Accounting Forum 36 (2012) 209222

Contents lists available at SciVerse ScienceDirect

Accounting Forum
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/accfor

Accounting and marketing communications in arts engagement:

A discourse analysis
Helen Oakes a, , Steve Oakes b,1
a
Keele Management School, Keele University, Keele, Staffordshire ST5 5BG, United Kingdom
b
University of Liverpool Management School, Chatham Street, Liverpool L69 7ZH, United Kingdom

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: Roles of accounting and marketing communications in ofcial documents concerned
Received 9 February 2012 with widening arts engagement in England are examined. Four discourses are identied
Accepted 15 February 2012 in a framework as interpretive lenses: metaphysical, modern, postmodern and post-
metaphysical. Accounting and marketing communications were associated with all four
Keywords:
discourses to some degree. However, accounting was primarily conceptualised by the
Widening arts engagement
authors of the documents as a modern discourse, whilst they primarily portrayed mar-
Metaphysical
Modernism
keting communications as a purveyor of postmodern and post-metaphysical discourses.
Postmodernism Accounting and marketing communications demonstrated ambiguity and overlapping roles
Post-metaphysical in attempts to legitimise frequently contradictory positions, thus reecting a Habermasian
Habermas tension between facts and norms.
2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction

In recent years, widening engagement in the arts has become an important concept in government thinking. Within the
current climate of austerity involving cutbacks for many arts organisations, this paper highlights the broader value of art and
considers specic issues regarding the communication and implementation of arts policy. It focuses on understanding the
ways in which accounting and marketing communications are portrayed in policy documents concerned with widening arts
engagement (including access and participation) in England. Widening engagement is seen as a force to enhance individual
wellbeing and social inclusion. In addition to increasing the academic attainment of children and improving the behaviour of
offenders, it is argued to be signicant in generating economic wealth and nurturing urban regeneration, thus contributing
to employment (Department for Culture, Media and Sport Access to the arts, 2008).
Widening arts engagement is an important research strand because it arguably has the potential to signicantly improve
the lifeworld (values, culture and subjective experiences) of individuals and society. Moreover, the ways in which accounting
and marketing communications are portrayed and conceptualised are potentially crucial in supporting this endeavour.
Accounting in arts engagement has been subject to criticism by arts managers (e.g. Tusa, 2000) and academics (e.g. Durrer
& Miles, 2009), thus adding to its research signicance, and it has been seen as indifferent to quality art unless such quality
can be quantied on a balance sheet (Tusa, 2000, p. 30). This is of particular interest since previous research has suggested
that stakeholders may question the narrowly modernistic, objectifying, economic rationality of accounting (e.g. Gallhofer &
Haslam, 1991).

Corresponding author. Tel.: +44 01782 732000; fax: +44 01782 734277.
E-mail addresses: h.oakes@econ.keele.ac.uk (H. Oakes), s.b.oakes@liverpool.ac.uk (S. Oakes).
1
Tel.: +44(0)151 795 3010, Fax: +44 (0)151 7953001.

0155-9982/$ see front matter 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.accfor.2012.02.002
210 H. Oakes, S. Oakes / Accounting Forum 36 (2012) 209222

Metaphysical Modernism Postmodernism

Multiple
interpretations
Absolute Absolute Rationality Absolute
sacred norms scientific Irrationality Extreme
truth truth relativism

Sham
legitimacy

Post-Metaphysical

Communicative rationality
(transformed from absolute
norms, rationality and extreme
relativism)

Deliberative democracy
(transformed from multiple
interpretations)

Genuine legitimacy
(transformed from sham
legitimacy)

Tension between facts and

norms

Fig. 1. Typology of colonising discourses.

The current paper is based on the supposition that accounting and marketing communications can potentially be
associated with four discourses: metaphysical, modernism, postmodernism and post-metaphysical, brought together in
a theoretical framework to interpret the empirical data. Post-metaphysical discourse is treated as the overarching discourse
because of its epistemological and critical strengths discussed in Section 3.4. The paper proceeds with a theoretical discussion,
literature review and methods section. The rst three discourses are then discussed in chronological order of signicance for
Western thought from metaphysical and modernism to postmodernism. This takes the form of a discussion of key themes
within each discourse followed by a discussion of supporting evidence from the documents. Post-metaphysical themes are
then discussed followed by evidence. The discussion and conclusions consider potentially transformational implications of
post-metaphysical discourse for widening engagement policy, accounting and marketing communications.

2. Theoretical discussion, literature review and methods

This section describes the theoretical framework, briey discusses relevant literatures and discusses methods. Key themes
within the discourses identied in the documents are shown in Fig. 1.
Fig. 1 demonstrates how Habermasian post-metaphysical discourse represents a reconciliation of the conicting knowl-
edge claims of the other discourses into powerful emancipatory concepts of communicative rationality, deliberative
democracy and genuine legitimacy. Habermas accepts and transforms some themes from the other three discourses whilst
rejecting the others. The arrows indicate how themes of each of the three discourse boxes are transformed in the fourth
discourse box (i.e. post-metaphysical discourse). These transformations are discussed during the course of the paper.
The framework draws on previous research that has discussed links between accounting and modernism (e.g. Montagna,
1997; Tinker, Merino, & Neimark, 1982) and accounting and postmodernism (e.g. Arrington & Watkins, 2002). It also
acknowledges marketing communications as a postmodern phenomenon replete with metaphor to enhance marketing
persuasiveness (Maclaran, 2009). Previous research has paid less attention to links between accounting and metaphysical
 H. Oakes, S. Oakes / Accounting Forum 36 (2012) 209222 211

discourse, although metaphysical associations with marketing communications have been examined in marketing literature
(e.g. Kozinets et al., 2004). Links between accounting and post-metaphysical concepts have been made in previous research
(e.g. Broadbent & Laughlin, 1997, 1998; Power & Laughlin, 1996).
Research that specialises in either the roles of accounting or marketing communications may distort our understanding
through privileging one discipline over another. Therefore, we retain a focus upon their interdependency. We build upon
and extend previous Habermasian research on accounting colonisation (e.g. Broadbent & Laughlin, 1997, 1998; Power &
Laughlin, 1996). A key contribution of the current paper is to identify associations between accounting and marketing
communications and the four discourses in our framework and then to evaluate these associations using Habermasian (1989,
1996) post-metaphysical discourse. Post-metaphysical discourse challenges certain themes from the other discourses that
if left unchallenged may have problematic inuences on future arts development and access. In addition, it offers a way of
critically analysing the roles of accounting and marketing communications in the arts policy documents. The main ndings
of the paper suggest that accounting and marketing communications were associated with multiple discourses and they
demonstrated ambiguity and overlapping roles in attempts to legitimise frequently contradictory positions, thus reecting
a Habermasian tension between facts and norms.
Consistent with previous research (Amernic, Craig, & Tourish, 2007; Laughlin & Broadbent, 1993; McPhail, 2009; Milne,
Tregidga, & Walton, 2009), the current paper amplies theory through empirical clarication based on analysis of docu-
mentary evidence. McKinstry (1996) and Campbell, McPhail, and Slack (2009) observe that the corporate annual report
has been transformed into a marketing and public relations document. We analyse two key reports in detail drawn
from government and arts organisation websites pertaining to government policy (20082009) of widening engagement
through arts organisations in England: The McMaster report (2008) which was commissioned by government and The
Arts Council England Annual Review (2008) (hereafter, Arts Council Review). The McMaster report (including a fore-
word from the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport) was chosen because it illustrates strategic thinking at
government level regarding the roles of accounting and marketing in widening engagement. The Arts Council England
is a registered charity that funds arts organisations using public funds allocated by government as well as National Lot-
tery funds. The Arts Council Review was chosen because it illustrates practical responses to widening engagement policy.
This document (135 pages) includes a lengthy, discursive review of arts activities relating to widening engagement with
accounts for the Arts Council England along with separate National Lottery distribution accounts. It refers to events prior
to the McMaster report, but notes that the Arts Council England will have to digest and respond to the McMaster review
(p. 2).
From an accounting perspective, the documents are concerned with funding, performance indicators for widening
engagement target groups (e.g. ethnic minorities, limiting disability, children and young people, and local communities),
value-for-money methodology, auditing and reporting. We interpret accounting broadly to include numerical information,
accounting concepts such as efciency and effectiveness and accountability. From a marketing perspective, the documents
draw on branding, pricing strategy, and online marketing communications (including social networking and viral marketing)
as ways to develop widening engagement.
Previous research has shown the importance of texts and textual devices in suggesting authorial attitudes and in attempt-
ing to inuence the behaviour of others (e.g. Amernic et al., 2007). A variety of modes of communication were used in the
documents to communicate with different audiences (e.g. widening engagement target groups, tax payers, arts organisation
managers, artists, arts consumers, politicians, voters and businesses) including accounting numbers and verbal and visual
metaphor. Research has noted an increased use of visual images in annual reports (e.g. Campbell et al., 2009; Davison, 2007;
Preston, Wright, & Young, 1996) revealing how they can both construct and be constructed by the viewer. This is reected
in the Arts Council Review where out of a total of 135 pages, 48 were predominantly narrative, 31 were predominantly
numerical and 10 were predominantly pictorial. The remaining pages involved a mixture of narrative, numerical and pic-
torial elements (5), narrative and numerical elements only (30), and narrative and pictorial elements only (11). In contrast,
the McMaster report consisted of 29 pages of narrative with no pictorial element and very few numbers, perhaps reecting
an expectation that the Arts Council Review would be read by a more diverse audience than the McMaster report. We noted
that the Arts Council Review may be read as a marketing document supported by performance indicators or as an accounting
document supported by visual and verbal imagery commonly found in marketing communications such as advertising. A
stated objective was ensuring accountability and transparency for both the Arts Council and its funded organisations (Arts
Council Review, 2008, p. 13).
The research adopts an interpretivist methodology with critical intent, linked to discourse theory as described by
Habermas (1996, p. 285):
Discourse theory provides conceptual tools that allow us both to analyse the observable communication ows
according to the different issues and to reconstruct them in terms of the corresponding forms of communication.
Discourse analysis is anti-realist in rejecting the notion that any research can arrive at a denitive account, and is con-
structionist in the sense that a depiction of reality is built up through a selection of many viable renditions propounded by
members of the social setting under investigation (Bryman & Bell, 2003, p. 394). Our critical discourse approach involved
revealing contradictions and rhetoric in the text that suggested alternative interpretations such as the tension between facts
and norms, thus pointing towards reconstruction of an alternative vision for accounting, marketing communications and
widening arts engagement policy.
212 H. Oakes, S. Oakes / Accounting Forum 36 (2012) 209222

Following methods developed by Stake (1995) and Maxwell (1996), the documents were analysed using a list of provi-
sional themes. The themes were rened and the typology was developed (Fig. 1) during the process of empirical analysis,
reecting an interplay of empirical data and analytical constructs. A second more focussed analysis was then conducted based
on the themes from the typology. Most of the examples selected for this paper were chosen primarily because they illustrate
common themes in the portrayal of the roles of accounting or marketing communications or because they illustrate links
or contrasts between portrayals of these roles. Other examples were chosen to illustrate common themes pertaining to the
conceptualisation of widening engagement or to illustrate the types of projects that emanated from widening engagement
policy.

3. Discourses of colonisation

The following sections discuss themes from each of the four categories of colonising discourse that were identied in the
documents followed by analysis of the empirical evidence.

3.1. Metaphysical

This section discusses two themes from the metaphysical category within the typology: absolute sacred truth and absolute
norms.

3.1.1. Absolute sacred truth

The concept of absolute sacred truth is present in metaphysical discourse as it includes assumptions and beliefs which
are infallible and do not require further justication. It often relies on arguments from authority and is guaranteed by
transcendent beings (or an equivalent substitute). In marketing, branding may operate as a form of metaphysical discourse
where the brand is infallibly guaranteed in terms of quality by multi-national organisations with unquestioned, almost
god-like powers. In this way, brands may become institutionally legitimised, typically needing no further justication or
scientic verication.

3.1.2. Evidence of absolute sacred truth

There was a small amount of evidence of absolute sacred truth in the documents. The use of heavily marketed, branded
artists such as Tracey Emin and Turner Prize winner Marx Wallinger were used to legitimize street art in the Arts Council
Review (p. 38), thus suggesting the religious iconography of metaphysical discourse. In addition, the funding of traditional,
sacred, high-art forms was presented as an infallible truth as indicated in Section 3.4.8.

3.1.3. Absolute norms

Metaphysical discourse includes absolute norms as universal principles that prescribe what we ought to do and underpin
morality.

3.1.4. Evidence of absolute norms

The funding of revered traditional high art forms not only represented absolute infallible truth but also normatively
prescribed what should be funded in the future. The reference to branded artists had a normative dimension since it high-
lighted appropriately fashionable artistic behaviour and creative output. Indeed, those who do not endorse the brand may
be regarded with suspicion or disrespect. The documents also provided evidence that the concept of widening engagement
itself was regarded as an absolute norm. For example, widening engagement detractors were dismissed and the value of the
concept was portrayed as self-evident. Thus, according to McMaster (2008, p. 17):
The notion that the arts are not for everyone must be tackled head-on, since excellent art is by denition for, and
relevant to, absolutely everyone.
Similarly, Sir Christopher Frayling (Chairman of the Arts Council) stated as an absolute norm that access enhances
excellence and the two should never be seen as antithetical (Arts Council Review, 2008, p. 3).

3.2. Modernism

This section discusses two themes from the modernism category within the typology: rationality and absolute scientic
truth.

3.2.1. Rationality
Rationality embraces the importance of science, order, logical thought and empirical evidence (Best & Kellner, 1991), as
opposed to metaphysical knowledge that is guaranteed by transcendent beings and deductive reasoning. Logic and order
have been argued to be a vital part of sensemaking and a counter to the irrationality and relativism of postmodernism.
However, rationality is frequently ambiguous in terms of the valence of its outcomes. Indeed, many negative aspects of
rationality have been observed, particularly when it is interpreted as rationalisation.
 H. Oakes, S. Oakes / Accounting Forum 36 (2012) 209222 213

When considering accounting, modernism has been associated with rationalisation through standardisation and categori-
sation (e.g. Burchell, Clubb, Hopwood, Hughes, & Nahapiet, 1980). Through the rationalisation of accounting, the performance
of a rm and its employees may be reduced to overly simplied concepts such as a return on capital employed. Accounting
sometimes purports to present a complete picture of the transactions of an organisation in the nal accounts when many
aspects of organisational activity are omitted. Another link with rationalisation is the claim that accounting can by virtue
of its technical procedures automatically and unproblematically assist in the effective and efcient allocation and use of
scarce resources, although critics have argued that allocation processes are arbitrary and politicised (Thomas, 1971). It is
argued that through rationalisation, accounting can have a constraining effect on the way we see the world, resulting in a
distortion or blocking of other kinds of discourses (Preston, Cooper, & Coombs, 1992; Tinker et al., 1982). The assumption
that accounting is rational is used to justify its use as a tool of instrumental control. However, Chwastiak and Lehman (2008)
highlight the human misery in which accounting is implicated when it is linked to the de-humanising economic rationality
of modernism with its emphasis on the maximisation of prot (or extraction of surplus value) at the expense of other values.

3.2.2. Rationality: evidence

The concept of rationality was sometimes interpreted as rationalisation in both documents, thus creating the possibility
of negative consequences for certain stakeholders. For example, accounting was associated with rationalisation when a value
for money directive was evident, as follows:
Those that give out and those that receive public subsidy have a responsibility to ensure that from every penny
spent, the greatest value is extracted. Distributors of public funds should not spend money on what is not, or does
not have the potential to be, excellent. Nor should they be putting subsidy where it is not needed, where the market
can sustain an artist or an organisation without compromising their artistic integrity. Risk-taking and innovation, and
hence excellence, require a stable environment in which to work. (McMaster, 2008, p. 16)
The quotation above embraces the modernist belief that specic objectives (e.g. risk-taking, artistic excellence and public
funding) are directly correlated in a rational manner. For example, although it suggests that excellence is an outcome of risk-
taking and innovation, risk-taking (by denition) is subject to the possibility of failure and wasted resources. Furthermore,
there may be negative consequences for some artists (and potential participants in associated artistic projects) if they are
denied opportunities and excluded from participation depending on the subjective interpretation of excellence (e.g. as a
function of risky, innovative projects).
In the Chief Executives Report: Artistic ambition section at the beginning of the Arts Council Review, risk-taking was
communicated as a desirably positive element associated with reach (widening participation) as well as excellence:
The successful Comprehensive Spending Review settlement allowed the Arts Council to deepen its commitment to
excellence, risk-taking, innovation and reach. (Arts Council Review, 2008, p. 4)
However, later in the document in the Statement on internal control section, the concept of risk-taking was regarded
as more of a threat when considered from an accounting perspective. It became subject to the rationalisation process of
a formalised risk management process. The National Council was responsible for risk management (p. 56) and an audit
committee oversaw the risk register that categorised risks as strategic, operational, nancial, external, reputational, human
resources or compliance. Decisions were subsequently made on whether to attempt to tolerate, terminate or treat the risk:
The system of internal control is designed to manage risk to a reasonable level rather than to eliminate all risk of
failure . . . It is Arts Council Englands intention that risk-taking is not avoided; it is managed. (Arts Council Review,
2008, p. 64)
The ambiguous nature of the concept of risk-taking in the documents reected the distinction made between marketing
as purveyor and accounting as enforcer of colonising ideologies. In other words, marketing was generally envisaged to
encourage creative risk-taking, whereas accounting was envisaged to minimise it. Further rationalisations were evident that
impacted directly upon stakeholders. For example, the strategic objective of encouraging new and innovative ideas translated
into a highly controversial and reportedly unusual non-renewal of funding for 185 organisations and the funding of 81 new
organisations (Arts Council Review, 2008, p. 14). Other examples of rationalisation included the Support Services Review
outlining changes that would include clarity of roles, eradicating duplication, improved efciency services delivered at
lower cost . . . recurrent savings of 750,000 a year (Arts Council Review, 2008, p. 47).
There was also a planned relocation of services from London to Manchester in 2009 that was intended to produce
considerable savings in operating costs (Arts Council Review, 2008, p. 47). In addition, there was a government-dened
target to reduce administration costs in Creative Partnerships by 15% by 2010/11 (p. 7). Modernist themes of efciency,
effectiveness and economy were in evidence in the Arts Council. For example, the risk and control framework included:
. . . being accountable for public funds, ensuring that Arts Council England conducts operations economically, ef-
ciently and effectively. (Arts Council Review, 2008, p. 64)
Pricing was assumed to be able to engineer a rebranding of the arts, and was associated with driving the policy of
widening engagement by introducing a week where admission to publicly funded arts organisations was free. The McMaster
214 H. Oakes, S. Oakes / Accounting Forum 36 (2012) 209222

report (2008, p. 17) claimed that the pricing exercise would be an opportunity to rebrand the arts and to send out a clear
message that the arts are for everyone. However, in the example above, accounting and marketing are linked together in a
simplistic, awed assumption that the pricing policy will automatically lead to a complex rebranding in terms of perceived
universal accessibility. It assumes that the consumer makes rational decisions (e.g. to engage with the arts) on the basis
of price reductions, but psychological pricing theory suggests otherwise. Consumers could interpret this pricing message
in many different ways (e.g. as a proxy indicator of reduced investment and quality). The assumption of simple cause-
effect relationships with which accounting and marketing were associated in this example is a characteristic of modernist
rationality.

3.2.3. Absolute scientic truth

Modernism is linked to foundationalism and to universalising and totalising knowledge claims (Best & Kellner, 1991).
Similarly, modernist accounting is linked to science that was believed to be able to guarantee validity and absolute truth.
Through its connections with scientic knowledge, accounting information is often presented as objective fact, ignoring the
social context in which it is constructed, and the purported facts in nancial statements often gain a status that is abstracted
from time so they seem to suggest something denitive and absolute about an organisation. The claims to absolute truth,
certainty, and objectivity have rendered modernist accounting an inuential discourse. The attachment of these claims to
accounting concepts such as cost consciousness and efciency makes it difcult to question such concepts, and hence they
become naturalised and useful for political purposes (Tinker et al., 1982).

3.2.4. Absolute scientic truth: evidence

The use of targets suggested the continuing faith of some stakeholders in accounting numbers to provide absolute scien-
tic truth. There were attempts to achieve instrumental control through the unquestioning use of educational attendance
targets and participation targets. Performance was benchmarked against arts engagement targets for key priority groups:
black and minority ethnic, limiting disability, and lower socio-economic (Arts Council Review, 2008, p. 45). Many of the arts
projects described in the Arts Council Review were accompanied by legitimising numbers quoting associated ticket sales,
increases in audience numbers, participation gures or numbers of businesses and people who have benetted from the
project.
The McMaster report (p. 23) described how funding bodies must intervene strongly in failing arts organisations using a
proposed approach that starts with diagnostic self-assessment by the arts organization based on an agreed health check and
then moves to a formal review. This suggests a systematic assessment process of quasi-scientic rigour that includes numer-
ical targets as perceived objective indicators of performance. Further examples of absolute scientic truth are discussed in
Section 3.4.8.

3.3. Postmodernism

This section discusses four themes from the postmodernism category within the typology: irrationality, multiple inter-
pretations, extreme relativism, and sham legitimacy.

3.3.1. Irrationality
In postmodernism, unity is replaced by fragmentation and homogeneity by heterogeneity (McCarthy, 1987). Postmod-
ernism has been associated with irrationality through its emphasis on uncertainty, subjectivity, irony, risk-taking, absurdity,
and chaos (Best & Kellner, 1991).

3.3.2. Irrationality: evidence

The McMaster report suggested that accounting as funding should be used to drive production of better quality, more
diverse forms of art, arguing that past approaches to funding and artistic innovation were sometimes too conservative. The
report equated risk-taking and innovation with artistic excellence and the Arts Council Review contained many images
of risky, unconventional works of art that convey uncertain meanings eliciting irrational responses. We suggest that
artistic risk-taking was championed as an irrational element in the McMaster report that was prized in accordance with
postmodern thinking, but the overall evidence indicated a more ambiguous attitude towards risk-taking with the implicit
threat of funding withdrawal if risk-taking exceeded unspecied boundaries.

3.3.3. Multiple interpretations

Postmodernism acknowledges the validity of multiple interpretations because the grand narrative is rejected (Lyotard,
1984). Similarly, postmodern marketing sees itself as appealing to a wide range of perspectives through pluralism (Maclaran,
2009). Thus, marketing frequently appears to encourage diversity and all-inclusiveness in advertisements including images
of people from diverse cultural backgrounds. Whilst postmodern marketing encourages multiple interpretations, accounting
often projects an image of being concerned with increasing standardisation, for example through harmonising international
accounting standards.
 H. Oakes, S. Oakes / Accounting Forum 36 (2012) 209222 215

3.3.4. Multiple interpretations: evidence

Diversity and multiple interpretations were associated with the range of artworks deemed appropriate for funding, as
indicated in the following passage:
I recommend that funding bodies and arts organisations prioritise excellent, diverse work that truly grows out of and
represents the Britain of the 21st Century. (McMaster, 2008, p. 11)
Diversity of target segments was also a prominent theme:
It is vital that we move into an understanding of diversity that is as broad as possible, to cover the span of ages,
religions, cultures, sexualities, disabilities and socio-economic backgrounds. (McMaster, 2008, p. 11)
Marketing communications promoted themes of diversity and multiple interpretations in the Arts Council Review (2008)
through visual images and descriptions of art projects representing a variety of cultures, and through the use of the internet.
The more constraining role of funding and accounting assessment of these projects was temporarily overshadowed by the
excitement generated by postmodern marketing communications.

3.3.5. Extreme relativism

Postmodernism adopts a relativist position with respect to truth, arguing that there is no reason why one argument
should be privileged over another (Best & Kellner, 1991). For the postmodernist, truth arises from local context and is not
valid for all time, emphasizing that all ideas must be open to question and that knowledge is uncertain and fallible.

3.3.6. Extreme relativism: evidence

The McMaster report acknowledged that high quality art means different things to different people (p. 13), based
upon multiple perspectives, diversity and celebrating subjectivity. Tusa (1999, p. 163) has suggested that arts engagement
policy had implications of extreme relativism informed by a postmodernist world where nothing is good or bad . . . where
everyones opinion is as good as everyone elses. The Habermasian approach discussed later (Section 3.4) aims to address
the extreme relativism observed in postmodernism by its critics.

3.3.7. Sham legitimacy

Accounting and marketing communications can provide various forms of sham legitimacy to powerful colonising ideas
and practices, often upholding the status quo and creating the impression of a legitimacy which is merely rhetorical and
does not actually exist. Sham legitimacy occurs where non-democratic forms of marketing communications and accounting
are used to lend credibility to organisations, and may be used for impression management. For example, accounting may
operate as a post-rationalising device, justifying non-democratic decisions that have already been made and actions that have
already been taken (Burchell et al., 1980). Sham legitimacy can be identied as an undesirable element of postmodernism
since it implies a false claim that has not been supported by democratically agreed procedures and consensus or compromise.
Habermasian genuine legitimacy is discussed in the post-metaphysical section (Section 3.4.5).

3.3.8. Sham legitimacy: evidence

Although the McMaster report emphasised that the review process should involve a range of stakeholders suggesting gen-
uine legitimacy, it also stated that the process of the review would be managed by the funding body, implying bureaucratic,
top-down control, reminiscent of action at a distance (Robson, 1992). The role envisaged for the funding body indicated
that Habermasian appeals to open dialogue, more democratic processes and less coercive management styles may be more
rhetorical than real, suggesting sham legitimacy. It has been argued that certain enactments of the concept of diversity could
compromise quality by encouraging art that appeals to the lowest common denominator (Durrer & Miles, 2009). From the
perspectives of critics of diversity, engagement policy would be categorised as a discourse of sham legitimacy tending to
foster low quality, commercial, populist art.

3.4. Post-metaphysical

Habermasian post-metaphysical discourse is treated as an overarching discourse because it adopts and transforms many
of the key concepts of postmodernism, modernism and metaphysics (Outhwaite, 1996). In moving beyond the metaphysical,
modern and postmodern, Habermas theorises an idealised societal condition which reinstates a moral dimension that he
argues was lost in modern and postmodern approaches. This section discusses four themes and associated evidence from the
post-metaphysical category within the typology: communicative rationality, deliberative democracy, genuine legitimacy,
and the tension between facts and norms.

3.4.1. Communicative rationality

Habermas universal discourse principle provides a key justication for communicative rationality, objectivity and dis-
course ethics. It allows Habermas to adopt rationality from modernism and an ethical stance from metaphysics whilst
avoiding their absolutism. It also avoids the arguably extreme relativism of postmodernism. The universal discourse princi-
ple transcends the space and time of everyday communication in two ways. First, members of a language community assume
216 H. Oakes, S. Oakes / Accounting Forum 36 (2012) 209222

that speakers and hearers can understand one another and that expressions keep the same meaning over time. Second, there
is a pragmatic universality in the way in which all speech acts in communicative action refer to an audience beyond the
particular, with an underlying assumption that all actors would (at least in theory) have to be convinced for the speech act
to be justied and, hence, rationally acceptable (Habermas, 1996, p. 19). Whilst the universal discourse principle transcends
time, it is also situated in time because our validity claims are always made in specic contexts (Outhwaite, 1996). The
universal discourse principle is required according to Habermas because theories without such a principle cannot explain
their own normative foundations.
Habermas transforms the universal norms of metaphysics into universal pragmatic norms of communicative rationality
(underpinned by the discourse principle). Universal pragmatic norms are embedded in cultures, yet the claims they represent
are transcendent (McCarthy, 1987). Habermas recognition of the embedded nature of norms suggests that he adopts a
form of relativism from postmodernism. However, his relativism is constrained from becoming the extreme relativism of
postmodernism because the universal discourse principle allows us to be critical and to draw distinctions between truth
and falsity and right and wrong. Constrained relativism is based on a potentially shifting consensus (or compromise) within
a framework of a universal discourse principle and deliberative democracy.
Rasmussen (1990) argues that Habermas explanation of norms is self-contradictory because it includes both the universal
norms of metaphysics and norms situated within time. However, in our view, Habermas pragmatic universalism is quite
distinct from the universalism of metaphysics or modernism. Pragmatic universalism is an assumption required by actors for
a practical purpose, arising for example when we work through disagreement discursively to identify the better argument and
provide solutions to moral questions. Unlike the absolute norms of metaphysics, Habermas norms are always potentially
open to question. Norms can settle disputes because they are universal. Thus, disputes can be settled by identifying the
most appropriate norm for the context. Arguably, the discourse principle and related concepts of universal norms and
deliberative democracy represent a major theoretical achievement in offering a way of choosing between arguments and
allowing rationality to be reinstated.

3.4.2. Communicative rationality: evidence

The McMaster report included themes that claimed to have the validity of the universal discourse principle and conveyed
the force of a moral obligation. For example, it was argued that funding for quality arts should be supported because quality
arts have moral or normative value and can transform the lifeworld of individuals, as well as society in general. This was
assumed to be something to which those affected would assent, as follows:
The power of culture to build and sustain relationships, and to transcend physical, linguistic, religious and psycho-
logical barriers, is becoming increasingly important in the global context. (McMaster, 2008, p. 11)
McMaster included a denition of the type of quality art that should be funded:
The best denition of excellence I have heard is that excellence in culture occurs when an experience affects and
changes an individual. An excellent cultural experience goes to the root of living. (McMaster, 2008, p. 9)
This denition of excellent art is relativistic because art cannot guarantee positive change. Similarly, communicative
rationality cannot guarantee positive societal change (Benhabib, 1986).
A further Habermasian norm was evident in the assumption that cultural education is important. For example, a project
entitled the Childrens Plan outlined its ambition to move to a position where all children and young people, no matter
where they live or what their background, have the opportunity to engage in ve hours of cultural activity a week (McMaster,
2008, p. 14).

3.4.3. Deliberative democracy

The discourse principle and communicative rationality are underpinned by Habermas concept of deliberative democracy
that transforms the theme of multiple interpretations from postmodernism. In Habermas view, the discourse of experts in the
various systems will often not reect the interests of certain groups of citizens, and therefore ordinary language must be relied
upon. For Habermas, the integration of society must be carried out through ordinary language that circulates throughout
society and underpins specialist language in the form of communicative rationality that includes the inter-subjectively
shared space of a speech situation. Deliberative democracy entails all citizens participating in democratic processes where
active debate occurs in order that citizens can become better informed. Ideally, consensus will be achieved, but compromise
is also possible. According to Habermas, ideas for change must emanate from peripheral networks of the political public
sphere (e.g. Greenpeace and Amnesty International) and then funnel into the central parliamentary complex. Personal life
experiences give rise to the voicing of problems in the public sphere, and these problems may often be expressed in the
languages of religion and the arts (Habermas, 1996, p. 365). Thus, reective spirituality, art and widening engagement in
the arts have signicance for Habermas as potentially transformational practices.

3.4.4. Deliberative democracy: evidence

Two Habermasian themes that were prominent in the documents studied cut across communicative rationality and
deliberative democracy. These themes were encouraging the emancipation of stakeholders and improving their lifeworld.
 H. Oakes, S. Oakes / Accounting Forum 36 (2012) 209222 217

James Purnell (Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport) reected post-metaphysical, Habermasian ideas of freeing
individuals from colonising, instrumental technologies such as accounting, as follows:
..we must free artists and cultural organisations from outdated structures and burdensome targets, which can act as
millstones around the neck of creativity. (Foreword to the McMaster report, 2008, p. 4)
Performance indicators became linked to a verbal image that underscored a critique of modernist accounting, and
enhanced post-metaphysical rhetoric and legitimacy with artists and some arts managers. More discursive and demo-
cratic forms of performance assessment were recommended in the McMaster report including peer review and judgement
of funders in response to criticisms of quantitative performance indicators.
As a form of accountability to artists, McMaster portrayed art and the government policy of widening engagement as
emancipatory, suggesting that every artist and practitioner should have the chance to full their potential:
I want to see them striving to be as creatively ambitious as they can and being absolutely condent in their ability to
change peoples lives. (McMaster, 2008, p. 8)
The concept of widening engagement through quality art was associated with transformation of lifeworlds of an increasing
number of people:
The time has come to reclaim the word excellence from its historic, elitist undertones and to recognise that the very
best art and culture is for everyone; that it has the power to change peoples lives, regardless of class, education or
ethnicity. (Foreword by James Purnell, Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, McMaster, 2008, p. 4)
The discourse of deliberative democracy was strongly evident in both documents, suggesting a strengthening of demo-
cratic processes that might appeal to a wide range of stakeholders through the promise of enhanced accountability. For
example, in the Arts Council Review there was an emphasis on increasing consultation with a range of actors in relation to
strategy, as indicated:
In particular we want to improve our decision-making processes by being clearer about the outcomes we seek to
achieve, drawing more on the expertise and ideas of artists, arts organisations, and members of the public. (Arts
Council Review, 2008, pp. 1213)
Diversity suggests the recognition of multiple interpretations of postmodernism, but also encourages deliberative democ-
racy through giving voice to diverse groups. The Letters to the future project described in the Arts Council Review (2008)
suggested that it gave voice to children and their parents in a deprived area by encouraging families to create DVD let-
ters containing family stories and aspirations for the childrens future. This project claimed to have produced positive
effects in terms of reducing the anti-social behaviour of several children. It involved recognition of multiple perspectives,
personal life experiences voiced through art and the use of ordinary language, thus making associations with deliberative
democracy. The claim to address social cohesion problems could be linked with Habermasian discourse to improve the
lifeworld of other people. Inclusion of descriptions of such projects may also have been intended to add legitimacy to the
existence of the Arts Council and enhance accountability to taxpayers with diverse priorities as a form of persuasive public
relations.
Online marketing was portrayed as an important tool for fostering widening engagement in the arts, improving the
lifeworld of individuals and eroding cultural barriers to facilitate improved communicative dialogue that could enhance
democratic processes:
The potential of Web 2.0 (the second generation of web-based communities and hosted services such as social-
networking sites, wikis and collaborative tagging), 3G mobile and wi- technology should allow unprecedented
interaction with audiences, and amongst audience members and provide radical new opportunities to deepen their
cultural experiences. (McMaster, 2008, p. 18)
Online marketing communication between artists and consumers and the development of consumer social networks are
widening engagement initiatives that draw on Habermasian ideals evoking a more global and openly discursive world of
arts and creative industries.

3.4.5. Genuine legitimacy

Habermas (1996) argues that genuine legitimacy and appropriate law-making arises through the universal dis-
course principle and deliberative democracy. A legal principle gains validity from the presumption that the rights of
each person are recognised (or would in principle be recognised) by all other persons, drawing on the universal dis-
course principle. Genuine legitimacy is important partly because according to Habermas (1996) it can potentially yield
co-ordinated and just social order through deliberative democracy. Habermas conception of law has been related to
accounting in previous research (e.g. Power & Laughlin, 1996) and has normative implications for widening engagement
and accounting and marketing communications (discussed in the conclusions). In our view, his conception of genuine
legitimacy transforms the sham legitimacy of postmodernism by offering a principle and a process for constructive
law-making.
218 H. Oakes, S. Oakes / Accounting Forum 36 (2012) 209222

3.4.6. Genuine legitimacy: evidence

There were several examples suggesting that genuine legitimacy of arts policy promoted and supported by accounting
and marketing communications was something the government and its agencies sought to achieve. A public consultation
exercise on the value of the arts was emphasised in the reports. The McMaster report provided another example of genuine
legitimacy discourse, emphasising how funders in the new assessment framework needed to be seen as legitimate by the
arts community, particularly by involving artists and practitioners in review processes, as follows:
The third element of this framework depends upon the funding bodies having the condence and authority to make
judgements that are respected by the arts community. The involvement of artists and practitioners in the process of
peer review and in the Knowledge Bank will go some way towards this. (McMaster, 2008, p. 23)
Alan Davey (current Arts Council Chief Executive) also promoted genuine legitimacy and accountability stating:
I want the Arts Council to have a more open culture and a more courageous dialogue with artists and audiences. (Arts
Council Review, 2008, p. 5)

3.4.7. Tension between facts and norms

Post-metaphysical discourse is crucially associated with a tension between facts and norms. Habermas concept of delib-
erative democracy suggests that validity arises from democratic processes involving all relevant parties and where these
are not fully practicable there is a faith that valid norms would in principle be accepted by society as a whole. However,
because truth and law constituted in this way are partly idealistic, there is an ongoing tension between the ideal (norms) and
social reality (facts) that constantly reminds us that those conditions and assumptions have not been met in full. The tension
between facts and norms arises when systems (bureaucratic and economic) colonise the lifeworld, producing negative dis-
courses, suppressing knowledge and blocking democratic processes leading to legitimation crises that disturb the balance of
system and lifeworld. Applied to the arts world, there is potential to improve the balance of system and lifeworld through arts
engagement supported by accounting and marketing communications. However, the next section reveals tension between
facts and norms in widening arts engagement policy and in the roles of accounting and marketing communications.

3.4.8. Tension between facts and norms: evidence

The previously discussed evidence of post-metaphysical discourses illustrated how the documents frequently expressed
Habermasian ideals through the policy of widening engagement. However, documentary analysis suggested a number of
issues regarding the realisation of these ideals that could be interpreted as a Habermasian tension between facts and norms.
The Arts Council Review noted that despite the attempts to widen engagement, the number of people who attend regularly
across a broad range of arts events is actually very small, and for the majority of the population, arts attendance is, at best
occasional (Arts Council Review, 2008, p. 13). The Review noted that whilst lack of funds, lack of events and/or location issues
may create barriers, the main barriers appear to be psychological rather than physical (p. 13). According to the Review,
exclusion centred on people with little or no formal education and with low social status (p. 13) rather than on people with
a university degree who were much more likely to engage with the arts than anyone else (p. 13).
Our analysis revealed a tension between facts and norms in several other ways. Quantitative accounting indicators
were portrayed as sometimes leading to dysfunctional outcomes including lling seats rather than encouraging excellence,
innovation and risk-taking and they were described as demoralising and distorting (McMaster, 2008, p. 21). Yet, despite
criticisms of accounting in its instrumental modernist guise, accounting still remained as an instrumental fact of modernity
behind the normative rhetoric of Habermasian widening engagement. For example, failure by an organisation would still
involve funder intervention, as follows:
I recommend funder intervention where organisations are failing, setting xed conditions for funding or, in extremis,
its removal entirely, and that this be acknowledged in funding agreements. (McMaster, 2008, p. 23)
Thus, accounting in the form of funding was portrayed as an instrument of potential punishment where funding would be
withdrawn from organisations which were deemed to be failing. Similarly, McMaster (2008, p. 10) stated that the atmosphere
of encouraging experimentation and risk-taking did not mean that the rulebook is thrown out. Funder intervention in failing
organisations and the punitive use of accounting indicated its ambiguous role in the reproduction of societally agreed norms
because in certain circumstances, some stakeholders may not agree with the Arts Council that an organisation is failing and
that funding should be withdrawn. The report conveyed the impression that funders remained in control in a disciplinary role
despite stated aims to involve artists and practitioners in the review process and the incorporation of a public consultation
exercise on the value of the arts. For example, the report stated that the funding body must be:
. . . made up of people with the condence and authority to take tough decisions. (McMaster, 2008, p. 6)
Accounting was portrayed in the McMaster report as something potentially threatening that could be traded in exchange
for appropriate behaviour, as illustrated in the following extract:
 H. Oakes, S. Oakes / Accounting Forum 36 (2012) 209222 219

The quid pro quo for getting rid of cumbersome targets, however, must be an understanding and acceptance that
there needs to be dialogue between funders and organisations on the issues of excellence, innovation and risk-taking.
(McMaster, 2008, p. 23)
In practice, within this instrumental function envisaged for accounting, funding and funders would have ambiguous roles
that could potentially facilitate or undermine democratic, organisational and societal norms.
The McMaster report suggested that incorrect use of performance indicators had led to acceptance of supercial forms
of art. A key theme was that the correct forms of art must not be supercial, but must have long lasting impact. A further
tension between facts and norms in the McMaster report involved the question of who denes quality art. There was some
ambiguity and lack of clarity in the documents regarding this question. Both reports implied that appropriate forms of art
were determined by funding bodies involving limited consultation with the arts community and the wider public rather
than through more democratic processes, suggesting a curbing of Habermasian democracy and potential sham legitimacy.
Another example of the tension between facts and norms was the unclear denition of diversity reected in discrepancies
in identifying who were the target groups for widening engagement. For example, we identied four targets of widening
access from the McMaster report as follows: ethnic minorities, limiting disability, children and young people, and local
communities. The Arts Council Review on the other hand showed specic quantitative performance indicators for the fol-
lowing groups: black and minority ethnic, limiting disability, and lower socio-economic (p. 47). In addition, the Arts Council
Review highlighted children and young people (p. 34) along with faith and sexuality (p. 42) as priority groups for widening
engagement, but showed no specic performance indicators for any of these groups.
A signicant tension was apparent in the way both reports emphasised widening engagement for young people to the
detriment of other stated target groups. Furthermore, there was a lack of reference to older and retired people (the largest
growing segment), regardless of whether they belonged to any of the target groups. For example, the opening page of the
Arts Council Review indicated that it aimed to provide great art for everyone. However, age segmentation was particularly
evident with a complete emphasis on the young in verbal and visual rhetoric contained in the text and accompanying
photographs, as well as in projects that were targeted at young people to the detriment of all other age bands. For example,
the Gallery 37 Plus project supports young people by giving them the opportunity to explore their creative talents (Arts
Council Review, 2008, p. 43). Recognition of the commercial value of young people as future artists, future contributors to
potentially lucrative creative industries, future audience members and a relatively cheap source of labour may explain the
verbal and visual emphasis on young people. Although diversity may appear to be championed in postmodern marketing,
the emphasis on young people also illustrated how marketers have typically sought to segment markets by age. Therefore,
complete diversity in the way arts engagement was enacted through marketing communications may have been an illusion,
creating a tension between facts and norms.
Our analysis identied several examples of a Habermasian tension between facts and norms in the post-metaphysical
discourse of widening engagement relating to constrained resources and idealised policy aims. One vignette in the Arts
Council Review illustrated Manchesters Sketch City that was started in 2005 and grew into a platform for emerging artists.
It ran music events where street artists worked in front of an outdoor audience, suggesting a challenge to the naturalisation
process of privileging high art over low art. The founder of the project was suffering from a severe autoimmune disease, thus
enhancing widening engagement for the disabled. The Arts Council Review contained a striking photograph of an image of
the founder of the street art project. The photograph was framed within two pages of accompanying text (pp. 89) in the
form of a rst person narrative highlighting the experience of a street art pioneer entitled Street credibility Outdoor art is
in from the cold.
The photograph conveyed a tension between facts and norms in several ways. For example, in stating that Lack of money
was always a big issue (p. 9), there was an associative linkage with The Big Issue magazine that exists in Britain to offer
homeless people the opportunity to earn a legitimate income. In this sense, homeless people living on the street became a
metaphor for street art with implications that nding a home for people and their art works is an act of charity. This down-
and-out theme was introduced in the rst sentence of the text when it indicated that Sketch City was set up on a shoestring
(p. 8). The phrase on a shoestring can be interpreted as a metaphor for accounting value for money. The shoestring image
delineated the boundaries of engagement through nancial constraint. It may have been intended to enhance legitimacy
with taxpayers and business elites that are often associated with a wish to curb public expenditure. Using postmodern verbal
metaphor linked to visual metaphor is likely to be a more convincing and persuasive mechanism for encouraging people
to do more with less than using literal discourse conventionally associated with modernism. The visual images in annual
reports have been identied to constitute a form of rhetoric supporting truth claims (Graves, Flesher, & Jordan, 1996). Such
pictorial and graphical representation typically enhances document memorability (Beattie & Jones, 2001). Furthermore,
compared to authoritative nancial statements using words and numbers, Davison and Warren (2009) suggest that visual
images may provide a more persuasive form of communication through the immediacy of their visceral, emotional images.
The artist and founder revealed that he is disabled and may have difculty attaining a conventional job. The photograph
depicted a large outdoor wall portrait of a man and its surrounding location in Sketch City. The mans gure was out of
proportion, thus reecting disability, but he was incongruously dressed in a smart, dark suit, thus reecting social aspirations
through art in this relatively rundown area of Manchester. His giant hand with its index nger pointing directly ahead
represented a challenge that suggested inclusively that everybody has the potential to participate in the arts. It conveyed a
rhetorically persuasive call to action. However, the image appeared to be derived from a U.K. world war one (Your country
220 H. Oakes, S. Oakes / Accounting Forum 36 (2012) 209222

needs you) recruitment poster, implying the underlying tension of class war and cultural division. The tension between facts
and norms reected a corresponding tension between low art and high art in terms of funding. Despite the idealised,
normative aspirations for street art, it was conned to a very tiny urban ghetto involving relatively modest funding levels.
Sacred images depicting the deployment of a recognisable symbol of religious ascent have been identied in various
corporate communications photographs designed to inspire and motivate stakeholders (Davison, 2004). Likewise, the Sketch
City photograph conveyed a form of metaphysical, sacred symbolism. Just as religion has been used historically to compel
people to go to war and ght for a spiritual cause, the image strove to communicate a form of quasi-religious ascension
through art. However, given the commodied existence of many people, the practical difculties of being able to enhance
the lifeworld through the arts suggested a tension between facts and norms.
A tension between facts and norms was also visually evident through the glossy marketing images showing participation
of young and minority (ethnic and disabled) groups in the Arts Council Review, whilst the nancial accounts suggested that
only a small amount of total funds were allocated to the target priority groups (ethnic, disabled and lower socio-economic).
In 20072008, 62% of the total grants awarded were given to regularly funded arts organisations. It was not clear from
the Arts Council Review exactly how much of the main Grant-in-aid income was spent on the priority groups. Although
National Lottery funding represented a relatively small share of the total income (i.e. 24%), the Lottery distribution accounts
reported that we continue to target at least 10% of our grants for the arts budget to applicants from black and minority
ethnic communities (Arts Council Review, 2008, p. 120). However, this represented only 2.4% of total income.
The gures suggested that minority groups received only token funding. Through the verbal and visual rhetoric of market-
ing communications, the Arts Council Review created an impression of focusing upon the post-metaphysical by emphasising
widening engagement mainly for young people, but also for disabled, ethnic and lower socio-economic groups. However,
accounting numbers revealed that underlying resource allocation was still rooted in the metaphysical, sacred, traditional
arts. The document, when considered as a form of marketing public relations, communicated widening arts engagement
targets for young, lower socio-economic, ethnic and disabled people through photographs and text. In contrast, accounting
numbers illustrated how recipients of the majority of the funds were generally older, more afuent members of society,
perhaps expecting the arts in exchange for paying taxes. Performance indicators revealed minimal attendance of sacred,
traditional arts events by minority groups (ethnic, limiting disability and lower socio-economic). Thus, the Arts Council
Review reected a two-tier arts policy and discourses of concealment (Milne et al., 2009) suggesting a tension between facts
and norms.

4. Discussion

In the documents, accounting was closely associated with modernism. Accounting, in its modernist guise had a punitive
role where the use of nancial indicators and the withdrawal of funding remained in the background as a threat for control
purposes. In this way, accounting was portrayed as useful in keeping a tight rein on risky postmodern and post-metaphysical
activities, as well as re-assuring stakeholders that resources would not be wasted. Accounting was also portrayed as the
director of resources through targeted and ring fenced funding. On the other hand, marketing communications were heavily
emphasised in the postmodern and post-metaphysical discourses, whilst also striving to achieve commercial goals. The
evidence from both documents suggested that accounting was often depicted as a necessary, reliable, objective controller
with regard to implementing a post-metaphysical discourse of widening engagement, whereas marketing was depicted as
an enabler and as a more creative process.
There were three notable examples of ambiguity in the way the roles of accounting were portrayed. First, although
quantitative performance targets were depicted as useful forms of objective measurement in the Arts Council Review, they
were also presented as negatively colonising in the McMaster report (p. 21) because in their demoralising and distorting
roles they sometimes conicted with organisational goals such as artistic excellence and operated beyond the boundaries
of their terms of reference. Where accounting was associated with modernism in the McMaster report, it was seen also as a
guard dog in the world of arts organisations that has the potential for unpredictably dangerous behaviour and needs to be
muzzled. The support for the use of performance indicators in the documents may have included an intention to enhance
legitimacy with cost conscious taxpayers and businesses, whereas the criticism of performance indicators may have been
intended to gain approval from artists and some arts managers.
A second ambiguity was apparent between the rhetoric of increasing democratic processes in deciding what should
be funded and the contradictory emphasis on the authority of the funding providers in decision-making. Such ambiguity
suggested a fear of loss of control of resources by vested interest groups (e.g. the government representing the business elite
and some senior arts managers). Third, we observed how accounting in a postmodern sense became linked with verbal and
visual imagery/metaphor to support a variety of contradictory positions that may have enhanced legitimacy with different
stakeholders. For example, performance indicators were millstones around the neck of creativity (McMaster, 2008, p. 4)
perhaps appealing to artists, whereas Sketch City was set up on a shoestring (Arts Council Review, p. 8) perhaps appealing
to cost conscious taxpayers.
In addition, we observed three examples of ambiguity in the inter-relationship between accounting and marketing com-
munications. First, the boundaries between accounting and marketing communications were sometimes blurred since the
use of verbal metaphor and visual imagery for rhetorical and apparently legitimising purposes is common to both. Sec-
ond, accounting numbers were seen as useful marketing tools to demonstrate the success of widening engagement events.
 H. Oakes, S. Oakes / Accounting Forum 36 (2012) 209222 221

Third, our research revealed how accounting numbers and marketing communications (through photographic and textual
publicity) provided contradictory evidence regarding who were the key recipients of resources: young people or an older
middle class audience. Regarding associations of accounting and marketing communications with different discourses, we
concluded that both could become associated with any of the four discourses to promote a rhetorical position.
The documents revealed a form of accountability where the government and the Arts Council attempted to satisfy the
contradictory positions of a range of stakeholders (Brunsson, 1989), fuelling the tension between facts and norms. The
differences in the relative power between various stakeholders contributed to the ambiguous portrayals of accounting
and marketing in the documents. From a resource allocation perspective, there were some tensions between commercial
objectives and the objective to increase the wellbeing of a wider public through art, and also tensions between commercial
objectives and the objective to extend democratic processes. This ambiguity within widening engagement policy rhetoric
reected the relative power of certain stakeholders (e.g. business elites) and suggested that the governments own agenda
was not necessarily unied due to conicts between individuals and government departments (McSweeney & Duncan,
1988).

5. Conclusions

The current paper has identied the presence of four signicant discourses in widening engagement documents and
has noted a strong link between post-metaphysical discourse and widening engagement policy. It has been suggested that
the roles of accounting and marketing communications have been shaped by accountability to diverse groups. We have
indicated that post-metaphysical discourse has particular strengths over the other three discourses, justifying its adoption
as an overarching lens in the analysis.
The documents reected a wider debate concerning the nature of quality art and the type of art that merits public
funding. A post-metaphysical approach suggests that when considering what types of art should be funded, this would
be determined through deliberative democracy supported by public access to relevant information. Improvements would
include developing public awareness and knowledge of the arts through education and the media, in addition to providing
forums for democratic on-going public discussions in identifying quality in art, leading to consensus or compromise. Com-
bining democratic processes with improved access to information through education would satisfy Habermas universal
discourse principle for developing norms, and would avoid Tusas (1999) concerns regarding postmodern relativism in art
where any form of art is sanctioned. A more equitable and emancipatory approach to arts policy would thus be possible
if stakeholders were well informed, genuinely involved in dening quality art, and fully participating in discussions and
decisions regarding resource allocation. One potentially positive role that accounting could play in identifying quality arts
would be to foster more democratic processes in arts budgeting and accounting decision-making.
Some research has suggested that accounting could be conceived in more creative and less modernistic ways in order
to encourage more emancipatory forms of accounting (e.g. Gallhofer & Haslam, 1991, 1996; Lehman, 2006, 2007) with the
potential to facilitate post-metaphysical Habermasian ideals. We suggest that arts policy makers should look beyond the
traditional roles of accounting and develop links with other discourses less associated with modernistic economics, albeit
with an awareness of accountings potential for being implicated in unintended consequences. A more genuinely post-
metaphysical accounting would include a new type of legitimacy that acknowledges the frailty of the knowledge claims of
accounting, emphasises values of self-reection, promotes democratic processes, encourages enhancement of the lifeworld
of individuals and groups, and considers others before ourselves (Macintosh, Shearer, & Riccaboni, 2009). This would need
to be supported by education, critical information (Lehman, 2002) and appropriate forms of marketing communications to
promote debate and critical reection. Such approaches would help to counter any reductive assessment of the broader
value of the arts to conventional cost-benet analysis, risk calculus or the dictates of the market.
In pursuit of a post-metaphysical Habermasian ideal, future research examining possible integration of marketing and
accounting techniques could consider those elements of marketing communications that should be included, adapted, or
excluded. Whilst McMaster (2008, p. 18) discussed the benets of social-networking and viral marketing in encouraging
online interaction between arts audience members, future arts engagement research could consider how communication
technologies may provide the opportunity to enhance Habermasian deliberative democracy (McPhail, 2009) by involving
stakeholders in dening quality art and identifying the types of art projects that should be funded. Such research could also
consider how communication technologies may be used to foster discussion of alternatives to modernistic conceptions of
accounting in the arts eld.

Acknowledgements

The authors appreciate the insightful comments of the special issue editors and anonymous reviewers.

References

Amernic, J., Craig, R., & Tourish, D. (2007). The transformational leader as pedagogue, physician, architect, commander and saint: Five root metaphors in Jack
Welchs letters to stockholders of General Electric. Human Relations, 60(12), 18391872.
Arrington, C. E., & Watkins, A. L. (2002). Maintaining critical intent within a postmodern theoretical perspective on accounting research. Critical Perspectives
on Accounting, 13(2), 139157.
222 H. Oakes, S. Oakes / Accounting Forum 36 (2012) 209222

Arts Council England Annual Review 08. (2008, July). Arts Council England. http://www.artscouncil.org.uk/publication archive/annual-review-2008/.
Beattie, V., & Jones, M. J. (2001). A six-country comparison of the use of graphs in annual reports. The International Journal of Accounting, 36(2), 195222.
Benhabib, S. (1986). Critique, norm and utopia. A study of the foundations of critical theory. New York: Columbia University Press.
Best, S., & Kellner, D. (1991). Postmodern theory: Critical interrogations. London: Macmillan.
Broadbent, J., & Laughlin, R. (1997). Developing empirical research: An example informed by a Habermasian approach. Accounting, Auditing and Accountability
Journal, 10(5), 622648.
Broadbent, J., & Laughlin, R. (1998). Resisting the new public management: Absorption and absorbing groups in schools and GP practices in the UK.
Accounting, Auditing and Accountability Journal, 11(4), 403435.
Brunsson, N. (1989). The organization of hypocrisy: Talk, decisions and actions in organizations (N. Adler, Trans.). England: John Wiley and Sons Ltd.
Bryman, A., & Bell, E. (2003). Business research methods. New York: Oxford University Press.
Burchell, S., Clubb, C., Hopwood, A., Hughes, J., & Nahapiet, J. (1980). The roles of accounting in organizations and society. Accounting, Organizations and
Society, 5(1), 527.
Campbell, D., McPhail, K., & Slack, R. (2009). Face work in annual reports. A study of the management of encounter through annual reports, informed by
Levinas and Bauman. Accounting, Auditing and Accountability Journal, 22(6), 907932.
Chwastiak, M., & Lehman, G. (2008). Accounting for war. Accounting Forum, 32(4), 313326.
Davison, J. (2004). Sacred vestiges in nancial reporting: Mythical readings guided by Mircea Eliade. Accounting, Auditing and Accountability Journal, 17(3),
476497.
Davison, J. (2007). Photographs and accountability: Cracking the codes of an NGO. Accounting, Auditing and Accountability Journal, 20(1), 133158.
Davison, J., & Warren, S. (2009). Imag[in]ing accounting and accountability. Accounting, Auditing and Accountability Journal, 22(6), 845857.
Department for Culture Media and Sport Access to the arts. http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/+/http://www.culture.gov.uk/what we do/arts/
3209.aspx Accessed 06.11.08.
Durrer, V., & Miles, S. (2009). New perspectives on the role of cultural intermediaries in social inclusion in the UK. Consumption, Markets, and Culture, 12(3),
225241.
Gallhofer, S., & Haslam, J. (1991). The aura of accounting in the context of a crisis: Germany and the rst world war. Accounting, Organizations and Society,
16(5/6), 487520.
Gallhofer, S., & Haslam, J. (1996). Accounting/art and the emancipatory project: Some reections. Accounting, Auditing and Accountability Journal, 9(5),
2344.
Graves, O. F., Flesher, D. L., & Jordan, R. E. (1996). Pictures and the bottom line: The television epistemology of U.S. annual reports. Accounting, Organizations
and Society, 2(1), 5788.
Habermas, J. (1989). The theory of communicative action, Vol. 2: The critique of functionalist reason (T. McCarthy, Trans.). Cambridge, UK: Polity Press.
Habermas, J. (1996). Between facts and norms: Contributions to a discourse theory of law and democracy (W. Rehg, Trans.). Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press.
Kozinets, R. V., Sherry, J. F., Jr., Storm, D., Duhachek, A., Nuttavuthisit, K., & Deberry-Spence, B. (2004). Ludic agency and retail spectacle. Journal of Consumer
Research, 31(3), 658672.
Laughlin, R., & Broadbent, J. (1993). Accounting and law: Partners in the juridication of the public sector in the UK. Critical Perspectives on Accounting, 4(4),
337368.
Lehman, G. (2002). Global accountability and sustainability: Research prospects. Accounting Forum, 26(3/4), 219232.
Lehman, G. (2006). Perspectives on language, accountability and critical accounting: An interpretative perspective. Critical Perspectives on Accounting, 17(6),
755779.
Lehman, G. (2007). The accountability of NGOs in civil society and its public spheres. Critical Perspectives on Accounting, 18(6), 645669.
Lyotard, J. F. (1984). The postmodern condition: A report on knowledge (G. Bennington & B. Massumi, Trans.). Manchester: Manchester University Press.
Macintosh, N. B., Shearer, T., & Riccaboni, A. (2009). A Levinasian ethics critique of the role of management and control systems by large global corporations:
The General Electric/Nuovo Pignone example. Critical Perspectives on Accounting, 20(6), 751761.
Maclaran, P. (2009). Postmodern marketing and beyond. In E. Parsons, & P. Maclaren (Eds.), Contemporary issues in marketing and consumer behaviour (pp.
3754). Oxford: Elsevier.
Maxwell, J. A. (1996). Qualitative research design: An interactive approach. London: Sage.
McCarthy, T. (1987). Introduction. In J. Habermas (Ed.), The philosophical discourse of modernity: Twelve lectures (pp. viixvii). Cambridge, UK: Polity Press.
McKinstry, S. (1996). Designing the annual reports of Burton Plc from 1930 to 1994. Accounting, Organizations and Society, 21(1), 89111.
McMaster, Sir B. (2008). Supporting excellence in the arts from measurement to judgement. London: Department for Culture, Media and Sport.
http://www.artscouncil.org.uk/publication archive/mcmaster-review-supporting-excellence-in-the-arts-from-measurement-to-judgement/.
McPhail, K. (2009). Where is the ethical knowledge in the knowledge economy? Power and potential in the emergence of ethical knowledge as a component
of intellectual capital. Critical Perspectives on Accounting, 20(7), 804822.
McSweeney, B., & Duncan, S. (1988). Structure or agency? Discourse or meta-narrative? Explaining the emergence of the nancial management initiative.
Accounting, Auditing and Accountability Journal, 11(3), 332361.
Milne, M. J., Tregidga, H., & Walton, S. (2009). Words not action! The ideological role of sustainable development reporting. Accounting, Auditing and
Accountability Journal, 22(8), 12111257.
Montagna, P. (1997). Modernism vs postmodernism in management accounting. Critical Perspectives on Accounting, 8(12), 125145.
Outhwaite, W. (1996). Part I: General introduction. In W. Outhwaite (Ed.), The Habermas reader (pp. 322). Cambridge, UK: Polity Press.
Power, M., & Laughlin, R. (1996). Habermas, law and accounting. Accounting, Organizations and Society, 21(5), 441465.
Preston, A. M., Cooper, D. J., & Coombs, R. W. (1992). Fabricating budgets: A study of the production of management budgeting in the National Health
Service. Accounting, Organizations, and Society, 17(6), 561593.
Preston, A. M., Wright, C., & Young, J. J. (1996). Imag[in]ing annual reports. Accounting, Organizations, and Society, 21(1), 113137.
Rasmussen, D. M. (1990). Reading Habermas. Oxford: Blackwell.
Robson, K. (1992). Accounting numbers as Inscription: Action at a distance and the development of accounting. Accounting, Organizations and Society, 17(7),
685708.
Stake, R. E. (1995). The art of case study research. London: Sage.
Thomas, A. L. (1971). Useful arbitrary allocations (with a comment on the neutrality of nancial accounting reports). The Accounting Review, 472479.
Tinker, A. M., Merino, B. D., & Neimark, M. D. (1982). The normative origins of positive theories, ideology and accounting thought. Accounting, Organizations,
and Society, 7(2), 167200.
Tusa, J. (1999). Art matters: Reecting on culture. London: Methuen.
Tusa, J. (2000). Art matters: Reecting on culture. London: Methuen.