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The conceptual underwear of financial reporting

The conceptual underwear of financial reporting The paper examines the role of metaphor in debates about “conceptual frameworks” for financial reporting and accounting standard setting. It takes the form of a dialogue between a standard setter and an academic. The paper demonstrates the power of metaphor by substituting a different, unfamiliar metaphor in place of the clichéd “framework” for describing a set of accounting principles. The effect of the replacement is examined in the context of UK Accounting Standards Board’s (ASB’s) draft Statement of Principles. Underlying the apparent engineering parsimony of the framework metaphor, a mutable and inconsistent set of principles is discovered. The substitution of metaphors suggest that conceptual frameworks serve multiple purposes, such as marketing standards to preparers and users. The use of metaphors inevitably entails the importation of “baggage” into analysis, so that metaphors need to be chosen with care and baggage needs to be examined. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Accounting Auditing & Accountability Journal Emerald Publishing

The conceptual underwear of financial reporting

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References (24)

Publisher
Emerald Publishing
Copyright
Copyright © 1999 MCB UP Ltd. All rights reserved.
ISSN
0951-3574
DOI
10.1108/09513579910283521
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

The paper examines the role of metaphor in debates about “conceptual frameworks” for financial reporting and accounting standard setting. It takes the form of a dialogue between a standard setter and an academic. The paper demonstrates the power of metaphor by substituting a different, unfamiliar metaphor in place of the clichéd “framework” for describing a set of accounting principles. The effect of the replacement is examined in the context of UK Accounting Standards Board’s (ASB’s) draft Statement of Principles. Underlying the apparent engineering parsimony of the framework metaphor, a mutable and inconsistent set of principles is discovered. The substitution of metaphors suggest that conceptual frameworks serve multiple purposes, such as marketing standards to preparers and users. The use of metaphors inevitably entails the importation of “baggage” into analysis, so that metaphors need to be chosen with care and baggage needs to be examined.

Journal

Accounting Auditing & Accountability Journal – Emerald Publishing

Published: Oct 1, 1999

Keywords: Accounting standards; Financial reporting; Metaphors

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