Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Theory (1.2)
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Definition of Accounting
Belkaoui (2004);
Quantitative information;
Accounting is a service activity. Its function is to provide quantitative
information, primarily financial in nature about economic entities
that is intended, to be useful in economic decisions, in making
resolve choices among alternative course of action.
social groups;
It is concerned with transactions & other economic
social science.
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1. As an ideology
principles)
As a means of sustaining & legitimizing the
2. Accounting as language of
Business
Communicating information about a
business.
Recognized in accounting profession, which
published accounting bulletin & empirical
literature, to measure the communication
of accounting concepts.
3. Historical record
As a means of providing the history of the
5. Information system
Process that link information source of
6. Commodity
(product)
7. Mythology
(symbolic rituals/practice)
8. rationale
Used to attach the meanings to events &
9. imagery
Creating a picture or an image of an
10. experimatation
It flexible enough to accommodate various
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11. distortion
Since accounting used to control or
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Definition of Theory
Popper, K (1968) ,The Logic of Scientific
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Hendriksen (1970):
1the coherent set of hypothetical, conceptual
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representation
2. manipulation or combination
according to rules
3. translation back to real-world
phenomena
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Belkaoui (2000)
..a set of interrelated constructs
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Accounting Theory
Classification
Godfrey et. al. (2010), classified accounting
theory as:
Theory as Language
Theory as Reasoning
Theory as Script
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BKAF3083
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A. Theory as Language
As language as business
Three question that should asked about
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language
Syntactic the study of the logic or
grammar of the language
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i. Pragmatics
This relation pertains to the effect of words
or symbols on people
How acctg concepts, and their real world
corresponding events or objects, affect
people behaviour.
How people react to the same message in
different way-acctg standard-support &
lobbying
The relation of signs to users of those signs
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ii.Semantics
Concern the relationship of word, sign or
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Premise 1:
Premise 2:
account.
Conclusion:
balance.
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iii. Syntactic
Rules of the language employed
Refer to rules of grammar & mathematics
Analytical methodology basically relied upon
syllogism
If the combination of premise is valid, so the
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B. Theory as Reasoning
The debate whether the theory is argument
flow:
General to specific (deductive).
Acctant usually deduce acctg principles or
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i. Deductive Reasoning
Example,
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Criticism;
Misunderstand the meaning of theory
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Disadvantages
Influenced by the idea of relevant
relationship/observed
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Example,
P1: The cash account is an asset account and
has a debit balance.
P2: The Vehicles account is an asset account
and has a debit balance.
P3: The land account is an asset account and
has a debit balance.
C : All asset accounts have debit balances
P1, P2, &P3 is so specific for each
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C. Theory as Script
The theory may be
To set forth and explain what and how
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i. Normative (prescriptive)
1950s & 60s
Explain more on what should be done rather
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TESTING A THEORY
Criteria of truth
Dogmatic basis
Scientific basis
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Criteria of truth
Scientific basis
Popper
and
falsification
Research programs
(encourage discovery of
solutions, involving try & error, able to change)
matrices
Feyerabends approach
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3. State
hypothesis
1. Identify
research problem
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8. Assess
limitations
and constraints
4. Construct
research
design
5. Observe
7.
Evaluate
Observation plane
6. Analyse
Summary
A number of conflicting theories
have developed
A theory generally consists of
three parts
There are several criteria for
judging a theory
Persuasiveness of evidence
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