预算编制外文文献翻译中英文2020

#预算编制外文翻译中英文2020英文Budgetmaking:Thetheatricalpresentationofaccountingdiscourse

LawrenceCorriganAbstractThisinterpretativeresearchengageswithcallsforavisualturninaccountingbypresentingstagyempiricalillustrationsofmunicipalbudgetingthatdrawuponGoffman'sdramaturgicalframework.Thebudgetistheorizedasvisualandtheatrical.Analysisofvideorecordingsofbudgetmeetingsandon-sceneobservationofbudget-makingatasiteofcitymanagementrevealvisualtriggers,rhetoric,andframingthatconstitutebudgetingasvisualdiscourse.Acentralimpressionpresentedinthispaperisthatofuncontrollability.Theapparatusofbudgetingiscomplexandgrowsinanundisturbedway,giventhatbudgetactorsseemtobepassiveintakingleadershiprolestosubstantivelypromotechange.Thispaperdrawsattentiontonumerouselementsofbudget-makingthathighlightvisualaccountingaspartofitsapparatus.ThisviewisincontrasttoclassictheoriesofcontrollabilitythatclaimWeberianbureaucraticidealsofrationality,efficiency,andprofessionalism.Twoscholarlycontributionsareclaimed.First,thispaperjoinsagrowingacademicconversationaboutvisualaccounting,andextendsthisdiscussionwithanexemplarofmanagementaccounting.Untilrecently,thevisualhasbeeninappropriatelyneglectedinaccountingresearch,particularlyinstudiesofthepublicsector.Second,thispaperappliesGoffman'sdramaturgy,anunderusedperspectiveintheaccountingliteratureandathought-provokingmethodologywithacapacityforwhatmayberegardedas“visualcritique”.Keywords：Visualaccounting，Municipaladministration，Budget，Dramaturgy，AccountingdiscourseIntroductionTheaccountingmilieu,andsociallifeingeneral,isimmenselyvisual.Thispapercallsattentiontoinfluentialvisualmaterialinperformancesofaccountingauthorityandcontributestoanascentacademicconversationaroundcriticalvisualanalysisinaccounting(Brown,2010,Davison,2015,Davisonetal.,2015,MalschandGendron,2009,Meyeretal.,2013).Abroaddefinitionofthevisualisemployedinthispaper;forexample,pictures,diagrams,spreadsheets,ritualenactments,videos,webpages,televisionscreens,graphs,andartefactsinthephysicalspaceswhereinteractiontakesplace.Accountingresearchershavebeeninterestedinthevisualforatleastseveraldecades.However,unlikeotherdisciplinessuchasthehumanitiesandsocialstudies,thisstreamofresearchhasnotbeenprominent.“Visualityhasbeenneglecteddespiteaccountinghavingastrongvisualresonance”(Brown,2010,p.486).ThecallformorevisualresearchinaccountingbeganinearnestwithaspecialissueofAccounting,Auditing&AccountabilityJournal(AAAJ,2009).Itwassuggestedthat“therewasablindspotwithregardtothevisualinbothaccountingandorganizationstudies”(Davison&Warren,2009,p.845).Davison(2015)alsoarguesthatuntilrecentlythevisualhasbeenmostlyabsentinaccountingstudies.Importantforthefocusofmypaper,Davison's(2015)synthesisof83articlesinthevisualaccountingfield,whichrevealsaninfrequentuseofdrama-basedtheoreticalapproaches,claimsthattherehasbeen“noworkonthepublicsectororonmanagementaccounting”(p.148).ThisopinionissupportedbyMeyeretal.(2013)whoclaimthatvisualmodesofmeaning・・・・pT・・・p・constructioninorganizationandmanagementresearchremaininactiveandrequiremorequantityandcontrastingtypesofmethodologies.Lapsley,Miller,andPanozzo(2010,p.305)callforaccountingresearchbasedon“visualizingandcalculatingthecity”becausetheyhavefoundthatmunicipalitieshavereceivedlittleattentionregardingthevisual.Thus,thevisualturn,nearlyadecadeafteritsintroductioninAAAJ,isstillinneedofavarietyofempiricalillustrationsofitstheoreticalconcepts.Thispaperanswersthecallforavisualturninaccountingbypayingattentiontohowactorsinmunicipaladministrationusevisualimagestoachievefinancialpatronage1inbudgetpractices.Itdoessointertextuallybybringingdramaturgy(Goffman,1959,Goffman,1967,Goffman,1974)explicitlyintotheemergingliteratureonvisualaccounting.Thefollowingsamplingofarticlesillustratestherathereclecticnatureofthisliterature.Bettner,Frandsen,andMcGoun(2010)discusstheprevalentvisualcultureofaccounting—aculturethatteachesushowtovisuallyseeknowledgepatterns.Theyclaimthatitispossibletoalso“hear”patterns(listeningtoaccounting)toaurallyfindknowledge.Brown(2010)consideredchallengesandprospectsofaccountingandvisualculturalstudies.Sheconcludedthatthisconfluenceenablesstrategicaccountingtocritiqueandresistdominantmodesofthinking.Meyeretal.(2013)showhowvisualsdisguisedasinformation,ratherthanargument,becomereified—enhancingtheirpowertodominate,eventhoughsuchdominationisseldommadeexplicit.Ithasbeensuggestedelsewherethatvisualaccountinginannualreportsisladenwithvestigesofarchaicreligioussymbolism(Davison,2004),includingvisualsthatoftenadoptsacredimagesofascension.Visualaccountabilityhasalsobeenexploredinthecontextofaccountingformunicipalprojects(Czarniawska,2010);thearticlediscussesinterpretativeframeworksforstudyingcitymanagementandenrichesthediscussionbyincludingvisualreportingoftheauthor'sphotographs.Althoughtheaboveintroductionindicatesalackofvisualaccountingliteratureusingdrama-basedtheory,especiallyrelatedtothepublicsector,someextantstudiesareparticularlyrelevanttothispaper.Mueller(2017)notedthataccountingresearchhasoccasionallycalleduponGoffmanianideas(Muellerlistssevenarticleswithpublicationdatesreachingbackto1985)butheclaimsthatnosystematicworkhasyetbeenofsignificanceinthefieldofaccounting.Mueller(2017)addressesthatgapbytakingdramaturgyseriouslyandapplyingaspectsoftheinteractionordertotheperformanceofstrategyinorganizations.ThedramaturgyofinteractionsisathemethatrunsthroughoutGoffman'swork.Intheareaofsocialaccounting,Jones(2011)usesGoffman'sconceptofimpressionmanagementtoassesstheuse,abuse,andvisualimpactofgraphsinenvironmentalaccounting.Jones(2011)notestheextensiveaccountingliteratureconcernedwithearningsmanagementandhebroadensthisideatowardpresentationalmanagementsuchasaccountingnarrativesandgraphs.Followingadramaturgicalframework(Goffman,1959),myresearchexaminesthebudgetprocessesofHalifaxRegionalMunicipalitywhereoperationalboundariesgiverisetofiercecontestsconcerningpoliticalallocationofscarceresources.“Theatrical”analysisofaccountingdiscoursehelpsusrealizethatimpressionmanagementinbudgetinginvolvesskillfuluseofimagery.Thispapercontributestovisualaccountingbyfocusingonmunicipalbudgeting.Specifically,accountingresearchersareencouragedtounderstandbudget-makingasvisualandtheatricalratherthanuncriticallyseeingbudgetingasanall-too-mundaneadministrativepractice.Ifonewishestoimagineaccountingasavisualtheatricalperformance,whatsucceedsatreceiving(orwhatfailstoreceive)publicfundingshouldbeofgreatinterest.ThebudgetprocessesoftheHalifaxCityCouncilmaybeseenastheatricalexperiencewhereinterestsoftheactorsaresustainedonlybysubmittingtostagedperformancesinanorganizeddisputeoveroperatingandcapitalfinancing.Thispaperexamineshowthevisualisinvolvedinargumentandcounter-argumentsurroundingtheformalperformanceofmunicipalbudgetratification.Goffmanreferstotheseperformancesas“expressiongames”(1969,p.10),wherethestructureofinteractionsisdependentonthecontrolandasymmetryofinformation.Accordingly,“thebudget”issociallyconstructedandcomplex;itcanswiftlyconvertfromasingleobjectintoawebofthousandsofindividualbudgetlineitemsandahostofassumptions,calculations,legalcommitments,andwildguesses.Municipalbudgetingisalsoaffectedbyapolyphonicvoice3(Bakhtin,1981)becausemanycompetingbitsandpiecesofadvice(mostlyunaskedfor)independentlyreachtheearsofelectedofficialsinthelead-uptoformalmeetingsoftheCouncil.Strategicvisualization(numbers,words,images,aswellasaccountingstorytelling)isneededtorespondtopolyphonicovertonesandtocommunicateoverwhelmingbudgettexts.IntheHalifaxbudgetstorytofollow,theplayers(municipalmanagement,electedofficials,staffmembers,thenewsmedia,others)visuallyandtheatricallyperforma“good”budgeteventhoughitimposesanunwantedtaxincrease.Highertaxratesareembeddedinacomplexsetofaccountingcalculationsandableto“disappearfromview”eventhoughthesubjectoftaxationremainsinplainsightofthemunicipalactors.Theoreticalframework—dramaturgyDramaturgyisaqualitativeresearchtraditionthatgrewfromGoffman's(1959)notionofsocialperformances.Dramaturgyacceptsafundamentalbeliefinthetheatricalityoforganizingandresonateswithdramaticvisualelementsthatareintegraltobudgetaccounting.Goffmanusedthelanguageoftheatreandcalleduponnumerousdramaturgicaltermstoexpoundonthepresentationofselfinsocialsituations.Goffman'sontologicalstanceincludesthenotionthattheindividualisacrafteroftheself.Inthisrespect,Goffmanstands-outamongsymbolicinteractionistsasonewholeanstowardasubjectivistorientation(althoughnotallwouldagreewithacategorizationofGoffmanasasymbolicinteractionist,asdiscussedinBaert,1998).Indeed,dramaturgyisdifficulttosituateparadigmatically.Thephilosophicalassumptionsunderlyingdramaturgyarisefromanontologicalpositionthatimpliesnominalismwhilealsoapproachinganobjectiveattitudetowardrealism.Asindicatedintheprevioussection,dramaturgyhasbeensparinglyappliedinaccountingresearch.Goffman'sdramaturgicalframeworkhasbeenusedtoquestiontaxablebusinessprofits(Edgley,2010),examineauditorfacework(Johed&Catasus,inpress),problematizethedevelopmentofaccountingnarratives(Beattie,2014),understandstigmarelatedtoaccountingprofessionalism(Jeacle,2008),andexposeaspectsofimpressionmanagement(Sk&rb&k&Tryggestad,2010).Todate,dramaturgyhasnotbeenmeaningfullyusedtoengagewiththevisualturninaccountingsince“thevisualhasoftenbeen(erroneously)regardedeitherasemptydecorationorastransparentinformation”(Davison,2015,p.122).Thisissurprisingbecause,theoretically,dramaturgyandvisualstudiesshareseveralfundamentaltenets—Chart1outlinessevenkeyconceptsofvisualstudies,alongwithselectedcitationsthatelaboratetheseideas.Eachofthesevenvisualstudiesconceptsismatchedwithacomparativedramaturgicalconcept.ThesedrawuponseminalGoffmanpublicationsthatfundamentallyrecognizethetheatricalityandvisualityofsociallife.AcentralpatternevidentfromthecomparisonoutlinedinChart1isthatdramaturgicalandvisualartefactshaveacapacitytoestablishandorganizewhatcomestobeacceptedasknowledge.Thisoftenmanifestsastelling“astoryofthesituation”(Lorino,Mourey,&Schmidt,2017,p.43)inawaythatismeaningfulforfutureaction.Forthispaper,fourselecteddramaturgicaltoolsarecentral.Eachoftheseisbrieflyoutlinedbelow.•Regions:(seeBenford&Hunt,1992)Accordingtodramaturgy,performancesdependuponsegregationofsocialspaceintothefrontregionandbackstage.Thefrontregionisaphysicalspaceassociatedwithvisualmasks,orpersona.Thefrontregioncontainsavarietyoffixedtrappingscalledasettingandfeaturesfrontsofhumanactors,whichincludepersonalappearance,manner,clothing,badges,gender,race,age,gestures,voice,credentials,andahostofothervisualinsignia.Actorsdonotnecessarilycontinuethesameperformancewhentheaudienceisnotpresent.Thebackregionistheplace“wheretheimpressionfosteredbytheperformanceisknowinglycontradictedasamatterofcourse”(Goffman,1959,p.115).Dramaturgyhasitthatone'sauthenticselfisusuallyfoundinthebackstageofsociallife.•Performance(seeBiehl-Missal,2011):Performancemaybethoughtofasallactingthatservestoinfluenceotherparticipants.Performancesinvolvetheeffortsofindividualstowardconvincingothers(andthemselves)thattheirclaimsaregenuine.Performanceincludesseveralelementsasfollows.Dramaticrealizationistheprocesswherebyindividualsinfusetheiractivitywithsignstomoreconvincinglyconvey“facts”thatotherwisemightremainambiguous.Idealizationisthetendencyofactorstopresent“officiallyaccreditedvalues”(Goffman,1959,p.45)fortheiraudiencetowitness.Mystificationinvolvesthemaintenanceofritualsandvisualization.Thesecreateanapprovingaudienceinaweoftheperformance.•Audience(seeHogan,2010):Impressionsarescriptedforthebenefitofanaudience.Fromavisualpointofview,theatresitescanbedisorderly.Theyincludemostlyappreciativeoutwardsignalssuchasapplauseorshoutsofbravo.Booingandhecklingisalsopossible,asistheneutral,albeitannoying,propensityofaudiencememberstoforgettoturnofftheircellphones.Critiquebythemunicipalaudienceisoftenrestrainedbydramaturgicaltechniquesinthebudgetprocess.MunicipaltaxpayersandcitizenlobbyistsareabletoresistthroughperformancesoftheirownthroughsocialmediaandbypoliticaleffortsbeyondtheformalmeetingsintheCouncilChamber.•Impressionmanagement(seeGoffman,1971,Solomonetal.,2013):Goffmandiscussestwotypesofmanagementofimpressions:whatwesay,andwhatwedo.Theformerisinformationthatwe“give”,andisbelievedtobesubstantiallyunderourcontrol;thoseimpressionsthatarecommunicatedinwhatwedowhilewesaythings,i.e.,theinformationthatwe“giveoff”,arebelievedtobelessunderourcontrol.Thusaudienceshaveaccesstovisualandtacitsignsthattheperformerisunabletomanage.Thesesignsmaybeusedasacheckofexpressivebehaviourthatisgivenfrombehindamask.Scholarshavegoneasfarastosaythat“impressionmanagementmaybecalleduponasageneralumbrellaframeworkforvisualanalysis”(Davison,2015,p.134).ConclusionThispapercontributestotheconversationaroundvisualanalysisinaccountingresearch(Davison,2015,Davisonetal.,2015,Jones,2011,MalschandGendron,2009).Thecallforcriticalvisualresearch,especiallyinthefieldofmanagementaccountingandpublicsectormanagementstemsfromadeficitofthevisualincase-basedstudiesofaccounting.The“visualturn”hasproducedapersuasivetheoreticalgroundinganddiscussionoverthepastdecade.However,thevisualturninaccountingisstillinneedofavarietyofempiricalillustrationsofitstheoreticalconcepts.ByexaminingthebudgetprocessesoftheHalifaxRegionalMunicipality,T・・T・・・TT・・・・p・thispaperpaysattentiontohowactorsinmunicipaladministrationusevisualimagesinpractice.FollowingGoffman'sdramaturgicalframework,thisresearchacceptsthenotionthatmunicipalbudgetingisdramatic.Thereputationofbudgeting(andaccountinggenerally)asmundaneadministrativeworkisunwarranted(Jeacle,2008).Seeingaccountingdiscourseas“theatrical”helpsusrealizethatGoffman'sconceptsofperformingregions,performance,audience,andimpressionmanagementinbudgetinginvolveskillfuluseofimagery.Sincethemunicipalbudgetisasocially-constructedvisionofacontestedandever-changingreality,itsconstructiondependsuponhowmunicipalactorsperformtheiraccountingauthority.Theseperformancesareinfusedwithabroadrangeofvisualphenomena.Acentralimpressionpresentedinthispaperisthatofuncontrollability.Theapparatusofbudgetingiscomplexandgrowsinanundisturbedway,giventhatbudgetactorsseemtobepassiveintakingleadershiprolesinordertosubstantivelypromotechange.Power(2013)understands“apparatus”inthecontextofFoucault's(1977,p.195)notionof“dispositif”,whichisasystemofthinkingthathasadominantstrategicfunctionasnegotiationsproducedispositions.Isupportthisviewbydramaturgicallycallingattentiontonumerouselementsofbudget-makingthathighlightvisualaccountingaspartofitsapparatus.Thisincludesbudgetprocessdiagrams,accountingspreadsheetswithdetailedbudgetline-items,engineeringphotographsofcapitalprojectsites,ritualenactmentsofdramatisticmanagers,videos“explaining”taxpolicy,municipalwebpages,televisionscreensshowingtheelectedofficialsinaction,andothervisualizationsthat“constructcontrollabilityboundaries”(Gendron&Spira,2009,p.97).Thisviewisincontrasttoclassictheoriesofcontrollability.Forexample,Ouchi(1979)considersvariousapproaches18thatinfluencetheboundariesofcontrollability,includingabureaucraticcontrolphilosophybasedonWeber's(2002)“ideal”bureaucracy.Thismodelischaracterizedbyhierarchicalauthorityrelations,personalscrutiny,anddefinedspheresofcompetencesubjecttoimpersonalrules.Theoretically,theWeberianbureaucraticgoalistoberational,efficient,andprofessional.Thus,thebudgetprocessmaybeseenasacontrolmechanismforbehaviour.Ouchi(1979)stressesthatitisoffundamentalimportancetoestablishwhichformofcontrolismostefficient.However,thispaperdoesnotemphasizeefficiencyorrationalcontrol.Ifocusinsteadontryingtounderstandthecomplexityofbudgetcontrol.Ontheonehand,visualaccountinghighlightsritualenactmentsthatcollectivelyconstructa“metaimage”thatthebudgetisundercontrol.Ontheotherhand,thispaperindicatesabackstage(ascapturedthroughanalysisofthefrontstage)inwhichtheindividualactorsinvolved,especiallythecouncillors,seemtolacksufficientpowerto“control”thebudget.Thisimpressionofuncontrollabilityraisesanimportantquestion:Isbackstageuncontrollabilityofthebudgetinlinewithdemocraticaccountability?Thispaperhasdramaturgicallyengagedwiththisquestionbyshowingthatstakeholderviewsofrealitymaybeconstructedwithvisualaccounting,andthatcorporatedramamayinterferewithclassicnotionsofcontrollability.Theresearchmilieuforthispaperhasseverallimitationsaswellasopportunitiesforfurtherelaboration.First,theareastudiedinthisresearchwasasinglesector,citygovernment.SinceHalifaxRegionalMunicipality,andonlythatmunicipality,iswhereIperformedfieldworkandgatheredartefacts,fromaconservativeperspectiveitmightbearguedthatthelevelofanalysisistoomicro.AsimilarcomplaintwasheldagainstGoffmanwhowasseenas“adiscovereroftheinfinitelysmall”(Bourdieu,1983,p.112).Althoughatightfocusmaybealimitationforsome,thecasestudydoesprovideausefulplatformtodemonstratetheoreticalideasrelatingtovisualaccounting.Casestudiesofferanuancedunderstandingofsituationsofuncertaintyandinstability(Cooper&Morgan,2008)aswellassheddinglightonwhataccountantsactuallydointheirworksetting(Power&Gendron,2015).Therearemanyaspectsofmunicipalorganizationallifethatcouldhavebeenexplored.Forexample,differencesofbigandsmalladministrations,differencesofurbanandruraldistricts,differencesofstrongmayorversusstrongmanagerstructures,themunicipalityofthepresentandthemunicipalityofthepast,silenceasacounterpointtodiscourse.Anabundanceofdichotomies.However,Ifoundthatthispaper'scontributiontovisualaccountingcouldbeaccommodatedinasinglemunicipalunitinHalifax.Iconcludethispaperwithasuggestionforfutureresearch.Criticalaccountingstudies,whendealingwiththevisualatall,havetendedtofocusontechnicalvisualforms(Davison,2015)suchasfilm,architecture,diagrams,colour,webpages,graphs,andothervisualforms.However,visualaccountingresearchhasbeguntosurfaceideasconcerningtheaccountant'sprofessionalidentity(e.g.,Jeacle,2012,Picardetal.,2014).Furtherresearcheffortsshouldbeextendedtotheaccountantpersonagiventhehighimpactthatprofessionalshaveonsociety.Ausefulresearchquestionwouldbe:“Howdoesthevisualconstitutetheaccountant'sself?”Mead'sseminalpublication,Mind,SelfandSociety(1934)conceptualizedtheselfandexplicitlyrecognizedtherole-playingcapacityoftheself.Meadianrolesthatpeopleplayinsocietyare“firstrehearsedinthetheatreofthemindandlaterperformedinthetheatreoflife”(Czarniawska-Joerges&Jacobsson,1995,p.377).Accountantscanbeanaudienceoftheirownperformance,andtheselfcanbetheorizedasaproductofvisualperformances.Thissuggestionforfutureresearchcould,forexample,berelatedtotheimportantmatterofaccountingtransparency.AsstatedbyRoberts(2009,p.964),“thepoweroftransparencyliesinthepossibilitythatIand/orotherswillidentifywiththeimageoftheselfthatsuchtransparencyoffers:thatIwillrecognizemyselfand/orberecognizedinitscategories”.Thus,futureresearchcouldmakeacontributiontotheideathataccountingactorsrequireanunderstandingoftheselftoexploretensionbetweentheseenandtheunseeninaccountingidentityandroles.Finally,itshouldberecalledthatcriticalaccountingresearchersareactorsintheconstructionofknowledge(Golden-Biddle&Locke,2007).Tryingtoactasadramaturge,Isoughttoshowhowvisualsymbolssuchasmunicipalflags,prayerinvocations,poetry,impressivestacksofbudgetpapers,para-militaryuniforms,thestandardbusinesssuit,andavarietyoftextsplayaroleinthevisualpresentationofamunicipalbudget.Understandingthisroleisrequiredformakingevidentbothmundaneandproblematicperformancesofaccounting.“Seeingandvisualizingareimplicatedinstrategiesforknowing,fordesiringandfortheexerciseofpower”(Brown,2010,p.483).Inthispaper,Iuseddramaturgicalconceptsandvisualaccountingtoexposefractiouspowerrelationsamongmunicipalstakeholdersandtoidentifytheasymmetryofbudgetinformationskewedinfavourofmanagement.Thispaperalsoreenactedvisualdramathatotherwiseplaysexpressiongames,silencesrivals,andpromotesversionsofrealityconstructedinthebackstageofpowerrelations.Thus,thisdramaturgicalresearchengagedwithcallsfora“visualturn”inaccountinganddidsobyprovidingacriticalperspectiveonmunicipalbudgeting.中文预算编制：会计话语的展示

劳伦斯•科里根摘要这项解释性研究通过在哥夫曼戏剧性框架的基础上，呈现出对市政预算的平凡经验性例证，从而呼吁对会计进行可视化转变。预算在理论上是视觉和戏剧性的。对预算会议的录像和对城市管理现场的预算制定进行现场观察的分析表明，视觉触发，言辞和框架构成了预算，是视觉论述。本文提出的主要印象是不可控性。预算编制者很复杂，并且不受干扰地增长，因为预算参与者似乎在担任领导角色以实质性地促进变革方面是被动的。本文提请注意预算编制的许多要素，这些要素强调视觉会计作为其工具的一部分。这种观点与声称韦伯式的官僚主义理性，效率和专业主义理想的可控性经典理论形成鲜明对比。要求两项学术贡献。首先，本文加入了有关视觉会计的日益增长的学术讨论，并以管理会计为例扩展了这一讨论。直到最近，在会计研究中，特别是在公共部门的研究中，视觉一直被忽视。其次，本文运用了戈夫曼的戏剧性，会计学文献中未被充分利用的观点以及一种发人深思的方法论，该方法具有被视为“视觉批判”的能力。关键词：视觉会计，市政管理，预算，Dramaturgy，会计话语引言会计环境和整个社会生活都是极为视觉化的。本文呼吁人们注意影响会计权威绩效的视觉材料，并为围绕会计中关键视觉分析的新生学术对话做出贡献（Brown，2010，Davison，2015，Davisonetal。，2015，MalschandGendron，2009，Meyeretal等人，2013年）。本文采用了广泛的视觉定义。例如，发生交互的物理空间中的图片，图表，电子表格，仪式，视频，网页，电视屏幕，图表和人工制品。会计研究人员对视觉的兴趣至少已有几十年了。但是，与其他学科（如人文和社会研究）不同，这一研究流并不突出。“尽管视觉效果很强，但视觉效果却被忽略了"（Brown，2010年，第486页）。认真呼吁对会计进行更多视觉研究的呼声始于《会计，审计与责任杂志》（AAAJ,2009年）。有人建议“在会计和组织研究中都存在视觉上的盲区"（Davison&Warren,2009,p.845）。Davison（2015）还认为，直到最近，会计研究中几乎都没有视觉效果。对于我的论文而言，重要的是，戴维森（Davison（2015））总结了视觉会计领域的83篇文章，该文章揭示了基于戏剧的理论方法的很少使用，并声称“在公共部门或管理会计领域没有任何工作”（第148页）。这种观点得到了Meyer等人（2013）的支持。他认为组织和管理研究中的视觉意义建构模式仍然不活跃，需要更多数量和对比类型的方法。Lapsley,Miller和Panozzo（2010，p305）呼吁基于“可视化和计算城市”的会计研究，因为他们发现市政当局很少关注视觉。因此，在将其引入AAAJ后将近十年的视觉转向，仍需要对其理论概念进行各种实证说明。本文通过关注市政行政部门的行为者如何使用视觉图像来实现预算实践中的财务赞助，来回应会计中的视觉转变。它通过将戏剧性（哥夫曼，1959年；哥夫曼，1967年，哥夫曼，1974年）明确地带入新兴的关于视觉会计的文献，来实现互文性。以下文章样本说明了该文献的折衷性质。Bettner，Frandsen和McGoun（2010）讨论了流行的会计视觉文化-这种文化教会了我们如何以视觉方式看到知识模式。他们声称，也有可能“听”模式（听会计）以通过听觉找到知识。布朗（2010）考虑了会计和视觉文化研究的挑战和前景。她的结论是，这种融合使战略会计能够批判和抵制主流思维方式。Meyer等（2013）展示了如何将伪装成信息而不是论据的视觉化，从而增强了它们的统治力，尽管这种统治很少是明确的。在其他地方有人提出，年度报告中的视觉会计充满了古老的宗教象征主义的痕迹（Davison，2004）,包括通常采用神圣提升形象的视觉。在对市政项目进行会计核算的同时，还探索了视觉问责制（Czarniawska,2010年）；本文讨论了用于研究城市管理的解释框架，并通过包括对作者照片的视觉报告来丰富了讨论。尽管以上介绍表明缺乏基于戏剧的理论的视觉会计文献，特别是与公共部门有关的视觉会计文献，但是一些现有的研究与本文特别相关。Mueller（2017）指出，会计研究偶尔会引用Goffmanian的思想（Mueller列出了七篇文章的发表日期可以追溯到1985年），但他声称尚未有系统的工作在会计领域发挥重要作用。Mueller（2017）通过认真对待戏剧性并将互动顺序的各个方面应用于组织战略绩效来解决这一差距。互动的戏剧性贯穿整个戈夫曼的作品。在社会会计领域，Jones（2011）使用高夫曼的印象管理概念来评估图形在环境会计中的使用，滥用和视觉影响。琼斯（2011）注意到与收益管理有关的广泛会计文献，他将该思想扩展到了诸如会计叙述和图表之类的呈现管理。遵循戏剧化的框架（Goffman,1959年），我的研究考察了哈利法克斯地区自治市的预算流程，在该流程中，业务边界引发了关于稀缺资源的政治分配的激烈竞争。会计话语的“戏剧性”分析有助于我们认识到预算中的印象管理涉及对图像的熟练使用。本文通过关注市政预算为视觉会计做出了贡献。特别是，鼓励会计研究人员将预算编制理解为视觉和戏剧形式，而不是不加批判地将预算编制视为一种过分的行政实践。如果希望将会计想象成一种视觉的戏剧表演，那么成功获得（或失败获得）公共资金的事物应该引起人们的极大兴趣。哈利法克斯市议会的预算流程可以看作是戏剧体验，在这种体验中，只有通过在有关运营和资本融资的有组织的争端中进行上演才能维持演员的利益。本文研究了视觉如何参与围绕市政预算批准的正式绩效的论证和反议。戈夫曼将这些表演称为“表达游戏”（1969，第10页），其中互动的结构取决于信息的控制和不对称性。因此，“预算”在社会上是复杂的；它可以迅速地从单个对象转换成包含成千上万个单独预算订单项以及大量假设，计算，法律承诺和疯狂猜测的网络。市政预算也受到复音3的影响（Bakhtin,1981年），因为在理事会正式会议召开之前，许多相互竞争的点点滴滴（大部分未征求意见）都独立地当选官员的耳朵。需要战略可视化（数字，单词，图像以及会计讲故事）来响应复调，并传达压倒性的预算案文。在随后的哈利法克斯预算故事中，参与者（市政管理人员，民选官员，工作人员，新闻媒体等）在视觉和戏剧上执行“良好”预算，即使这会造成不必要的税收增加。较高的税率包含在一组复杂的会计计算中，即使税收主体仍在市政参与者的视线范围内，也可以“从视线中消失”。理论框架-戏剧学戏剧学是一种定性研究传统，源于高夫曼（1959）的社会表演概念。戏剧学接受组织戏剧性的基本信念，并与预算会计不可或缺的戏剧性视觉元素产生共鸣。戈夫曼用戏剧语言来呼唤许多戏剧性的术语，以阐明在社会场合中自我的表现。戈夫曼的本体论立场包括个人是自我创造者的观念。在这方面，戈夫曼在象征主义的互动主义者中脱颖而出，因为他倾向于主观主义的取向（尽管并非所有人都同意戈夫曼作为象征性的互动主义者的分类，正如Baert,1998年所讨论的）。的确，戏剧学很难以范式来定位。戏剧学的哲学假设源于本体论立场，它暗示了唯名论，同时也对客观主义持客观态度。如前一节所述，戏剧学已很少应用于会计研究。高夫曼的戏剧框架被用来质疑应税营业利润（Edgley,2010）,检查审计师的工作面貌（Johed和Catasus,印刷中），对会计叙事的发展提出质疑（Beattie,2014）,理解与会计专业化有关的污名（Jeacle,2008年），并展示了印象管理的各个方面（Sk&rb氏k和Tryggestad,2010年）。迄今为止，戏剧学还没有被有意义地用于处理视觉转折，因为“视觉经常被（错误地）视为空洞的装饰或透明的信息”（Davison,2015,第122页）。这是令人惊讶的，因为从理论上讲，戏剧学和视觉研究具有几个基本原则-图1概述了视觉研究的七个关键概念,以及阐述这些思想的精选引文。七个视觉研究概念中的每一个都与比较戏剧的概念相匹配。这些借鉴了高夫曼（Goffman）的开创性著作,这些出版物从根本上认可了社会生活的戏剧性和视觉性。从图1概述的比较中可以明显看出,一种中心模式是,戏剧和视觉手工艺品具有建立和组织将被接受为知识的东西的能力。这通常表现为以一种对未来行动有意义的方式讲“局势的故事”（Lorino,Mourey和Schmidt，2017年，第43页）。在本文中,四个选定的戏剧工具是核心。下面简要概述了每个方法。•地区：（请参阅Benford＆Hunt,1992）根据戏剧学,表演取决于社会空间在前部区域和后台的隔离。前部区域是与视觉蒙版或角色相关联的物理空间。前部区域包含各种固定的陷阱,称为环境,并具有人类演员的阵线,其中包括个人外貌,举止,衣服,徽章,性别,种族,年龄,手势,声音,证书和其他许多视觉标志。当观众不在时,演员不一定会继续相同的表演。后面的区域是“表演所带来的印象被理所当然地矛盾的地方”（Goffman,1959,第115页）。戏剧学认为人们的真实自我通常出现在社交生活的后台。•绩效（见Biehl-Missal,2011年）：绩效可被视为影响其他参与者的所有行为。表演涉及个人努力说服他人（和他们自己）他们的主张是真实的。性能包括以下几个要素。戏剧性的实现是一个过程,在此过程中,个人将自己的活动充满迹象,以更令人信服地传达“事实”,否则这些事实可能仍然模棱两可。理想化是演员趋向于呈现“官方认可的价值观”（Goffman,1959,第45页），以供观众见证的趋势。神秘化涉及维护仪式和形象化。这些令敬畏的表演赢得了认可的观众。•受众（请参阅Hogan，2010年）：印象的编写是为了观众的利益。从视觉上看，剧院区可能是无序的。它们主要包括赞赏的外在信号，例如掌声或赞美声。冒充和乱叫也是可能的，听众成员中立的，尽管令人讨厌的倾向也有忘记忘记关闭手机的倾向。在预算过程中，市政观众的批评常常受到戏剧技术的束缚。市政纳税人和公民说客能够通过自己在社交媒体上的表现以及在安理会会议厅举行的正式会议以外的政治努力进行抵制。•印象管理（见Goffman,1971；Solomon等，2013）：Goffman讨论了印象管理的两种类型：我们说什么和我们做什么。前者是我们“提供”的信息，被认为在我们的控制之下。人们认为在我们所说的事情中所做的事情所传达的印象,即我们“给予”的信息,在我们的控制之下较少。因此,观众可以看到表演者无法管理的视觉和默示标志。这些符号可以用作检查从面具后面给出的表现行为的标志。学者们甚至说“印象管