Title: Changes in annual reporting rituals of financial services firms in periods of market crisis

Authors: Mark S. Bettner; Kate Sowinski

Addresses: School of Management, Bucknell University, 302 Taylor Hall, Lewisburg, PA 17837, USA ' School of Management, Bucknell University, 302 Taylor Hall, Lewisburg, PA 17837, USA

Abstract: This paper examines accounting and financial reporting as ceremonial rituals. Its specific focus is upon changes in annual reporting rituals of financial services firms during periods of market crisis. Our preliminary findings suggest that several of the firms in our study may have made changes in their reporting rituals to construct alternative realities in an attempt to mask conflict, preserve stability, foster unity, and reinforce - or perhaps reinvent - new social norms, core values, and corporate identities.

Keywords: ceremonial rituals; symbolic imagery; annual reports; critical accounting; market crisis; financial services firms; microfinance; masking conflict; corporate identity; social norms; financial reporting; core values; corporate identities.

DOI: 10.1504/IJCA.2013.059027

International Journal of Critical Accounting, 2013 Vol.5 No.6, pp.577 - 593

Published online: 29 Apr 2014 *

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