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Accounting academia and the threat of the paying-off mentality

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  • Gendron, Yves

Abstract

This essay reflects on a trend that increasingly affects ways of thinking and doing in accounting academia, namely, the expansion of the paying-off mentality. The latter relates to behavior being driven by a sense of benefits and rewards that are expected to materialize in the short run. Specifically, the essay brings to the fore a number of threats, engendered through short-termism, that arguably impede the development of accounting research and education. Does paying-off prevent publishers from facilitating public access to research articles? Does paying-off constrain the attractiveness of academic careers in the eyes of young accounting practitioners? Does paying-off increasingly transform universities into places that aim to deliver, first and foremost, technical education? Does paying-off increasingly constrain innovativeness in the field of accounting research? In addressing such questions, the essay aims further to sensitize academics to the serious risks of allowing such a field of academic activity and inquiry to be overexposed to the influence of short-termism.

Suggested Citation

  • Gendron, Yves, 2015. "Accounting academia and the threat of the paying-off mentality," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 26(C), pages 168-176.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:crpeac:v:26:y:2015:i:c:p:168-176
    DOI: 10.1016/j.cpa.2013.06.004
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    References listed on IDEAS

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