Citation
von Alberti-Alhtaybat, L. and Al-Htaybat, K. (2015), "Impressions of the Arab world: "profit isn’t everything!", Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Vol. 28 No. 4. https://doi.org/10.1108/AAAJ-12-2014-1907
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Impressions of the Arab world: "profit isn’t everything!"
Article Type: Literature and insights From: Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Volume 28, Issue 4
Location: Amman, Jordan Act 1: 2008
March scene 1: cost accounting class
Academic. “One of the purposes of cost accounting is to be aware of your cost structure, in order to manager your cost better. As we discussed before, to maximise profit we can either increase revenue or reduce expenses. The latter is often easier done, as only specific markets will easily accept price increases or increases in sales volume. So […], yes, you have a question?”
Student. “Actually – profit isn’t everything!”
Gasp: a student disagreeing openly with an academic? The rest of the class is shocked.
Academic:
“Why do you say that?”
Student. “Well, I just believe that there is more to life than profit”.
The rest of the class laughs. Accounting students shake their heads […].
Academic
“Let me tell you – I agree. Profit at all cost is not the way to go – but being unprofitable is also problematic because you may not be able to maintain the business, and then who loses out as well? The employees […]”.
Student
“This is why I want to work for a charity”.
Again the class laughs.
And the beat goes on
November scene 2: academic’s office
Student. “I don’t know if I can stay the next semester – I may have drop out altogether”.
Academic:
“Why is that?”
Student. “Well, my father has lost a lot of money in the recent crisis, I am not sure he can pay for my fees – actually, currently he has started taxi driving just to keep us going. I may get some financial aid from the Royal Court, but it is not guaranteed yet”.
Profit isn’t everything.
And the beat goes on.
Act 2: 2009
March scene 3: cost accounting class
Academic
“One of the purposes of cost accounting is to be aware of your cost structure, in order to manager your cost better. As we discussed before, to maximise profit we can either increase revenue or reduce expenses. The latter is often easier done, as only specific markets will easily accept price increases or increases in sales volume. But let me as you a question […] do you think profit at all cost is acceptable?”
Student. “[…]but I need to earn money to manage life, like food for the family, support my parents, my kids, […]”.
Student. “Anyway, who can you trust with money these days? We have lost so much money in the last year […]”.
Student. “Have you heard of the currency scandal here in Jordan – you know where they were stealing people’s money by promising them huge returns but what they really did was just give the first investors a share of the last investors’ investment, and so on”.
Academic
“You call this a snowball system”.
Student. “So you see, they were going to someone’s funeral and were pretending to pay out the family the dead person’s profits, so all the farmers in the small villages believed it and brought together their savings, and they left with fortunes. You can’t imagine how many people lost their life, honour, dignity and savings in that”.
Profit isn’t everything.
And the beat goes on.
Act 3: 2010
December scene 4: in the hallway of the accounting department
Student. “Doctor, have you heard – they are protesting everywhere, and Egypt is in serious fights – have you watched the news on the weekend?”
Academic
“Yes, I have”
Student. “You can’t imagine how excited everyone is – this is new in our region. Finally, the people are fighting back”.
Academic
“I understand, and it surely is an exciting development – but can we go to our cost accounting class now?”
Student. “What cost accounting class now, Doctor […]!!”
Profit isn’t everything.
And the beat goes on.
Act 4: 2011
February scene 5: cost accounting class
Academic
“One of the purposes of cost accounting is to be aware of your cost structure, in order to manager your cost better. As we discussed before, to maximise profit we can either increase revenue or reduce expenses. The latter is often easier done, as only specific markets will easily accept price increases or increases in sales volume. However, we should not put profit above everything – ethically, it is wrong to put profit before everything else […]”.
Noise outside erupts. Students run to the window.
Student. “There is a big fight downstairs. We have to go, this is my friend”.
Student. “Oh, and this is my brother[…]”.
Male students exit the class immediately.
The class stops. Female students watch from above.
Student. “They are fighting with Gaddafi supporters!”
Student. “See, they are even using their belts and are running after them!”
Academic
“Hopefully no one gets hurt!”
Student. “It looks like it is over, the others ran away”.
No one returns to the class.
Profit isn’t everything.
And the beat goes on.
Scene 6: following weekend
Gun shooting erupts everywhere. Loud music in lots of houses.
Academic:
“What’s going on?”
Academic
“Mubarak has given up - all Egyptians are celebrating. See, it’s on the news”.
Lots of people are crying happy tears for their Egyptian neighbours those days.
Profit isn’t everything.
And the beat goes on.
May scene 7: university campus
Nice and calm weather – it is beautiful spring day.
Everyone can hear the shooting from the far border when the wind is right. The party for Egypt is long over.
Everyone watches the news 24/7.
Amman is full of refugees, rich and poor. The rich raise housing prices. The poor have barely spaces in the camps. No one can forget the pictures of the tortured children they show every night on the news.
Profit isn’t everything.
And the beat goes on.
November scene 8: graduation hall
Student. “Doctora – we will miss you! We had a great time together!”
Student. “Doctor – we are leaving to go work in Dubai – there is no money to earn here!”
Student. “I am trying hard to get a job in Oman where my parents are staying – it is so difficult to find a job in Amman”.
Student. “You know I don’t have enough wasta, so I can’t get a job here – what to do?”
Profit isn’t everything.
And the beat goes on.
Act 5
August scene 8: Amman airport
The academics are leaving – it is hard to earn money in Jordan now, expenses are through the roof and earnings are not enough.
Profit ISN’T EVERYTHING!
BUT […] . The beat has to go on.
Larissa von Alberti-Alhtaybat and Khaldoon Al-Htaybat, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia