Cascading translations of governmentality and accounting intimacy

Purpose The purpose of this research is to characterise governance in the education domain, examining the Australian school sector. In addition to investigating the role of accounting at a distance in programmes of governance, as has been the case in extant accounting research, we also seek to understand how so-called intimate accountings (Asdal, 2011) act on distance through the instantiation of situationally meaningful, local and embodied forms of calculation permeating everyday practices. In so doing, we highlight that governance is more than a top-down hierarchical process, relying also on everyday actors producing local calculations that help “align” (Miller, 2014) various calculative infrastructures of (educational) governance. Design/methodology/approach A case study design is employed, focusing on Australian schools. Data collected include 35 semi-structured interviews, field observations and archival documents. Our case study explores how accounting practices and calculative tools for managing school performance are implemented across different schooling contexts, and how these tools are understood by individuals interacting with them. Data analysis examines how accounting systems and everyday practices of accounting and calculation play a role in governance, culminating in the typification of the notion of cascading governmentality. Findings We find that MySchool, a prominent tool for educational accountability in Australia, is situated in cascading translations of governmentality, involving global, national and local actors, constitutive of, and constituted by, processes of accounting intimacy. We find that processes of governmentality require a multiplicity of actors and intimate accounting (Asdal, 2011) calculations – the “nitty-gritty”, everyday accounting practices of government agencies, schools, parents, school children and members of the community – making the programmatic reform of the Australian education sector (the so-called “the education revolution”) “fit” and work. Practical implications Our study calls for policymakers to consider the relational impacts of accountability systems, suggesting that local-level actors are not mere subjects of policy but also active participants in constructing governance. We also emphasise a need for more awareness of the emotional and relational consequences of accounting systems, particularly in domains such as education shaping family life and local communities. Originality/value We make four contributions to the extant literature. First, we challenge the traditional view of governmentality as a top-down, state-initiated policy agenda (Ahrens et al., 2020; Neu, 2000; McKinlay and Pezet, 2010), proffering instead the notion of cascading governmentality. Second, we demonstrate how governmentality is enacted locally through intimate accounting practices. Third, we show the unintended effects of accounting intimacy, contributing to ongoing discussions concerning accounting’s role in acting from and on distances (Corvellec et al., 2018; Quattrone and Hopper, 2005; Robson, 1992). Fourth, we empirically contribute to the small but growing body of accounting research focused on education (Cutler and Waine, 2004; Edwards et al., 1999; Edwards et al., 2000; Groff et al., 2010; Levacic, 1990; Neu, 2006; Rubin, 2004; Unda et al., 2023), encouraging further comparative, cross-national research exploring the intersections of accounting practices and educational governance.