The failure of accounting research to improve accounting practice: a problem of theory and lack of communication

Abstract There is anecdotal evidence to support the assertion that accounting research, or what is alleged to be research, is of little or no value to the practice of accounting, nor to the development of accounting as an academic discipline. The problem is not that efforts have not been made to conduct research, but rather there is a fundamental flaw in the accounting research process itself. Tricker suggests that the research process can be understood using two models. One is a set of relationships which “feed-forward”. That is, a known theory suggests a hypothesis, which is tested through the accumulation of data. If the hypothesis is proven to be true, it is added to the body of knowledge, enhancing the legitimacy of the underlying theory. The second model is intended to provide “feed-back”. That is, the real world is observed and a model of it is proposed, based on known theory. Data is collected and processed, and the model is refined. When the model is consistent with the real world and known theory, it is added to the body of knowledge. These research models depend on the existence of known theory for their usefulness. The central problem of accounting research is that there is no known theory to use as a reference for creating hypotheses or models to be empirically researched. The absence of theory can be seen in education, practice, and the research literature itself. Practitioners, for example, because of their training and lack of experience with and interest in research tend not to look to research findings to meet their professional needs. Accounting researchers, on the other hand, have created what appears to be a highly advanced research context which, in effect, is an environment dominated by sophisticated methodology, rather than theory. The research basically emulates the hard sciences, which makes its pursuit academically acceptable, but it lacks substance. This explains the failure of accounting research to improve accounting practice.

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

[2]  Frank H. Selto,et al.  Explaining cross-sectional workgroup performance differences in a JIT facility: A critical , 1993 .

[3]  R. Bloom.  Accounting Education: Charting the Course through a Perilous Future , 2002 .

[4]  J. D. Bernal,et al.  Science in History , 1969, Nature.

[5]  F. Modigliani,et al.  DIVIDEND POLICY, GROWTH, AND THE VALUATION OF SHARES , 1961 .

[6]  W. T. Baxter,et al.  Studies in accounting , 1950 .

[7]  M. Patton,et al.  Qualitative evaluation and research methods , 1992 .

[8]  T. A. Lee,et al.  Education, Practice and Research in Accounting: Gaps, Closed Loops, Bridges and Magic Accounting , 1989 .

[9]  Ross L. Watts,et al.  Positive Accounting Theory , 2006 .

[10]  Michael Bromwich,et al.  THE ACCA/BAA DISTINGUISHED ACADEMIC 1999 LECTURE—ANGELS AND TROLLS: THE ASB’S STATEMENT OF PRINCIPLES FOR FINANCIAL REPORTING☆☆☆ , 2001 .

[11]  R. Ball,et al.  An empirical evaluation of accounting income numbers , 1968 .

[12]  I. N. Marshall,et al.  The Quantum Self , 1991 .

[13]  Y. Ijiri,et al.  Theory Of Accounting Measurement , 1976 .

[14]  Howard B. Lee,et al.  Foundations of Behavioral Research , 1973 .

[15]  David Solomons,et al.  The political implications of accounting and accounting standard setting : being the third Arthur Young lecture delivered within the University of Glasgow on 22nd October, 1980 , 1983 .

[16]  A. Rashad Abdel-Khalik,et al.  The Impact of accounting research on practice and disclosure , 1978 .

[17]  M. Jones,et al.  UK Accountants' Perceptions of Research Journal Quality , 1996 .

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

[19]  Robert W. Scapens,et al.  Research Methods and Methodology in Finance and Accounting , 2002 .

[20]  A. Strauss,et al.  Basics of Qualitative Research , 1992 .

[21]  M. Polanyi,et al.  Personal Knowledge: Towards a post-critical philosophy , 1959 .

[22]  R. H. Parker.  David Solomons and British Accounting , 1995 .

[23]  Thomas A. Lee.  Anatomy of a Professional Élite: The Executive Commitee of the American Accounting Association 1916-1996 , 1999 .

[24]  R. I Tricker,et al.  Research in accounting , 1978 .

[25]  Stephen A. Zeff,et al.  The early years of the Association of University Teachers of Accounting: 1947–1959 , 1997 .

[26]  M. Patton.  Qualitative evaluation and research methods, 2nd ed. , 1990 .

[27]  S. Zeff,et al.  2 Decades Of The Journal-Of-Accounting-Research , 1984 .

[28]  W. Sharpe.  CAPITAL ASSET PRICES: A THEORY OF MARKET EQUILIBRIUM UNDER CONDITIONS OF RISK* , 1964 .

[29]  Maurice Pendlebury,et al.  Why Do UK Accounting and Finance Academics not Publish in top US Journals , 2001 .

[30]  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 .