Jargon trading
Article Type: Literature and insights From: Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Volume 23, Issue 1
Jargon has been a concern for many of us in the professions for decades but opinions are divided about what to do. Some people believe in simply letting the market decide what kind of corrections are necessary to counter its growth,while others look to government policies that will actively drive change. Nonetheless, only a determined minority now denies that we need to devise a system to deal with jargon before it is too late for all of us –especially, if we are to head off outside intervention.
While we might not be able to eradicate jargon altogether (and in some respects, it still seems to be regarded as a necessary evil), it is worth trying to reduce it to a manageable and more publicly palatable level. The most promising mechanism is jargon trading, with a program of identified offsets and a common understanding about how they can be employed, tied to a program of targeted reductions.
For simplicity and to attract participants, an honesty system will be employed to begin with. Eventually, and even with self-regulation, there will need to be graded and well-defined classes of jargon, certification processes,formal accountability with agreed reporting standards, and monitoring systems with rigorous auditing protocols – plus appropriate measures for detected non-compliance, of course. Thus, things are not all gloomy as it looks like there will be openings for a new group of jargon specialists and even room for an academic journal to cover issues related to this new discipline.
It is true that newer professions might argue they should not be unfairly penalised merely because they have been emerged later than others and are,therefore, in an earlier stage of their development. There may be merit in allowing some use of jargon up to a specified and modest threshold, especially for a start-up period, and then having a phased reduction of that allowance as professions mature. That approach could be open to abuse, so we would need to have a method of dealing consistently with applications for such allowances;perhaps a jargon tribunal or similar should be set up.
Naturally, you will have all sorts of questions about how this will work. Will you, for example, be able to bank your jargon savings and carry them over to a later period? If you need offsets, where will you be able to find someone with jargon credits and what will they cost? What happens if you really do need to quote jargon for, say, educational purposes such as illustrating poor language practice to new employees? What should you do if you discover that someone in your organisation has written “asset deaccession” when they actually mean “asset sale”? Should you denecessitate, sorry,fire them?
As it happens, I currently represent a firm of jargon brokers with a growing register of professionals who have vowed to produce no jargon (or to dramatically reduce their own output) so that they can be paired with other professionals who find occasional jargon output unavoidable. These brokers can also conduct jargon audits, and they are willing to act as consultants for a quite reasonable fee. Their reports on your own communication status will employ straightforward language and be certified not to exceed the jargon levels expected to be prescribed shortly. I would be happy to pass on our enquiries.
We are all acutely aware that the early days of jargon trading will be critical ones. Initially, we should be aiming for a jargon neutral environment,but we can move beyond that if we all work together. There is much still to be done but I believe that, with your cooperation, we can make the world of professional practice a much better one going forward.
Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal (AAAJ) welcomes submissions of both research papers and creative writing. Creative writing in the form of poetry and short prose pieces are edited for the literature and insights section only and do not undergo the refereeing procedures required for all research papers published in the main body of AAAJ.
Steve EvansLiterary Editor
