Examines Watts and Zimmerman′s Positive Accounting Theory as a literary narrative, as the “PAT story”, in an effort to explain its success in light of the fact that it falls well short of their professed methodological standards. Their use of the rhetoric of science is examined, with...

Addresses the lack of any coherent intellectual perspective for establishing a theory of corporate accountability that is neither extreme right‐wing nor anti‐liberal. Insights derived from Rorty′s Contingency, Irony and Solidarity are employed to develop a new perspective on the...

Considers what role history plays in the US accounting standard‐setting process and how this role may be constrained by an emphasis on objectivity and an adherence to a positivistic view of bureaucratic decision making. Explores the role history could play in the development and review of...