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Accounting and the Truth of Earnings Reports: Philosophical Considerations

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  • Norman Macintosh

Abstract

This paper investigates the philosophical nature of accounting reports of earnings. Standard setters' authoritative pronouncements (conceptual frameworks, GAAP, EITFs, etc.) hold to the realist philosophical view that true earnings reports are ex post representations of some ex ante out-there, preexisting, extra-linguistic real economic increase in the enterprise's wealth. Contra this view, in practice financial accounting executives, in league with investment analysts, routinely engage in earnings management and manipulation in order to satisfy the capital market's insatiable demands for earnings levels which will support and enhance the enterprise's stock market price. The paper considers this state of affairs from Harold Frankfurt's truth, lies and 'bullshit' treatise (2005, 2006). It sees earnings reports as 'short of lies', and so the accountants can only be faulted for their indifference to the truth and for giving the impression that they are trying to present the truth. A poststructuralist philosophical perspective, however, problematizes this conclusion on the basis that accounting language is not a transparent medium but rather is the material used to manufacture accounting 'truths'. It sees accounting 'truths' as contingent upon linguistic doctrinal accounting discourses currently ceded place of privilege by standard setters and upon the subjective considerations of accountants when they produce reports of earnings. The paper concludes that both Frankfurt's perspective and that of poststructuralist philosophers can provide valuable insights into this ironic state of affairs.

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  • Norman Macintosh, 2009. "Accounting and the Truth of Earnings Reports: Philosophical Considerations," European Accounting Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 18(1), pages 141-175.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:euract:v:18:y:2009:i:1:p:141-175
    DOI: 10.1080/09638180802327073
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    1. Maijoor, S.J. & Vanstraelen, A., 2002. "Earnings management: the effects of national audit environment, audit quality and international capital markets," Research Memorandum 070, Maastricht University, Maastricht Research School of Economics of Technology and Organization (METEOR).
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    1. Horvat Robert & Korošec Bojana, 2015. "The Role of Accounting in a Society: Only a techn(olog)ical solution for the problem of economic measurement or also a tool of social ideology?," Naše gospodarstvo/Our economy, Sciendo, vol. 61(4), pages 32-40, August.
    2. Lantto, Anna-Maija, 2022. "Obtaining entity-specific information and dealing with uncertainty: Financial accountants' response to their changing work of financial reporting and the role of boundary objects," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 85(C).
    3. Metka Duhovnik, 2011. "Time to Endorse the ISAs for European Use: The Emerging Markets' Perspective," Accounting in Europe, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 8(2), pages 129-140.
    4. Okamoto, Noriaki, 2011. "Collective intentionality and aggressive earnings management: Developing Norman Macintosh's arguments in the debate over principles- versus rules-based accounting standards," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 22(2), pages 236-242.
    5. Bertrand Malsch & Yves Gendron & Frédérique Grazzini, 2011. "Investigating interdisciplinary translations," Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 24(2), pages 194-228, February.
    6. Mantzari, Elisavet & Georgiou, Omiros, 2019. "Ideological hegemony and consent to IFRS: Insights from practitioners in Greece," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 59(C), pages 70-93.
    7. Ahblom, Per & Sjögren, Ebba, 2019. "Delivering performance: the capital market framing of financial numbers from a preparer perspective," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 102819, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    8. Erb, Carsten & Pelger, Christoph, 2015. "“Twisting words”? A study of the construction and reconstruction of reliability in financial reporting standard-setting," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 40(C), pages 13-40.
    9. Michel Magnan & Garen Markarian, 2011. "Accounting, Governance and the Crisis: Is Risk the Missing Link?," European Accounting Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 20(2), pages 215-231.
    10. Huikku, Jari & Mouritsen, Jan & Silvola, Hanna, 2017. "Relative reliability and the recognisable firm: Calculating goodwill impairment value," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 56(C), pages 68-83.
    11. Mauro, Sara Giovanna & Cinquini, Lino & Pianezzi, Daniela, 2021. "New Public Management between reality and illusion: Analysing the validity of performance-based budgeting," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 53(6).
    12. Brivot, Marion & Cho, Charles H. & Kuhn, John R., 2015. "Marketing or parrhesia: A longitudinal study of AICPA's shifting languages in times of turbulence," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 31(C), pages 23-43.
    13. Carlos Forner & Sonia Sanabria, 2010. "Post-Earnings Announcement Drift in Spain and Behavioural Finance Models," European Accounting Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 19(4), pages 775-815.
    14. Mouritsen, Jan, 2011. "The operation of representation in accounting: A small addition to Dr. Macintosh's theory of accounting truths," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 22(2), pages 228-235.
    15. Puyou, François-Régis, 2014. "Ordering collective performance manipulation practices: How do leaders manipulate financial reporting figures in conglomerates?," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 25(6), pages 469-488.
    16. Solomon, Jill F. & Solomon, Aris & Joseph, Nathan L. & Norton, Simon D., 2013. "Impression management, myth creation and fabrication in private social and environmental reporting: Insights from Erving Goffman," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 38(3), pages 195-213.
    17. Ivo De Loo & Jan Bots, 2018. "The life of an accounting information systems research course," Accounting Education, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 27(4), pages 358-382, July.
    18. Morales, Jérémy & Lambert, Caroline, 2013. "Dirty work and the construction of identity. An ethnographic study of management accounting practices," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 38(3), pages 228-244.
    19. Milana Otrusinová & Eva Hýblová, 2013. "International harmonization of accounting demands a new approach to accounting education," Acta Universitatis Agriculturae et Silviculturae Mendelianae Brunensis, Mendel University Press, vol. 61(2), pages 427-435.

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