Accounting and Business Research: the first 50 years, 1970–2019

This article is a historical review and analysis of the first 50 years of Accounting and Business Research.     

合并会计的经济学思考

在合并会计的研究中引入现代经济学理论 ,可以使我们以开阔的理论视野 ,重新审视合并会计的理论和实务问题。本文在这方面进行尝试 ,以现代经济学为指导 ,重点讨论了合并会计的目的——原则和合并会计制度等问题。     

战略管理会计概念和实务研究

战略管理会计是建立在企业战略管理有关理论基础上 ,以管理会计手段 ,运用会计信息有效地服务于企业战略的新领域。对战略管理会计定义内涵的研究的主要目的在于界定归属于战略管理会计的实务范围 ,并寻求战略管理会计的整体框架和运行规律。研究表明 ,凡是体现战略性属性方法和举措 ,均可列入战略管理会计实务的范畴。目前 ,在实际应用中常见的战略管理会计实务主要包括三大类 :战略性成本计算和定价、竞争对手会计和品牌价值会计。随着我国市场经济的发展以及我国进入国际市场的步伐的加快 ,战略管理会计的应用前景将会十分广阔     

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.     

对我国新企业会计准则中公允价值运用相关问题的思考

通过比较、归纳与分析,发现我国2006年新企业会计准则及其应用指南在规范公允价值计量上,未集中地对各具体会计准则共同涉及的公允价值计量的基本问题进行统一的规定,没有对\"在不存在活跃市场情况下运用现值等估价技术确定公允价值问题\"作出明确与具体的指导;公允价值的概念界定欠完善,确认标准未明确,计量对象的范围欠适当;对以非公允价值进行后续计量的资产,其减值损失转回的会计处理不恰当.对此,应进行相应的改进与完善.     

Could Accounting Have Saved Itself from the Antitrust Laws?Revisiting the Antitrust Investigations into the US Accounting Profession 1966–1990

While the role of lobbying in the US public accounting profession has been the subject of several studies, what has not been addressed is the profession's historic reluctance to lobby and the impact this may have had on the profession. This paper provides a case study of public accounting's interaction with government and the need for the profession to articulate the impact of government policies on the practice of accounting. It reviews and assesses the antitrust investigations by the US Justice Department and Federal Trade Commission that led to the repeal of the profession's anticompetitive ethics rules, rules that had governed American public accounting for most of the 20th century. These investigations are often blamed for an increased competitive atmosphere in public accounting that prioritized growth and profitability over quality in attest services. Using records obtained from Freedom of Information Act requests and archival sources, I attempt to reconstruct the US Government's motivations and the efforts of the American Institute of CPAs. I find a troubling lack of understanding of the audit profession by executive branch regulators and Congress and a reticence by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants to advocate for the profession that led to what many observers see as a profound misapplication of the antitrust laws. While this study deals only with the US, similar regulatory changes took place in Canada, the UK, Australia, and New Zealand.     

The 'particular gain or loss upon each article we deal in': an aspect of mercantile accounting, 1300-1800

Merchandise accounts for each category of goods, voyage or venture are a prominent feature of many ledgers of the period 1300 to 1800. The characteristics of these accounts and the uses to which such accounts were put are considered.     

The Influence of the Accountant on British Business Performance From the Late Nineteenth Century to the Present Day

Britain has more professionally qualified accountants per capita than any of her leading economic rivals and they play a major role as advisers to British companies and take a disproportionate share of the jobs in top management. Unfortunately for the accountants, business historians, other academics, commentators and even contemporary politicians have almost universally noted this to be a bad thing. This article discusses whether this reputation is justified by assessing the past performance of professional accountants as business advisers and managers. Stereotypical criticisms of accountants in terms of excessive caution, their support for the holding company form, or seeing problems in narrow financial terms are found to be unjustified. The promotion of accountants to the top jobs can be seen as rational profit-maximizing behaviour by British companies and a recent survey has demonstrated the performance of accountants in top management in recent years to be superior to other professions such as engineers.     

论企业合并会计政策选择

尽管目前人们对权益集合法和购买法对公司股价的差异性影响及资源配置效率的影响尚缺乏充分的论证,但从实际来看,许多公司运用构造交易方式实施权益集合法,导致了权益集合法的滥用.这不仅不符合实质重于形式原则,也为公司利用会计政策选择操纵盈余提供了便利.为此,FASB和IASB已经改变了原先对权益集合法加以严格限制的策略,转而完全取消权益集合法.我国在制定企业合并会计准则时,应当明确规定对所有合并采用购买法核算,并对公允价值的确定加以规范和严格监管.     

George R. Husband: Contributions to the Development of Accounting Thought

George R. Husband, accounting educator, was a leader in research, service and teaching. His former students and admirers endowed a chair, three scholarships and an annual lecture series in his memory nearly forty years after his death in 1958. This article highlights his lasting accomplishments by examining his research (e.g., as an opponent of the LIFO method of inventory valuation, an advocate of price-level accounting and major proponent of the proprietary theory of financial accounting, and as one of the most prolific authors in The Accounting Review ), service (e.g., as Vice President and President of the American Accounting Association) and teaching. We also discuss Husband's research in the context of other notable contemporary scholars and those whose works are consistent with Husband's thoughts.     

A Possibilitarian History of Price Change Accounting in the UK: 1971-1985

This paper offers a 'possibilitarian' analysis of the history of price change accounting in the UK, exploring how events might have turned out differently at a number of key nodal points. It argues that a stable current cost accounting regime could have been established significantly before SSAP16 was in fact adopted or, alternately, that the retreat from SSAP16 could have been managed in a way that would have maintained compliance with current cost accounting. Had a substantial period of widespread compliance within a stable regime eventuated, a quite different dynamic might have emerged, including significant user pressure to maintain current cost accounting, thereby underpinning the regime and leading to its long-term survival.     

Controllers’ role in managerial sensemaking and information trust building in a business intelligence environment

This study explores how an organization’s controllers (management accountants) give sense to the information provided by its business intelligence (BI) system, and thus shape the construction of information trust. A qualitative case study was conducted within a Finnish food manufacturing company, building on the notion of trust related to management accounting information and sensemaking theory. The study was informed through open-ended interviews and an examination of internal accounting and management reports. The authors found that the company used an integrated BI system that enabled the production of information in a timely and perceivably standardized manner. Controllers managed this accounting information and gave sense to it, helping deliver a shared understanding of the daily business situation. The findings show that controllers play a pivotal role in building information trust by giving sense to the information provided by the BI system.