Purpose

This paper aims to generate new research directions at the intersection of accounting, whistleblowing and publicness: defined as the attainment of public goals, interests and values.

Design/methodology/approach

A problematising review is used to challenge and rethink the existing accounting and whistleblowing literature by incorporating readings from the public interest and public value literature. The paper draws on the work of Dewey (1927), Bozeman (2007) and Benington (2009) to open up new ways of theorising relations between accounting, whistleblowing and publicness.

Findings

Firstly, the paper develops a public interest theoretical framework which shows whistleblowing is a public value activity that moves organisational wrongdoing into the public sphere where it is subject to democratic debate and dialogue required to reconcile the public's interests with what the public values. Secondly, this framework provides one answer to continuing questions in the literature of how to define accountings relationship to the public interest. Finally, the paper suggests this conceptual framework be used to stimulate debate on whether and how one should expand existing accounting and accountability knowledge boundaries to incorporate the broader social, political and moral concerns highlighted by whistleblowers acting in the public interest.

Originality/value

Accounting and whistleblowing research has ignored the theoretical implications of whistleblowing in the public interest. The paper shows how accounting and accountability can respond to the challenges of a shifting and intangible public interest by providing a conceptual framework to guide current and future theoretical questions of how accounting is connected to the public interest.

中文翻译：

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举报和说明公共利益：呼吁新方向

目的

本文旨在在会计、举报和公共性的交叉点产生新的研究方向：定义为公共目标、利益和价值观的实现。

设计/方法/方法

通过结合公共利益和公共价值文献的阅读，使用有问题的审查来挑战和重新思考现有的会计和举报文献。本文借鉴了杜威 (1927)、博兹曼 (2007) 和贝宁顿 (2009) 的工作，开辟了将会计、举报和公开之间的关系理论化的新方法。

发现

首先，本文发展了一个公共利益理论框架，表明举报是一种将组织不法行为转移到公共领域的公共价值活动，在公共领域，它需要进行民主辩论和对话，以协调公共利益与公共价值。其次，该框架为文献中关于如何定义会计与公共利益的关系的持续问题提供了一个答案。最后，本文建议使用这一概念框架来激发关于是否以及如何扩展现有会计和问责知识边界以纳入为公共利益行事的告密者所强调的更广泛的社会、政治和道德问题的辩论。

原创性/价值

会计和举报研究忽略了举报对公共利益的理论影响。该论文通过提供一个概念框架来指导当前和未来会计如何与公共利益相关联的理论问题，展示了会计和问责如何应对不断变化的无形公共利益的挑战。