Weathering the storm: Accountability implications for flood relief and recovery from a local government perspective

• Published date: 01 February 2018
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/faam.12134
• Date: 01 February 2018
• Author: Nick Sciulli

Received: 18 May2015 Revised: 21 January 2016 Accepted: 20 April 2016

DOI: 10.1111/faam.12134

ORIGINAL ARTICLE

Weathering the storm: Accountability implications

for flood relief and recovery from a local

government perspective

Nick Sciulli

AssociateProfessor of Accounting, Victoria

University,College of Business, Melbourne,

Australia

Correspondence

NickSciulli, Melbourne City Mail Centre, PO Box

14428,Melbourne, VIC 8001, Australia.

Email:Nick.Sciulli@vu.edu.au

FundingInformation

Theauthor wishes to thank the Financial Account-

abilityand Management reviewers for their time

andeffort in providing constructive comments

andfurther insights. In addition, the financial sup-

portprovided by Victoria University, College of

BusinessSeed Funding for this project is greatly

appreciated.

Abstract

This paper investigates the role of accounting and the nature of

accountability from the perspective of local government managers

in the context of multiple flood events. The flood events occurred

in the State of Victoria, Australia during 2010-11, and rural regions

were the most severelyaffected by this natural disaster. The findings

demonstrate that convoluted governance and extensive State and

Federal Government funding arrangementsresulted in some confu-

sion among local councils and communities as to their eligibility for,

and the timing of, financial support. Within this context, the study

findings revealed how, as the first point of contact for local resi-

dents, small rural shires with limited financial and human capacity

used accounting to address the impact of a natural disaster on a per-

sonal level.

KEYWORDS

accountability, extreme weather event, governance, local govern-

ment, natural disasters

1INTRODUCTION

The aim of this study is to gain an understanding of the role of accounting in managing an environmental disas-

ter such as a flood event. Given the contextual nature of natural disasters, we seek to gain an understanding of

whether the accounting system of local shires can ‘cope’ with the information demands following a natural dis-

aster. This paper is framed around the ‘question’ of whether current or traditional accounting and accountabil-

ity processes are suitable in the context of a natural disaster. That is, whether the form of accounting as used

by government is able t o cope with the peculiarities of a flood event. In 2010-11, the State of Victoria (Aus-

tralia) experienced the worst flood events in its history with many rural areas being described as an ‘inland sea’

(Comrie, 2011). Importantly, these floods occurred following a protracted 14-year drought across Australia,

which may partly explain why all levels of government and the general community were unprepared for such

an extreme weather event (EWE). Such events result in significant financial and social costs to the community.

Financial Acc & Man. 2018;34:30–44. wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/faam c

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