Omkostningsbevidsthed i socialt arbejde

Fra spændingsfelt til professionalisme

Resumé

This article examines how managers in a municipal social service department use and interpret accounting information and make sense of changes in social work when new methods of cost control, and consequently a need for a more cost-conscious behavior, are introduced. Previous studies have shown that the extent to which accounting information has been embraced by professionals is mixed. Based on a case study where top management, middle management, and staff specialists at a medium-sized Danish municipality are interviewed, it is shown that accounting information can link cost-consciousness with social work practices. The study shows how managers can influence how professionals interpret and use accounting information. Further, the study shows how cost-consciousness can be integrated with social work practices in order to reduce costs and improve the quality of the services. In addition, the study shows how management interpret accounting information as a contribution to the professionalization of social work, and that managers’ sensemaking and sensegiving processes are important in reducing resistance when professionals are introduced to new forms of accounting information.