The Economics and Politics of Accounting : International Perspectives on Research Trends, Policy, and Practice

Accounting and the role of accountants have permeated modern societies. For the most part we have accepted the impartiality and objectivity of accounting and not recognized how accounting systems are embedded in a country's economic and legal framework, much of which is in turn shaped by political processes. This web of interactions results in complex economic and political questions which require accounting researchers to focus on several related trends: information economics,
regulatory economics, sociology, and political science. Although considerable progress has been made in the field of accounting, many fundamental questions are still subject to debate. In this book leading international scholars address a number of important questions about the role of accounting in
society. - ;Accounting and the role of accountants has permeated the modern societies. For the most part we have accepted the impartiality and objectivity of accounting and not recognized how accounting systems are embedded in a country's economic and legal framework, much of which is in turn shaped by political processes. This web of interactions results in complex economic and political questions which require accounting researchers to focus on several related trends: information economics,
regulatory economics, sociology, and political science.

Although considerable progress has been made in the field of accounting, many fundamental questions are still subject to debate. In this book leading international scholars address a number of important questions:

· What is the role of accounting in security valuation, decision making and contracting?
· What can we learn from economics-based research in accounting?
· What is the role of auditing and how can accounting standards be enforced?
· What are the cost and benefits of accounting and disclosure regulation?
· What is the role of accounting in society?
· How does lobbying affect the political process of standard setting?
· What are the consequences of the internationalization of standard setting?

This seminal book will be of interest to academics, researchers, and graduate students of Accounting, Finance, Business Studies, Sociology, and Political Economy. - ;This is a collection of original papers by colleagues and friends of the late Dieter Ordelheide, and dedicated to his memory. It is a fitting tribute to such a distinguished and productive scholar, because it makes a variety of serious contributions to fields of accounting and policy-making with which he was concerned. Its quality is such that the book is well worth reading in its own right, not simply as a tribute. The dedicatee himself appears as author of one paper and
co-author of another: surely the farewell that he would have wished to make. - European Accounting Review

Keywords: BUSINESS & ECONOMICS / General BUS000000