Socially Constructing Discipline - Term Paper Example

Critically consider whether accounting is socially constructed or a socially constructing discipline Accounting is mainly known to be concerned with the analysis, communication and collection of economic information that can help in making plans and decisions about a business by several users. According to the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, accounting can be referred to as the art of classifying, recording and summarizing the events and transactions in terms of money, in a significant way. Additionally, it is claimed that accounting is a language used in communicating information to individuals. Accounting is considered to be a profession and an intellectual discipline. Accounting, moreover, can be described as a socially constructed discipline that is practiced by people and influences relationships and workings in the society. Accounting has a complicated history that extends back to the beginning of the first accounting system that was based on recording and measurement activities. Later, accounting was improved around 15th century leading to the emergence of bookkeeping. Around 20th century, accounting further developed resulting to the current Ango-American accounting. Accounting was regarded as an internal matter where proprietors were stuck down to the business. On the other hand, companies’ growth led to the need of stewardship accounting. Due to consistent industrial development, initiation of professional accounting group and transforming social environment, the theory of accounting is expected to develop systematically according to its importance in the current society. Currently, there are various theories that assess accounting theory nature (Roover, 1955). Reflecting on various researches carried out, accounting has been examined as a science and as an art. There is an increasing concern over low moral standards of several accountants and a rising number of academics who claim that the system of education should have some blame. The moral components of accounting training had been considered to be inadequate. Additionally, it has been found that emphasis is lacking on humanizing accountants. According to the Islamic religion, worldview and ethical perspective can offer or give some insights into the procedure of developing a superior ethical and humanized accountant (Camma & Ezzamel, 2007). As I have indicated above, accounting is mainly concerned with the collection, analyzing and communicating the information concerning economics. Hence, to develop or enhance a clear and broader understanding of accounting and the main role it has in the society, it needs to be considered from a social perception. Various people in the society coexist as a result of establishing good relationship with one another. Society can also be viewed by dividing it in various groups such as economic, social, political and organizational arenas. However, in order for these arenas to function successfully, they need to communicate. As a matter of fact, it is the accounting information that smooths the progress of the communication. As confirmed by various researchers, accounting information has several important purposes such as helping the users in planning and making wonderful decisions that relate to efficient allocation of scarce resources. Accounting information can therefore be regarded as an effective or powerful influence in a society (Jensen, 1976, p.352). The history of accounting is considered to be very long and it is also viewed as a socially constructed discipline. For example, accounting is practiced by people and is also meant for the people making it to appear more inclined as an art than a science even though it is also seen as a science at some point. Accounting has evolved very much compared to other professions. It has developed as a craft with very few policies and no or few if any theoretical knowledge supporting its function and practice. Traditionally, accounting has played a stewardship function as illustrated by Morgan. Morgan described this when he used the accounting image as a historical record in order to express or display accounting as an expansion of the proprietor’s personal memory (Porwal, 2001, p.67). However, the societal and business performances have changed with time due to evolution. The development of business globally and the introduction of new sectors like ecommerce has led to undertaking of complex transactions. As a result, this has raised problems of consistency and subjectivity in applying the techniques of traditional accounting. For instance, the transforms in the nature of the assets of the business has led to the technique of how best to account for the different types of transactions. The basic change of accounting has generally resulted in ambiguity leading to scandals and manipulation. In order to control the loopholes, accounting profession has provided a large amount of money and time in forming the theory of accounting. The theory was meant to provide a clear framework that would illustrate the application of accounting techniques and give a meaning to the ancient accounting practices. However, as stated in the text above, accounting is considered as an art rather than a science therefore, the implementation of the theory becomes problematic due to scandals even though it is very important and useful. This clearly illustrates that accounting is actually a socially constructed discipline rather than socially constructing (Wanjialin, 2004). There are several ways that describes how accounting is socially constructed. Accounting is said to have evolved as a craft at a period when the society was simplistic. However, due to economic and social activity changes, it has exposed to criticism for not being adaptable and responsive. Consequently, the profession has proceeded to retain the position of accounting in the society by introducing various projects to implement theory. The theory developed should give guidance for the accountants to know how to use various accounting practices in various situations. This leads to the realization of how theory is formed or developed. As far as science is concerned, it is largely considered to have knowledge that is based on facts. The scientific method of forming theory results from the inductive reasoning process. The process mainly relies on observing and generalizing a single observation to create theory or law. After establishing the law, it can help in explaining and forecasting the procedure of deductive reasoning. Other accounting theories such as the theory of depreciation and stock valuation had been derived from the inductive reasoning basis (Schroeder, 2010). There are problems encountered in the developing theory, that mainly depend on observation. For instance, observation can be bias since the observer might not be accurate in the observation process thus giving incorrect results. He also argued that brain only interprets what one sees, depending on the knowledge, expectation and experiences undergone by the observer. As a result, we can definitely view accounting as socially constructed due to the involvement of people and how accounting theory formation relies much on social activities (Burritt, 2011, p.273). Therefore, accounting theories developed in the manner described above enables us to believe that they are subjective. Additionally, it emphasizes on Hines’s remark that states that in the process of “communicating reality, we already construct it.” The development of the conceptual framework is one of the major methods used in reducing loopholes in the accounting profession. Conceptual framework can therefore be defined as a collection of principles and theories that are generally accepted and that gives a foundation where certain practices and methods can be deduced. It can also be considered to be a religious and holy accounting book that contains various concepts and definitions basic to its practices. There are three main types of conceptual framework that includes, ASB, IASC and FASB. The three conceptual framework publications mainly cover same grounds which consist of; definition of elements in financial statements, the aim of the financial report, characteristic of financial report or statement, and identification and measurement of elements. The project of conceptual framework has always been considered to be very long. Even though it is lengthy, I regard it to be very important to the society since it provides foundation for knowledge and also helps in minimizing loopholes in certain areas. For example, it helps in defining key concepts in the elements section (Brooks & Dunn, 2010, p.286). Conceptual framework has helped in doing a lot of practice though the loopholes are still many thus requires significant judgment. The framework is not standard and accountants are unable to adhere to it. This is because it covers very little that cannot be relied on. Some information covered is normally non-specific and too board, such as ways of measuring an element. Before the introduction of the conceptual framework, accounting depended on SSAP2, “exposure of accounting principles.” SSAP2 was found in 1971 and has played an important role in the field of accounting and it is also considered to be the best consistency, accruals and prudence as a fundamental concept. The main problem of the SSAP2 is that it had difficulties with the contradictory concepts even though it was helpful (Jun Lin, 1992). The publication of ASB’s principles led to the revision of SSAP2 and later replaced by FRS18 in 2000. The FRS18 mainly emphasizes on the significance on the going concern concepts making the consistency and prudence to be considered unimportant (Riahi-Belkaoui, 2005, p.85). The FRS18 explains proper application of accounting principles and estimation techniques. Corporate report is also another initiative that was meant to address the requirements of other stakeholders and turn away from the stewardship role of accounting. The report was published in 1975 and recommends the publication of additional information with the annual report so as to illustrate the real image of entity’s performance. The accounting researchers and theorists play an important role in trying to incorporate theory in accounting. The application of imagery has facilitated the theorists and researchers to explore the accounting practices nature through applying the features of the image in the accounting context (Andrew, 2005, p.251). Tony Tinker and David Solomon contributed in the implementation and growth of accounting theory. David was a great supporter of neutrality in accounting. He used the picture of journalism, telephone, cartography and speedometer in demonstrating the way of thinking. For instance, he said that accountancy should be considered in journalism perspective, where one reports news instead of making it. In the speedometer perspective, he said that accounting should function the same way, of capturing the actual economic velocity of eternity. He also used the image of telephone in that accounting is expected to convey information the same way as a telephone. Lastly, he stated that accounting should work as cartography, in providing maps or representation of the economic reality. These imagery employment used by Solomon convey a deep insight on how accounting is expected to work in ideal world. According to the descriptions and argument of David Solomon, we can clearly view accounting as a socially constructed discipline since it involves socially accepted principles and theories (Cherry, 1978, p.35). Tony Tinker on the other hand claims that Solomon’s use of imagery is improper or unsuitable and problematic. He claims that journalism reveals reality in a different manner as illustrated by David. He claims that journalism omits some facts making unsuitable to be considered in accounting field. Additionally, he stated that telephone does not give thoughts but only presents what has been said. Therefore, Tony feels that this can lead to both intentional and unintentional biasness because telephone is selective. Moreover, Tinker also disagreed with the idea of cartography as presented by Solomon. He argues that maps are not that accurate and does not represent facts because of distortions affecting our behavior such as size and color (Kanodia, 2007, p.287). Considering the arguments presented above, it is factual that there is no image that describes accounting perfectly. According to my view, the different issues described in the debate present different outlook of the accounting practices thus introducing other images that aim at overcoming the contradictions and affecting the future development of accounting. Such debates illustrate the nature of accounting and the ambiguities in its theory (Tsamenyi, & Uddin, 2009, p.89). This also explains why it is argued that accounting as a discipline has no theory. Account is a discipline that has evolved so much though it has no genuine theory that best explains its evolution. According to several researches, accounting can be considered as a socially constructed discipline. Accounting has made important development in creating its theoretical base. Additionally, accounting is regarded as a socially constructed discipline because its functions mainly rely on the user’s needs (United States, 2000). Due to the constant changes of the user’s needs in economic and societal activity, the accounting theory is unlikely to be completed due to constant problems emergence. It is obvious that the theory of accounting cannot be explained in the context of science. This is because, accounting lack immutable laws such as those of nature, since there are no tests or experiments that can be carried out in order to yield data (Henriques, 2010, p.142). Accounting discipline is therefore clearly viewed as a socially constructed discipline and that it has no immutable truths or principles. The accounting principles made by man depend on a judgment process for the use and preparation accounting information. Due the facts, discussions, statements and arguments described in this work, it is true that accounting is socially constructed. For instance, concerning the issue about the theories, the rules or principles of accounting, it can be seen that there are more human involvement than nature. It is also described that accounting is more of an art than a science. This is because there are no scientific tests and experiments that can be done in order to present data in accounting. Therefore, accounting is closely related to social acts. In argument of David and Tony, there are several issues that enable us to see how accounting can be socially constructed. In conclusion, I can present my argument that accounting is socially constructed rather than a socially constructing discipline. This argument can be viewed clearly from the text regarding various debates and statements concerning accounting. References Andrew, C. (2005). Accounting for culture thinking through cultural citizenship. Ottawa, Ont, University of Ottawa Press. Brooks, L. J., & Dunn, P. (2010). Business & professional ethics for directors, executives, & accountants. Mason, OH, South Western Cengage Learning. Cherry, A. A. (1978). Testing the effects of social accounting information on decision making and attitudes: a laboratory experiment. Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of California, Los Angeles. Henriques, A. (2010). Corporate impact: measuring and managing your social footprint. London, Earthscan. Kanodia, C. (2007). Accounting disclosure and real effects. Boston, Now. Porwal, L. S. (2001). Accounting theory: an introduction. New Delhi, Tata McGraw-Hill. Riahi-Belkaoui, A. (2005). Accounting theory. London, Thomson. Roover, R. (1955), New perspectives on the history of accounting, The Accounting Review, Vol.30.(3),405-420 Camma, S., & Ezzamel, M. (2007), Accounting and accountability in ancient civilisations: Mesopotamia & Ancient Egypt, Accounting, Auditing & Accountability, Vol. 20 (2) 177-209. Jun Lin, Z. (1992), Chinese double entry bookkeeping before the nineteenth century, The Accounting Historians Journal, Vol.19 (2) 103-122. Tsamenyi, M., & Uddin, S. (2009). Accounting in emerging economies. Bingley, UK, Emerald. Jensen, R. E. (1976). Phantasmagoric accounting: research and analysis of economic, social, and environmental impact of corporate business. [Sarasota, Fla.], American Accounting Association. Burritt, R. (2011). Environmental management accounting and supply chain management. Dordrecht [etc.], Springer. Wanjialin, G. (2004). An international dictionary of accounting & taxation: 12000 + entries on accounting, auditing & taxation in the USA, Canada, UK & Australia ; clear one sentence definition right to the point. New York, NY [u.a.], iUniverse Publ. Schaltegger, S., et al., (2006). Sustainability accounting and reporting. Dordrecht, Springer. Brooks, L. J., & Dunn, P. (2010). Business & professional ethics for directors, executives, & accountants. Mason, OH, South Western Cengage Learning. United States. (2000). Convenience gambling: information on economic and social effects in selected locations : report to the Honorable Frank R. Wolf, House of Representatives. Washington, D.C. (P.O. Box 37050, Washington 20013), The Office. Schroeder, D. A. (2010). Accounting and causal effects econometric challenges. New York, Springer. Read More