Critically examines the ways in which the boundaries of business ethics are being established within business schools, consulting firms and corporations. Contrasts this official discourse on ethics with an alternative, more socially informed, and potentially disruptive approach to the ethics of...

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...

Studies the relative focus on the balance sheet and income statement in the Journal of Accountancy and The Accounting Review during the period, 1926‐1936. An index number representing the relative focus for each year for each journal was obtained from a content analysis of a sample of pages...

Technical excess in accounting education has always been a source of discontent among educational reformers, however, two recent developments have rendered these deficiencies even more acute. First, intensified competition for traditional audit services has resulted in an increasingly...

This paper examines the historical means by which accountancy, as a mature profession, has sought to expand its practice to new areas of business. Accountancy has long been eager to satisfy perceived client needs, and in so doing foster an ever widening scope for accounting expertise. However,...

The case is made for oral history as a research tool, and a possible role in respect to the accountancy profession is recommended and discussed: the study of the evolution of accounting standards. The collection and preservation of oral records is described. Illustrative examples are provided....

Married couples who elect to file a joint US federal income tax return may possibly benefit from a lowered combined tax burden, but each spouse individually assumes the obligation of joint and several liability, which survives even the dissolution of their marriage. Recognizing that the power...

The association between the extent of pollution disclosures and economic performance of firms belonging to four highly polluting industries — chemicals, steel, oil and paper and pulp is examined. The economic performance is determined by calculating ratios on return of assets, return on equity...