Introduction

Citation

Evans, S. (2004), "Introduction", Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Vol. 17 No. 5. https://doi.org/10.1108/aaaj.2004.05917eae.001

Introduction

Freshly returned from the 4th Asia-Pacific Interdisciplinary Research in Accounting conference in Singapore, I was reminded just how quickly one’s environment can be altered – and dramatically! One can literally float above or through it all without being touched (sitting on an international jet is a wonderful insulator), or one can try to absorb the real implications of our impact on the landscape, and what this means for our children.

Among the fine pieces of writing presented at APIRA 2004 was a hybrid work by Wan Ying Hill, whose occasional Scottish lilt embroidered a recollection of a lost past in a very different part of the world. A particular trip in Europe brought back to Wan Ying the extent of radical change in her childhood home in China. It is a hybrid piece in as much as it moves from a straightforward prose account of that moment to a poem representing some concerns about what we value most, and perhaps questions our responses.

Stop for a moment and think about where you were raised. It is bound to be different now; change is inevitable. How much of it can we control? Do we resign ourselves to merely measuring and recording it? How much of it can we hope to influence for the better? What about your current environment?

In future editions, you can look forward to more of the excellent creative writing produced at APIRA, as well as other inspiring works. Of course, I still welcome your contributions!

Steve EvansLiterary editor