Based on an ethnographic study, this paper analyzes hidden activities in management controllers’ practice. We show that, while they wish to appear as business partners, they do not “sell” themselves to managers. On the contrary, they adopt avoidance strategies, intending to delegate or...

This paper examines the processes by which identity work influences accounting and organisational practices. Analysing ethnographic material, we study how accountants engage in a struggle for recognition in a context where tensions emerge from the confrontation between idealised occupational...

In this paper, based on an ethnographic study, we show how management controllers craft their jobs through their daily practice and try to stretch their occupational identity. We adopt an original posture, developing a ‘negative ontology’ of practice, identity at work and professional...

(VF)À partir d’une étude ethnographique, nous analysons les pratiques occultées de contrôleurs de gestion. Nous montrons que,souhaitant s’identifier à des consultants internes, ils ne vont pas chercher à « se vendre » auprès des managers. Au contraire, ils adoptent une stratégie...

Dans ce papier, nous tentons d'analyser, par une étude ethnographique, la construction de l'identité professionnelle des contrôleurs de gestion. Comme nous allons le voir, au sein du même groupe – les contrôleurs de gestion d'une entreprise donnée – plusieurs trajectoires apparaissent....

Management control practices are influenced by different professional groups, their interpretations and power struggles. We study a company whose strategy and daily management rely on non financial stakes, notably upon the concept of “brand”. We show how management accountants introduce a...

Many studies illustrate the increasing power of financial officers in organizations, which seems to reflect a universal and inevitable process of financialization. Through an ethnographic study, we analyze the concrete impacts of this trend on daily practices. We show that the path of...

This paper examines the justifications accountants give for their role and position in organisations. Through a qualitative study based on observations and interviews, we follow management accountants acting as influential representatives of the financial language in their organisations. Trying...

This paper examines the justifications management accountants give of their role and position in organizations. We identified four main arguments : their position in the circuit of information, their expertise in accounting and finance, the position given by senior management and their role as...