Accounting and ‘bouncing back’ from a crisis: the long-term term implications of short-term choices in the housing sector

Green, Stuart

Abstract

Financial resilience – the ability to anticipate and recover from financial shocks - raises important questions for accounting. This paper presents an empirical observation of the financial resilience of two organizations in the third sector. It explores the practical usefulness of accounting in anticipating and responding to crises that affected organizational finances. Participant observation was used to collect empirical detail from two small housing associations: the author is a qualified accountant and was a trustee of each organization. Face-to-face interaction with practitioners and immersion in organizational settings provided insights into ‘what works’ in this context. The role of accounting is explored before, during and after two events: the global financial crisis (and the austerity measures that followed) and the COVID-19 pandemic. The findings show how accounting can contribute to coping and anticipatory capacities, particularly when they are well-established and situated in a strategic context. ‘Bouncing forward’, rather than merely ‘bouncing back’ from a crisis is expedited by accounting practices that are orientated to long-term financial health; short-term practices, whilst useful in ‘bouncing back’, can erode longer-term financial resilience and contribute to increased vulnerability to future financial shocks.

Citation

Green, S. (in press). Accounting and ‘bouncing back’ from a crisis: the long-term term implications of short-term choices in the housing sector.

• Conference Name: Resilience and the Third Sector
• Conference Location: Edinburgh, Scotland
• Start Date: Nov 10, 2022
• Acceptance Date: Sep 30, 2022
• Deposit Date: Oct 6, 2022
• Series ISSN: 0267-4424,1468-0408
• Public URL: https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1135006
• Publisher URL: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/14680408