The power of words: Explaining recent accounting reforms in the Australian public sector

Abstract

This study explores the power of words and their usage in the context of recent reforms to accounting regulation for the Australian public sector. The broad framework for analysis advanced by Mills (1989) is applied. Mills argued that the discipline of accounting is peculiarly dependent on a specialised vocabulary or terminology, both in determining the nature and content of accounting regulation and practice and also in shaping the accounting domain. According to Mills, given such a close relationship between accounting and its vocabulary, the analysis of the use of key words in accounting during particular periods in history can assist our understanding of important events in the developme..