ACCOUNTANTS IN ORGANIZATIONAL NETWORKS

Using four case studies carried out in the UK clothing and textiles in dustry, this paper explores how accounting might be differentially imp licated in the coordination of activity as organisations face higher o r lower degrees of uncertainty. It is argued that one of the difficult ies faced by many of the contingency studies that have addressed this problem is their conceptualisation of accounting. The present study su ggests that accounting, as a tool for organisational control, exists n ot as a collection of techniques, but as on-going processes. As such, the individuals involved with such processes might be expected to play a substantial role in shaping them. Social network analysis forms the basis of an attempt to understand these issues. (C) 1998 Elsevier Sci ence Ltd All rights reserved.