Accounting history and accounting progress

doi:10.1177/103237320100600202

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Accounting history and accounting progress

Journal Article•DOI•

Accounting history and accounting progress

Christopher J. Napier¹•Institutions (1)

University of Southampton¹

01 Nov 2001-Accounting History (SAGE Publications)-Vol. 6, Iss: 2, pp 7-31

TL;DR: The authors reviewed the use of a concept of progress in the writing of history from the eighteenth century, and analysed its use, together with that of evolution, in "traditional" accounting history.

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Abstract: The "new" accounting historians that emerged from the mid-1980s characterised their predecessors as relying heavily on a view of accounting as progressive and accounting change as evolutionary. From a social science perspective, progress is a problematic concept, as it implies not just change but also improvement, and thus seems to imply the making of a value judgement. As accounting has become an object of study less as a technical and more as a social phenomenon, consensus as to what constitutes an improvement becomes harder to secure. However, from a perspective grounded in historiography, this paper reviews the use of a concept of progress in the writing of history from the eighteenth century, and analyses its use, together with that of a concept of evolution, in "traditional" accounting history. Appealing to recent developments in the understanding of the role of narrative in history, the paper suggests that the use of narratives of accounting progress should not be ruled out on a priori grounds.

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Journal Article•DOI•

The End of History and the Last Man

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Leon J. Goldstein

01 Nov 1993-International Studies in Philosophy

2,927 citations

Journal Article•DOI•

The content of the Form: narrative discourse and historical representation

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Antonio João Teixeira¹•Institutions (1)

Ponta Grossa State University¹

01 Jan 1997-Ilha do Desterro: A Journal of English Language, Literatures in English and Cultural Studies

TL;DR: Hayden White as mentioned in this paper put together essays on Droysen, Foucault, Jameson and Ricoeur to give an encompassing account of a problematic issue that has been one of the major concerns of historical studies as well as of many other areas of the human sciences: that of the importance of narrative representation in the description or explanation of the "object" of study of human sciences.

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Abstract: Although the chapters that appear in this book have been previously published separately in different places at different times, they have been revised by the author for their publication as a book and are all related to the problem of historical representation. By putting together essays on Droysen, Foucault, Jameson and Ricoeur, Hayden White hasmanaged to give an encompassing account of a problematic issue that has been one of the major concerns of historical studies as well as of many other areas of the human sciences: that of the importance of narrative representation in the description or explanation of the “object” of study of the human sciences. Although the authors mentioned deal with this subject in different ways, White finds in them common characteristics which confirm the point made by him that historical narratives are, from a semiological perspective, concerned with the production of meanings.

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811 citations

Journal Article•DOI•

Anatomy of Criticism, Four Essays

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Walter Sutton

01 Mar 1958

TL;DR: In this article, the Anatomy of Criticism, Four Essays, four essays, and the Four Criticism Symposium: A Quarterly Journal in Modern Literatures: Vol. 12, No. 1-2, pp 211-215.

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Abstract: (1958). Anatomy of Criticism, Four Essays. Symposium: A Quarterly Journal in Modern Literatures: Vol. 12, No. 1-2, pp. 211-215.

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558 citations

Journal Article•DOI•

What Counts as "Theory" in Qualitative Management and Accounting Research? Introducing Five Levels of Theorizing

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Sue Llewelyn¹•Institutions (1)

University of Edinburgh¹

01 Oct 2003-Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal

TL;DR: The authors argues that the possibilities for conceptual framing extend beyond the highly abstract schema generally considered as "theories" by academics and distinguishes five different forms of theorization, arguing that as the level of theorizing rises, issues of agency give way to a focus on practice and in turn to a concern with structure.

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Abstract: The value of qualitative empirical research in the management and accounting disciplines lies in its “conceptual framing” of organizational actions, events, processes, and structures. Argues that the possibilities for conceptual framing extend beyond the highly abstract schema generally considered as “theories” by academics. In support of this argument, distinguishes five different forms of theorization. Explores the relationship between these theoretical “levels” and the different issues that empirical research explores, arguing that, as the “level” of theorizing “rises”, issues of agency give way to a focus on practice and, in turn, to a concern with structure. As this happens, research aims directed towards abstraction and explanation supersede those for contextualization and understanding. Concludes that views on “what counts as theory” are, currently, too narrow to conceptualize agency, emergence and change adequately in organizational life and, hence, the full range of significant empirical phenomena that characterize the management and accounting areas are not being researched.

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365 citations

Journal Article•DOI•

Progress and Its Problems: Towards a Theory of Scientific Growth

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Anne E. Seller, Larry Laudan

01 Oct 1978-Technology and Culture

310 citations

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Book•

The Structure of Scientific Revolutions

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Thomas S. Kuhn

01 Jan 1962

TL;DR: The Structure of Scientific Revolutions as discussed by the authors is a seminal work in the history of science and philosophy of science, and it has been widely cited as a major source of inspiration for the present generation of scientists.

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Abstract: A good book may have the power to change the way we see the world, but a great book actually becomes part of our daily consciousness, pervading our thinking to the point that we take it for granted, and we forget how provocative and challenging its ideas once were-and still are. "The Structure of Scientific Revolutions" is that kind of book. When it was first published in 1962, it was a landmark event in the history and philosophy of science. And fifty years later, it still has many lessons to teach. With "The Structure of Scientific Revolutions", Kuhn challenged long-standing linear notions of scientific progress, arguing that transformative ideas don't arise from the day-to-day, gradual process of experimentation and data accumulation, but that revolutions in science, those breakthrough moments that disrupt accepted thinking and offer unanticipated ideas, occur outside of "normal science," as he called it. Though Kuhn was writing when physics ruled the sciences, his ideas on how scientific revolutions bring order to the anomalies that amass over time in research experiments are still instructive in our biotech age. This new edition of Kuhn's essential work in the history of science includes an insightful introductory essay by Ian Hacking that clarifies terms popularized by Kuhn, including paradigm and incommensurability, and applies Kuhn's ideas to the science of today. Usefully keyed to the separate sections of the book, Hacking's essay provides important background information as well as a contemporary context. Newly designed, with an expanded index, this edition will be eagerly welcomed by the next generation of readers seeking to understand the history of our perspectives on science.

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36,808 citations

Journal Article•DOI•

The Structure of Scientific Revolutions

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Thomas S. Kuhn, David Hawkins

01 Jul 1963-American Journal of Physics

34,393 citations

Book•

The End of History and the Last Man

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Francis Fukuyama

01 Jan 1992

TL;DR: Fukuyama as mentioned in this paper identifies two powerful forces guiding our actions: the logic of desire (the rational economic process); and the desire for recognition, which he describes as the very motor of history.

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Abstract: Fukuyama considers whether or not there is a direction to the history of mankind. He identifies two powerful forces guiding our actions: the logic of desire (the rational economic process); and the desire for recognition, which he describes as the very motor of history.

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7,215 citations

"Accounting history and accounting p..." refers background in this paper

...As filtered through Marx and then later both Fascism and Communism, this philosophy that history overrode morality was to provide a justification for many subsequent acts of brutality (Fukuyama, 1992, p.69)....
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...Ultimately humanity would reach a form that contained no internal contradictions: what many writers, most notably Francis Fukuyama (1992), have referred to as “the end of history”....
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...The tendency of nineteenth century Whig history to take Victorian Britain as normative, and the later tendency of so-called “modernisation theory” (Nisbet, 1969) to do the same for the USA in the twentieth century, increasingly came under attack from those who “questioned the very concept of modernity itself, in particular whether all nations really wanted to adopt the West’s liberal democratic principles, and whether there were not equally valid cultural starting and end points” (Fukuyama, 1992, p.69). As social science came to have an increasing influence on historical research, particularly research into cultural development, the use of a concept of progress (and indeed a concept of decline) was seen as requiring researchers to make inappropriate value judgements as to what constituted improvement or worsening. In a homogeneous culture, such judgements would have reflected a consensus and would not only have gone unchallenged but most likely would not consciously appear to be judgements at all. As cultures became more heterogeneous, the description of a particular change as progressive appeared explicitly to embody a value judgement, which social scientists increasingly wished to avoid making on methodological grounds. Such value judgements, when not avoided entirely, became heavily contested. One area in which a concept of progress appeared to be still viable was science. An important contribution to our understanding of scientific progress is provided by the philosopher of science Larry Laudan, in his book Progress and its Problems (1977). Laudan argues that the adequacy of a scientific theory or research programme lies in its ability to solve scientific problems....
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...…increasingly came under attack from those who “questioned the very concept of modernity itself, in particular whether all nations really wanted to adopt the West’s liberal democratic principles, and whether there were not equally valid cultural starting and end points” (Fukuyama, 1992, p.69)....
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Book•

Positive Accounting Theory

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Ross L. Watts¹, Jerold L. Zimmerman²•Institutions (2)

Massachusetts Institute of Technology¹, University of Rochester²

11 Sep 1985

TL;DR: In this article, the authors review the theory and methodology underlying the economics-based empirical literature in accounting and discuss the role of theory in empirical work and the extent to which the theories are consistent with those studies' evidence.

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Abstract: This book reviews the theory and methodology underlying the economics-based empirical literature in accounting. An accounting theory theory is an explanation for observed accounting and auditing practices. Such an explanation is necessary for interpretation of empirical associations between variables. The book discusses the role of theory in empirical work. It then reviews accounting theories involved in empirical studies of the use of accounting in capital markets, contracting and the political process and the extent to which the theories are consistent with those studies' evidence. Empirical studies in auditing are also reviewed. The book finishes with a discussion of the role of accounting research and a summary and evaluation of the research up until the mid-1980s.

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4,526 citations

Book•

Relevance Lost: The Rise and Fall of Management Accounting

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H. Thomas Johnson, Robert S. Kaplan

01 Mar 1987

TL;DR: Relevance Lost as mentioned in this paper is an overview of the evolution of management accounting in American business, from textile mills in the 1880s and the giant railroad, steel, and retail corporations, to today's environment of global competition and computer-automated manufacturers.

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Abstract: "Relevance Lost" is an overview of the evolution of management accounting in American business, from textile mills in the 1880s and the giant railroad, steel, and retail corporations, to today's environment of global competition and computer-automated manufacturers. The book shows that modern corporations must work toward designing new management accounting systems that will assist managers more fully in their long-term planning. It is the winner of the American Accounting Association's Deloitte Haskins & Sells/Wildman Award Medal. It is also available in paperback: ISBN 0875842542.

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3,308 citations

"Accounting history and accounting p..." refers background in this paper

...Since Relevance Lost was published, the authors have diverged in their prescription for healing the disease of archaic management accounting systems, with Kaplan calling for different measurement bases, including “The Balanced Scorecard” (Kaplan & Norton, 1996), while Johnson has suggested that “management by results” is an inherently flawed approach for the modern industrial organisation (Johnson & Bröms, 2000)....
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...Both the “Age of Stagnation” argument and the Relevance Lost position are capable of accommodating a long-run view of progress, as stagnation did not last indefinitely, while the diagnosis offered by Relevance Lost stimulated many enterprises to make changes in their cost accounting and management systems intended to remedy the decline in accounting’s relevance (Johnson, 1992)....
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...Much of the historical evidence for Relevance Lost was summarised by Kaplan in a paper entitled “The Evolution of Management Accounting” (Kaplan, 1984), showing the persistence of the theme of evolution in different contexts of historical accounting research....
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...…argue that management accounting systems had become increasingly inadequate in the later twentieth century, they interpret this “as a relatively recent decline in relevance, not as a lag in adapting older financial accounting systems to modern managerial needs” (Johnson & Kaplan, 1987, p.xii)....
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...Arguably, the mode of emplotment in Relevance Lost (Johnson & Kaplan, 1987) is one of tragedy (even though some of the “sub-plots” told along the way may in themselves have the form of comedy)....
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