IL PERCORSO SCIENTIFICO DEGLI STUDI NORDAMERICANI DI FINANCIAL ACCOUNTING: DAL “NORMATIVE APPROACH” ALLA “POSITIVE ACCOUNTING THEORY”

N. 3 - Luglio-Settembre 2015

Abstract

In the last decade the Italian "Ragioneria” has been involved in a process of internationalization, with its scholars facing with different research paradigms, especially those experienced by the North American financial accounting studies. The paper investigates such studies dealing with the three following research questions: which are the scientific landmarks of these studies? Which research methods are mainly adopted in the North American financial accounting studies? Which main scientific aims are driving these studies? In the paper, the answers to such questions are given through the analysis of the scientific milestones that characterized the evolution of the North American financial accounting studies from the "Normative Approach” of the ’50 and ’60 to the widespread of the "Positive Accounting Theory”.


References

  • ALCHIAN A., DEMSETZ H. (1972), Production, information costs and economic organization, American Accounting Review, 62, pp. 777-795.
  • ANTONELLI V. (2010), L’economia aziendale alla sfida dell’internazionalizzazione: cronaca di una morte annunciata?, Rivista Italiana di Ragioneria e di Economia Aziendale, luglio-agosto, pp. 379-391.
  • BADUA F.A., PREVITS G.J., VASARHELYI M.A. (2011), Tracing the development of accounting thought by analyzing content, coomunication, and quality in accounting reseach over time, Accounting Historians Journal, 38 (1), pp. 31-56.
  • BAKER C.R. (2011), A genealogic history of positivist and critical accounting research, Accounting History, 16 (2), pp. 207-221.
  • BALL R. (1992), The earnings-price anomaly, Journal of Accounting and Economics, 15, pp. 319-345.
  • BALL R., BROWN P. (1968), An empirical evaluation of accounting income numbers. Journal of Accounting Research, 6, pp. 159-177.
  • BARTH M.E., BEAVER W.H., LANDSMAN W.R. (2001), The relevance of the value relevance literature for financial accounting standard setting: another view, Journal of Accounting and Economics, 31, pp. 77-104.
  • BARTOV E. (1992), Patterns in unexpected earnings as an explanation for post-announcement drift, The Accounting Review, 67, pp. 610-622.
  • BEAN G. (1996), Metodologia contabile e storia della ragioneria, in Aa.Vv., L’evoluzione degli studi di Ragioneria dalla fine del XVIII secolo, Atti del II Convegno Nazionale di Storia della Ragioneria, Messina, 16 e 17 dicembre 1993, Pacini Editore.
  • BEATTIE V. (2005), Moving the financial accounting research front forward: the UK contribution, British Accounting Review, 37, pp. 84-114.
  • BEATTIE V.A., GOODACRE A. (2006), A new method for ranking academic journals in accounting and finance, Accounting and Business Research, 36 (2), pp. 65-91.
  • BEAVER W. (1968), The information content of annual earnings announcements, Journal of Accounting Research, Supplement, 6, pp. 67-92.
  • BEAVER W.H. (2002), Perspectives on Recent Capital Market Research, The Accounting Review, 77 (2), pp. 453-474.
  • BERNARD V., THOMAS J. (1989), Post-earnings-announcement drift: delayed price response or risk premium?, Journal of Accounting Research, 27, Supplement, pp. 1-48.
  • BERTINI U. (2009), Economia aziendale e management, Lectio Magistralis, Pisa, 20 maggio 2009.
  • BLACK F., SCHOLES M. (1973), The pricing of options and corporate liabilities, Journal of Political Economy, 81 (3), pp. 637-654.
  • BORGONOVI E. (2006), Le ricerca italiana di Economia aziendale e il contesto internazionale, in Zaninotto E. (a cura di), Presente e futuro degli studi di economia aziendale, Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale, Il Mulino, Bologna.
  • BRADSHAW M.T., RICHARDSON S.A., SLOAN R.G. (2001), Do analysts and auditors use information in accruals?, Journal of Accounting Research, 39 (1), pp. 45-75.
  • BROWN S., WARNER J. (1980), Measuring security price performance, Journal of Financial Economics, 8, pp. 205-258.
  • CANZIANI A. (1987), Sulle premesse metodologiche della rivoluzione zappiana, in Aa.Vv., Saggi di economia aziendale per Lino Azzini, Giuffrè, Milano.
  • CAPALDO P. (2010), L’economia aziendale oggi, in Omaggio a Pietro, Salerno Editrice, Roma.
  • CARCELLO J.V. (2007), Comments for december 3rd meeting of the U.S. Treasury Advisory Committee on the auditing profession, Disponibile a: http://www.treas.gov/offices/ domesticfinance/acap/submissions/12032007/Carcello120.
  • CHRISTENSON C. (1983), The methodology of positive accounting, The Accounting Review, 53 (1), pp. 1-22.
  • CODA V., RUSSO P. (2006), Idee per lo sviluppo degli studi di Economia aziendale, in Zaninotto E. (a cura di), Presente e futuro degli studi di economia aziendale, Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale, Il Mulino, Bologna.
  • DEBONDT W., THALER R. (1985), Does the stock market overreact?, Journal of Finance, 40, pp. 793-805.
  • DEBONDT W., THALER R. (1987), Further evidence of investor overreaction and stock market seasonality, Journal of Finance, 42, pp. 557-581.
  • DECHOW P., SLOAN R. (1997), Returns to contrarian investment strategies: tests of naïve expectation hypotheses, Journal of Financial Economics, 43, pp. 3-27.
  • DEEGAN C. (2011), Financial accounting theory, 3th Edition, McGraw-Hill, Australia.
  • EMANUEL D., WONG J., WONG N. (2003), Efficient contracting and accounting, Accounting and Finance, 43, pp. 149-166.
  • FAMA E. (1965), The behavior of stock market prices, Journal of Business, 38, pp. 34-105.
  • FAMA E. (1970), Efficient capital markets: a review of theory and empirical work, Journal of Finance, 25, pp. 383-417.
  • FAMA E., FISHER L., JENSEN M., ROLL R. (1969), The adjustment of stock prices to new information, International Economic Review, 10, pp. 1-21.
  • FELTHAM G., OHLSON J. (1995), Valuation and clean surplus accounting for operating and financial Activities, Contemporary Accounting Research, 11, pp. 689-731.
  • FIELDS T., LYS T., VINCENT, L. (2001), Empirical research on accounting choice, Journal of Accounting and Economics, 31, pp. 255-308.
  • FOGARTY T.J., MARKARIAN G. (2007), An empirical assessment of the rise and fall of accounting as an academic discipline, Issues in Accounting Education, 22 (2), pp. 137.161.
  • FRIEDMAN M. (1953), Essays in Positive Economics, University of Chicago Press, Chicago.
  • GAFFIKIN M.J.R. (2007), Accounting research and theory: the age of neo-empiricism, Australian Accounting Business and Finance Journal, 1, pp. 1-19.
  • GODFREY J., HODGSON A., TARCA A., HAMILTON J., HOLMES S. (2010), Accounting theory, John Wiley & Sons, 7th Edition, Australia.
  • HEALY P.M. (1985), The effect of bonus schemes on accounting decisions, Journal of Accounting and Economics, 7 (1-3), pp. 85-107.
  • HENDRIKSEN E. (1965), Accounting theory, R. D. Irwin Inc., Homewood, Illinois.
  • HODGE F.D. (2003), Investors’ perceptions of earnings quality, auditor independence, and the usefulness of audited financial information, Accounting Horizons, Supplement, pp. 37-48.
  • JEANJEAN T., RAMIREZ C. (2008), Aux sources de théories positives: contribution à une analyse des changements de paradigme dans la recherche en comtabilité, Comptabilité, Contrôl e Audit, 14 (2), pp. 5-25.
  • JENSEN M. C. (1976), Reflections on the state of accounting research and the regulation of accounting, Stanford Lecturers in Accounting, Graduate School of Business, Stanford University, Stanford, California.
  • JENSEN M.C., MECKLING W.H. (1976), Theory of the firm: managerial behavior, agency costs and ownership structure, Journal of Financial Economics, October, pp. 305- 360.
  • JONES C., LITZENBERGER R. (1970), Quarterly earnings reports and intermediate stock price trends, Journal of Finance, 25, pp. 143-148.
  • JONES, M.J., ROBERTS R.A. (2005), International publishing patterns: an investigation of leading UK and US accounting and finance journals, Journal of Business Finance and Accounting, 32, pp. 1107-1140.
  • KAPLAN R., ROLL R. (1972), Investor evaluation of accounting information: some empirical evidence, Journal of Business, 45, pp. 225-257.
  • KOTHARI S.P. (2001), Capital markets research in Accounting, Journal of Accounting and Economics, 31, pp. 105-231.
  • KUHN T. (1962), The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, University Press, Chicago.
  • LAZEAR E.P. (2000), Economic imperialism, The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 115 (1), pp. 99-146.
  • LEE T. (1995), Shaping the US academic accounting research profession: the American Accounting Association and the social construction of a professional élite, Critical Perspectives on Accounting, 6 (3), pp. 241-261.
  • LEROY S.F., WERNER J.W. (2000), Principles of financial economics, Cambridge University Press, 1st edition.
  • LEV B., ZAROWIN P. (1999), The boundaries of financial reporting and how to extend them, Journal of Accounting Research, 37, pp. 353-385.
  • LEVITT A. (1998), The “numbers game”, Remarks by Chairman Arthur Levitt, Securities and Exchange Commission, delivered at the NYU Center for Law and Business, New York, 28 September (disponibile online).
  • LIN H., MCNICHOLS M. (1998), Underwriting relationships and analysts’ earnings forecasts and Investment recommendations, Journal of Accounting and Economics, 25, pp. 101-127.
  • LINTNER J. (1965), The valuation of risky assets and the selection of risky investments in stock portfolios and capital budgets, Review of Economics and Statistics, 47, pp. 13-37.
  • LOCKE J., LOWE A. (2008), Evidence and Implications of Multiple Paradigms in Accounting Knowledge Production, European Accounting Review, 17 (1), pp. 161-191.
  • MARKOWITZ H.M. (1959), Portfolio selection: efficient diversification of investments, John Wiley, New York.
  • MATTESSICH R. (1995), Critique of accounting: esamination of the foundation and normative structure of applied discipline, Quorum Books, Westport, CT.
  • MERCHANT K.A. (2010), Paradigms in accounting research: a view from North America, Managament Accounting Research, 21, pp. 116-120.
  • MOUCK T. (1993), The ‘revolution’ in financial reporting theory: a Kuhnian interpretation, The Accounting Historians Journal, 20 (1), pp. 33-58.
  • MOUCK T. (1995), Financial reporting, democracy and environmentalism: a critique of the commodification of information, Critical Perspectives on Accounting, 6 (6), pp. 535-553.
  • OHLSON J. (1995), Earnings, book values, and dividends in equity valuation, Contemporary Accounting Research, 11, pp. 661-687.
  • OLER D.K., OLER M. J., SKOUSEN C.J. (2010), Characterizing accounting research, Accounting Horizons, 24 (4), pp. 635-670.
  • ONIDA P. (1969), I moderni sviluppi della dottrina contabile nord-americana e gli studi di economia aziendale, in Aa.Vv., Scritti in onore di Giordano Dell’Amore, Saggi di discipline aziendali e sociali, 2, Milano, Giuffrè.
  • OU J., PENMAN S. (1989), Financial statement analysis and the prediction of stock returns, Journal of Accounting and Economics, 11, pp. 295-329.
  • PALUMBO R. (2011), Il posizionamento internazionale (per paese) nelle discipline economico- aziendali, in Palumbo R. (a cura di), La valutazione periodica della ricerca nelle discipline economico-aziendali. Una comparazione internazionale, Franco Angeli, Milano.
  • RAJAN, R., SERVAES, H. (1997), Analyst following of initial public offerings. Journal of Finance, 52, pp. 507-529.
  • RANGAN S., SLOAN R. (1998), Implications of the integral approach to quarterly reporting for the post-earnings announcement drift, The Accounting Review, 73, pp. 353-371.
  • REITER S.A.,WILLIAMS P.F. (2002), The structure and progressivity of accounting research: the crisis in the academy revisited, Accounting, Organization and Society, 27 (6), pp. 575-607.
  • RENDLEMAN R., JONES C., LATANE H. (1987), Further insight into the standardized unexpected earnings anomaly: size and serial correlation effects, Financial Review, (22), pp. 131-144.
  • RICCABONI A. (2006), Le valutazioni di sistema: quali implicazioni per la ricerca economico- aziendale, in Zaninotto E. (a cura di), Presente e futuro degli studi di economia aziendale, Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale, Il Mulino.
  • RICCABONI A. (2011), Presentazione, in Palumbo R. (a cura di), La valutazione periodica della ricerca nelle discipline economico-aziendali. Una comparazione internazionale, Franco Angeli, Milano.
  • RICHARDSON S. A. (2003), Earnings quality and short sellers, Accounting Horizons, 17, Supplement, pp. 49-61.
  • ROSLENDER R., DILLARD J. (2003), Reflections on the interdisciplinary perspectives on accounting project, Critical Perspectives on Accounting, 14 (3), pp. 325-351.
  • RUTHERFORD B.A. (2003), Obuscation, textual complexity and the role of regulated narrative accounting disclosure in corporate governance, Journal of Management and Governance, 7, pp. 187-210.
  • RUTHERFORD B.A. (2011), Accounting research and accounting policy: what kind of gap?, Accounting on Europe, 8 (2), pp. 141-154.
  • RYAN B., SCAPENS R. W., THEOBALD M. (1992), Research method and methodology in finance and accounting, Academic Press Limited, London.
  • SCOTT W.R. (2003), Financial accounting theory, 3rd edition, Prentice Hall, Toronto.
  • SHARPE W. (1964), Capital asset prices: a theory of market equilibrium under conditions of risk, Journal of Finance, 19, pp. 425-442.
  • SIDREA (2009), La ragioneria e l’economia aziendale: dinamiche evolutive e prospettive di cambiamento, Atti del I convegno Nazionale della Società Italiana di Ragioneria e di Economia Aziendale, 8-9 maggio 2008, Franco Angeli, Milano.
  • SLOAN R. (1996), Do stock prices fully reflect information in accruals and cash flows about future earnings, The Accounting Review, 71 (3), pp. 289-316.
  • TUTTLE B., DILLARD J. (2007), Beyond competition: institutional isomorphism in U.S. accounting research, Accounting Horizons, 21 (4), pp. 387-409.
  • UNGER L. (2001), Protecting the integrity of financial information in today’s marketplace, Philadelphia Bar Association, Philadelphia.
  • VIGANÒ E. (1966), L’“entity concept” nella dottrina contabile americana, Studi Economici, 1-2, pp. 107-146.
  • VIGANÒ E. (1996), L’economia aziendale e la ragioneria. Evoluzione- Prospettive internazionali, Cedam, Padova.
  • VIGANÒ E., MATTESSICH R. (2007), Accounting research in Italy: second half of the 20th century, Review of Accounting and Finance, (6) 1, pp. 24-41.
  • WATTS R., ZIMMERMAN J. (1986), Positive accounting theory, Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey.
  • WATTS R., ZIMMERMAN J. (1978), Towards a positive theory of the determination of accounting standards, The Accounting Review, pp. 112-134.
  • WATTS R.L. (1995), Nature and origins of positive research in accounting, in Jones S., Romano C., Ratnatunga J. (Eds), Accounting theory: a contemporary review, Harcourt Brace, Sidney.
  • WELLS M.C. (1976), A revolution in accounting thought?, The Accounting Review, 51 (3), pp. 471-482.
  • Williams P.F. (2003), Modern accounting scholarship: the imperative of positive economic science, Accounting Forum, 27, pp. 251-269.
  • WILLIAMS P.F., RODGERS J.L. (1995), The Accounting Review and the production of accounting knowledge, Critical Perspectives on Accounting, 6 (3), pp. 263-287.
  • ZAMBON S. (1996b), Entità e proprietà nei bilanci di esercizio, Cedam, Padova.
  • ZANINOTTO E. (a cura di) (2006), Presente e futuro degli studi di economia aziendale, Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale, Il Mulino, Bologna.
  • ZEFF S.A. (1983), A retrospective, The Accounting Review, 58 (1), pp. 129-134.
Chiudi [X]

Acquista l'articolo

Inserisci i tuoi dati affinché un funzionario di Giuffrè possa contattarti per perfezionare i termini dell’acquisto

Campi obbligatori*

Autori

👤  Andrea Lionzo

Keyword

Normative Approach Positive Accounting Theory internationalization