This study explores the power of words and their usage in the context of recent
reforms to accounting regulation for the Australian public sector. The broad
framework for analysis advanced by Mills (1989) is applied. Mills argued that the
discipline of accounting is peculiarly dependent on a specialised vocabulary or
terminology, both in determining the nature and content of accounting regulation and
practice and also in shaping the accounting domain. According to Mills, given such a
close relationship between accounting and its vocabulary, the analysis of the use of
key words in accounting during particular periods in history can assist our
understanding of important events in the development of accounting thought and
practice. It is argued that the definition and interpretation of the terms
“accrual accounting” and “asset” were
integral to the presentation of a form of accounting conventionally applied to
private sector firms as the “solution” to perceived financial
management problems in the Australian public sector. This study seeks to augment
existing literature by adding to our understanding of the role of altruistic
discourse in promoting and justifying changes to accounting practice.
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