Transformation and reform after the financial crisis

In this special issue of Accounting Forum, we present a series of papers that address the general issue of economic reform and regulation in the aftermath of the financial crisis. The first three papers in this issue share a common objective: employing ‘accounting’ numbers to construct critically engaged narratives that challenge understandings of national economic success and the transformation of corporate financial performance. The second set of articles focuses on how trust and legitimacy are refracted by the various identities, motivations and calculations of stakeholders and how this often frustrates the capacity to reform corporate governance and generate effective regulatory change.