Accounting norms preceded generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP), but little is known about how and why these norms emerged. We hypothesize that private-sector institutions aimed at building a knowledge base among practicing accountants fostered accounting norms before formal...

We develop the hypothesis that culturally evolved accounting principles will be ultimately explained by their consilience with how the human brain has evolved biologically to evaluate social and economic exchange. We provide background on the structure and evolution of the brain, the measurement...

We critically evaluate Sprouse's 1966 Journal of Accountancy article, which prodded the FASB towards a balance-sheet approach. We highlight three errors in this article. First, Sprouse confuses necessary and sufficient conditions by arguing that good accounting systems must satisfy the...

We critically evaluate Sprouse (1966 Journal of Accountancy), which prodded FASB towards a balance sheet approach. We highlight 3 errors in this article. First, Sprouse confuses necessary and sufficient conditions by arguing that good accounting systems must satisfy the balance sheet equation....

In a competitive information market, a single information source can only dominate other sources individually, not collectively. We explore whether earnings announcements constitute such a dominant source using Ball and Shivakumar's (2008) R2 metric: the proportion of the variation in annual...

This study investigates (a) why some IPO firms proactively disclose internal control weaknesses (ICWs) and remediation progress in their prospectuses before going public, despite being exempt from the requirements of Sections 302 and 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act at the time of IPO, and (b) the...