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A comment on “Towards a paradigmatic foundation for accounting practice”

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  • Richard Laughlin

Abstract

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to provide an analysis of the paper entitled “Towards a paradigmatic foundation for accounting practice” by Nørreklit, Nørreklit and Mitchell as a way to open a debate about whether a “paradigm of accounting practice” exists and, if so, the nature of the methodological approach that would be needed to discover its nature. Design/methodology/approach - The paper employs a critical, reflective discursive analysis. Findings - The main finding is that there is a confusion in the paper by Nørreklitet al.about the nature of a “paradigm of accounting practice”, which, if it exists, should be a “skeletal theory” (Laughlin), rather than a methodology. The conclusion of the commentary is that a “paradigm of accounting practice”, using this understanding, might exist, but that Nørreklitet al.'s argument for the use of “pragmatic constructivism”, as a methodology for its discovery, is open to question. Research limitations/implications - The implication of the argument of this commentary is that the search for “paradigm of accounting practice” is important and should be pursued but the choice of an appropriate methodology for this discovery still needs further consideration. Originality/value - Nørreklitet al., and this commentary, re‐energise an important debate and concern about paradigms in accounting that was present in the literature in the late 1970s and early 1980s. The search for a “paradigm of accounting practice” and how best it can be discovered is an important consideration for the future development of accounting thought.

Suggested Citation

  • Richard Laughlin, 2010. "A comment on “Towards a paradigmatic foundation for accounting practice”," Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 23(6), pages 759-763, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:eme:aaajpp:v:23:y:2010:i:6:p:759-763
    DOI: 10.1108/09513571011065853
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Laughlin, Richard, 2007. "Critical reflections on research approaches, accounting regulation and the regulation of accounting," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 39(4), pages 271-289.
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    Cited by:

    1. Lehman, Glen, 2013. "Critical reflections on Laughlin's middle range research approach: Language not mysterious?," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 24(3), pages 211-224.
    2. Hanne Nørreklit & Lennart Nørreklit & Falconer Mitchell, 2010. "Paradigms and pragmatic constructivism: a reply," Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 23(6), pages 764-773, August.
    3. Kuruppu, Sanjaya & Lehman, Glen, 2018. "Commentary: A proposal for theoretical models of stakeholder perceptions of a new financial reporting system," Accounting forum, Elsevier, vol. 42(2), pages 167-169.

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