Correcting the Incorrect: an Exploratory Study into the Role of the Controller in Counteracting Financial Fake News
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.14738/abr.610.5326Abstract
This study aims to provide a foundation for an initial exploratory theory about the role of the controller in counteracting financial fake news. To accomplish this, the efforts against the dissemination of financial fake news were explored at the overall, societal, segmental, firm and function level. The Constructivist Grounded Theory Method is used to generate a conceptual model out of those five levels of analysis. As part of this approach, data from open interviews with ten respondents and key informants are used to gain insights into the efforts against the phenomenon of financial fake news. Thereafter, the results were analysed in a phenomenological oriented way to draw conclusions from it. This study concludes that the rational considerations one makes to discover to truth are embedded in the role of the controller as ‘being the conscience of the firm’. Nevertheless, financial fake news is a complex phenomenon that is rather an assessment or judgement than a measurable fact, whereby its complexity stems from the phenomenon’s multidimensional characteristics. Possible misconceptions regarding news can arise due to ignorance of reality. Therefore, intervention in the form of countermeasures is of importance from a social point of view. On the contrary, it can be questioned whether these interventions are necessary from an economic point of view, since general benefit of society at large is created when everyone is pursuing their own interests. The way in which financial fake news should be counteracted thus depends on the perspective in which the problem is approached.
References
AFM. (n.d.). About AFM. Retrieved May 25, 2018, from https://www.afm.nl/en/over-afm.
Allcott, H., & Gentzkow, M. (2017). Social media and fake news in the 2016 election. Journal of Economic Perspectives, 31(2), 211-237.
Baarda, D. B., De Goede, M. P. M., & Teunissen, J. (2013). Basisboek kwalitatief onderzoek : handleiding voor het opzetten en uitvoeren van kwalitatief onderzoek. Groningen: Noordhoff.
Blackstone, A. (2012). Principles of Sociological Inquiry Qualitative and Quantitative Methods. The Saylor Foundation.
Blanshard, B. (n.d.). Rationalism. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Encyclopædia Britannica Inc. Retrieved February 19, 2018, from https://www.britannica.com/topic/rationalism.
Bloor, D. (1981). The strengths of the strong programme. Philosophy of the Social Sciences, 11(2), 199-21.
Bluhm, D. J., Harman, W., Lee, T. W. & Mitchell, T.R. (2011). Qualitative Research in Management: A Decade of Progress. Journal of Management Studies, 48(8), 1866-1891.
Boardman, J., & Sauser, B. (2013). Systemic thinking: Building maps of worlds of systems. Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons.
Bowen, G. A. (2006). Grounded theory and sensitizing concepts. International journal of qualitative methods, 5(3), 12-23.
Bryant, A. (2017). Grounded theory and grounded theorizing : Pragmatism in research practice. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
Charmaz, K. (1995). Grounded theory. In J. Smith, R. Harré, & L. Langenhove (Eds.), Rethinking methods in psychology (pp. 27-65). London: Sage Publications.
Charmaz, K. (2014). Constructing grounded theory. London: Sage Publications.
Charmaz, K., & McMullen, L. M. (2011). Five ways of doing qualitative analysis: Phenomenological psychology, grounded theory, discourse analysis, narrative research, and intuitive inquiry. Guilford Press.
Cho, J. Y., & Lee, E. H. (2014). Reducing confusion about grounded theory and qualitative content analysis: Similarities and differences. The qualitative report, 19(32), 1-20.
Clarke, A.E. (2005). Situational analysis. Grounded theory after the postmodern turn. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications .
Clarke, A. E., Friese, C., & Washburn, R. (2016). Situational analysis in practice: Mapping research with grounded
Corbin, J. & Strauss, A. (2008). Basics of Qualitative Research: Techniques and procedures for developing grounded theory (3rd edition). Los Angeles: Sage Publications.
Creswell, J.W. (2009). Research Design: Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed Approaches. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications.
Loo, I. de. B. Verstegen, & D. Swagerman (2011), ‘Understanding the roles of management accountants’, European Business Review, vol. 23, no. 3, 287-313.
De Vrieze, J. (2018, January 11). Bruno Latour over feiten, fouten, kritiek en wetenschap: De waarheid vereist hard werken. De Groene Amsterdammer, 142(1-2), 85-87.
De Waard, M. (2018, June 15). Feiten als therapie in tijden van 'fake news'. Het Financieele Dagblad. Retrieved from https://fd.nl/weekend/1257758/feiten-als-therapie-in-tijden-van-fake-news.
Devos, T., Spini, D., & Schwartz, S. H. (2002). Conflicts among human values and trust in institutions. British Journal of Social Psychology, 41(4), 481-494.
Digital Shadows. (2017). The Business of Disinformation: A Taxonomy. Retrieved from https://resources.digitalshadows.com/whitepapers-and-reports/the-business-of-disinformation-fake-news. Encyclo. (n.d.). Ontology. Retrieved February 18, 2018, from http://www.encyclo.nl/begrip/ontologie.
Ernst & Young LLP. (2011). The changing role of the financial controller. Retrieved from http://www.ey.com/Publication/vwLUAssets/Changing_role_of_the_financial_controller/$FILE/EY_Financial_controller_changing_role.pdf
Flood, C. (2017, May 5). Fake news infiltrates financial markets. Financial Times. Retrieved from https://www.ft.com/content/a37e4874-2c2a-11e7-bc4b-5528796fe35c.
Fm.nl. (2017, March 15). Fake news is helaas big business. Retrieved from https://financieelmanagement.nl/artikel/fake-news-is-helaas-big-business.
Franzén, T. (2005). Gödel's theorem: an incomplete guide to its use and abuse. Natick, MA: AK Peters.
Freud, S. (1933). Neue Folge der Vorlesungen zur Einfuhrung in die Psychoanalyse. Gesammelte Werke, 5-208. th
Gall, M. D., Borg, W. R., & Gall, J. P. (1996). Educational research: An introduction (6 ed.). White Plains, NY: Logman Publishers.
Gasson, S. (2004). Rigor in grounded theory research: An interpretive perspective on generating theory from qualitative field studies. The handbook of information systems research, 4, 79-102.
Glaeser, E. L., & Ujhelyi, G. (2010). Regulating misinformation. Journal of Public Economics, 94(3), 247-257.
Glaser, B. (1978). Theoretical sensitivity : Advances in the methodology of grounded theory. Mill Valley, Calif.: Sociology Press.
Glaser, B., & Strauss, A. (1967). The discovery of grounded theory : Strategies for qualitative research (Observations). Chicago: Aldine Pub.
Granlund, M., & Lukka, K. (1998). Towards increasing business orientation: Finnish management accountants in a changing cultural context. Management Accounting Research, 9, 185-211.
Gray, E. R., & Balmer, J. M. (1998). Managing corporate image and corporate reputation. Long range planning, 31(5), 695-702.
Historiek. (2015, December 10). Joseph Goebbels - Minister van propaganda onder Adolf Hitler. Retrieved on 28 April 2018, from https://historiek.net/joseph-goebbels-minister-propaganda/3057/.
Homburg, C., Klarmann, M., & Schmitt, J. (2010). Brand awareness in business markets: When is it related to firm performance? International Journal of Research in Marketing, 27(3), 201-212.
Horlings, A. (2018, April 15). Nepnieuws is van alle tijden: Misleiding basis voor heksenwaan, jodenvervolging en Deutsches Reich. Retrieved April 18, 2018, from https://historiek.net/nepnieuws-is-van-alle-tijden/78499/.
Hosenball, M., & Menn, J. (2017, April 21). Experts say automated accounts sharing fake news ahead of French election. Retrieved February 14, 2018, from https://www.reuters.com/article/us-france-electionsocialmedia/experts-say-automated-accounts-sharing-fake-news-ahead-of-french-election-idUSKBN17M31G.
IAASB. (2016). Handbook of International Quality Control, Auditing, Review, Other Assurance, and Related Services Pronouncements (2016-2017 Edition). Retrieved from https://www.ifac.org/publications-resources/2016-2017-handbook-international-quality-control-auditing-review-other.
I&O Research. (2017). Desinformatie leidt tot verwarring bij nieuwsconsument: Onderzoek voor de Volkskrant. Retrieved from https://ioresearch.nl/Portals/0/Rapport%20Nepnieuws%20Volkskrant%20Versie%2019122017.pdf. Investopedia. (n.d.). Dotcom Bubble. Retrieved May 24, 2018, from https://www.investopedia.com/terms/d/dotcom-bubble.asp.
Jablonsky, S., & Barsky, N. (2000). The digital workplace: how is it changing the role of financial management? The Journal of Corporate Accounting and Finance, 11(5), 3-10.
James, W. (1907). Pragmatism's Conception of Truth. The Journal of Philosophy, Psychology and Scientific Methods, 4(6), 141-155.
Jia, M., Ruan, H., & Zhang, Z. (2017). How rumours fly. Journal of Business Research, 72, 33-45.
Katsirikou, A., & Lin, C. S. (2017). Revealing the “Essence” of Things: Using Phenomenology in LIS Research. Qualitative and Quantitative Methods in Libraries, 2(4), 469-478.
Keersmaecker de, J., & Roets, A. (2017). ‘Fake news’: Incorrect, but hard to correct. The role of cognitive ability on the impact of false information on social impressions. Intelligence, 65, 107-110.
Kim, D. H. (1999). Introduction to systems thinking (Vol. 16). Waltham, MA: Pegasus Communications.
Kimmel, A. J. (2004). Rumours and the financial marketplace. The Journal of Behavioral Finance, 5(3), 134-141.
Klok, P. (2017, November 15). Kijk niet naar mensen die nepnieuws verspreiden, maar naar hen die het geloven. De Volkskrant. Retrieved from https://www.volkskrant.nl/opinie/kijk-niet-naar-mensen-die-nepnieuwsverspreiden-maar-naar-hen-die-het-geloven~a4539038/.
Kohn, L., & Christiaens, W. (2012). KCE Process Book. Retrieved from http://processbook.kcefgov.be/book/export/html/346.
Koops, E. (2017, March 10). Otto von Bismarck (1815-1898) - “IJzeren Kanselier” van Duitsland. Retrieved on 28 April 28, from https://historiek.net/otto-von-bismarck-kanselier-duitsland/67682/.
Kreijveld, M. (2018a). De strijd tegen nepnieuws (2): Wie checkt de factcheckers? Retrieved from https://marketingfacts.nl/berichten/strijd-tegen-nepnieuws-2-wie-checkt-de-factcheckers.
Kreijveld, M. (2018b). De strijd tegen nepnieuws (1): Hoe pak je fake-news aan als niemand weet wat het precies is? Retrieved from https://www.marketingfacts.nl/berichten/strijd-tegen-nepnieuws-1-definitie-en-hoebestrijden.
Kuchler, H. (2017, August 22). Companies scramble to combat ‘fake news’: From Starbucks to Costco, brands have come under attack from hoaxers. Retrieved from https://www.ft.com/content/afe1f902-82b6-11e7-94e2-c5b903247afd.
Latour, B., & Woolgar, S. (1986). Laboratory life: The construction of scientific facts. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press.
Leung, L. (2015). Validity, reliability, and generalizability in qualitative research. Journal of family medicine and primary care, 4(3), 324.
Levy, R. (2014). Soothing politics. Journal of Public Economics, 120, 126-133.
Lillis, A. M. (2006). Reliability and validity in field study research, in Z. Hoque (ed.), Methodological issues in accounting research: Theories and methods. Spiramus Press, London: 461-475.
Lillis, A. M., & Mundy, J. (2005). Cross-sectional field studies in management accounting research-closing the gaps between surveys and case studies. Journal of management accounting research, 17(1), 119-141.
Lloyd, J. (2017, May 25). The truth about the post-truth age. Financial Times. Retrieved from https://www.ft.com/content/53b00158-409c-11e7-82b6-896b95f30f58.
Maas, V. (2005). De rol van de controller in Nederland. Maandblad voor Accountancy en Bedrijfseconomie, 5, 16-20.
Mac, R., & Lytvynenko, J. (2018, January 18). Here’s How Scammers Are Using Fake News To Screw With Bitcoin Investors. Retrieved June 19, 2018, from https://www.buzzfeed.com/ryanmac/heres-how-scammers-are-usingfake-news-to-screw-with-bitcoin?utm_term=.lvPKbjO41#.qiYg4AKMP.
Moustakas, C. (1994). Phenomenological research methods. Thousand Oaks: Sage.
NU.nl. (2018, January 16). 'Europees keurmerk voor echt nieuws en nepnieuws mogelijk'. Retrieved February 16, 2018, from https://www.nu.nl/media/5089721/europees-keurmerk-echt-nieuws-en-nepnieuws-mogelijk.html.
Oostdijk, J., Zwiep, R. (2014). De controller van Nu & Straks. Tijdschrift Controlling, 29, 14-17.
Orwell, G. (1946). Politics and the English Language. Horizon, 13(76), 252-265.
Pasztor, A. (2018, May 10). Elon Musk Predicts Rocket Launches Will Be as Routine as Airline Flights. Retrieved May 24, 2018, from https://www.wsj.com/articles/elon-musk-predicts-rocket-launches-will-be-as-routine-asairline-flights-1525988078.
Patton, M. (2002). Qualitative research and evaluation methods (3 ed.). Thousand Oaks : Sage Publications.
Peirce, C. S. (1877). The fixation of belief. Retrieved from: http://www.commens.org/bibliography/journal_article/peirce-charles-s-1877-fixation-belief, 14.09.20181877.
Peress, J. (2014). The media and the diffusion of information in financial markets: Evidence from newspaper strikes. Journal of Finance, 69(5), 2007-2043.
Radcliffe, V. S. (2010). Discussion of “The world has changed - have analytical procedure practices?” Contemporary Accounting Research, 27(2), 701-709.
Ritchie, J., & Lewis, J. (2013). Qualitative research practice: A guide for social science students and researchers. London: Sage Publications.
Riedijk, F., Tillema, S., & Moen, E. (2002). De ontwikkeling van de controller in Nederland. Een verkenning van de praktijk. Maandblad voor Accountancy en Bedrijfseconomie, 76(7/8), 337-347.
Rosling, H., Rönnlund, A. R., & Rosling, O. (2018). Factfulness: Ten Reasons We're Wrong About the World - and Why Things Are Better Than You Think. Flatiron Books.
Rubin, V. L., Chen, Y., & Conroy, N. J. (2015). Deception detection for news: three types of fakes. Proceedings of the Association for Information Science and Technology, 52(1), 1-4.
Salinas, F. J. (2016). Bruno Latour’s pragmatic realism: an ontological inquiry. Global Discourse, 6(1-2), 8-21.
Sanders, P. (1982). Phenomenology: A New Way of Viewing Organizational Research. The Academy of Management Review, 7(3), 353-360.
Sathe, V. (1982). Controller Involvement in Management, Prentice-Hall.
Saunders, M., Lewis, P., Thornhill, A., Booij, M., & Verckens, J. P. (2011). Methoden en technieken van onderzoek. Pearson Education.
Schrödinger, E., (1935). The present situation in quantum mechanics. Quantum Theory and Measurement (Princeton University Press; Princeton, NJ), 152-167.
Silverman, D. (2013). Doing qualitative research: A practical handbook. Sage Publications.
Simon, H. (1957). Models of Man: Social and Rational. New York: John Wiley.
Simon, H.A., Guetskow, H., & Kozmetsky, G. (1954). Centralization versus decentralization in organizing the controller’s department, The Controllership Foundation.
Smith, A. (1776). The wealth of nations. London, Methuen & Co.
Smith, M. (2017). Research methods in accounting. London: Sage Publications.
Stiglitz, J. E. (2018, June 19). The Ethical Economist. Retrieved June 19, 2018, from https://www.foreignaffairs.com/reviews/review-essay/2005-11-01/ethical-economist
Stroll, A., & Martinich, A. P. (n.d.). Epistemology. Retrieved February 19, 2018, from https://www.britannica.com/topic/epistemology.
Ten Rouwelaar, J. A. (2006). Balancing the roles of business unit controllers: An empirical investigation in The Netherlands. EAA congress 2006, Dublin, Ireland
Weinberg, G. M. (1975). An introduction to general systems thinking. Dorset House Publishing Co Inc.,U.S.
Woodcock, G. (n.d.). George Orwell. Retrieved on 26 April 2018, from https://www.britannica.com/biography/George-Orwell.
Van der Horst, H. (2018). Nepnieuws - De wereld van desinformatie. Schiedam, The Netherlands: Scriptum.
Verhagen, L. (2017, November 21). Nepnieuws produceren en verspreiden is makkelijker dan ooit: hulpmiddelen liggen voor het oprapen. De Volkskrant. Retrieved from https://www.volkskrant.nl/media/nepnieuwsproduceren-en-verspreiden-is-makkelijker-dan-ooit-hulpmiddelen-liggen-voor-het-oprapen~a4540410/.
Zimmerman, J.L. (2005). Accounting for Decision making and Control, fifth edition, McGraw-Hill Higher Education.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2018 Archives of Business Research
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
