Development of accounting in Iran

The main purpose of this paper is to show the origin, growth and practice of accounting in Iran plus analysis of influential factors such as financial markets, tax policies, privatization, membership in the World Trade Organization, foreign investment, and legal systems. Documents of ancient Iran show that in 550 B.C. (Achaemenid era), all records of public revenues and costs were kept soundly and with remarkable accuracy. These documents display the relentless progress and development of accounting in Iran up until now (pre-Islamic era, post-Islamic era, and contemporary era). During the past two decades, various measures have been adopted to promote and advance accounting in Iran via harmonizing the domestic accounting practices with International norms and standards. Although Iran has employed International Accounting Standards as the basis for developing its National Accounting Standards, there are still some differences between Iranian and international standards, and there are some certain International Accounting Standards that are not applicable in Iran. A host of endemic factors, such as existing laws and rules, religious beliefs, culture, economic and political conditions, have influenced the National Accounting Standards setting processes.     

Review and extension of Bhattacharyya's Modern Accounting Concepts in Kautilya's Arthasastra

This is a discussion of the theoretical aspects of accounting as they emerged in India during the Maurya period (c.321 BC to c.184 BC) in Kautilya's Arthasastra (c.300 BC) - the very first known treatise to deal with accounting aspects in the history of our discipline. Pertinent evidence can be found in an article by Choudhury (1982) and in Bhattacharyya's (1988) book, Modern Accounting Concepts in Kautilya's Arthasastra. This book, hardly known in Western accounting circles, claims that Kautilya's ancient treatise anticipated a series of 'modern' accounting concepts. These claims are here examined on the basis of the two standard translations of the Arthasastra, the original one by Shamasastry ([1915] 1967) and an extended one by Kangle (1963). Apart from some background material, the focus of this paper is on three aspects: (1) Kautilya's various types of income (including aspects of accounting for price changes, the distinction between real and fictitious holding gains, etc.) and their possible relation to modern concepts; (2) his classification of expenditures or costs (including possibly fixed vs variable costs); and (3) his notions of capital. These aspects indicate a surprisingly long-standing need for and possible use of relatively sophisticated accounting concepts. Thus Choudhury and, particularly, Battacharyya must be praised for drawing the attention of Western accountants to different aspects of an important ancient treatise. Yet Bhattacharyya (1988) deserves to be critically investigated and interpreted, not only from a Western point of view but also from the perspective of modern price-level accounting.     

The emergence of the 'accountant' in the institutions of Ancient Egypt

This paper examines the emergence of, and the roles played by accountants in some of the institutions of ancient Egypt. The paper documents evidence relating to the importance of the scribal occupation compared to other occupations available to the young Egyptians, and traces the emergence and functioning of scribal schools in which the pupils learned how to read and write and how to master numerical skills. Thereafter, the paper provides some illustrative examples of the diverse activities of the scribes in accounting for both the public (state) and private economic domains. The paper argues that right from the dawn of the dynastic era in Egypt (3000 B.C.) by dint of placing themselves at the centre of economic relations, the scribes (accountants) were among the most esteemed in society and the scribal occupation was one of the most prestigious occupations. The paper also argues that accounting then, just as it remains today, held a central position in the economic, social and political settings throughout the long and illustrious history of ancient Egypt.     

A tool for accessing accounting cases

The utilization of cases in accounting education has increased significantly in the past two decades and the number of sources of these cases has also grown larger. Accounting faculty wanting to use cases from these sources are hindered in their ability to do so because of the lack of a central case clearinghouse. The data collection underlying this paper is designed to alleviate this problem. A computerized database of accounting cases is offered to anyone free of charge. The intent is to provide a functionally useful index that will help faculty locate cases for use in their accounting classes. This article explains how faculty can access and use this database. In addition, cases published between 1983 and 2003 in two accounting education journals are summarized in order to provide an overview.     

The roles and effects of paradigms in accounting research

This paper discusses the roles and effects of paradigms in accounting research in general, and management accounting research in particular. In addition, it forms an introduction to the Special Section of this issue of Management Accounting Research on “Paradigms in Accounting Research”. The paper takes an issue of the notable narrowness of accounting research of today, regarding it as forming a threat to scholarly developments in the field. It argues for the importance of keeping paradigm debates alive in order to foster multi-dimensional openness and true scholarship in accounting research.     

The most influential journals in academic accounting

In this article we summarize the findings of articles that have ranked academic accounting journals, as well as articles that provide other bases for considering journal quality. Results indicate that five journals—Accounting, Organizations and Society, Contemporary Accounting Research, Journal of Accounting and Economics, Journal of Accounting Research, and The Accounting Review—rank consistently as the top journals in the field. However, these five journals differ substantially as to the numbers of articles they publish overall as well as the proportions of articles that are related to the various specialty areas of accounting. Further, the relative proportions of articles by area do not correspond to the numbers of individuals working in the specialty areas. Financial accounting articles appear in disproportionately high numbers for all journals except Accounting, Organizations and Society, whereas management accounting articles appear in disproportionately low numbers for all journals except Accounting, Organizations and Society. In all journals, systems and tax articles also appear to be disproportionately low vis-à-vis the numbers of individuals working in these areas. Auditing receives fairly even exposure across journals and vis-à-vis individuals in the area, except in the Journal of Accounting and Economics.     

Institutional Dances: How the First Accounting Degree in Canada Came to Be at the University of Saskatchewan*/ PÉRIPÉTIES COMPTABLES: LA CRÉATION DU PREMIER DIPLÔME CANADIEN EN COMPTABILITÉÀ L'UNIVERSITÉ DE SASKATCHEWAN

This paper tells how the School of Accounting and the bachelor of science in accounting degree were established at the University of Saskatchewan. Archives, various published histories, and contemporaneous periodicals serve as the main sources of information. The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Saskatchewan plays a key role in the history and it is evident that the establishment of the accounting program was critical for the legitimacy of both the University and the Institute. The paper argues that the University of Saskatchewan had the first school of accounting and the first accounting degree in Canada. A brief overview of the development of other business‐oriented degrees and diplomas in universities across Canada is provided in order to support this claim. Based on the history provided and some additional contextual material, some speculation is offered as to why the University of Saskatchewan was the first to offer an accounting degree instead of one of the older, more established universities in eastern Canada. The paper makes three contributions. First, it fills a void in the literature with regard to the history of the School of Accounting and the accounting degree at the University of Saskatchewan. Second, it provides a bird's‐eye view of the establishment of business education programs at other universities in Canada. Third, it adds to our understanding of the relationship between the accounting profession and academe by demonstrating how people and institutions align to create new educational mechanisms.     

HOUSEHOLD ACCOUNTING AS AN INTERFACE ACTIVITY: THE HOME,THE ECONOMY AND GENDER

Accounting is an interface activity, an endeavour that allows objects and artefacts to attain value (in use or exchange) across the boundaries of different domains. Accounting achieves this transferability for objects; the concept of accountability does the same for people, as peoples' levels of accountability and responsibility are implicated in assessments of their value and in whether this value is recognised in different spheres of life. The focus of the paper is on accounting and accountabilities at home, through exploring their impact on the interfaces between gender, the home and the economy. This exploration is conducted through an analysis of instructional texts on financial management in the home. It is argued that practices of accounting and accountability are deeply implicated in gender relations, in the ideology of the home and in maintaining the separation between the private and the public realms of activity.     

贯彻科学民主决策要求 完善我国会计准则体系

本文简述财政部会计准则委员会的重大改组、工作机制及其同会计准则制定机构之间的关系,并提出进一步完善我国会计准则体系的工作思路。会计准则委员会的改组及其工作机制的建立,为完善我国会计准则体系提供咨询,从而使会计准则的制定更加民主、科学和透明。在此基础上,我国会计准则体系建设将会取得重大进展。     

Accounting on trial: The critical legal studies movement and its lessons for radical accounting

It is now time, after a decade of development, to take stock of the growing, varied, interdisciplinary Critical Accounting movement appearing in the pages of Accounting, Organizations and Society and elsewhere throughout the 1980s. Critical Accounting bears remarkable resemblance to the highly important Critical Legal Studies movement (or CLS) in American academic law. This paper introduces CLS to accounting audiences and surveys Critical Accounting from the perspective of its larger, older, more fully articulated, more radical and more divisive legal cousin. This paper argues that if Critical Accounting continues to share CLS's theoretical and intellectual stance, but not its targeted critical practice and institutional or political stance, Critical Accounting is destined to remain an interesting sidelight rather than a fully articulated theory of accounting. Finally, this paper comments on existing Critical Accounting work from a CLS perspective, and suggests new directions for Critical Accounting as an intellectual movement.     

Towards the Harmonisation of Local Accounting Systems in the International Context

In recent years efforts to modernise and regulate public accounting systems have been carried out in most countries, driven essentially by the interest in establishing a Public Accounting capable of satisfying the required needs for attaining efficient management of public resources, as well as for demonstrating accountability to stakeholders. In this paper we aim to analyse the degree of local government accounting harmonisation, demonstrating in a general way that their accounting systems show very little homogenisation, accounting diversity being, in fact, one of their principal characteristics. In this context, we refer to the benefits and problems involved in reducing the differences between accounting systems and in increasing the comparability of financial reporting.     

Acting in the public interest: accounting for the vulnerable

This article seeks to initiate research around the potential roles of the accounting profession for tackling the challenges of the vulnerable. Its backdrop is the current consideration of the profession’s public interest role. The importance of dialogue around the public interest role is evidenced by the increasing levels of vulnerability, even within developed countries. Accounting underpinned by broader values has potential to provide knowledge of issues relating to the vulnerable. However, the accounting profession has only engaged with such potential to a limited degree. The article overviews existing knowledge and areas within which more research is required. In order to illustrate the potential for such research, initial findings from two case studies of homelessness (an example of the vulnerable) provide evidence as to the importance, and challenges, of accounting for the vulnerable. This article highlights the need to: take a principles-based approach in defining the vulnerable, undertake an accounting that reflects the lives they value, acknowledge that there are different ways for addressing these issues, recognise that an absence of perfect numbers should not become a barrier to action, and that accounting for the vulnerable is one way that the accounting profession may discharge their public interest roles.     

SOME FORMAL CONNECTIONS BETWEEN ECONOMIC VALUES AND YIELDS AND ACCOUNTING NUMBERS

This paper reports a number of results concerning the relationship between accounting numbers and economic values and yields. Some of the results have appeared previously in the literature and some are new. They have been collected together in a common analytical framework in order to demonstrate their formal, mathematical character. It is shown that present value can be obtained by discounting almost any profit numbers; that accounting rates of return define a discount function directly analagous to the term structure and the internal rate of return; and that the internal rate of return can be expressed as a linear weighted sum of accounting rates of return.     

Efficient contracting and accounting

This paper examines the role of accounting in an efficient contracting perspective of the firm. The firm is an alternative to the market when the costs of using the market become excessive. When a firm replaces the market, authority substitutes for the price mechanism in determining how decisions are made. This paper examines accounting's role in controlling the firm to ensure resources are put to their highest-value use. Accounting, together with employment contracts, compensation arrangements, debt contracts, internal and external auditors, and the board of directors including its audit and compensation committees comprise a package of mechanisms that have evolved to govern the firm. These institutional devices become the firm's efficient contracting technology. As accounting is part of that contracting technology, the accounting controls and systems that evolve and get implemented are efficient and the accounting methods that are used in calculating the numbers that form part of the firm's contractual arrangements are, likewise, efficient.     

Accounting for other postretirement benefits and pension costs at Ohio Edison

This is a case on accounting for Other Post Retirement Employee Benefits (OPEB) (SFAS 106, 1990) and Pensions (SFAS 87, 1985). The objective of the case is to enable accounting students to bridge the gap between the two standards and in so doing achieve a better understanding of both. Students can use their knowledge of pension accounting to improve their comprehension of OPEB accounting. This case is suitable for use in Intermediate Accounting, Accounting Policy, and Financial Management courses at the undergraduate and graduate levels.     

A fundamentalist perspective on accounting and implications for accounting research

This paper presents a framework for addressing normative accounting issues for reporting to shareholders. The framework is an alternative to the emerging Conceptual Framework of the International Accounting Standards Board and the Financial Accounting Standards Board. The framework can be broadly characterized as a utilitarian approach to accounting standard setting. It has two main features. First, accounting is linked to valuation models under which shareholders use accounting information to values their stakes. Second, the desirable characteristics of accounting information are inferred from the demand of investors and analysts who use the information in practice. This stands in contrast to the “qualitative characteristics” in the Boards’ Framework which are embraced largely on the basis of their aesthetic appeal. These features lead to a set of broad accounting principles that resolve “recognition” and “measurement” issues at the core of the Boards’ Conceptual Framework and also the central issue of a balance sheet approach versus an income statement approach. The framework in the paper also frames the research questions for researchers interested in accounting policy.     

Accounting Standards and the Judiciary

The aim of this paper is to assess by means of a study of decided cases the evidential weight attached by the courts to Statements of Standard Accounting Practice (SSAPs) and the status of their provisions relative to statutory accounting rules. This issue is discussed with reference to the accounting requirements of both the Companies Act and the Taxes Act. The extent to which non-statutory accounting principles have acquired the status of binding precedents is also considered. The study reveals that SSAPs have considerable persuasive value as evidence of accounting practice but that expert evidence has not been rendered redundant. There is considerable evidence that the courts regard the determination of accounting principles as a question of fact rather than law where statutory provisions are not in point.     

The importance of state accounting practices for creditor decisions

This paper examines the association between state government accounting practices and creditor decisions. Creditor decisions were surrogated by yield premiums and variances of the premiums on general obligation debt securities. Accounting practices were summarized from the Council of State Governments Survey. In addition to these practices, accounting ratios and bond ratings were included as independent variables in regression models. The results demonstrated that accounting practices were not directly associated with the bond risk and return measures but may have been indirectly related as a result of their effect on bond ratings.     

我国《会计法》的法理视角思考

我国《会计法》的修改与完善, 既应考虑会计专业问题也应加强对相关法律问题特别是法理方面问题的研究。《会计法》的地位决定了其应发挥上承宪法下统其他会计法律规范的作用, 它规范的内容应是社会属性层次而非技术操作层次; 《会计法》的法律规范应符合国家意志性、概括性和可预测性的法理特征, 且须从法律的角度建立自己的概念体系; 在相关法律协调过程中, 会计界和法律界应通力合作, 以便《会计法》和其他法规能各司其职; 《会计法》的运行过程应当符合法理原理的基本要求。     

The effect of cooperative learning on student perceptions of accounting in the principles courses

This paper describes an experiment that investigates the effect of cooperative learning techniques on introductory accounting students' perceptions of accounting. We administered identical survey instruments measuring students' perceptions of accounting to all accounting principles students at the beginning and end of a semester. Instructors used cooperative learning techniques in one-half of the sections (experimental), and a traditional lecture format in the other sections (control).We compared the pretest and posttest student responses for the experimental and control sections. For Accounting Principles I, 40% of the responses exhibited differences between experimental and control sections that were consistent with a cooperative learning effect. No effect was found for Accounting Principles II. An exploratory factor analysis of Accounting Principles I data showed that the factor “student interest in learning accounting” accounted for most of the differences that were consistent with cooperative learning effects. Also, students in the experimental sections of Accounting Principles I performed marginally better on a common final exam than students in the control sections.Overall, students began their introductory accounting courses with positive perceptions of accounting. Students in sections using cooperative learning techniques were, on average, more likely to maintain those positive perceptions than students in sections using the traditional lecture format.