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PurposeAccounting and regulators are an integral part of new public management (NPM) across public sectors. This article aims to look at one of their potential drawbacks by investigating how a policy was deemed as a failure by regulators because of its limited financial controls.Design/methodology/approachA case study of Individual Learning Accounts (ILAs) in the UK draws on secondary sources organized into a chronology of events to show how concerns about a small number of providers were followed by claims of widespread abuse of ILAs being reported by regulators; claims that were disseminated widely by the media, but which were not substantiated by prosecutions.FindingsThere is insufficient evidence to substantiate claims of widespread abuse and fraud of ILAs. This suggests that regulatory bodies helped amplify concerns about fraud and abuse, contributing to a minor moral panic.Research limitations/implicationsThe absence of accounting that promoted concerns of financial abuse, also takes away one of the potential forms of evidence that could be used to substantiate the moral panic.Practical implicationsTo help avoid moral panics, regulators should report only forms of fraud and abuse that are proven, rather than sharing in conjectures of those that might have taken place.Originality/valueThis paper is one of the few academic studies of ILAs and the only one to date to explore the detrimental role of NPM arrangements in generating moral panics.

PurposeThe relationship between trust, accountability and procedural justice is studied via research into British credit unions (CUs) following regulatory reform to remedy problems exposed by the 2007–2008 global financial crisis.Design/methodology/approachInterviews at 13 case studies of different types and sizes of credit unions in Glasgow, Scotland, are examined using template analysis and abductive theorizing to understand the effects of disproportionate reforms on small credit unions.FindingsSmaller credit unions found three regulatory changes – namely dual regulators, increased minimum reserves and introduction of the Senior Managers and Certification Regime – excessive. Excessive change generated distrust in regulators. Regulators' insufficient attention to procedural justice contributed to this distrust.Originality/valueLinkage of multidimensional confluent trust to a multilevel system of accountability provides an original way of understanding how indiscriminate attempts at trust repair damage some elements of trust in formal regulatory systems. Recognition of the need for procedural justice to enable smaller credit unions to articulate their extant checks and potential exemption from formal regulations provides another valuable contribution. The explanation of the abductive logic employed is also original.

PurposeThe purposes of this paper are to explain how the need arose for trade unions to develop accounting systems to monitor learning outcomes and to illuminate how trade unions rose to that challenge.Design/methodology/approachA semi‐structured interview study of the full‐time educational officers of a number of the UK trade unions produced transcripts that were analysed using template analysis and were supplemented by collection of documentary evidence from the trade unions and interviews and documents from related organizations.FindingsTrade unions are starting to compile extensive information about the learning opportunities that they are facilitating.Practical implicationsInformation produced by the trade union's accounting systems highlights the value of the government's investment in the union learning fund (ULF).Originality/valueThis is the only study to address the systems of monitoring developed by trade unions in response to the receipt of funds from the ULF in the UK.

The statutory rights given to trade union learning representatives (ULRs) to facilitate and organize learning in the workplace has led to the creation of a new specialized union lay official role. This article investigates how the ULR initiative is facilitating the development of learning partnerships in the workplace. Empirical data is provided from a qualitative study that draws on interviews with full-time trade union officials from a range of unions. It is argued that although the ULR initiative provides opportunities for unions to promote the ideal of learning partnerships within the workplace, rights to learning remain a contested terrain between many employers and unions.