Metaphors In Accounting

Theories are tools which allow people to understand certain problems from diverse viewpoints and to construct reality. The notion of reality construction through the application of theories has its roots in philosophy and philosophical debates.

Accounting elaborates imagery. Accounting theorists and researchers draw on different images of accounting and metaphors to elaborate different theories of accounting. A metaphor is ‘an organ of perception’ (Postman, 1996, pp.174). Metaphors create impact in the mind of readers and the use of metaphor generates an image which is based on partial truth, a one-sided abstraction “in which certain features are emphasised and others suppressed in a selective comparison” (Morgan, 1980, pp.611). Out of the

309) when he uses the image of accounting as a historical record to show accounting as an extension of the owner’s personal memory. Accounting record gives a history of the stewardship of the company. This reveals how effectively the management maintains faithful record of the actual exchange events of an entity by stressing on consistent, verifiable and quantifiable information. Accounting as a historical record explores the expertise of accountants in summarising and classifying accounting information in a clear manner. The work of accountants occupies a central role in the society as they are responsible for monitoring the economic health of companies. The accountant is involved in a process of interpretation, a process which has sometimes given rise to the description of accounting as an art, and hence to the idea that accounting is much a matter of taste as it is of objective fact (Sterling,

According to Deegan & Unerman (pp.10), “conceptual Framework in accounting is an explanatory theory that relies upon various concepts like prudence, going concern and materiality”. while the income statement reports the income and expenses a business engenders over a period.

The American Accounting Association (AAA) defines “Accounting as the process of identifying, measuring and communicating economic information to permit informed judgement and decision by users of the information”.

Accounting is perceived as a source of communication and language through its dissemination of financial and other information to users of accounting information. For example, accounting statements are used in decision making about the acquisition of a company’s securities, in evaluating a firm’s tax liability, in calculating the rates a public utility can charge its customers, in determining whether an employer can manage to pay for an increase in wage, and so forth. Accounting information helps to assess alternatives and perhaps to reduce uncertainty. Users can be internal and