代写留学生硕士Dissertation:The development of internat

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代写留学生硕士论文Assignment 课堂作业 ?
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course work课程作业
Term paper ?学期论文
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Dissertation专题论文（字数多的话）来写作

硕士Dissertation

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这篇论文，老师给我的框架是：
1. Brief introduction on the focus of the study. The question might be 'What has happened to international accounting education and research in the context of the UK and Ireland?' This could also be the title of your dissertation Kexin. Perhaps the subtitle would be 'Analysis of the British Accounting Review Research Register' .

2. Framework: a critical and interpretive approach relying on an interpretive and quantitative content analysis. Outline the key areas you are interested in, e.g. has there been an expansion in international accounting education? has there been an expansion in international accounting research? has there been an increase in publications? what are the main themes of the research? have there been changes in the main themes of international accounting research? have there been changes in the approaches used to study international accounting? My advice is to keep this section brief initially.

3. Literature review: Previous reviews of international accounting education and research developments. We can both look for papers in this area. Can be a relatively brief section.

4. A brief discussion of the UK academic context/global context. Keep very brief.

5. Your main analysis: you can do lots of tables and comment upon them trying to answer the above questions.

6. Summary, conclusion, limitations, future research

7. References and other appendices
我之前写的及老师的评语如下：
老师评语:
The title does not appear to relate to the text. The text itself appears to be a combination of several texts, so that it is not clear what the title would be! There is a useful summary of content analysis that does fit with your title but that is about it. References are not included at the end and in the text you refer to authors by letters (e.g. A (1965)), which is clearly unacceptable. You also refer to various diagrams and charts that are not actually in your document.

The development of international accounting education and research in the context of the UK and Ireland:

Analysis of the British Accounting Review Research Register

Advisor:
Student name:
Student NO.:

Abstract

Content
Introduction-------------------------------------------------------1200------------------------1
Literature Review-------------------------------------------3500----------------
Theories--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Methodology-----------------------------------------2000-----------
Discussion&Limitations------------------------------------6000----------------
Summary and Conclusions------------------------------1200---------------
Appendixes----------------------------------------------------------------------
References-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Abstract
Keywords: International accounting; International accounting education;

Chapter 1 Introduction
From the perspective of market demand,economic globalization driven the internationalization of education. It is not an inevitable trend without people's will. Internationalization of education is an international educational and cultural exchange based on political, economic, legal, cultural, customs, rather than a simple integration. This article focuses on research in the UK accounting system, the international accounting education and research development. In the next chapter, we review the international accounting education and research, and summarizes the status. Then the third chapter, We introduced the Information processing theory and experiential learning theory. Followed by the fourth chapter, this article describes the content analysis. In the fifth chapter, based on Information processing theory and the experiential learning theory, Chapter II summarizes the status of the problem conflicts by using content analysis method. We summarized the full text of recommendations and solutions in the final chapter.

Chapter 2 Literature Review
With the worldwide uniformity of IFRS, recent decades have witnessed continuous reform in accounting education. Summarizing the past literature, this chapter provides an overview of the decades-long reform and development in international accounting education.
2.1 International Accounting
Holt and Hein(1998) deems that international accounting is the research and analysis of accounting principles, methods and guidelines in different countries; Iqbal(2001) holds that international accounting is the highest level of abstraction, which aims at breaking the national boundaries to develop global accounting theory applicable to all countries; Saudagaran (2004) defines international accounting as corporate accounting which is carried out due to business activities beyond national borders. International Financial Standards System (IFRS) has been applied to varying degrees in more than 130 countries and regions in the world (Nikolai, et al., 2009). Walton, et al. (2003) takes accounting globalization as an inevitable trend of development.
2.2 The development of International Accounting Education
In recent decades, business leaders, governments and academia in North America advocates employees to adapt to the increasingly intense global changes in the market (Stolowy, 1998). Stolowy (1998) holds that employees in international companies should receive international accounting education at the backdrop of the internationally popularized IFRS. Paisey (2004) believes that the main task of International Accounting Education Standards Board (IAESB) affiliated to International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) is to formulate the International Education Standard (IES), promoting the international convergence of IES so that accountants’ competence will be improved. On the other hand, Needles(2005) thinks that the training and education model in accounting in universities and technical colleges should be changed; as the training range of traditional accounting education is relatively narrow, students only understand the accounting process with the lack of analytical ability to judge. Students should not only learn from textbook, but also be tempered in practice. Rezaee, Szendi and Elmore (1997) believes that higher education environment has a direct and significant impact on the accounting education. Mcgee (2005) deems that there is no conflict between accounting theory and practice in combination. According to a report entitled "engaged in the accounting profession's /academic preparation" issued by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) in March 1968, it is stated that at least 150 credits are required in university education in order to engage in accounting work. In 1984, AAA set the goal of accounting education to cultivate comprehensively developed accounting talents, as they believe that an important objective of accounting education is to foster the required qualitative for accountants. But the U.S. Accounting Board of Education believes that if students who have not graduated from the accounting profession are allowed to participate in the CPA test, the purpose of accounting education would be changed to make students eligible for the examination with the result that students do not tend to concentrate on their studies in other subjects. In January 1988, the No. 5 public proposal issued by the U.S. Accounting Board of Education suggested that professional licensing examination must be oriented to people with bachelor's degrees.
2.3 Retrospect of the British Accounting Education
Owen,Humphrey and Lewis (1994) holds that the British accounting education takes the lifelong learning as a basic concept in education. Hoque (2006)believes ACCA in the UK is considered as the legal qualification of accountants. The undergraduate curriculum in the United Kingdom is linked with the ACCA examinations and adjusted accordingly with changes in the ACCA examination subjects and content. Therefore the accounting graduates can enjoy partial exemption of courses. For example, according to the agreement on mutual recognition of credits reached between ACCA and Oxford Brookes University , students can obtain an undergraduate degree in Accounting after passing 9 courses of ACCA and presenting a later approved paper. Additionally, in order to become ACCA members, students must pass 14 ACCA professional examinations and obtain three years of financial and accounting-related work experience. The three-year relevant work experience can be accumulated prior to, during and after the examination, with no confinement of regions, industries, company / organization properties. Smith(2003) considers that ACCA is a founding member of the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) as well as a member of the international Federation of Accountants (IFAC). ACCA supports the development of IAESB. For example, in 2007 ACCA and IAAER International Education jointly launched a research project in international education, while ACCA will provide 25,000 U.S. dollars in funding for five research projects respectively.
2.4 Retrospect of International accounting research
In 1963, the Possibility Theorem of Arrow presentation, people has gradually come to recognize that the best accounting principles and accounting practices could not exist in the world. In this case, the decision-usefulness view should be presented. In 1966, the American Accounting Association (AAA) based on accounting theory first proposed a decision-usefulness view in Astatement of Basic Accounting Theory. The view is that: if we cannot provide accurate financial statements in theory, at least to make history cost statements more useful. In 1968, the U.S. accounting scholars and P1 Jane Powell and Gordon Brown delivered a speech entitled "Empirical evaluation of accounting data" , the dissertation marks the birth of Positive Accounting Research. Since the seventies, Watts and Zimmerman, represented a large number of accounting academics fruitful pioneering empirical accounting research, which makes the empirical accounting research has been the gradual recognized and developmental. In the eighties, "Positive Accounting Theory" (Watts and Zimmerman, 1986) marked the empirical accounting research into the mainstream of financial accounting research. Positivist believes that a meaningful propositions can be accepted, at least in principle, experience can be verified.
K considered that the positive accounting researchers criticize traditional normally accounting research, which involved a lot of value judgments, only concerned with the normative proposition, in order to explore accounting "should be what" questions. So, those are lack of explanatory power and predictive power, therefore it is "unscientific." Empirical accounting research only concerned about "what" question. Not involve value judgments, the accounting researchers also were criticized fiercely. They believe that the process of accounting research cannot be completely ruled out value judgments. Watts and Zimmer Mann also admitted that the researchers in the establishment of an inevitable process of accounting theory with a subjective and arbitrary and the choice of research topics and theoretical models are subject to accounting researchers to establish their own values impact (Watts, Zimmerman's book, 2006) . Therefore, who is actually more conducive between accounting research in the normative research and empirical research is being explored by many scholars.
2.5 Summary and Evaluation

Based on the above literature review, first of all we can see that with the popularization of international accounting standards, the International Accounting Education underwent great changes in order to adapt to international trends. Large international companies have disclosed the annual reports in light of IFRS, what they need are employees who can adapt and triumph in the fierce competition of the global market environment. So employees need to have accounting training constantly in accordance with the international accounting trends. To this end, IFAC established IAESB specifically responsible for IES so as to improve the competence of accountants. On the other hand, the accounting reform is reflected in the popularization of higher education among accounting practitioners. Many scholars believe that the traditional model of accounting education in the workplace is not conducive to the development of students. Besides learning accounting in written forms, students need more accounting practices. Secondly, the UK accounting educational philosophy coincides with the United States, taking the accounting education as a life-long education. ACCA qualification as a British legal accountant exam is a member of IFAC and it supports the establishment of international education and development. In view of the ACCA examination structure, we can see that the UK accounting education is different from that of the United States, the United Kingdom combines accounting teaching with practice, which is complementary to contradictories. With members of IAESB spreading throughout the world, the global accounting education would receive international attention and support. During these decades, different nations in order to adapt to the global development continuously reform their accounting education. Then the dissertation will based on the accounting education, while using the content analysis method, to analyze the international accounting education development in these decades, whether the scope of accounting education will be change, whether Accounting Education and Research will be changed and whether the direction of international accounting education and research content will be changed as well as whether the ways of international accounting education will be changed. This dissertation will dip in to the above questions in later chapters.

Chapter 3 Theories
A (1990) defines the information processing theory as a process specifically used to explain how people’s internal activities such as detection, attention, recognition, conversion, memory affect the absorption and application of knowledge in different environment. When faced with a "new message stimulus", human sense organs would first "pay attention" to and receive the external stimulus, which must have some special features to catch people’s attention. Moreover, during the information processing process, individuals store the message through selection and filtering in the "short-term memory area", where the message transforms into semantically image after encoding and combines with former relevant knowledge. While the former knowledge is stored in the "long-term memory area", where people retrieve the relevant data by some kind of memory clues, and the data obtained will then be sent back to the "short-term memory area". After the processing work in the short-term memory area is over, the result of human "inferences and judgments", that is, the new message will be stored back in the long-term memory and the final "behavioral response" will be entered. The "short-term memory area" where current-related information is stored in memory for people to postulate and judge. Additionally the message stored here is the temporary, which will be promptly updated with every entry of new message.
Information processing system enables the externally stimulated message to be accepted by our sense organs and immediately transformed into nerve impulses, which is sent to the sensory register in the central brain for a very short stay (about 1 / 2 seconds for visual sense) and then through selective perception, such as selection and filtering, to be stored in short-term memory area. After message encoding in the short-term memory, the messages then are converted to semantic or mental images in form, which is later combined with our former knowledge, and finally stored in long-term memory area. When individuals need to retrieve the message from the long-term memory area, it is often through some kind of memory clues to get the relevant data which is later sent back to the short-term memory area to explain, convert, integrate the messages, and then into the response generator to compose the reaction series like language, words or actions and finally guide the actuators, such as hands, feet, mouth and so on, to respond to the external environment. Processing without entering the memory area but directly through the long-term memory to the formation device is known as automation. Later, Gagne (1965) sums up the information processing theory into three characteristics: first, information processing is phrasal; second, the functions in various stages are different; third, the message handling is interactive.
Information processing boasts a very broad scope of study, taking the priority in information selection during the process. It is held by H (1980) that the primary work of human learning is to receive messages, in which how to focus and select information the focus is. Next, attention will affect the results of information processing. K (1976) deems the attention as an internal ability or process reflected in the response to the selected one or more external stimuli or internal psychological events. As the prerequisite of learning, a number of incentives will be received at every moment only to get a few responses.
The impact of Information Processing theory on Accounting Education
First of all, it can be seen from the information processing mode that students in the learning process are neither passively receiving messages from the external environment or making mechanical response to external stimuli. S (1980) thinks that as long as the learner can take the initiative and active learning, he will be able to express, select, interpret and organize the message.
Moreover, all the cognitive activities are subject to a higher-level cognitive process, which is called meta-cognition (Flavell, 1979). While commenting on the literature exploring students’ cognitive learning, Shuell (1986) pointed out that the normal study usually involves two kinds of higher-level cognitive processes. One is about the planning, organization, coordination, command and supervision of a variety of learning activities such as messages received in planning and prediction, speculation and supervision of the learning process and so on. The other is the understanding of individual's learning materials and learning strategies, for example, whether the material is grasped and whether the processes and steps are complete or not.
Finally, according to Wittrock’s (1974) generative learning model, he argues that learners, prior to learning a new teaching materials, should have relevant knowledge or skills as the basis for new learning. R. Gagne (1985) calls this pre-requisite knowledge or skill, and takes it as the internal condition for effective learning. In accounting teaching, we must consider whether the content is suitable for students to learn or check the capability of students before teaching.
Experiential learning refers to the process in which a person constructs knowledge, learns skills, and enhances his self-esteem directly through personal experience (AEE 1995).
School experiential learning refers to the students’ engagement of various activities under the teacher’s guidance to learn, to experience, and to convert the experience in activities into practical life skills, and then apply them in real life. Therefore, experiential learning differs from the general teacher-based classroom instruction in that the former is student-centered, stimulating students to learn by themselves.
Kraft & Sakofs (1985) hold that the process of experiential learning has the following characteristics: First, learners in the learning process must be active participants rather than spectators. Next, teachers in the learning activitie are advised to take the leading role, offering assistance when necessary. Learning activities must stimulate personal motivation and promote stduents’ active learning and active participation with a full sense of responsibility. Then the result of learing activities is presented to the learner. Only in these ways can learning activities will be true and meaningful. Moreover, reflection is a determining factor in sustainable learning. Last but not least, emotion changes are closely linked with the trainees themselves, as well as the present and future of their respective groups. Therefore, learners should maintain a good relationship with other members.

Pod, Cohen and Wu Falk (D. Boud, Cohen & D. Walker, 1993) put forward a five-point basic propositions about experiential learning:

The first experience is the basis for the stimulation of learning. Learning and experience are inseparable as all learning is built on the experience. Learning activities do not commence until the learner’s experience mechanism is initiated no matter what the external forces are. Experience plays both positive and negative roles in learning. On the one hand, past experience promotes new learning and even stimulates learners to explore new environment. On the other hand, it may also hinder new learning. But as long as there is any meaningful experience, there will be motivation to learn. So the experience is the basis to stimulate students to learn. Secondly, learners take the initiative to construct their own experience. Due to the individual learner's unique past experience, each experience may have different interpretations, i.e. when a group of people are doing the same work, the learner may have the intention to share with others his experience, and the vice versa. But different individuals when engaged in the same activity of learning may construct experience differently, because learners will fuse their own expectations, knowledge, attitudes and emotions into the incident, thus affecting the interpretation of the incident and experience in construction. Third, learning is a holistic process. Learning involves the transformation of experience, which is carried out as a whole. For learners, experience is a holistic approach in work. Fourth, learning is a social and cultural construction of experience, i.e. learners construct the value of their experience in the particular social context and cultural norms, being unable to leave the environment and to remove the influence of social context and cultural norms. The social and cultural access is a kinds of learning, in other words, learning is the process of social and cultural experience construction, and the greatest impact of society and culture on learning is fulfilled by languages. Fifth, the influcence of emotions in learning. There are two important factors affecting the learning activities, namely, "past experience" and " whether one gets support or not." As the past experience would affect the current expectations, learners will bring these experience into their emotions. If they get timely support and trust, they will be able to overcome the negative effects with the courage to make a difference from the past behavior and thinking. On the contrary, the motivation to learn will be suppresses in the lack-of-trust environment.

Another two factors affecting learning is “confidence” and “self-esteem”. It is of vital importance to let learners have confidence in themselves so that they will engage in learning activities, or in other words, it is only in the environment where learners have self-esteem can they give full play to the learning efficiency, Therefore, teachers’ moderate respect to learners and the respect and trust between learners will greatly influence learning.

Experience will enables the follow-up accounting study, and the fact is that learning is the continuous restructuring and reform of experience.
Linderman considers that adult education should emphasize personal experience, and take the exchange and exploration of experience as the aim. The achievement of this goal can be carried out by way of discussion. In his view, common exploration and interpretation of experience is the best way of adult education. The real education should lay equal emphasis on practice and thinking. For this end, he proposes that "experience is a living textbook for adult learners," and "curriculum and teaching methods should be based on adults’ experience". John Dewey put forward that "education is for life", "education is the continuous transformation or restructuring of experience"," education and growth, " taking education as the continuous transformation or restructuring of experience. D. Kolb holds that experiencial learning is the basis of adult education, emphasizing the experience of learners, practical orientation of non-traditional students in learning, while experiencial method is just in line with their practical learning orientation. Jarvis (1987) believes that not all experience occurrs in social situations. R. Usher, I. Bryant, and R. Johnston point out that learning is the dynamic interaction of experience and learning process rather than simply a derivation from experience. Tennant and Pogson (1995) indiacats that the combination of experience and learning is not the same in teaching. On the one hand, the teaching materials are linked with learners’ past experience. Once the students’ experience is known to teachers, the latter can link the learning materials with learners’ experience through the integrated similarity comparison, logical deduction and application. One of the major challenges of teachers is to understand how learners get some new understanding based on their past expriene. Second, the intergration of the learning content with the current experience of learners, i.e. the focal point should be transferred from the continuity of learning and experience to the interaction between learing and experience. Dewey (1963) thinks that every occurrence of each experience and the experience per se will change the individual's actions and behavior. Third, the use of simulation , games and role-playing to create the experience. In order to create new experience, teachers can design some group activities to make the experience a learning activity, the common feature of which is the opportunity to share experiences as the group learning material. It is through the active participation of people in experience and analysis that learning occurs. This experience usually comes from the complex world of practice, much the same as the occurance of learning experience is often unpredictable. What experience participants will bring into the activities can not be expected and the most important principle is to stimulate participation and interaction. Nor can the interaction situation be expected. Fourth, reflection enables experience into an important learning resource. To take the past experience as a an important resource for learning, Pod, g-fu and Wu Falk (Boud, Keogh & Walker, 1985) and others have pointed out two elements in experiential learning, namely "experience" and "reflection on the experience." Later they change the above point to " integrating reflection into experience and placing learning on the basis of experience " which means "experience is reflection and the vice versa] " (Boud & Walker ,1992:167-168) . Individuals can not and should not separate experience from the current affairs. When the experience is taking place, we should seize the reflective elements. Bode and Miss Stewart believe that it is essential to utilize the interaction between the environment and learners. They point out that to achieve this goal, there are two elements, namely (a) notice: individuals coming to understand the environment or being concerned about some special things as the focus of reflection; (b) intervention: individual taking action in the incident.

Chapter 4 Methods
Methodology
This paper describes the changes and trends of international accounting education in these years by the content analysis method. Berelson (1952) holds that the content analysis method refers to the research technique describing the explicitly defined communication content in an objective, systematic and quantitative way. H (1990) thinks that the content analysis is a systematic and objective description of the information. K (1992) defines the content analysis as the systematic, objective and quantitative study of the dissemination of information as well as the extrapolation of the relationship between information and its environment. W (2000) believes that the content analysis method is a system program used to check the information. K (1998) takes the content analysis as a research method for the purpose of measuring variables and analyzing communication in a systematic, objective and quantitative way.
S (1990) holds that the content analysis method has the following advantages: a. A relatively objective research method. Content analysis is a standard method with very clear and comprehensive definitions, operational rules and categories, which requires researchers to carry out the procedures based on the pre-set plan; researchers are not likely to influence the subjective attitude of the findings; different researchers or the same researcher should come to the same conclusion at different time while repeating this process; if there is any difference in conclusion, we must look into the research process. b. Structural Research. With a clear objective, content analysis takes such a high degree of control over the analysis process that all participants should execute and operate in accordance with pre-arranged procedure. The biggest advantage of structuring lies in the convenience of the result quantification and statistical analysis as well as the ease in computer simulation and the processing of relevant data. c. Non-contact study. Content analysis takes things rather than people as the object, with no interaction between researchers and objects. Nor will the objects respond to the researchers. As the subjective attitude of researchers will not easily interfere with the object of study, this non - contact research study is relatively high in efficiency compared with that of contact research study. d. Combination of quantitative and qualitative analysis. This is the fundamental advantage of content analysis which takes the qualitative research as a
prerequisite to identify the quantative features that reflect the nature of literature content and to transform it into quantitative data. However, quantitative data just transforms the feature confirmed by qualitative analysis into mathematical language. No matter how perfect the data is, it only reflects their understanding of things but not substitutes for qualitative research. So this advantage enables a more profound, accurate and comprehensive understanding of "quality" in the literature to come to scientific, complete and factual conclusions and to obtain relationships and regularities hard to find in general qualitative analysis. e. Revealation of the hidden contents of the literature. Content analysis reveals the nature of the literature content, identifies the objective fact and trends in past few years, traces the trajectory of academic development, describes the course of academic development; and finds out the pros and cons of the literature content based on standard documents. Secondly, it reveals the publication techniques, strategies, measures the readability of the content of documents, finds out the author's personal style, distinguishes different types of literature genre characteristic of the period, reflects the attitude, interests, access to politial, military and economic intelligence of individuals and groups, and reveals the focus of public' attention and so on.
Content analysis can be divided into 3 types: hermeneutic content analysis, empirical content analysis and computer content analysis. First of all, the hermeneutic content analysis is a method which helps to convey the author's intentions through intensive reading, understanding and interpretation of texts. This in-depth approach emphasizes the original meaning of the real, objective, and comprehensive text, being applicable to case studies oriented to facts description. But due to the inevitable subjectivity of researchers and the unicity of research subjects, the results of the analysis is often considered to be random, difficult to prove, and therefore lacks universality. Secondly, the empirical content analysis is the combination of both the quantitative content analysis and the qualitative content analysis. It divides the text into specific categories, and then calculates the frequency of the elements’ appearance in each category and describes the significant content features. This method is objective, systematic and quantitative in characteristic. Finally, the computer content analysis method uses computer technology to conduct content analysis, featuring rapidness and accuracy.

k (1980) believes that the content analysis is of three forms: ① describing communication tendency and characteristics ② describing the trend in changes of communication content③comparing content features of different samples. K (1980) also summarizes three research purposes. The first purpose is to compare the disseminated information with the social reality. The value of content analysis is to describe the content trend, and more importantly to help us understand and explain social reality.

The second objective is to speculate the information disseminators’ attitude. It is assumed by researchers that in most cases, the media information, to a certain degree, naturally reflects the attitude of the media or communicator. The third purpose is to speculate the communicaton effect in view of the media content. While other theories of communication indicates that the media content does no extert a direct but a conditional impact on the audiences. Not until the attitude of the audience be in line with the original agreement and the original cognitive structures can the opportunities of identifing media content be increased, thereby affecting the audience.

The general process of content analysis is as follows: First of all, it is necessary to confirm research goals. Content analysis can be used for a variety of research work for different objectives. The main types consist of trend analysis, status analysis, comparative analysis, and intention analysis. Next, the projects and standards should be desclassified in accordance with research. There are two basic methods of designing analysis dimensions and categories, one using a ready-made analysis dimension system and the other tbeing designed by reseachers in light of the research objectives. The first method is to let two people, in accordance with the same standard. independently categorize dimensions and types for the same purpose and then to calculate their reliability and accordingly discuss the standards, and recatalogerize them until they reach a basic understanding of the system dimension. Finally, it is necessary to let them catagorize several new materials with this system and calculate their reliability. If the results are satisfactory, the system can used to catagorize the rest of the material. The second method is to familiarize the relevant analysis of materials, and on this basis to carry out the preliminary analysis of the development dimension and then try it out to understand its feasibility, applicability and legitimacy. Afterwards, revision and trial shall be carried out until a relatively stronge objective analysis dimension is developed. Thirdly, material for analysis is extracted. Sampling work includes two aspects: one is to define the overall sampling and the other is to extract representative samples from the whole. There are three commonly used sampling methods for content analysis, namely, source sampling, date sampling and analysis unit sampling. Next follows the quantification process. Quantification means a process digitalizing the samples from their original forms, including reviwing records and conducting reliability analysis. And then follows the reliability analysis. The reliability of content analysis refers to such degree of unity of evaluation results that the above two or more than two researchers evaluate the same material with the same dimension, which is a vital benchmark for ensuring the reliability and objectivity of the content analysis result. Finally it is necessary to describe the features and mutual relations of dimension analysis (category), and to compare them on basis of the research objectives so as to come to the conclusion of the trends or characteristics, or similarities and differences of the research objects.
S considers the ontology is to probe whether there is a abstract basis not depending on the real world behind everything that exists in this world. Thespiritual or material things have their own abstract basis or not. K considersthat a physical reality means the real world we can sense, while the me-
taphysic refers the reason behind the world we sense is abstract ,
not sensible, and exits as the basis of the sensible world. Ontology is to probe the basis of the metaphysic of the the concrete-sense world.
S considers epistemology is the philosophy doctrine that probes the nature and the structure of human cognition , the relationship between cognition and objective being , the prerequisite and the basis of cognition, the occurrence, the process of the development of the cognition and it’s rules, the truth standard of the cognition and so on .The mentalism’s epistemology denies the objective existence of the physical world and persists in the cognitive lines from consciousness to material. Agnostic denies that the exist of the objective world can be cognized. S considers that epistemology of the materialist insists on the cognitive lines from material to consciousness and the exist of the objective world , emphasizes that cognition is a reflection of the people to the objective being and affirms the world can be cognized. Dialectical materialist’s epistemology makes the practice as the cognition base further , and uses the dialectics into epistemology.
Burrell and Morgan (1979) then analyzed the nature of social science methodology, classified positivism and naturalism into the two main research approaches with "object" and "subject" , and made the basic assumption respectively with ontology, realism, naturalism, treory of human nature, adding the compared illustratation (Figure 1). In 1985, Hopper and Powell, according to research result on the classification of the research organization by Burrell and Morgan published in 1979, brought forward the classification of the four quadrants on the accounting research . The classification consists of two dimensions, one of which is used to represent subjective - objective continuum merged into four aspects of the assumptions about ontological , epistemology ,the theory of human nature and the methodology and so on, and one extreme of the dimension is representative of objectivism, the other is subjectivism; the other dimension is to show accounting researcher 's attitude on the accounting research , an extreme of which is accounting researcher concern rules and the creation of social order, while the other one is that accounting researchers pay more attention on the social conflict and qualitative change of social potential. Based on the two dimensions above, Hopper and Powell divided Accounting Research into three types: the mainstream Accounting Research, interpretative accounting research and critical accounting research, as shown in Figure 2. the so-called "mainstream accounting research" refers to empirical accounting research, which began with an objective view of society and is objective and external to the researchers, thus its main concern is the accounting function rather than the result, abiding by the value and neutral;
the so-called "interpretative accounting research" refers to the standard accounting research, which began with an subjective view of society, and it considers beings socially to be created and to be objective through human contact , thereby the main concern is the interpretation of the accounting practice activities of social nature, resorting value judgment. That which kind of accounting research methods belonging to "mainstream accounting research", depends on the environmental context of the national accounting research and its tual development situation.
Chapter 5 analysis
From diagram 1, we can see that the number of members of IFAC is increasing every year from 1977 to 2007. The number of 2007 is nearly two times of that of 1997, from the beginning 63 members to 158. And the IFAC is the subordinate institution of IFAC, that is, the number of countries who are in support of the international accounting education is increasing every year.
Diagram 2 makes a comparison of the Institute of Chartered Accountants between England and Wales, the aim of continuing education of the certificated public accountants between English ICAEW and Irish ICAEW. The ICAEW of England and Wales emphasize that the continuing education is to ensure, or to maintain and enhance or to improve their professional competence. British Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) stresses that the continuing education of the certified public accountants is to maintain the moral ability that they should have; the Ireland Institute of Chartered Accountants (CICA) stresses that they should maintain, deepen and expand their professional competency. From the different aims of Certified Public Accountants’ continuing education in different countries above, the difference is that the aim of the continuing education is to ensure or maintain the professional competence of Certified Public Accountants. The IFAC believes that all the professional accountants should promise to have lifelong learning and maintain their competence in their career. But it does not clearly define the fields where they should maintain their professional competence. And the CPD emphasizes that the people in accounting profession should keep on learning in order to serve the public interest and the CPD can increase the professional competence of the accountants.
From diagram 4, we can see that different countries have different specific requirements of the hours and credits for the continuing education of the accountants. For example, the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants (CGAAC) prescribes that each member must have 100 hours’ course of continuing learning within 3 years. Spain prescribes that after becoming the member of the Spanish Institute of Chartered Accountants (ICAJCE), each member should at least attend 30 hours course of the follow-up education training every year. And about the courses, half of them are about accounting, auditing, tax law and other conventional curriculum and another half of them are special topics course. Whether it is face-to face teaching, distance education or the audio-visual or self study, all of these have a unified provision of learning hours. In Japan, the follow-up education system prescribes that individual members and associate membership must finish more than 40 time units of obligatory follow-up education. In China, every two year is an examining cycle for the accountants’ continuing education. That is, from the January 1 of the starting year to December 31 of the following year. In each examination cycle, the accumulated hours of the continuing education should be at least credit 80 hours of organized from of learning, and each year should be not less than 30 hours. In each cycle, the training of professional ethics should be not less than 4 credit hours. From the follow-up education time of Certified Public Accountant in various countries, we can see that the difference is not big.
From diagram 5, we can find that the form of continuing learning can be divided into two types, organized one and non-organized one, but its specific content is different. The opinion daft for “Continuing Professional Education Outline Announcement” which was published in February 2002 in America, explicitly advocated two kinds of learning which include organized learning and spontaneous learning. In organized learning activity, organizers are responsible for delivering learning programs to the final users by various forms, such as workshops, seminars, etc. In Spontaneous one, the learning activity is put forward and completed without the organizer’s help. The Certified Public Accountants Association of Canada mainly adopt the following methods and measures for continuing vocational education training, such as classroom education seminars organization, multimedia and video tapes, network or telephone teaching. Furthermore, they specially invite experts and professors to do academic lectures touring around all kinds of places, and the lectures are attended by class permits which are bought by companies. Each year they also held a meeting with the provincial chapters to discuss continuing education and vocational education. The forms of Japanese continuing education can be divided into intensive training, self-study, compiling professional books and teaching in the training class, etc. Centralized training includes training class or seminars organized by association, training in-firm, self-focused training organized by members of association. Self-study includes the learning in specified articles, professional books and participation in academic activities, The Self-learning CPA s are required to submit learning experiences by fax or e-mail. The compiled professional books usually refer to books and papers on CPA which can be purchased and reports written for attending various seminars. Teaching in training class usually refers to the teaching which is commissioned by associations, firms, and spontaneous training class. China continuing education training organization includes Chinese Certified Public Accountants Association and local Certified Public Accountants Association , training class, seminars, academic report, organized by training institution inside and outside of china, forum, professional seminars and experience-sharing sessions sponsored or approved by Chinese Certified Public Accountants Association or the local Certified Public Accountants Association, in –firm training approved by local Certified Public Accountants Association, continuing education and training of Certified Public Accountant approved by continuing education and training of Certified Public Accountant and provided by distance education living broadcast and other form approved by Chinese Certified Public Accountants Association or the local Certified Public Accountants Association. The non-organized continuing education trainings include publishing professional books and papers, being a teacher, master and speaker in Continuing education of Certified Public Accountants, participation in quality inspection, committing research approved by professional academic bodies, industry associations, government departments, professional organizations above the city level then acquiring to research results, continuing education and training of Certified Public Accountant approved by continuing education and training of Certified Public Accountant and provided by distance education, practice in overseas firms and self-study followed by CD and textbook made by Chinese Certified Public Accountants Association or the local Certified Public Accountants Association.
Each country has the stipulation about the surveillance of member continuation education training. The main contents are as follows: one of them is the provision for the storage of continuation education certification and its related data. If it requests the member to take care of the related proof, the storage life is usually varied from 2 years to 10 years. (see diagram 6) the Hong Kong Institute of Accountants stipulates that it can be kept for 2 years, ACCA for 3 years, CICAI for 5 years, AICPA for 10 years. ICAEW provides that the training proof issued by the Accounting firm must be reserved by the Accounting firm, while AICPA provides that the provider of continuing professional education must take care of the related data.
Diagram 7 is the comparison of the stipulation about the inspection on the carrying on the training of continuing professional education. All associations make their requirements on the inspection, but they are not exactly the same. Some of them such as ACCA, ICAEW and Institute of Charted Accountant in Australia adopt means of the inspection and spot-check to inspect the execution of the training of continuing professional education. Others take the way that members declare by themselves and associations randomly choose some of them to check. For example, it stipulates that it is examined by the association of charted accountants in Holland; it is randomly inspected by registration department in Hong Kong; it is checked by council of the association in Canada. Another provision is about the request for the provider of continuing professional education. AICPA proposes rules to the provider of continuing professional education to strengthen training quality.
The seven diagrams above show us each country has a set of complete system in accountant continuing education. Various countries act differently according to own national condition, and IES is not a compulsory implementation criterion. Various accountant environments, different cultural and political contexts, and many other factors cause system in accountant continuing education of each nation accountant to be different. Diagram 1 manifests that the number of country which supports international accounting education increases year by year and the coverage of international accounting education expands year by year. Whether international accounting education can be unified or not has not been known yet. However, the unification of international education criterion will inevitably bring some advantages and disadvantages. International well-known major industries nowadays basically disclose financial reporting every year according to IFRS. What they need is the accounting personnels who can unceasingly understand the dynamic current of international accounting. The goal of IAESB is to maintain certificated public accountants’ specialized competent ability. They follow closely to the latest dynamic current of international accounting to formulate IES. But unification of international accounting education criterion like IFRS also faces many hindrances. At present accounting system of each country is different. The goal of accounting postulates, basic principles and methods of accountant, the type, the form and the establishment method of financial reporting, the accounting terminology meaning and so on also vary. Besides, the different economic system, the various economical macroeconomic regulation and controlling way of governments, diverse organizational structures of enterprise, distinct raising fund's main channels and the ways of the enterprise and accountant goals in different countries all contribute to the hindrances of unifying the criterion. For example, France implements the market economic system guided by plans. The country carries on the widespread adjustments, interventions and plans to the national economy; the nationalization of enterprise has more proportion; enterprise outside capital mainly depends on bank. This economic system environment has decided that goal of accounting standards in France stresses on satisfying the need of government macroeconomic regulation and control, and emphasizing to protect and to meet creditor's requests. The U.S. market economic system is representative free market. Under this kind of system, private ownership enterprises are in a dominant position. Although the stock limited corporations are in the minority in quantity, their income accounts for 87% in total Operating Income of all kinds of enterprises. In addition, stock market is extremely well developed. This economic environment determines the aim of the U.S. accounting standards is to meet the needs of economic decision-making of investors and creditors, particularly to protect the interests of securities investors. The ways of formulating accounting postulates also vary owing to the legal difference as well as the different role of government. US apply the UK-US legal system and the free-market economy system, so it uses the accounting postulates which are formulated by non-governmental accounting professional bodies. Forms of financial reporting are different. The form of property debt table in France are different from that in the US and Japan: The arrangement way is happen to opposite with the US. In the asset-side, it take s the intangible asset as the first item, other items are the fixed asset, the investment, the current assets and the deferred item in turn. As for stakeholder, it arranges the ownership interest at the first half part, the debt the other part. The indication way is also different: all asset items are stated in forms of the total amount and the depreciation allowance and the net worth are counted as an unattached column. France's statement of profit and loss emphasizes the financial expenses compared with UK’s and US’s. According to the request of 4th instruction of European Economic Community, the statement of profit and loss project divides into: (1) business income and expense; (2) financial revenue and expense; (3) extreme project; (4) tax money. The project classification of French property debt table is also very unique compared with countries like US, Japan and so on. For example, it takes the fixed asset as part of the long-term investment; it takes project to Affiliate Company’s loan and other loans as the content of long-term investment. In the aspect of debt, it does not make the long and short term division, but it classifies according to the nature of debt, converging all loans (debt) one kind, converging the accounts payable funds (debt) one kind, and converging sundry creditor another. As a result of influence of different accounting goal and the traditional custom, constitution of financial reporting in various countries has remarkable differences. US take financial report system facing investors. Besides property debt table, income statement and statement of retained earnings, financial report also includes financial inventory accounting the goal relating to cash flow indicator, the comprehensive income table and so on. But France’s financial report, besides general property debt table, income statement, fund statement, includes some noticeable social reports. It manifests that French accounting is characterized to face the government and society. Therefore, unifying the criterion of accounting education is quite difficult.
What’s more, diagram 5 indicates the accountant continuing education patterns in various countries. The accountant continuing education in most countries is carried on through the form of traditional teaching. According to experiential learning, experience is good for the study of the accountant continuing education. The study is in fact the unceasing reorganization and transformation of experience. Some of the trainees in accountant continuing education must have work experience. Thus, theoretical study can be integrated into the practice teaching activity according to the actual conditions. While strengthening the accounting profession elementary theory, the teacher should pay special attention to improve students’ accountant practical skill. In addition, each student's foundation is different, and the teacher may carry on the classified teaching according to student's varying situations. As for undergraduate students in college, many schools have provided the simulation laboratory, and the student can contact some real primitive accounting data in the simulation laboratory. The student deepens the perceptual knowledge and enhances operating ability through operating by himself. Because the simulation and the practice have the disparity after all, now universities in many countries encourage students to participate in social practice. They realize the better union of book knowledge and practice knowledge through internship.
Internship is good for unifying the practice and the education. The purpose of internship is to encourage the participation of all the students. The students can receive the education from different angles and levels so that they can improve themselves through internship. It is advantageous for the school organization to expand profit coverage, and it does not lose rigorousness of activity; it is convenient for the arrangement, and it is easy to inspect; it has the unity, and it is also flexible; it has the universality, and it is also stratified. The student analyzes the need of social reality and discovers his own deficiencies through internship. Internship can also help the student learn the theory from union of the theory and practice. Moreover, what the company needs is not theoretical staff. It needs employees with work experience who can help solute actual problems. Internship is one way for students to get experience. Of course, internship has defects. Many students start practicing too early, and the knowledge they have learnt can be competent in the job. Thus, they spend too much time in internship which affects the normal studies.
Chart 8 shows the tendency of the quantity of publications from journal of accounting education from the year of 1984 to 2008. As is described in the chart we can see that the year of 1989 boasts of the most publications numbered 52 while the year of 2007 the least numbered 15. From 1990 to 1995, the quantity of publications coming out from the journal goes in a smooth way while since 1996 publications from the journal have decreased with 48 articles in 1996 and 17 ones in 2001. This tells us that the quantity of accounting research and education develops in a decreasing way. A lot of articles will be eliminated because these articles were general or relatively poor, although many articles were received. while the articles of high quality rarely published in the magazine decrease.
Then, in accordance with the different attributes of articles, we extracted articles published from 2004 to 2008 and divided them into 6 categories (as in chart 9). Since 2004 the quantity of main articles decreased, with the largest, 14 ones in 2004 occupying 58.33 percent of all publications and with the smallest in 2008 occupying 23.81 percent of all. Teaching and educational notes go up, with the least, 1 article in 2004 and the most, 7 ones in 2007; there is subtle difference between that of 2007 and of 2008 with the most case studies occupying 50 percent of the articles of the sort. Of all the categories, those of main articles are the most occupying 49.49 percent of all and they are followed by teaching and educational notes occupying 21.21 percent and those of case study are 6 occupying 6.06 percent.
From chart 10 we can figure out that the proportion of cooperating research is bigger than that of single one, yet among the formers the majority takes place in the same country, which indicates that the tran-regional united research has become a new tendency of accounting research.
According to chart 11, observing and descriptive approaches still play the most important role. And we can find from the chart that of the essays appearing from 1984 to 1993, those adopting observing and descriptive approaches occupy one third, which indicates research upon accounting education before 1993 still sticks to objective description of phenomena rather than doing research. Besides, high-level research approaches have developed quickly in recent years and theoretical development and dissertation research is representative of relatively high-level research. Although, analyzed from the situation of the last four years, these two approaches occupy 75 percent and 66 percent of all respectively, it indicates research on international accounting is advancing toward high-level orientation. Thirdly, research approach of demonstration is on its way to substitute regular research approaches. We can see from the chart that the latter is decreasing gradually in the 1990s while the former increases at a high speed in the meantime with essays on it occupying 56 percent of all the essays of the sort.
From chart 8-11 we can see presently the quantity of accounting educational research reduces and that of teaching and educational notes amounts. International research occupies a low proportion of all the accounting educational research, which indicates that research, focuses on the guidelines and regulations of teaching and education. And research of dissertation accounting and regular accounting play the most important roles in the accounting research.
In accounting theoretical research, most accounting scholars agree that research of dissertation accounting mainly gives the answers to what accounting is and that, while doing accounting research one should get rid of or dispel all the value judgments and simply take the relationship among the accounting processing programs in the operation of accounting information system; and that regular accounting research generally focuses answering what accounting should be and thus in most cases it is concerned with certain value judgments some regulations need to be put forward as the standards of accounting processing and foundations of accounting policies. That is to say, the canonic forms of normative accounting research are as follows. First, to research and analyze a large amount of accounting practices and conclude from them excellent and ideal ones so as to make them standards of guiding accounting practices afterwards. Second, normative accounting research, instead of staying still in the existing accounting regulations, tries to indicate what excellent accounting practices are like in terms of logics. Third, normative accounting research mainly adopts deductive methods while, rather than dispel induction, starting from certain basic connotations generated from induction and deducting the basic regulations and approaches of accounting, thus working out accounting programs and basic approaches accordingly to instruct accounting practices. The most authoritative explanation of “dissertation” comes from “dissertation research school” (namely Rochester school). In accordance with the explanations of Watts and Zimmerman----representatives of dissertation accounting school, “dissertation” originates from dissertation economics and the reason for naming the research “dissertation accounting research” is mainly to distinguish it from the existing conventional normative accounting research. Dissertation accounting research is consisted two related parts or phases, theoretical dissertation and experienced dissertation. The theoretical dissertation aims to offer a basic system to make theoretical and logical analysis and interpretation to the accounting practice in the real sense. And it includes three basic elements, basic hypothesis in terms of accounting issues, a set of logical and systematic reasoning mechanisms and approaches as well as eventual theoretical conclusions. Besides, it also includes three tightly related approaches including putting forward theoretical hypothesis, setting analytic modes and carrying on logical reasoning and testifying. Experienced dissertation refers to the progress of experienced test imposed on the conclusion resulted from theoretical dissertation. When the experienced practices conform to theoretical conclusions, the theories should be justified and wielded until they are disproved by experiences while in terms of the theoretical conclusions directly disproved by experiences, the original theoretical hypothesis must be modified gradually and theoretical and experienced dissertations should be rendered once more. Both normative accounting research and positive accounting research boast of specific functions that resist substitution. The former is advantageous on theoretical proving and accounting theories construction while positive accounting research on the acquirement of new knowledge and theories.
In addition, normative accounting research and positive accounting research should count on and penetrate each other when they are applied. The major premise of normative accounting research is to accept and rely on positive accounting research to testify and the analysis of the latter should rely on normative accounting research. Independently adopting normative accounting research or positive accounting research can’t avoid its own system shortcomings, say, the chance quality of positive accounting research conclusions and the originality of the major premise of normative accounting research as well as its validity. What’s more, both normative and positive accounting researches ignore the fact that mankind’s cognition is a process from specialty to generality and back and forth and that it is characterized by graduality and transportation and is the unity of logicism and non-logicism. Therefore, to unilaterally stress either of them is unscientific. Also, positive accounting research is usually fit for justifying or disapproving concrete accounting theoretical issues but is incapable of doing research on the whole accounting theoretical frameworks, which is depending on normative accounting research.
Suggestions: first, normative accounting research usually starts from a minority of basic accounting connotations (basic accounting hypothesis or accounting objectives) and derives a set of basic principles instructing accounting processing by way of deduction while the majority positive accounting research generally induces one or more propositions in line with abundant accounting phenomena and make of several accounting data coming from accounting information market to make empirical test or justify or disapprove achieved research accomplishment. In one word, normative accounting research represents the accountants’ cognition of the essences of accounting phenomena from concrete ones to general ones while positive accounting research represents the other way around. According to the epistemology of materialism, our cognition of accounting phenomena is the organic combination of general-to-concrete with concrete-to-general, so normative accounting research and positive accounting research should not be regarded with biases.
Second, normative accounting research often grasps the internal logical consistency of the whole theoretical framework of accounting from a relatively high-level accounting theory, such as the research on conceptual framework of financial accounting whose findings often serve as a basis for the development of accounting policies; and positive accounting research often aims at the specific issue of accounting theory, such as in what circumstances the valuation of stock should apply FIFO method or LIFO method. In recent years, the trend of empirical accounting research is that the problem researched is getting smaller and more detailed so that some normative accounting researchers take the opportunity to attack a number of positive accounting research contribute nothing to the whole theoretical system of accounting. I don’t think of it the same way. Actually, positive accounting research is the foundation of normative accounting research for the former aims at revealing “what it is”. Only if one masters the essence of various accounting phenomena, he can inquire into “what it should be” in the logical sense; normative accounting research is the premise and final goal of positive accounting research for the final goal of doing research on accounting phenomena is not only about “what it is” but also about “what it should be”. In other words, normative accounting research and positive accounting research are relevant to the level of accounting target system (in fact, as is pointed out in True blood, accounting target is a multi-level system). The lower the level of accounting target is, the stronger the positive of research will be. Higher as the level of accounting target is, more evaluation is in need, hence more regular. Normative accounting research and positive accounting research aim at different levels of accounting research with varied angles, so they are a undividable research unity that multi-relate and complement.
Higher levels of normative accounting research determines its necessarily involves value judgments, while the empirical accounting research was due to focus on accounting objectives at a lower level of research, as relates to the fact that judgments.
Higher levels of normative accounting research determines that it necessarily involves value judgments, while positive accounting research, due to its focus on accounting objectives at a lower level of research refers to fact judgments. What their relationship is? As is demonstrated as follows: natural facts existence → human being’s empirical cognition or judgment → fact judgment → restriction of objective demands and subjective demands → value judgment (positive or negative). Thus, fact judgments and value judgments are interlinked, and therefore normative accounting research cannot rule out fact judgments and neither can empirical accounting research completely abandon value judgments. Besides, in accordance with philosophy, “what it is” (fact judgments) is prier to “what it should be” (value judgments), so positive accounting research is the basics of normative accounting research; however, as “what it is” always has a touch of ambiguity (say, basic accounting hypothesis is originated from subjective accounting circumstance and is thus characterized by subjectivity, namely, “what it is”. While accounting targets represent the objective demands of the accounting information consumers, namely, “what it should be”, but the accounting profession concentrate on both of them without partiality, does it inspire us?), “what it should be” need to be imposed on certain regulations so normative accounting research is likewise indispensable.
Four, the comparison of normative and positive accounting research and the differences of their approaches can mainly get down to two aspects:
Firstly, positive accounting research testifies hypothesis with useful facts as criterion, but, as “useful” has no specific standards, useful to one interest group not necessarily to another one, the testifying criterion of positive accounting research is benefit-oriented and based on the constraint social demands. Normative-positive accounting research takes subjects established social demands as a starting point, which serves not only as the ultimate destination of accounting theories but also as the concrete application of reverse minds into accounting theoretical research. In one word, the testifying criterion of normative-positive accounting research is the unity of mind-simulation test and social practice test in which the former makes use of a large amount of image minds and instinct logical minds to evaporate rational objects abstracted from accounting practices into ideal objects so as to maintain their essential characteristics as well as the logicality of thinking process, while the latter concretizes hypothetic connotations to arm them with metrizability so as to turn theoretical hypothesis into practicable hypothesis.
Secondly, positive accounting research puts undue emphasis on the test of sentimental experience onto hypothesis and overlooks the researchers’ cognitive ability as the subject of accounting theoretical research as well as the roles of their creative minds in accounting theoretical research, so it ends up failing to escape from the sources of description and interpretation of accounting practice. Normative-positive accounting research dialectically makes use of divergent thinking and convergent thinking to highlight the researchers’ subjectively cognitive ability and thinking regulations that should be obeyed in cognitive activities, therefore it boasts of prominent comprehensive and dialectical features as well as of intrinsic regulatory mechanisms for adjusting cognitive approaches and means in different phases.
Before this century beginning, the discussion of methodology of economics, are mainly around the abstract deductive method and the historical induction, which is more suitable for economic analysis of start 〔7〕. In the influence of this, study also is based on accounting theory as represented by the two methods, such as WilliamPaton, Canning, EdwardsandBell, MoonitzsandSprouse who are all typical of deduction. YuijIjin, and Littleton, etc extremely respected induction, accounting theory study was main of qualitative description of the main text in that period, great attention to the internal logic between accounting theory to the neglect of the existing research results of the examination of accounting theory. Normative accounting theory studies were birthed. Positive law, including the following methods: a questionnaire survey, interviews, surveys, use of existing data (such as newspapers, official statistics and databases, etc.), capital market research, forecasting capabilities, ratio analysis, laboratory studies, modeling, simulation method, the group discussions and field testing. It also involves a number of mathematical statistical methods in the hypothesis testing process.
The advantages and disadvantages of Normative accounting research and empirical accounting research . The role of standardizing accounting study manifested in accounting theory: (1) standardized the accounting research plays an important role on the theory of argumentation. Standardized accounting research from a hypothetical or theoretical proposition derived the initial a level of theoretical propositions, and can made a deductive proof of a theoretical proposition. In this way, right before the test of practice the theory can be tested in advance to make the right theory, making the theory more rigorous logic, the basic theory of accounting and accounting theory as a whole system of study is particularly important. (2) standardized accounting research can deduced the fact that the theoretical proposition propositions and also can be used to explain the known behavior of accounting theory or accounting. (3) specification of Accounting Research is also conducted on the existing accounting theory, the logic tests to detect the error theory and the existing theory of internal contradictions. However, standardized accounting research has its insurmountable systemic flaws. This is reflected in: (1) the standardized accounting studies neglected the deductive logic as a starting point for the assumption or the former title of judge and testing. (2) the standardized accounting studies tend to ignore the accounting information with a certain economic consequences, and does not attach importance to the conduct of accounting of the main factors, only the accounting environment to simplify the various interest groups as a whole to look at. (3) the use of normative accounting research results are often obtained and only due to lack of experience supports the representative of the "behind closed doors" type of personal views and conclusions. The role of empirical accounting research manifested in:
Positive Accounting Research start from the evaluation of accounting standards Institute, based on the premise to start on the gauge theory the reality of the premise on which depend the effectiveness of inspection, and then evaluate norms research. (2) Empirical theory obtained from empirical research not only accounte for the observed accounting practices but also accounte the not observed phenomena, practices and these occur, but has not yet obtained through data collection and analysis of evidence to confirm the phenomenon of systemic and practice provide an explanation. Empirical theory is not to tell people what to do, but to tell people in specific historical conditions, what can be done. It can be said, empirical accounting research shifted objective of the study from the ideal reality. (3) Positive Accounting Research attaches great importance to the accounting of the main acts and motives of the research, and imported a large amount of research results in economics, such as property rights theory, contract theory, theory of the firm, broadening the scope of the study of accounting theory. Empirical accounting research enterprises under market conditions would be regarded as a variety of "contractual relationship" a combination of various interest groups for the maintenance of their own interests while the attitude of accounting standards has shown a great deal of experience in the conduct of analysis, obtained Accounting Research Institute do not recognize many of the norms useful conclusions.
limitations of Positive Accounting Research reflected in: (1) Positive Accounting Research seek to use the limited facts and phenomena to prove the general proposition, and thus the inevitable results of their research have only probability or probability. (2) Positive Accounting Research over-emphasis on modeling and quantification, so it often taken for granted duing to neglect of certain secondary factors, the results can sometimes lead to over-simplify the object of study and research of systematic bias. (3) Positive accounting theory, accounting research during the course of study entirely rule out the value judgments, are also not entirely reasonable, because it has the economic consequences of accounting information, as "economic man" of accounting researchers in carrying out the process of Positive Accounting Research it is impossible completely to avoid preconceived personal preferences caused by interference. (4) Positive Accounting Research and normative accounting research is often compared with the time lag, such as certain accounting standards and specific issues related to research is always a number of years after the publication of accounting standards, or rather always wait until there is sufficient the sample data to establish an empirical analysis of mathematical models can be implemented. In this sense, Watts / Zimmerman in the "Positive Accounting Theory," a book that the role of positive accounting theory is to explain and predict only, but made no mention of positive accounting theory of the guiding role of the accounting practices.
The above discussion illustrates that the standardized accounting research and empirical accounting research exists the need to combine with each other. The possibility of Norms, empirical accounting research complementary specifications, if a detailed comparison of accounting research and empirical accounting research after a large number of accounting literature is not difficult to find both in the the following major aspects of their own characteristics.Because of these important aspects, the accounting standard accounting research and empirical research needs complement each other:
Empirical accounting research with the relative lag time, and can not provide useful ideas and opinions before the accounting standard-setting for the standard-setting to, so standard - empirical accounting research is not perfect. This paper recommends that:
(1) In the study of accounting theory, a large number of FieldStudy and CaseStudy were. While this does not necessarily able to fully confirm and falsify anything, but this could seek to make appropriate course description and pertinent analysis prior to the essence of the Accounting Standards of accounting practices and accounting phenomenon .
(2) According to the Experimental Accounting Studies, through the establishment of the accounting lab, simulation and study of accounting standards to be similar to the accounting environment, collected the views of experts or professionals to classify, analyze and summarize in advance for the Accounting Standards provide useful advice.
Figure 12 describes the distribution trends of the type of articles published at accounting research magazine from 2002 to 2008. Accounting research articles were mainly about International trends. This is mainly due to IFRS has been generally recognized in many countries, adoption, and each country has its own unique accounting environment, according to a number of factors, the new IFRS guidelines for disclosure and contradictions between the original or not fusion. Therefore, the international accounting issues arising from research by many scholars, has led to papers published in international accounting greater than the proportion of non-international.
Figure 13 Based on the international division, the British scholar can see that a very large proportion of international research from 2002 to 2008 accounting research trends.
d argure that: the internationalization of accounting refers to accounting information provided to meet the needs of international economic governance and internal management maximize the use of advanced methods, while in the adoption of the accounting transaction processing performance for the standardization and to a certain degree of convergence of internationally accepted practice. k said: accounting internationalization refers to the countries in the world of science and accounting practices of accounting promote each other, learn from each other gradually made findings derived from the internationally accepted business language. The first two can be interpreted as accounting point of view of international coordination; latter view is not only called on the international coordination, but also requires States to develop accounting policies and handling of accounting affairs, and gradually adopt internationally accepted accounting practices in order to meet international accounting practices of mutual communication, coordination, norms and unity.
There is no doubt that accounting internationalization is the objective requirements of international economic development, because the UK's market economy is an important part of the world economy, the United Kingdom was the first establishment of a modern sense of national accountancy professional bodies ,which has a long history of development tradition in accounting. In 1973, the United Kingdom joined the European Community and was renamed as the European Union European Union in 1993. As a member of the EU, must comply with relevant laws and regulations. Such as the EU.'s Directive No. 4,7,8 are related to the topic of the coordination of accounting and auditing requirements. Undoubtedly, the EU member states on the issue of accounting harmonization positive move that will affect the future direction of development of the UK accounting, and he gradually move closer to the continental European model; Similarly, the United Kingdom accounting for the impact of other European countries will increase.
British support IFRS, like other countries, the United Kingdom has its own characteristics, according to its own accounting standards. Since the enactment of the Companies Act in 1948, the United Kingdom legislation has undergone several amendments and additions. In addition to the text in 1948, the revised text of the 1967,1976,1980,1981 year (the implementation of the EU Directive No. 4) of the legislation were considered as a separate existence. When company implementationed or referenced it , you must cross-reference to the decision trade-offs, which was not convenient. This situation in the "Companies Act 1985" was unificated. The revision of previous relevant contents of company law should be altered and added to later, so that this can be merged into one company uniform law. Because the text is very long, the body of a total of 25 head 747, plus-laws, is vividly called the "monsters Dafa."
In 1989, Britain has been further complemented the Company Law in order to implement the European Union No. 7, No. 8 Directive. With regard to the accounting statements, the United Kingdom ,in the Supplementary information of Companies Act 1948 has proposed disclosure requirements, but does not require a specific financial statement formats. Companies Act 1981, the United Kingdom amended in accordance with EC Directive No. 4, and provides options for the first time, the balance sheet and income statement formats. The financial statements generally include: (1) Board of Directors report; (2) profit and loss account and financial balance sheet; (3) cash flow statement; (4) All gains and losses recognized in the table; (5) Notice of accounting policies; (6) the Notes the financial statements; (7) The auditor's reports.
As for the consolidated financial statements include the consolidated profit and loss account, consolidated balance sheet financing, holding company's own balance sheet (profit and loss account does not require the holding requirements), combined cash flow statement and the Report of the Directors (including the full-year Summary of operations). The statements are more general, the format of the balance sheet using the report type (vertical type), large amounts of detailed information on the report notes. Furthermore, in order to fulfill corporate social accountability and expand foreign provided general information, the British also encouraged companies to prepare an value-added sheet, employee reporting, corporate and government contacts between the monetary conditions, foreign currency transactions, the future prospects as such statements. In 1985, Companies Act give the historical cost measurement a specific legal authority, but the asset revaluation of the British companies on the freedom and flexibility is unique. Inventory valuation method was used at the lower of cost or market, where "market value" means the net realizable value, rather than the replacement cost of the United States. Purchased different batches of inventory items, tax laws allow the use of FIFO method to determine the cost, but does not allow LIFO. Interestingly, the United States and Britain in this respect different from the accounting terminology. For example, the United States use "stock" represent shares and use the "inventory" as stock; In the United Kingdom, "stock" into inventory, "shares" refers to the stake. With regard to fixed assets of measurement, the British have greater flexibility. Accounting Standards recommends that companies at least once every 5 years to conduct a re-valuation of fixed assets and re-approved economic life. Value-added as a revaluation of property owners, can not serve as the year proceeds. Revaluation impairment, starting with the asset had previously been estimated value of owner's equity account, crediting of Health, less than some of the year and then charged to the profit and loss. In order to avoid abuse of the revaluation of certain value-added distribution of dividends, the Companies Act 1985 provides that in a serious capital loss cases, the board must ensure that the net assets are not overvalued; Durable to the shares of public companies, only when the company's net assets in excess of paid-in capital can not be assigned with the preparation, allowed the allocation of dividends. In fact, this provision, require the company to pay dividends before the confirmation of any unrealized losses. There are multiple depreciation methods, such as straight-line method, pension law, the total number of years , does not require depreciation of land and buildings, but it must be in capital balance sheet by the open market to reflect the reality of the value of land and buildings. On income tax accounting, regardless of whether British companies distribute profits to investors, all should be adjusted accounting earnings (or the amount of taxable income) to pay income tax, which would appear as a cost deducted from the profits. This approach completely separate accounting income and taxable income . The resulting deferred tax from the accounting practice and tax law, asked that "Debt Law" to be the accounting treatment.
Before the promulgation of No. 3 Financial Reporting Standards "Financial Performance Report", the United Kingdom on the unique accounting treatment of extraordinary items, was considered to be "creative accounting" (Creative Accounting), a typical performance. Business interruption resulting from operation or sale of fixed asset gains and losses and reorganization costs related to extraordinary items and was shown in the income statement below the net profit (below the line). In this case, the net profit calculated according to earnings per share include extraordinary items under the impact. The introduction and implementation of guidelines of No. 3, "Financial performance report," so that earnings per share understanding of Britain and other countries (such as the United States) are consistent, that is the income statement the last row (the bottom line) calculated on the basis of the profit of a few earnings per share. British business combination accounting treatment associated has two ways: purchase law and the legitimate of rights and interests. Former is widely used; when the business combination meet certain conditions, allowing to the use the latter. Compared with the United States, the United Kingdom about the set of legally defined rights leave greater room for enterprise applications. "Creative accounting" is another typical manifestation of the merger accounting treatment of goodwill diversification. It allows enterprises to adopt a one-time write-off approach, directly write-off related account. The majority of businesses can use the law because it can beautify the corporate reporting period benefits; At the same time , it also allows recognite goodwill as an asset to be amortized, which mainly caters for the specific needs of certain enterprises, such as avoiding excessive write-downs and other reserve account. Company law and accounting standards of United Kingdom require holding company to preparate the consolidated statements, also require the holding company and subsidiary accounts to keep the start and end dates same. Generally, The accounts period of the holding company shall be prevailed. If the account periods were different, the company must first adjust and then re-merger. Joint venture treatment with the equity method, that is being invested enterprise to obtain the current period profit or loss occurred in the proportion of an investment, according to investment gains or losses, certain a corresponding increase or decrease the book value of long-term investment. In foreign currency translation issues, the United Kingdom accounting standards give enterprises greater freedom. For the income statement of income and cost items, allowe enterprises to use the closing rate or average rate of exchange.While, the U.S. only allows companies to be converted using the average exchange rate.
How to handle the United Kingdom accounting to integrate with the international accounting standards? S proposed accounting harmonization. Science means of Harmonization is to set limits the differences between the accounting practices in order to increase their comparability. The purpose of harmonization is to reduce the logic of the conflict of national accounting standards, and to improve the comparability of financial information between countries. However, this coordination process is very likely to occur in regions. So, the International Association Union management scholars Alain Burland , Paris School Management professor and President of the French Accounting Association, Christian Hoaran, etc. proposed that "the future of accounting standards was the coordinated development not accounting global standardization. "
In fact, the world's development of regional economic or political alliances are the mainstream. Such as the European Union, the North American Free Trade Agreement, the International Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and other, all countries are in the internal coordination of accounting behavior. Before the UK and France did not join the European Union, the two countries were entirely different from the basic accounting model. However, appeared convergence after the entry. In France, the country reduce its interference in accounting standards; In the UK, the nation was very little involvement in accounting management previously, and now to strengthen its role in this process. "In accordance with the view of development, whether in French or English-speaking countries, their institutions and systems are Consistent in a certain extent. Just as the French government and the bureaucracy make way for the accounting profession. While, the British accounting profession also recognize that their own interests in all aspects of society also depends on the common interests of partners. " In fact, this is in line with the law that "economic development accounting" as the development of accounting theory and practice.
Chapter 6 summary
In this essay, the development of international accounting education and research is reviewed，selections in terms of accounting research approaches are compared，the tendency of international accounting research under the British accounting circumstance as well as accounting continuous education is analyzed. In chronological sense, accounting internationalization started with the international spread of accounting technology and then of the accounting professional organizations and philosophies and, after the expansion of accounting modes, it reaches the phase of accounting regulation internationalization. Accounting internationalization is a must of history. It includes internationalizations of various accounting elements, in which the accounting regulation internationalization is simply a vital phase. It is a whole process including international spread, expansion and convergence of various accounting elements, the process of which is not only chronologically successive but also multi-penetrates spatially. Each country without exception first inherited scientific double-entry bookkeeping technology, accepted or absorbed other country’s accounting philosophy, based on which it formed a set of established accounting modes in line with its own specific national conditions and during the accumulation of practices and in the course of economic development, the democratic accountants are bound to give rise to their own unique accounting technologies and philosophy as well as the accounting modes; and economic intercourse makes the unique parts of the democratic advanced accounting technologies, philosophies and mode continuously spread or expanded outward and in the meantime those of other countries introduced or brought in. Meanwhile, the spread and expansion of accounting technologies, philosophies or modes penetrate each other so that behind advanced accounting technologies are advanced accounting philosophies or modes, advanced accounting philosophies often promote advanced accounting technologies and modes and advanced accounting modes often need advanced accounting philosophies and technologies as foundations.
In the course of accounting internationalization, the spread, expansion and convergence of different accounting elements exist simultaneously and affect each other non-stop. When the time of economic globalization is around the corner, accounting internationalization also approaches the phase of accounting regulation internationalization, therefore, any country that realizes the internationalization of accounting regulation, is bound to need make its own accounting technologies, philosophies and modes to approach international advanced criterions to some extent.
What’s more, the emergence and development of accounting are combined to various environmental factors that it relies on, which are deeply rooted in specific economic, ideal and cultural factors and so on of each country. Although each country’s factors of politics, economy, and rules of law, culture and technology affect and restrict the development of accounting, the tendency of economic globalization is unavoidable. Personally considered, accounting should first of all serve the democratic economics and then the international one. The development of accounting should set its foot in its own country and, under the premise of nationalization, moves toward internationalization, the prerequisite of which is not to conflict nationalization. If the prerequisite of serving economics of its country is lost, one hundred percent internationalization has no circumstance and meaning of existence. In this essay, it is suggested that the development of accounting should take respect for each country’s characteristics as prerequisite for, due to the divergence of developing phases and extents of capital markets of different countries and that of accounting report forms consumers’ attentions as well as that of the objectives of accounting reports, the development of accounting is bound to be diversified, such as fair accounting. Although the shortcomings of cost valuation are apparent, massive applications of fair value attributes unfit for environment to make accounting measurement will only end up failure. The objectivity and reality of “fair” is concerned with advanced and consummate market system, extremely active capital-measured markets and advanced information and technologies and so on and so forth. Without corresponding objective environment, “fair” is unable to be realized. International accounting regulations do not necessarily mean the high transparence of accounting information. There are a variety of factors affecting the quality of financial report forms of which, apart from accounting regulations, specific environment is also included, such as the motives of managers and auditors as well as the extent of the investors’ legitimacy and so on (Ray Ball, etc., 2000; Jere R.Francis, etc., 2001). Eccher and healy (2000), after wielding accounting data of stock market, found that information created by international accounting regulations was no more useful than that offered by usage regulations.
As every country the world around has its own “specialty”, the country’s interest always plays a major role in the global economic activities. Therefore, one-shot move to completely apply united international accounting regulations is obviously unpractical. In the meantime, many countries, especially developing countries formulate accounting profession-divided regulations in terms of the different business quality and accounting levels of various democratic industries. Therefore, in order to make accounting go abroad, democratic accounting criterion should be united in the first place. The regulations on technology criterion in Rules on Democratic Accounting Service Industry manipulated by WTO service and trade council only demand its members to construct and accept and apply “only for the sake of laws” and international criterion are simply suggested to be applied. Meanwhile, Mutual Recognition Agreements or Arrangements Guide of Accounting Services manipulated by WPPS also /permit each country to construct its own set of accounting qualification criterion rather than pursuing for internationalization. The special articles of GATS such as 10th article ( emergency safeguard measure), the 14th article (general exceptions) and the accessory rules of 14th article (safe exceptions) all permit parties to make use of these articles to protect their democratic accounting service markets. We can see in the WTO framework that the transparency, establishment and improvement of democratic regulations occupy the first place, which serve as the prerequisite of accounting of each country’s involvement in international coordination.
Meanwhile, as adjoining countries are not only apt to communicate with each other in geographical sense but also share many similar respects in terms of politics, economy, laws and culture and so on. Thereupon, the resistance of establishing regional united accounting modes is relatively small. Seen from the currency, it has certain foundations. EU actively promotes the coordination of accounting and reports among its member countries, especially the series of community command issued through EU council that make regulations in terms of laws, taxes, accounting and reports and so on of companies and demand each member country to adopt and enforce by modifying its own relevant rules of law.
The 4th community command Rules on Coordination of Annual Financial Report of Limited Liability Corporations manipulated in 1978 listed at large the types and format of united accounting report forms that should be listed in the companies’ annual reports, namely the information of contents and report patterns that need to be revealed as well as basic accounting principles that should be obeyed in compilation of accounting report forms. This command acquired insurance and adoption of 15 member countries in their laws in 1991. Besides, EU also released community command No. 7 the Combined Report Forms and Consolidated Enterprise (1997), No. 10, community command Cross-Border Mergers of Listed Companies (1985), No. 11 community command Information Disclosure of Department-Divided Operation (1989) and other community directives to coordinate between member countries accounting and reporting practices.
In addition, the Institute of Chartered Accountants in North America, the United States, Canada and Mexico has also developed two to three accounting programs of cooperation so as to lay a good foundation for the regional harmonization of accounting; South America, Brazil and Argentina are also building a set of accounting regional agreements; the Asian countries are also setting up the Economic Community so that accounting harmonization in this area will also be put on the agenda. All this shows that the developing trend of international harmonization of accounting is based on the domestic harmonization of accounting standard and takes regional coordination as basic means and thus transit gradually to the worldwide coordination. Of course, regional accounting coordination may also give rise to side effects. Once a few large regions in the international community have irreconcilable conflict of interest, larger difficulties will be brought about to the future international accounting /coordination. It is because once regional accounting mode is formed, its forces will be greater in a country than that in another country and coordination may be more difficult to realize.
References
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