Accounting Is Art or Science

Accounting Is Art or Science

  • Submitted By: alterna20
  • Date Submitted: 09/19/2010 2:49 AM
  • Category: Science
  • Words: 1733
  • Page: 7
  • Views: 15

MMPA 501: FINANCIAL ACCOUNTING
ESSAY AND ASSIGNMENT
NAME: RANDY DJAJA
STUDENT ID:300214309
WORD COUNT: 1056

ACCOUNTING IS an ART OR SCIENCE?

Introduction
Art is basically creating something that you can call yours like a written paper or art piece. Accounting is in the current state of being an art. It is defined as “the art of recording, classifying, and summarizing in a significant manner and in terms of money, transactions and events which are, in part at least, of financial character, and interpreting the results thereof.” (AICPA)
Gareth Morgan described Accountant as subjective “constructors of reality”: presenting and representing the situations in limited and one-sided ways. (Morgan, 1988, p. 482). He believed that accounting can never be really objective, just like an artist producing a partial view of the reality he or she wishes to represent. But the question that still remains in view today is accounting truly an art or is it science? In this essay, I’m going to try to define accounting as science and accounting as an art and my opinion on the following statement “Accounting … is an art and not a science …”. (Yorston, 1947, 1)
Accounting as Science
The definition of science includes acquiring knowledge from study, practice, investigation, and observation. This includes having gained knowledge of general truths about the laws of operations. The definition of accounting includes observation, investigation, and identification through testing and collection methods to draw conclusions about the data. For both the fields of science and accounting, the professional makes conclusions and judgments after careful investigation, documentation, and research. In accounting, the book entries are the accepted method of recording and classifying data in logical and permanent form. A scientist will identify and research a topic, measure, and record results until everyone is satisfied with the accuracy of the data. Accountants also identify and measure...

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