The translation of an extraordinary event and the role of accounts: The COVID-19 case

This article examines the dynamics through which an extraordinary event is conceptualized and governed, by focusing on the case of the COVID-19 pandemic in Italy and the decision to implement lockdown at the national level. The emergency generated by the extraordinary nature of the pandemic led various actors to debate and confront in the search for a course of action for containing and mitigating its devastating social and economic effects. The process by which legislative and regulative initiatives were identified and undertaken can be understood and interpreted as a translation of the pandemic, whose outcome led to specific governing decisions, in our case, the adoption of lockdown at the national level. This translation occurred within a decision-making arena, which emerged out of the emergency, where various actors used different resources to discuss and take decisions. In particular, the accounts and calculative practices related to the pandemic played a pivotal role. Through the case study of the first phase of the emergency in Italy, this article offers theoretical interpretations of the dynamics underlying the adoption of specific governing and government decisions and the role of accounts; thus, contributing to the accounting studies relating to the governing of extraordinary events.