ABSTRACT
The assertion is often made by practitioners and teachers that accounting is a “science.” The statement is assumed to be self-evident, so true that it needs only to be made to be proved. To demonstrate or prove the statement would be to doubt its validity, to admit that it might not be true. It is the purpose of this paper to examine the nature of accounting, to consider whether the subject matter and method of accounting justify the statement that accounting is a science. Probably no one, even the most ardent champion, would assert that accounting writers and practitioners are always strictly objective in their points of view. The fact that much literature and practice have been unscientific in character explains in part the lack of discussion on the thesis, “Accounting is a science.” The proponents have preferred not to raise disturbing issues. The opponents have smiled at the humor of the statement, considering it so untrue as not to be taken seriously.
