TOTAL ACCOUNTING IN ACTION - REFLECTIONS ON JONSSON,STEN ACCOUNTING FOR IMPROVEMENT

Sten Jonsson's recent book Accounting for Improvement (1996) examines organizational change processes based on several in-depth case-studies , conducted during a period of about ten years. In this review essay t he arguments of the book are placed alongside recent discussions on ma nagement accounting practices, which have increasingly discovered the ''hidden'' potential of accounting and accountants. Jonsson's book off ers exciting insights into organizational improvement processes. which are linked to accounting in a particularly broad, ''total accounting' ' sense. The major limitation of the book is held to be that it places accountants in the background of the analysis, perhaps reflecting pro blems in empirical research designs of the case-studies. As a result, the relationships and communication patterns between accountants and l ine personnel remain largely unexamined. (C) 1998 Published by Elsevie r Science Ltd. All rights reserved.