Editorial
Editorial
Article Type: Editorial From: Journal of Applied Accounting Research, Volume 13, Issue 1.
Recent economic and financial events have exposed problems in a wide range of established approaches that purport to govern, control, measure, appraise, and add value to organisations. As accounting academics, our contribution to the practice of accounting has never been more closely scrutinised nor challenged. Practitioners and policy makers are justifiably concerned about our ability to identify, prevent, and solve the accounting-based problems that face their organisations and economies.
Anthony Hopwood, in recognising the centrality of the practice of accounting to its academic study, lamented in his valedictory editorial in 2009 that “the links to practice […] seem to be getting less and less. More and more academic accountants seem to know less and less about the practical aspects of their subject, […] resulting in research that is influenced by trends rather than problems” (p. 893).
Within this context, the Journal of Applied Accounting Research aims to make a vital contribution to the application of accounting across a wide range of issues and in a variety of contexts. In publishing articles that link theory to sound empirical data, the journal seeks to enhance our understanding of the challenges, tensions, and consequences of applying accounting to real-world events. Recent special issues in the areas of auditing, CSR,voluntary disclosures, and management control are a testament to the broad range of interests that the journal serves. Studies drawing on both quantitative and qualitative approaches emphasise the importance placed by the journal on the use of appropriate research methods to increase our knowledge of the role and use of accounting in practice. Yet much more remains to be done to enhance our understanding in areas such as the role of governance in financial crisis, the use of accounting in corporate failures, and the impact of different types and uses of accounting measures on reporting and performance.
It is a pleasure to take over as Editor of the journal at such an interesting and challenging time for accounting academics. I would like to pay tribute to Kumba Jallow, who has led the editorial team from the journal's earliest days. Kumba has helped to shape a research agenda in which academics are actively encouraged to investigate the nature and scope of accounting and its effects on both practice and practitioners. This issue and several forthcoming ones are the result of Kumba's efficiency in producing an inventory of good quality manuscripts. I would also like to thank the members of the Editorial Advisory Board for their continued support of the journal. Their efforts ensure that the journal contributes in a timely way to debates in the field.
The editorial that accompanied last year's special issue on accounting and management control alluded to the need for academics to expand their thinking beyond the “neat” delineations of accounting that are not always recognised by practitioners. The journal, with its focus on the symbiotic relationship between theory and practice, has a critical role to play in challenging existing approaches to the study of accounting and in developing new models and applications.
Julia Mundy
Reference
Hopwood, A. (2009), “Reflections and projections – and many, many thanks”, Accounting, Organizations and Society, Vol. 34, pp. 887-94
