ABSTRACT
It is often and widely said that accounting is not, and cannot be, based on firm principles or laws of the kind that govern other scientific and technical processes. “Accounting is not formulated with reference to, nor does it stand on, general truths or the operation of natural or general laws.” 1 “Financial accounting and reporting are not grounded in natural laws as are the physical sciences, but must rest on a set of conventions or standards designed to achieve what are perceived to be the desired objectives of financial accounting and reporting.” 2 Certainly, accounting as it is practiced is not based on any such general laws.
