Accounting Theory and Practices

Por años, se ha posicionado una metáfora según la cual la contabilidad es el lenguaje de los negocios. Con una mayor elaboración conceptual, la contabilidad también es vista como un instrumento de medida y valuación, que cumple roles operativos en las organizaciones. Asimismo, en el actual contexto de mercados financieros globalizados, se asume que la contabilidad es un método de cálculo monetario destinado a proveer una fuente continua de información que ayuda a la formación de los precios de los activos y los instrumentos financieros que se negocian en tales mercados, por lo que es base para apoyar las decisiones de los inversores. Estas visiones reducen la contabilidad a su dimensión legal, técnica, instrumental o económica. Este trabajo tiene como objetivo sistematizar elementos para una comprensión del rol de la contabilidad en las organizaciones desde algunos argumentos interpretativos de las ciencias sociales. Buscamos, por tanto, identificar algunas de las limitaciones sociales, institucionales y organizacionales en las visiones dominantes de la contabilidad. Nuestra aproximación implica entender a la contabilidad como práctica social, institucional y organizacional.

The position of water and its accompanying business enterprises in an economy like Ghana cannot be exaggerated. It is in this light, that over the years, Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and other organisations have been set up to enable both rural and urban people to access this scarce resource for productive, consumptive and social purposes. One of such small-scale enterprises is the sachet water producing enterprise. Albeit the sachet water enterprises play important role in the area, the development of their business is largely affected by poor accounting practices. Accounting has been seen as the best route to a successful business career as it is considered as the language and basic tool of business. It has always concerned itself with determining how a business is doing and what the bottom is. The growth of the small-scale enterprises can be determined through maintenance of proper records of accounts, which provides the basis for safeguarding, and controlling the business properties. As sachet water producing sector is increasingly taking center-stage in the private sector of the Northern Region of Ghana, it will be interesting to know their adoption of accounting practices, challenges they encounter, factors that influence their adoption and recommend some measures in that regard. This was the prime drive for this study. A qualitative research design was employed and for this study a non-probability sampling design in the form of a convenience sampling method was employed to gather the data. Data were drawn from both primary and secondary sources. Primary data was drawn from 30 registered smallscale sachet water producers (5 each in North, South, East and Central constituencies of Tamale Metropolis) of the Northern Sachet Water Producing Association by administering semi-structured questionnaires through personal interviews. We found that there are many perceived factors affecting their adoption of accounting practices and their effects on their business operations in the area. Among such factors include; lack of adequate training, willful misconduct, and negligence. It was also revealed that that, illiteracy was the root cause making it often difficult if not impossible for them to separate personal expenditure from business expenditure. Nondocumentation of cash sales, error of principle, and incomplete entry, etc. were found to be higher because almost all the operators have no accounting background. It was further identified that enterprises whose accounting records are beset with challenges, lack the credit worthiness of accessing loans and funding for further investments and growth. It was concluded that the lack of accounting knowledge and skills may in future threaten the financial steadiness of the water producing sector. In sustaining the sector, the findings recommends operators to undergo basic accounting training to acquire relevant knowledge and skills, employ qualified accounting personnel and providing them with good motivational packages to ensure that their efficiency and morale is enhanced and, maintain strong internal control to check the practice of misappropriating funds in the business.

Accountancy Theory (AT) allows to understand the social and finance impact of this discipline. This study develops a detailed investigation on the evolution of the AT in the public accounting curricula in the universities of Colombia. Furthermore, describes the connections between AT and the financial dimension. The study has a quantitative approach based empirical analytical technique. The data for this study is from 101 selected Colombian higher education institutions offering the BS degree of Public Accounting. The results point to progress in teaching AT in Colombia, although 57% of the universities in the country do not include this subject in their Public Accountancy curricula. In addition, it presents a review of the literature on the state of AT in Latin America (LA). The overall conclusion shows that still today accountancy education is considered a corporate activity rather than an academic and research driven discipline that will allow more efficient financial decisions to be made.

Research on the escalation of commitment suggests that the decision to commit resources to a failing project is due to several reasons that include sunk costs, personal responsibility and culture. This study furthers the exploration of escalation of commitment in two ways. First, this study considers the supportive role of accountants in facilitating escalation of commitment. Our results show that the presence of sunk cost is a motivation for accountants to provide reports that favour continuation of an unprofitable project. Second, prior research contends that the effect of culture on the escalation phenomenon is unclear. The results on cultural difference are consistent with the contention that culture is influential in decision making with respect to providing reports that favour continuation of an unprofitable project. However, using the manipulation as defined in this study, we do not find evidence consistent with a personal responsibility effect.

Research on the escalation of commitment suggests that the decision to commit resources to a failing project is due to several reasons that include sunk costs, personal responsibility and culture. This study furthers the exploration of escalation of commitment in two ways. First, this study considers the supportive role of accountants in facilitating escalation of commitment. Our results show that the presence of sunk cost is a motivation for accountants to provide reports that favour continuation of an unprofitable

References to ‘customers’ have become commonplace in the policy discourses within UK government and other public sector bodies. It is a working assumption of UK public sector management that the concept of the ‘customer’ can be applied to any public sector service agency or department; and this paper analyses how the UK government's revenue department, formerly titled the Inland Revenue

References to ‘customers’ have become commonplace in the policy discourses within UK government and other public sector bodies. It is a working assumption of UK public sector management that the concept of the ‘customer’ can be applied to any public sector service agency or department; and this paper analyses how the UK government's revenue department, formerly titled the Inland Revenue (IR), re-characterised firstly taxpayers and latterly tax claimants as ‘customers’, rather than ‘users’, of IR services. This paper identifies some problems, dilemmas and ambiguities associated with this reconceptualisation in the context of an organisation that is predominantly a regulating department. Far from being merely a reclassification of the taxpayer as customer, the emerging discourse and associated practices of the IR were in part embedded in organisational change, including the merger with HM Customs and Excise to form the present-day HMRC. Thus this case analysis illustrates the limits of consumerism as a strategic tool of a government revenue department and raises wider questions for public management.

The study was about the impact of accounting theory and practice on performance of large scale business in Nigeria. The objective of the study was to examine the effect and usefulness of accounting theory and practice on financial performance of large firms. The research was carried out, using Coscharis Group Limited as the case study. Primary Data was collected through simple random sampling and using self-administered questionnaires for 20 respondents. Secondary Data was gotten from the company's annual reports on return on equity for the period 2014-2016. The primary and secondary data were consolidated for analysis. Multiple Linear Regression was used to analyze the data to test for the relationship between the accounting theory and practice variables (Positive Accounting Theory(PAT), Financial Reporting(FR), Auditing Practice (AP) and Budgeting) and Financial Performance(Return on Equity). Findings revealed that accounting theory and practice have significant relationship with the financial performance of large companies in Nigeria. It further shows that variables of accounting practice have significant effect on financial performance of large firms in Nigeria. It is recommended that quoted and unquoted organizations should ensure there is consistency in the accounting theory and practice adopted in preparation of their records to enhance stability in their financial performance.

References to ‘customers’ have become commonplace in the policy discourses within UK government and other public sector bodies. It is a working assumption of UK public sector management that the concept of the ‘customer’ can be applied to any public sector service agency or department; and this paper analyses how the UK government's revenue department, formerly titled the Inland Revenue

This study examined the impact of accounting theory and practice on the financial performance of Nigerian Universities. The objective of the study was to examine the effect and usefulness of accounting theory and practice on the financial performance of Nigerian Universities. The study used ex-post factor research design using time series data analysis of financial information extracted from an audited University Financial Statement for the years 2008 to 2014 which is used to examine how an independent variable, present prior to the study, affects a dependent variable. The study is based on the theory of materiality concept. Findings revealed that accounting theory and practice have significant relationship with the financial performance of Universities in Nigeria. It is recommended that there should be collaboration between Accounting Standard setters and Regulators of the University system “National Universities Commission” in order to strengthen the Universities’ financial system...