/approach - Data beyond CPAA's annual reports were collected, such as news articles, media releases, an independent review panel (IRP) report, and the Chief Operating Officer's letter to members. These disclosures were manually coded and analysed through the word counts and word trees in NVivo. This study also relied on Norbert Elias' conceptual tool of power games among networks of actors – figurations – to model the scandal as a power game between the old Board, the press, concerned members, the IRP and the new Board. This study analysed the data to reveal a collective and in fieri power balance that changed with the phases of the scandal. Findings - A mix of voluntary, involuntary, requested and absent disclosures was important in triggering, managing and ending the CPAA scandal. Moreover, communication and disclosure fulfilled a constitutive role since both: mobilised actors, enabled coordination among actors, contributed to pursuing shared goals and influenced power balances. Such a constitutive role was at the heart of the ability of coalitions of figurations to challenge and restore the powerful status quo. Originality/value - This research introduces to accounting studies the collective and in fieri dimensions of power from figurational theory. Moreover, the research sheds new light on using voluntary, involuntary, requested and absent disclosures before, during and after a corporate crisis.

Keywords: Disclosure; Power game; Figurational theory; Actor–network theory; Crisis communication; Corporate governance (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eme:aaajpp:aaaj-02-2022-5681

DOI: 10.1108/AAAJ-02-2022-5681

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