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This paper seeks to extend the development of the historical accounting research agenda further into the area of popular culture. The work examines the discourses that surrounded the drinking of alcohol in nineteenth century Britain and explores how an accounting failure disrupted the tension between the two established competing discourses, leading to a significant impact on UK drinking culture at the end of the nineteenth century.

The paper employs both primary and secondary sources. Secondary sources are used to develop the main themes of the discourses deployed by the temperance societies and the whisky companies. Primary sources derived from the contemporary press are employed, as necessary, in support.

The paper demonstrates that accounting, although it may not be central to a discourse or other social structure, can still have a profound impact upon cultural practices. The potential for research into culture and accounting should not therefore be dismissed if no immediate or concrete relationship between culture and accounting can be determined. Further support is provided for studies that seek to expand the accounting research agenda into new territories.

The study of popular culture is relatively novel in accounting research. This paper seeks to add to this research by exploring an area of cultural activity that has hitherto been neglected by researchers, i.e. by exploring how an accounting incident impacted upon the historical consumption of Scotch whisky in the UK.

As a consequence of the global financial and economic crisis, the European Commission recently reformed the audit market. One objective was to restore public trust in the auditing profession and thus to enhance the audit function. This study investigates whether perceptions of auditor independence and audit quality are influenced by audit firm rotation, auditor retention and joint audits, because regulators argue that these instruments can improve auditor independence and audit quality. Therefore, we conduct an experiment with bank directors and institutional investors in Germany. The results indicate a negative main effect for joint audits on perceived auditor independence, and that a rotation cycle of 24 years marginally significantly impairs participant perceptions of audit quality, compared to a rotation cycle of only ten years. Besides the main effects, planned contrast tests suggest a negative interaction between rotation and joint audit on participant perceptions of auditor independence. Moreover, a negative interaction effect is revealed between rotation after 24 years and retention on perceptions of audit quality. It is particularly noteworthy that we failed to identify a positive impact of the regulatory measures taken or supported by the European Commission on perceptions of auditor independence and audit quality.

Concern has been raised over the impact of the PricewaterhouseCoopers merger on the competitiveness of the market for audit services. This paper aims to examine the market share and audit pricing of PricewaterhouseCoopers in the UK before and after its merger. It also seeks to examine the change in consultancy services income of PricewaterhouseCoopers since its merger.

Numerical data analysis is performed. In particular, concentration indices and audit fee model (OLS) are used.

The increase in audit services market concentration as a result of the merger has not led to an increase in audit prices. Although the merger has enabled PricewaterhouseCoopers to increase its market leadership in regions and in industrial sectors, neither industry leadership nor city leadership generated a premium in audit pricing. An analysis of non‐audit services fee income leads to the rejection of claims by critics that the main purpose of the merger is to enable PricewaterhouseCoopers to generate more non‐audit services income from their audit clients. Its non‐audit fee income has decreased since its merger.

Audit fee models used in the literature have not included the behavioural aspects of audit pricing, for example, client‐auditor relationship. In addition, due to data availability, consultancy fee income of PricewaterhouseCoopers before the merger cannot be analysed.

The research provides useful information for the accountancy profession and the regulators.

Public sector auditing research has changed rapidly over the past four decades. This paper aims to reveal how the field has developed and identify avenues for future research.

The authors used a structured literature review following Massaro et al. The sample comprises papers on public sector auditing published in accounting and public sector management journals between 1991 and 2020.

The present analysis highlights that academic research interest in public sector auditing has grown and become more diverse. The authors argue this may reflect a transformation of the public sector in recent decades, owing to the developing institutional logics of public sector reforms, from traditional public administration to new public management and now new public governance.

This paper offers a comprehensive review of the public sector auditing literature, discussing different perspectives over time. It also outlines the various public sector reforms introduced over the period of the study. In reviewing the existing literature, the authors highlight the themes for future research and policy settings.

An essential part of any customer experience management strategy is providing a seamless experience. One of the roadblocks, often a recurring barrier, is the presence of silos. Many people see corporate silos as a function of the organisational structure. But that is only one part of the problem. Influencing siloed mindsets across the length and breadth of the organisation is probably a more significant challenge. The siloed structure and mindset together impact the culture of the organisation that, in turn, affects their quality of customer experience management. This chapter covers the essential aspects of understanding the meaning of silos, including a historical, cultural and organisational perspective on what creates silos. While silos are inevitable, their adverse consequences are not. This chapter provides directions on how to overcome the adverse aspects of silos, thereby enabling better management of customer experiences. Multiple examples, from a customer as well as an organisation point of view, are used to highlight this dimension. The chapter also covers the role of a leader in breaking a silo culture and enabling successful application of various strategies for customer experience management.

The old snobbery in regard to public libraries expressed itself in the phrase “the provision of the illiterate for the illiterate by the illiterate” —a phrase which is too literate to have had any but an easily recognizable origin. It was always hypocritical or ignorant, or both, of course, but the snobbery it reflected has faded into its true values today. Recent careful analyses of the registers of a few public libraries go to show that the greater number of readers are actual ratepayers, and many of them substantial ones. The old fear of the “free” library with its charity associations has gone, except perhaps in such quarters as originated the phrase quoted above. A fair reflection of this was a remark in a very recent public case where the counsel asked a witness who complained that she had “to get pocket money to buy books” if she did not know of free libraries, and the presiding Chancellor of the Diocese of Norwich remarked that he had obtained books from the County Library. On all sides, too, we hear that the issues from public libraries at this Easier have surpassed all records.

Life studies are a rich source for further research on the role of the Afro‐American woman in society. They are especially useful to gain a better understanding of the Afro‐American experience and to show the joys, sorrows, needs, and ideals of the Afro‐American woman as she struggles from day to day.

A month or so after the Stresa meeting, the French ISHM chapter, organising a session on ‘Gallic inks’ (!), summoned me to deliver some comments on the 5th European Hybrid Microelectronics Conference. Although it was only a matter of interlude during this technical session, I felt the task quite a difficult one. It became a hazardous project when Brian C. Waterfield kindly asked me to let what is in fact a personal opinion—my personal opinion, standing back from my daily work—appear in Hybrid Circuits. I'll do my best.