Framing Accounting: Communicating with Accounting Numbers During COVID-19

Sammanfattning: This research paper intends to expand on current accounting and crisis communication literature by investigating the use of accounting numbers to frame external communication. The research draws on published financial reports from listed Swedish real estate companies from three time periods during COVID-19. We contribute to the accounting and crisis communication domain by finding that accounting numbers that are used to increase persuasiveness are often used to highlight results through a spinning framing technique. On the other hand, accounting numbers that need contextualization are more commonly used for standardized results together with contrasting as a framing technique. We also found that there are shifts in framing techniques, especially in the time horizon communicated. The early stages of COVID-19 saw a shorter time horizon, while as the pandemic became more protracted, the long-term effects became more prominent in the communication.