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Recounting a difficult past: a South African accounting firm's "experiences in transformation"

University of San Francisco, theresa.hammond{at}bc.edu

Patricia J. Arnold

University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, arnold{at}uwm.edu

Bruce M. Clayton

Deakin University, bruce.clayton{at}deakin.edu.au

This article examines the role of oral history in the social construction of collective memory and forgetting. The article presents a case study of a South African public accounting firm's attempt to document the history of race relations within the firm through the publication of a collection of oral histories. The research draws from the sociology of memory and recent scholarship on individual and collective memory in South Africa to analyze the firm's account of its experiences in making the transition from Apartheid to a multiracial democracy. The analysis finds that the firm's portrayal of its history reflects a narrative of reconciliation and redemption that minimizes the deep social and economic divisions that characterize South Africa's past, their relevance to accounting history, and the continuing salience of race to employment in public accounting.

Key Words: Apartheid • collective memory • memory • oral history • public accounting • racism • South Africa

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