Lang hosts 7th annual Qualitative Accounting Research Symposium

Challenging unconscious dichotomies in accounting was the focus of this year’s Qualitative Accounting Research Symposium, hosted by Lang’s Department of Management. Now in its 7th year, the annual symposium brings researchers from across the world to discuss accounting practices in a social, political, and economic context. This year’s event was held in-person as well as virtually.

The event brought together over 140 national and international researchers to share their expertise and interest in qualitative accounting research. For the first time, the event also hosted an Emerging Scholar Colloquium.

Notable accounting professor Dr. Rania Kamla of Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh gave an eye-opening keynote speech titled “Challenging (Un)-conscious Dichotomies in Qualitative Accounting Research: Reflections on Researching Non-Western Contexts” in which she drew from her wide research and shared personal experiences. Her most renowned research explores accounting and accountability in the profession in non-Western contexts, specifically in the Arab and Muslim world. Her recent projects include research on experiences of Muslim women accountants, language and culture in accounting and ethics from Islamic perspectives.

In her keynote speech, Dr. Kamla problematized the global re-production of Western logic of accounting. She unpacked mechanisms through which colonial and imperial power is reproduced both, by researchers and participants through the adoption of false dichotomies. Moving forward, Dr. Kamla urges the accounting research community to these mechanisms through a political and methodological commitment to dismantling the system of domination and to appreciate different languages, ideas and practices.

Dr. Kamla was later joined by Dr. Theresa Hammond (San Francisco State University), Dr. Olatunde Julius Otusanya (University of Lagos) and Dr. Alessandro Ghio (Université Laval) for a panel discussion that further explored this year’s theme. The panel was moderated by Dr. Leslie Berger (Wilfrid Laurier University). The panel revealed various false dichotomies and emphasized that although many dichotomies are socially constructed, their impact on people, especially from marginalized groups, is real and material. The discussion ended in a call for collaborative action in the efforts to de-colonize research practices and education.

The symposium also offered attendees an opportunity to present their research to their colleagues in a constructive forum. Research papers that were presented included:

• What does it mean to be responsible for Canadian Cannabis firms? An examination of CSR identity through social media disclosure - Paulina Arroyo (Université du Québec à Montréal, Canada)
• Can We Explain Managerial Non-Answers During Conference Call Q&A: New Conceptual Directions - Matt Bamber (York University) & Pier-Luc Nappert (Université Laval, Canada)
• How Bitcoin became real: Accounting as a discursive tool in the construction of reality Erica Pimentel (Queen's University, Canada) & Mélissa Fortin (Université du Québec à Montréal, Canada)
• Do fairness perceptions matter in the relationship between earnings management and executive compensation: A literature review - Kainan Xiong (Wilfrid Laurier University, Canada)
• Accountants and Auditors: A view from research - Gajindra Maharaj (York University, Canada)
• Disclosure on the contribution to the Sustainable Development Goals by Argentina's B Corporations - Cecilia Ficco (Universidad Nacional de Río Cuarto, Argentina
• Inconsistent dichotomy between cost and expense addressed in the cost by identification system generating value in production and decision making - Martha Lucia Santana Cerda (Fundación Universitaria Los Libertadores, Colombia)
• Voluntary information disclosure on corporate income tax and profit shifting analysis of the shell case - Sergio Hauque (Universidad Nacional del Litoral, Argentina)

This year’s event was supported by the Gordon S. Lang School of Business and Economics, the School of Administrative Studies at York University, CPA Ontario, the Canadian Academic Accounting Association (CAAA), the University of Guelph's Vice-President (Research) and the Institute for Sustainable Commerce at Guelph. The Emerging Scholar Colloquium was funded by a SSHRC Connection grant.