This article induces the pragmatic structure of what financial reporting can be – it does not deduce what financial reporting should be. Empirical studies can show that opportunism is not a feature generally of financial accounting in practice, but challenges exist in the post-Enron era. One...

During the past 50 years micro-economists have argued with practicing accountants about the need for uniformity and uses of current market values in balance sheets. This article argues against this economic authoritarianism, seeking instead to follow the evolution of accounting reporting...