Reflections on the origins of modern accounting
Reflections on the origins of modern accounting
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对现代会计起源的思考
DOI：
10.1177/1032373212470548
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发表时间：
2013
影响因子：
1
通讯作者：
Thomas A. Lee
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Thomas A. Lee
本文的目的是使用历史的视角来评估 West（2003）对会计师提出的挑战的前景，即为了阻止会计作为一种职业的消亡，需要具有足够认知权威的知识体系来生成功能上适合使用的会计数字。本文使用现代会计的两个起源来考虑韦斯特的挑战。这些是复式记账和会计专业化，两者都被认为是对当前会计和会计职业状况的主要影响。这两种起源的历史后果被认为是会计职业与国家之间的模糊关系，缺乏连贯一致理论的会计实践，以及与从业者和标准制定者基本上无关的会计研究。该论文的结论是，除非会计师识别并控制会计知识的权威机构，否则阻止会计作为专业化职业消亡的前景微乎其微。该文件建议，确定权威知识体系的适当渠道是会计研究，而控制它的相关手段是会计教育和培训计划的社会封闭。
The purpose of this paper is to use an historical lens to assess the prospect for West’s (2003) challenge to accountants that, in order to halt the demise of accountancy as a profession, there is a need for a body of knowledge with sufficient cognitive authority to generate accounting numbers that are functionally fit for use. The paper uses two origins of modern accounting to consider West’s challenge. These are double-entry bookkeeping and accountancy professionalization, both argued to be primary influences on the current state of accounting and the accountancy profession. The historical consequences of both origins are observed as an ambiguous relationship between the accountancy profession and the state, an accounting practice without a coherent and consistent theory, and accounting research that is largely irrelevant to practitioners and standard-setters. The paper concludes that, unless accountants identify and control an authoritative body of accounting knowledge, there is little prospect for halting the demise of accountancy as a professionalized occupation. The paper suggests that an appropriate conduit to identify an authoritative body of knowledge is accounting research and a relevant means to control it is the social closure of accounting education and training programmes.