Accounting Research: The False Choice between Methodological Consistency and Practical Relevance

Academic research in accounting has led to progress in the development of reports that seek to present organizational patrimony and performance. In the case of Brazil, from the 1970s through the 1990s we can cite the development of profitable production knowledge that was aligned with information for financial report users, such as: (a) the integral monetary correction model; (b) the proposing of the demonstration of value added; and (c) the economic management model (Gecon). However, if on one hand the development of accounting studies that were realigned with practical experience has been customary in the history of the producers of accounting knowledge in Brazil, it appears to us that this type of work has fallen out of favor. We seem to be entertaining ourselves much more with a search for methodological consistency rather than an analysis of the relevance of the research subject. We could even say that there is currently an identity crisis that has distanced us from the central production of accounting knowledge with an eye toward professional practice. It is as if there is a false choice between whether to focus on the practical quality of studies or their conceptual and methodological consistency.