The Communication Gap: Why Doesn't Accounting Research Make a Greater Contribution to Debates on Accounting Policy?

On many important accounting problems there seems to be a gap in knowledge and understanding between the academic world and those whose views are most prominent in public debate. The paper explores the reasons for this gap, and suggests that the biggest problem is the perception of irrelevance. The paper discusses how the gap can be narrowed, using ICAEW's Information for Better Markets work, in particular on business reporting models, as an example.

[1]  S. Penman.  Financial reporting quality: is fair value a plus or a minus? , 2007 .

[2]  R. Hodgkinson,et al.  Developments in New Reporting Models , 2009 .

[3]  Ross L. Watts,et al.  The Demand for and Supply of Accounting Theories: The Market for Excuses , 2006 .

[4]  S. Zeff.  Big Eight Firms and the Accounting Literature: The Falloff in Advocacy Writing , 1986 .

[5]  British research in accounting and finance (2001-2007): the 2008 research assessment exercise , 2009 .

[6]  Christopher D. Ittner,et al.  Does measuring intangibles for management purposes improve performance? A review of the evidence , 2008 .

[7]  Peter D. Wysocki,et al.  Global Accounting Convergence and the Potential Adoption of IFRS by the United States: An Analysis of Economic and Policy Factors , 2009 .

[8]  R. Ball.  Infrastructure Requirements for an Economically Efficient System of Public Financial Reporting and Disclosure , 2001 .

[9]  A. Hopwood,et al.  Whither Accounting Research , 2007 .

[10]  A. Stark.  Intangibles and research – an overview with a specific focus on the UK , 2008 .

[11]  Christine Botosan.  Disclosure and the cost of capital: what do we know? , 2006 .

[12]  Michael Power,et al.  Fair value accounting, financial economics and the transformation of reliability , 2010 .

[13]  S. Zeff,et al.  Research on Accounting Should Learn from the Past. , 2008 .

[14]  Douglas J. Skinner.  A reply to Lev's rejoinder to ‘Accounting for intangibles – a critical review of policy recommendations’ , 2008 .

[15]  Richard Macve.  A conceptual framework for financial accounting and reporting : the possibilities for an agreed structure : a report prepared at the request of the Accounting Standards Committee , 1981 .

[16]  Wayne S. Upton.  Business and financial reporting, challenges from the new economy , 2001 .

[17]  William Threipland Baxter.  Accounting research : academic trends versus practical needs , 1988 .

[18]  R. Watts.  What Has the Invisible Hand Achieved , 2006 .

[19]  D. Damant.  Discussion of ‘International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS): pros and cons for investors’ , 2006 .

[20]  A. Wyatt.  What Financial and Non-Financial Information on Intangibles is Value Relevant? A Review of the Evidence , 2008 .

[21]  Roger Debreceny,et al.  The impact of academic accounting research on professional practice: An analysis by the AAA research impact task force , 2009 .

[22]  Douglas J. Skinner.  Accounting for Intangibles - A Critical Review of Policy Recommendations , 2008 .

[23]  Sudipta Basu,et al.  Has the importance of intangibles really grown? And if so, why? , 2008 .