the interdisciplinary perspectives on accounting conferences
Interdisciplinary accounting research in the UK internationally received a major boost through the launching of the first Interdisciplinary Research on Accounting Conference (IPA) in Manchester in 1985, which brought together accounting researchers with broad social science interests. The IPA Conference has challenged the image of accounting as a neutral management technique which reflects the narrow theoretical and practical basis of previous accounting research. Over time, the conference has raised broader issues about the way that accounting affects, and is affected by, social, political and economic environments, and has provided a forum for interdisciplinary and critical studies from a variety of theoretical perspectives. Within international accounting research, the IPA has become established as the central element in the critical accounting movement and an established forum for the interdisciplinary study of accounting which brings together accounting researchers with broad social science interests and researchers from other disciplines such as anthropology, philosophy and political economy. The main focus is on the social, political and organizational aspects of accounting theory and practice. Previous conferences have included papers on themes such as the accounting profession and its technologies, accounting institutions and the creation of social order and new forms of accounting and accountability relevant to environmental sustainability and employee democracy. These themes are indicative and the organisers welcome innovative submissions. The latest conference was organized by members of IPARG and was held in Cardiff in July 2006, and the next is to be held in July 2009 at the University of Innsbruck.
Past Conferences
The Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Accounting Conferences started in 1985. Organized by Professor David Cooper and Professor Trevor Hopper, the conference was funded by the ESRC and hosted jointly by UMIST and the University of Manchester. IPA conferences were then held every three years at Manchester until 2003, when the IPA for the first time was held outside the UK at Carlos III University, Madrid. In 2006 the conference returned to the UK to be hosted at Cardiff University. In 2009 the Ninth IPA Conference will be held at the University of Innsbruck, Austria. Link: http://www.uibk.ac.at/atr/ipa2009/
The IPA conference has rotated on a three year cycle with the Asia Pacific Interdisciplinary Research in Accounting (APIRA) Conference and the Critical Perspectives on Accounting conference (New York, USA). Together, these conferences provide an international forum and showcase for research on the social, political, and institutional aspects of accounting theory and practice.
IPA2000 was preceded by the first IPA Young (now Emerging) Scholars’ Colloquium with substantial support from the ICAEW, whose participants also attended the main conference. Since then our partner conferences have followed suit in introducing young and emerging scholars workshops and IPA 2009 will host the fourth IPA Emerging Scholars’ Colloquium. The Emerging Scholars Colloquium (ESC) is a two-day event that precedes the main IPA conference. It is targeted at emerging scholars in any field of accounting who are currently doing a PhD. In line with the orientation of the IPA, the ESC tries to promote the interdisciplinary study of accounting. Accordingly, emerging scholars interested in, and working on, the social, political, and organizational aspects of accounting theory and practice are particularly welcome.
A distinctive feature of the IPA is the thorough review that each paper receives before the acceptance decision. Papers are presented at the conference by a discussant with a response from the author. Reviewers and discussants are central to the continuing success of this conference and wide participation in the conference through the review process is encouraged. Past conferences have also held various Plenary and Workshop sessions.
The success of this format depends on the pre-circulation of papers to all participants who should have the proceedings in hard copy or electronic form before the conference. Sessions proceed on the assumption that participants have knowledge of the paper in question:
- Each paper has a discussant who opens the session by summarising and criticising the paper (~20 minutes).
- The author replies, as a prelude, to open discussion by participants (~10 minutes).
- Discussants’ written comments are made available in hard copy form when delegates arrive to register ( ~20 minutes).
Future Conferences
The hosting of future conferences is decided by the Members and Advisory Committee of IPARG. If any European institution would like to host future IPA conferences, please contact of the Director of IPARG (Professor Keith Robson: RobsonK@cf.ac.uk) in the first instance.