Running Head: ACCOUNTING COMMUNITY 1

Accounting Discourse Community

Viviana Federico

University of Texas at El Paso

ACCOUNTING COMMUNITY 2

Introduction

When you hear the word community, one might automatically assume it consists of a

group of people who share a common interest in the subject of that community. There are

different kinds of communities that we come across in our day to day lives and according to

Swales The Concept of Discourse Community they may or may not be classified as a

discourse community. He mentions that in order to be identified as a discourse community, your

group must meet six characteristics (Swales, 1990, p.220). I chose to use a community of

accountants to show how Swales characteristics can be applied.

In accounting, the accountant deals with finances and manages them. They use written

reports, tax documents, financial statements and other documents to communicate with one

another. They all work together to make sure their clients are being taken care of correctly with

their finances. They all help one another out and make sure they all follow GAAP (generally

accepted accounting principles). This accounting community uses all six of Swales

characteristics to be considered a discourse community.

Literature Review

In John Swales article, The Concept of Discourse Community he tells the reader what

does and doesnt make a discourse community. A discourse community consists of a group of

people who link up in order to pursue objectives that are prior to those of socialization and

solidarity (Swales, 1990, p.220). According to Swales, pursuing objectives is only one of the six

characteristics that define a discourse community. He lists those six characteristics as follows:

public goals, communication, information and feedback, genres, lexis and expertise. Swales also

mentions speech communities and informs the reader that they differ from discourse community.
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He says that speech communities tend to be more local and not global like a discourse

community is. He provides an example of a discourse community called Hong Kong Study

Circle (HKSC). Swales is a member of this community and provides examples of how the six

characteristics of a discourse community are used in HKSC.

James E. Porters Intertextuality and the Discourse Community talks about

intertextuality and how it plays a big role in defining a discourse community. Porter says that,

intertextuality provides rhetoric with an important perspective (Porter, 1986, p.34). Porter is

trying to say that if the text/speech is not providing valuable knowledge to the group, then there

really isnt a discourse community. He provides the reader with three examples of intertextuality,

one example being the Declaration of Independence. He says that Thomas Jefferson wrote the

Declaration of Independence by taking bits and pieces of other peoples work and bringing all

together as a whole. Porter also mentions that a discourse community must be regulated and

abide by the forums.

Both Swales and Porters definition of a discourse community differ, but they also share

some similarities. They both say that a discourse community must have communication. Without

communication it is hard to know what is going on in said community. They also say that the

community must have their own set language that can be used to communicate within the group

only. That language makes the community more distinct and helps separate it from other

communities. What makes Porters definition of a discourse community different from Swales

is intertextuality. Porter says that everything in the community must be new knowledge and help

the community get further to reaching set goals. While Swales say that anything said or done in

the community does not have to be new knowledge to reach set goal. Swales also says that there

must be some leadership/expertise in the community so that everyone can learn and Porters
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definition says otherwise. Although Swales and Porters definitions shared some similarities and

differences, neither of them were completely wrong.

Methods

To get a better understanding of the community partaken by the accountant, I looked into

an online forum. In this online forum many people posted questions asking for help and advice

on certain situations. One anonymous user posted a question asking how a digital invoice should

properly be revised. Other accountants responded to him and helped him out by making sure he

did the right steps to abide by GAAP (generally accepted accounting principles). In this forum,

these accountants used terminology that was not easily understandable to someone without

proper accounting knowledge. I used a website that broke down all of the most common and

basic terms used in accounting to learn some of the abbreviations being used. This website

helped me understand what was being discussed in this community of accountants and get an

idea of how technical and time consuming it is to be an accountant.

Discussion

When it comes to Swales characteristics, the first of six is to have a common set of

public goals. In this community, the main goal is to make sure finances are taken care of

correctly to avoid fraudulency. They also have goals to help the business they work for make

sure they are being profitable, managing finances and paying/receiving proper taxes. A public

accountant has goals to help their clients get the most of their taxes back and helps them manage

their finances like savings, 401ks, retirement plans, etc.

In order for accountants to reach their set goals, they must communicate with one another

to make sure they all reach them successfully. They do so with the use of financial statements
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such as: income tax forms, written reports, receipts, and invoices. They meet face to face as well

to verbally communicate any problems or solutions they are having. They have meetings with

either their fellow associates or their personal clients.

When they meet face to face, theyre able to accomplish a better understanding between

the two parties. They are able to see and discuss things about the financial statements and help

each other understand what is going on and why. Financial statements are used as records for the

accountant and the client. These records help prove that the accountant is doing things legally

and abiding by the GAAP.

Being an accountant is more than just working with numbers, it means helping your

client be successful financially and reaching your set goals. They wouldnt be able to do so

without the help of financial documents. Accountants use these forms on a day to day basis to get

work done and make it easier for other accountants to work on the same document and know

what is happening. They use written reports to help them keep everything organized and avoid

errors further down the line.

One thing I learned about this community was that they have their own language. This

language known as lexis consists of terms not recognized by those who dont specialize in

accounting. One term I noticed that got used quite frequently was GAAP. GAAP stands for

generally accepted accounting principles, these are a set of rules accountants must follow to

ensure everything is getting done legally. When public accountants work with their clients during

income tax season, youll see some common abbreviations being used such as: NI (net income),

CR (credit), DR (debit), CAP (capital) and other terms. Accountants must learn this language in

order to avoid any errors in the tax documentations. If an accountant misinterprets just one
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abbreviation then the whole document is wrong. This language gets easier to read and understand

the longer you work in accounting.

There are many types of accountants and they all have different certifications. One of the

most common would be a CPA accountant. CPA stands for certified public accountant, this type

of accountant is most common and known by people because theyre the ones that help people

do their income taxes. You also have management accountants who work for businesss and help

manage the companys finances. There are also government accountants who clearly work for

the government. These accountants can also work alongside auditors and even be one

themselves. In this community, it can take a while before one can get promoted or take on more

responsibility. The learning process never ends in this community and find yourself always

learning something new.

Conclusion

In terms of a discourse community, I would say that the accounting community would be

an honorable mention. Depending on which kind of accountant the person is, they may not

always meet all six of Swales characteristics to qualify as a legit discourse community. A public

accountant works alone sometimes and would not use as much communication with other

accountants if they only ever work with clients. Although Swales characteristics of a discourse

community dont really make sense to be implemented in every community. Therefore, this

accounting community when divided into public and private accounting cannot fully be

considered a discourse community.

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References

Porter, J. E. (1986). Intertextuality and the Discourse Community. Rhetoric Review, 5. Retrieved

from http:links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0735-

0198%28198623%295%3A1%3C34%3AIATDC%3E2.0.CO%3B2-X

Swales, John. The Concept of Discourse Community. Genre Analysis: English in Academic

and Research Settings. Boston: Cambridge UP, 1990. 21-32. Print

Summary. (n.d.). Retrieved October 13, 2017, from https://www.bls.gov/ooh/business-and-

financial/accountants-and-auditors.htm#tab-2

[Web log post]. (2017). Retrieved October 13, 2017, from

https://www.proformative.com/questions