Exploring the Use of Accounting History in Post-Enron Stories

Abstract

This study uses the concept of “popular history” to address the use of accounting history in post-Enron stories on corporate collapse and accounting failure. The study extends the work of Carnegie and Napier (2010), which focuses on how professional accountants and their firms and organizations were portrayed in post-Enron books that were published during the period 2002 to 2005. These books can be characterized as “popular histories”, and the paper illustrates how the scholarly work of academic accounting historians is given little attention by the authors of these post-Enron stories. It points to the largely untapped potential for accounting historians to make their research findings and insights available for a general readership.