ACC320 - Research Proposal on Contemporary Accounting Issues

This research proposal delves into contemporary accounting issues, focusing on the manipulation of accounting policies and the challenges in adhering to International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). It examines the motivations behind such manipulations, particularly in the context of fair value accounting and earnings management, driven by the desire to present a favorable financial image. The proposal reviews the institutional approach to accounting, highlighting the need for consistent theoretical and methodological concepts to evaluate established and emerging accounting practices. It addresses the growing trend towards interdisciplinary research in accounting and the importance of aligning Australian accounting practices with international standards. The research also identifies discrepancies between Australian accounting systems and IFRS, emphasizing the need for regulatory reorientation towards financial statements that cater to investors and economic agents. It acknowledges the limitations and unresolved problems in accounting changes, including the need to integrate developed Australian methodologies with international requirements. The proposal presents hypotheses related to the impact of accounting principle changes on companies and the distortion of fundamental accounting principles. It concludes by emphasizing the importance of transparency and adherence to unified accounting rules for reliable financial reporting, with the aim of contributing to the development of a rational and reliable accounting system. Desklib provides a platform to access similar solved assignments.

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Contemporary Accounting Issues
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Course
Professor’s name
University name
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Date of submission

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Introduction
The issues arising in accounting are mostly governance isssues that the regulator has been
able to deal with. Financial regulatory framework is the issue in focus for regulators and
accounting policy makers. The regulator seeks to make sure that there is accountability,
transparency and stakeholders decisions in boardroom. Due to harsh economic output and loss
reporting by most entities, they may want to cover to make the company shares look attractive.
They manipulate financial reports and earning management for the sake of a good image. The
issue of fair value accounting in which executives try to manipulate accounting and assets fair
value is the topic of concern.
The Congress of Professional Accountants and Auditors of Australia acknowledged that
at present the development of consistent theoretical and methodological concepts, through which
it is possible to evaluate already established and newly emerged new accounting concepts and
develop on this basis, the theoretical, normative-legal and methodical support of the accounting
and analytical process. New conceptual changes in accounting are preceded by the appearance of
new accounting objects, and the emergence of new concepts forms a qualitatively excellent style
of scientific research of accounting as a science (Annisette et al, 2018). Such a study should be
undertaken from the standpoint of a retrospective comprehensive analysis of known concepts of
the development of domestic and foreign accounting as an integral component of the institutional
system, which is the constructive elements of the accounting analysis system and related
management and technology systems.
Contemporary issues in accounting – Manipulation of accounting
policies

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The most important characteristic feature of the modern stage of development of
accounting is the growing trend towards unity scientific knowledge, which is embodied in the
wide deployment of interdisciplinary areas of research, in the use of ideas and methods of some
sciences in others, the transition from disciplinary research methods to problem-oriented and
practice-oriented. The theory and methodology of accounting is realized through the formation
and implementation of certain concepts understanding, system). The need to address the concepts
of accounting is determined, first of all,the remaining backlog of accounting practices from new
requirements to the quality of accounting information, dictated by modern processes of
globalization and Australia's integration into the world economic space (Carvalheiro, 2014). This
predetermines the comprehension of the theory and methodology of accounting from the
standpoint of institutionalism
Theoretical motivation
Institutional approach has long and successfully developed within the framework of
economic science. At the same time, an extensive methodological and analytical toolkit was
developed. Its improvement is due to the development and emergence of new interdisciplinary
connections, including with modern theory and methodology of accounting. Most domestic
scientists and accounting practitioners believe that the prospect of developing accounting is to
approximate the principles enshrined in International Financial Reporting Standards (Chatfield
and Vangermeersch, 2014).
The processes of accounting reform in Australia in this connection have already led to
some transformation of the accounting system. Qualitative institutional changes have been

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consolidated in accounting, which In the near future, they can have a significant impact on the
conditions and effectiveness of its further development.
Literature review
Institutional approach, accumulating a sufficiently large amount of information on the
functioning of various institutions and the results of promising scientific developments in areas
adjacent to accounting, makes it possible to put it in the basis of the conceptual solutions being
developed at different levels of its development. Over the past few years, Australia has been
implementing measures to reform accounting in accordance with international accounting
practices (Chen, and Schipper, 2016). As part of activities to implement the Concept of the
development of accounting and reporting in the Australian for the medium term. They create the
foothold, which ensures the continuation of the development of accounting in this direction.
The specification and definition of the main theoretical and methodological approaches
within the framework of the Accounting and Reporting Development Concept presuppose the
creation of a concept of accounting, based not only on the notions of objective reality and the
need for transition to the International Accounting Standards, but also the results of institutional
analysis of accounting (Commerford et al, 2018). The need to rethink certain provisions of
accounting theory and methodology is due to the fact that the assessment of the real place of
accounting processes in the activities of a modern commercial organization has shown that they
cover almost the entire control loop.
Integrity of the conceptual line in the framework of the developed theory and
methodology of accounting is presented as an institutional model of accounting that takes into

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account both the new objects that have appeared and the new quality of pre-existing objects, as
well as many ideas and concepts put forward by scientists of different sciences in different time
fractals (Dey, 2018). On each of the new stages of economic transformations, accounting draws
new tasks from the real accounting practice, scientifically generalizes them and gives an
opportunity to present the perspective of its development, and the institutional concept is a kind
of answer to the questions posed. The concept will effectively solve the emerging issues
provided that in its development not only recent approaches to the theory and methodology of
accounting and other sciences that have developed recently but also the entire process of their
retrospective dynamics will be taken into account.
Accounting paradigm is reflected in a change in practical accounting activities and in the
content of research in the field of accounting. Perhaps the simultaneous existence of several
accounting paradigms, and accordingly, of several accounting concepts, each of which has its
own logic and criteria that determine the science. For consideration and the formation of the
concept of modern accounting, the components of the accounting paradigm at different stages of
accounting development are investigated. The paradigm is considered as a conceptual scheme, a
model, a method for studying accounting. Specifically, under the paradigm, the authors mean the
original concept of accounting, the model of setting problems and their solutions based on the
corresponding accounting methodology. Thus, the creation of a concept of accounting that meets
modern challenges is one of the most complicated and interesting areas of scientific thought.
Directions of improving accounting in the conditions of building its market model
should be recognized the consistent development of theoretical concepts, with the help of which
it is possible to evaluate the already established, recently developed and proposed accounting

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technologies and the development on this basis of the legal and methodological support of the
accounting process (Griffith, and Kadous, 2015). The development of theoretical concepts occurs
in the context of changing the role of the state in establishing accounting rules and principles,
which requires a comprehension of new approaches to his theory and methodology, the creation
of a coherent institutional theory, reflecting the modern accounting process. The complex of
problems related to institutional features of accounting is a new and insufficiently developed
direction in economic science (Johnston, and Petacchi, 2017). Analysis of theoretical problems
of accounting showed that the development of its concept principles, functions and directions of
development during the formation of the Australian accounting concept in the conditions of
market economy formation are insufficient.
For a short time in the field of accounting and taxation, many formal rules, laws, decrees,
decisions and other normative acts in the field of accounting, auditing and taxation. Australian
reforms and the evolutionary development of recent years have prepared the economy and
society on to a new stage of profound change. Transition to growth is impossible without full-
fledged basic market institutions, the development of a variety of market institutions and their
connections, including the accounting institution.
The analysis of the materials made it possible to establish that for the last odes to the
institutional approach has taken a prominent place in economic science. It is used in the study of
various organizational forms of management, the development of small business and other
phenomena. To determine the impact of institutional theories on accounting theory and practice,
the main concepts and scientific problems associated with these theories are defined (Schaltegger

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and Burritt, 2017). This task is new for accounting theory and practice, and its solution is
possible only within the framework of institutional analysis of accounting.
Institutional theories are of interest only as a doctrine capable of explaining the current
state and prospects of accounting development from the standpoint of interaction of basic
economic institutions. This led to a radical transformation of the institutional framework of
accounting. In recent years, qualitative institutional changes have consolidated in the accounting,
which in the near future can have a significant impact on the conditions and effectiveness of its
management.
Comparative Analysis
A comparative analysis of Australian and international financial reporting standards
determined the discrepancies between the Australian accounting system and IFRS, which lead to
significant differences between financial reporting compiled in Australia and in Western
countries. It is established that the main differences between the MSFD and the Australian
accounting system are related to the historically determined difference in the ultimate goals of
using financial information.
The main differences between financial statements prepared in accordance with IFRS are
used by investors and other economic agents and financial institutions. Among the main
directions of the reform implemented in the Australian Federation in order to bring the national
accounting system in line with international financial reporting standards, the need for
reorientation regulatory process from the accounting process to the financial statements, in which
information should be provided, a significant To users (Wang, Vulcheva and Horizons, 2015). In

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turn, to strengthen the communication capabilities of reporting, a certain transformation of the
accounting methodology is necessary. However, for the sake of justice, it should be noted and
significant negative trends
Problems in accounting changes
A number of problems remain unresolved for a long time, and above all for historical and
conceptual reasons. Among these problems, the main question is the need to use the developed
Australian methodology and accounting practices, their conformity to the theory Accounting for
the directions of the solution of this problem was made by the authors taking into account the
fact that accounting is a rather complex system influenced by the unity of legislation and the
development of all components of the market economy. Insufficient attention to the
implementation of the hints activities during the accounting reform, a further delay in
determining the issues raised have a negative impact on the accounting and makes it unrealistic
positive development in accordance with international requirements.
From the timeliness of the solution of the tasks facing Australian accounting, it depends
on how quickly the material production will develop in the country. The solution of these
problems requires the implementation of an active state policy with the participation of state and
professional organizations, scientists and practitioners in implementing the above approaches to
the creation of a rational and reliable accounting system (Hoque, 2018). This transformation
occurs by changing individual accounting practices, adjusting reporting forms, the appearance of
new accounting objects and changes in the regulatory framework. Globalization has led to the
fact that many aspects of accounting as a scientific discipline and practice have also acquired an
international character.

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Hypothesis
1. Changes in accounting principles have caused major losses in companies
2. Accounting changes keeps on distorting fundamentals of accounting principles
Thus, the Law "On Accounting" provides for the definition of accounting only, according to
which "accounting is an orderly system for collecting, recording and summarizing information in
monetary terms about the property, the obligations of the organization and their movement
through continuous, continuous and documented accounting of all economic In the meantime, in
our opinion, the need for the appearance and functioning of both types of accounting in our
country is not a tribute to fashion, but the imperative of time (Hoque, 2018).
Strengths and limitations
Adherence to unified accounting rules, development of accounting calculations, reasonable
calculation of financial results and reporting will ensure sufficient transparency of the reporting
data, their understanding and unambiguous interpretation in the international context. At the
same time, the descriptors of cost accounting (material intensity, capital intensity, provision of
own circulating assets, labor productivity and profitability of production) acquire the binding
significance of all types of accounting. They become dominant criterion indicators when making
managerial decisions and assessing the investment attractiveness of the market's economic
agents.

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References
Annisette, M., Cooper, C. and Gendron, Y., 2018. The question of research diversity in “top”
accounting journals.
Carvalheiro, J., 2014. An interactive learning approach to accounting classes (Doctoral
dissertation).
Chatfield, M. and Vangermeersch, R., 2014. The history of accounting (RLE accounting): an
international encylopedia. Routledge.
Chen, Q. and Schipper, K., 2016. Comments and observations regarding the relation between
theory and empirical research in contemporary accounting research. Foundations and Trends®
in Accounting, 10(2-4), pp.314-360.
Commerford, B.P., Hatfield, R.C. and Houston, R.W., 2018. The Effect of Real Earnings
Management on Auditor Scrutiny of Management's Other Financial Reporting Decisions. The
Accounting Review.
Dey, C., 2018. Contemporary Issues in Social Accounting. Social and Environmental
Accountability Journal, 38(2), pp.157-158.
Griffith, E.E., Hammersley, J.S. and Kadous, K., 2015. Audits of complex estimates as
verification of management numbers: How institutional pressures shape practice. Contemporary
Accounting Research, 32(3), pp.833-863.
Hoque, Z., 2018. Methodological issues in accounting research. Spiramus Press Ltd.

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Johnston, R. and Petacchi, R., 2017. Regulatory oversight of financial reporting: Securities and
Exchange Commission comment letters. Contemporary Accounting Research, 34(2), pp.1128-
1155.
Schaltegger, S. and Burritt, R., 2017. Contemporary environmental accounting: issues, concepts
and practice. Routledge.
Wang, X., Vulcheva, M. and Horizons, F.A., 2015. RESEARCH ACTIVITIES Publications:"
Increasing Liquidity on Global Stock Exchanges: The Structure of Euronext",(2015).(Co.
Appendix 1

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Appendix 2
Appendix 3