This thesis deals with the ongoing accounting reforms in public administration. It outlines key changes to accounting and financial reporting from the perspective of local governments. The goal is to evaluate the benefits of reform, and in certain moments to suggest solutions to problems that in terms of explanatory power of the information presented was greater user effect. The practical focus of the thesis is an analysis of budget execution of the municipal district Prague - Nebušice from the perspective of the user, in the context of the financial statements.

Made available in DSpace on 2015-12-03T18:35:31Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Maria_Lucia_Pagliusi_Silva.pdf: 1060001 bytes, checksum: 233cbee9cda227fc923ab94c6515e0a1 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014-08-18 / The general objective of this academic work is to discuss and to reflect on the contribution of philosophical studies in understanding concepts and learning transmitted in Accounting. The specific objective came outlining the research issue itself that is to know which are the elements or philosophical presuppositions applied to Accounting. The research methodology is based on two bibliographic surveys: one to know the issues and concerns of the Philosophy and the other to locate them in the various disciplines and researches developed in Accounting. To ensure the scientific character, was observed if had the employment or treatment of the questions or philosophical concerns to explain accounting or organizational matters, with the preservation of its connotative or denotative direction assimilated in the Philosophy. This academic production is qualitative and is treaty at essay format to achieve its objectives and provide flexibility to display ideas and articulation of reasonings. In the data analysis, is verified the satisfaction of the conditional terms of the hypothesis and the attending to its variables, being observed its validity for each element or philosophical presupposition positioned in the delimitation of the research, that does to conclude its applied into Accountancy. It is also at this moment that is answered the research question. And the complex whole formed by the elements or presuppositions applied to Accountancy shows the revealing perspective of an philosophical system in Accounting. At final, the concluding remarks are presented. / O objetivo geral deste trabalho acad??mico ?? discutir e refletir sobre a contribui????o dos estudos filos??ficos na compreens??o de conceitos e aprendizados transmitidos em Ci??ncias Cont??beis. O objetivo espec??fico acabou delineando a pr??pria quest??o de pesquisa que ?? o de saber quais s??o os elementos ou pressupostos filos??ficos que s??o aplicados ?? Contabilidade. A metodologia de pesquisa se baseia em dois levantamentos bibliogr??ficos: um para se conhecer as quest??es e preocupa????es da Filosofia e o outro para localiz??-las nas v??rias disciplinas e pesquisas desenvolvidas em Ci??ncias Cont??beis. Para garantir o cunho cient??fico, coube observar o emprego ou o tratamento das quest??es ou preocupa????es filos??ficas para explicar mat??ria cont??bil ou organizacional, com a preserva????o do seu sentido conotativo ou denotativo assimilado na Filosofia. Este empreendimento acad??mico tem car??ter qualitativo e formato de ensaio para alcan??ar os seus objetivos e proporcionar flexibilidade na exposi????o de ideias e articula????o de racioc??nios. Na an??lise dos dados, ?? verificada a satisfa????o dos termos condicionais da hip??tese e o atendimento ??s suas vari??veis, constatando-se a validade de sua afirma????o para cada elemento ou pressuposto filos??fico posicionado na delimita????o da pesquisa, quanto ?? aplica????o junto ?? Contabilidade. ?? tamb??m neste momento que se responde ?? quest??o de pesquisa. E do conjunto formado pelos elementos ou pressupostos aplicados ?? Contabilidade, tem-se a perspectiva reveladora de um sistema filos??fico cont??bil. Por ??ltimo, s??o apresentadas as considera????es finais.

Recent corporate reporting history is well–known for its corporate failures and questionable accountancy practices, many of which caused the profession to be frowned upon. However, the splodge on the accounting profession?s reputation goes deeper than its corporate reporting failures. The scientific foundation thereof is also being questioned in academic circles. Even though accounting scholars have been trying to formulate foundational accounting theories, it has been the accounting regulators that have been more successful in promoting their versions of what accounting theory should be, which place a question mark on the legitimacy of current day accounting theory. This thesis aims to delve deeper into the foundational philosophies of accounting and its impact on the practice of accounting. With the current accounting globalisation efforts, the profession?s stewardship function is becoming less prominent in its promulgated standards, which in turn brings the focus on the many questionable ethical practices found in the profession. Even though the regulatory bodies require their members to commit themselves to professional codes of conduct, which entails competency, integrity, objectivity and confidentiality, the 1st article in this thesis claims that ethical conduct is more than mere adherence to rules and regulations. It is also about the image of not only the profession, but also accounting research and education. Accounting is broadly practised, researched and taught within its so–called conceptual framework, of which a key objective is to guide and inform accounting practice. The conceptual framework became the basis upon which accounting theory is based. However, many accounting scholars are openly critical of presenting accounting theory as a set of practical guidelines. The 2nd article in the thesis concludes that, from an academic perspective, accounting theory should be based on three quintessential guidelines. The first of which is its primary purpose of reporting on the historic economic events, secondly the provision of useable and comparable information about these events and finally, the facilitation of business decisions based on relevant and reliable information. In the above mentioned business decisions, the concept of value is often taken for granted and many accounting techniques? effectiveness is judged on how well it approximates an item?s value. The 3rd article argues that the multiple purposes for which accounting information is used complicates the issue of value, as reported by accounting. Two key conflicting valuation perspectives are the so–called decision–usefulness and true income perspectives. The current drive towards fair value accounting, as opposed to historic cost accounting, cast doubts on the reliability and relevance of accounting information. Even though it may be argued that value–based techniques are more relevant because it is a better reflection of the current business conditions, the mere subjective nature thereof and the accountant?s objective valuation skills make the true relevance of this information questionable. Furthermore, mixed model valuations found in financial statements makes cross–company information unreliable. Accountancy research of the past four decades focussed on the concept of user decision–usefulness. The user is also pre–eminent in the globalisation of accounting standards of the FASB and the IASB, where users are specified as the equity investors, lenders and capital providers. The 4th article acknowledges that although these user categories are important consumers of the financial data, there are other users which are also impacted by the financial information and the company?s operational performances. There are also concerns over accounting?s key assumptions, such as its quantification and predictive abilities, which are fundamental to the decision–usefulness objective. Furthermore, there are questions around how the regulators decided what information is suppose to be useful and what type of utility is being sought. In summary, the focus on the vocational aspects of accountancy stands in contrast to claims of accounting as an academic discipline in the social sciences. The reality is that the practices of the profession will probably always play a central role in what is taught at university level, and the regulators, as the final authority on accounting standards, will probably remain dictatorial in promulgating their versions of accounting theory. Yet, accounting and its wide spread impact on society, makes it a key discipline within the economical and management sciences. It is therefore essential for the resurrection of accounting as a social scientific discipline that there is a return to foundational accounting research that will prepare (and enable) prospective practitioners and academics to question the status quo and push back on accounting practices that are threatening to extinguish the flame of accounting scholarship. / Thesis (Ph.D. (Accounting))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2011.

Recent corporate reporting history is well–known for its corporate failures and questionable accountancy practices, many of which caused the profession to be frowned upon. However, the splodge on the accounting profession?s reputation goes deeper than its corporate reporting failures. The scientific foundation thereof is also being questioned in academic circles. Even though accounting scholars have been trying to formulate foundational accounting theories, it has been the accounting regulators that have been more successful in promoting their versions of what accounting theory should be, which place a question mark on the legitimacy of current day accounting theory. This thesis aims to delve deeper into the foundational philosophies of accounting and its impact on the practice of accounting. With the current accounting globalisation efforts, the profession?s stewardship function is becoming less prominent in its promulgated standards, which in turn brings the focus on the many questionable ethical practices found in the profession. Even though the regulatory bodies require their members to commit themselves to professional codes of conduct, which entails competency, integrity, objectivity and confidentiality, the 1st article in this thesis claims that ethical conduct is more than mere adherence to rules and regulations. It is also about the image of not only the profession, but also accounting research and education. Accounting is broadly practised, researched and taught within its so–called conceptual framework, of which a key objective is to guide and inform accounting practice. The conceptual framework became the basis upon which accounting theory is based. However, many accounting scholars are openly critical of presenting accounting theory as a set of practical guidelines. The 2nd article in the thesis concludes that, from an academic perspective, accounting theory should be based on three quintessential guidelines. The first of which is its primary purpose of reporting on the historic economic events, secondly the provision of useable and comparable information about these events and finally, the facilitation of business decisions based on relevant and reliable information. In the above mentioned business decisions, the concept of value is often taken for granted and many accounting techniques? effectiveness is judged on how well it approximates an item?s value. The 3rd article argues that the multiple purposes for which accounting information is used complicates the issue of value, as reported by accounting. Two key conflicting valuation perspectives are the so–called decision–usefulness and true income perspectives. The current drive towards fair value accounting, as opposed to historic cost accounting, cast doubts on the reliability and relevance of accounting information. Even though it may be argued that value–based techniques are more relevant because it is a better reflection of the current business conditions, the mere subjective nature thereof and the accountant?s objective valuation skills make the true relevance of this information questionable. Furthermore, mixed model valuations found in financial statements makes cross–company information unreliable. Accountancy research of the past four decades focussed on the concept of user decision–usefulness. The user is also pre–eminent in the globalisation of accounting standards of the FASB and the IASB, where users are specified as the equity investors, lenders and capital providers. The 4th article acknowledges that although these user categories are important consumers of the financial data, there are other users which are also impacted by the financial information and the company?s operational performances. There are also concerns over accounting?s key assumptions, such as its quantification and predictive abilities, which are fundamental to the decision–usefulness objective. Furthermore, there are questions around how the regulators decided what information is suppose to be useful and what type of utility is being sought. In summary, the focus on the vocational aspects of accountancy stands in contrast to claims of accounting as an academic discipline in the social sciences. The reality is that the practices of the profession will probably always play a central role in what is taught at university level, and the regulators, as the final authority on accounting standards, will probably remain dictatorial in promulgating their versions of accounting theory. Yet, accounting and its wide spread impact on society, makes it a key discipline within the economical and management sciences. It is therefore essential for the resurrection of accounting as a social scientific discipline that there is a return to foundational accounting research that will prepare (and enable) prospective practitioners and academics to question the status quo and push back on accounting practices that are threatening to extinguish the flame of accounting scholarship. / Thesis (Ph.D. (Accounting))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2011.