Subject. This article discusses the theoretical aspects of environmental determinism as a scientific trend in the field of international accounting. Objectives. The article aims to show the inconsistency of current scientific approaches to the classification of international accounting systems. Methods. The research is speculative. For the study, I used the dialectical method of scientific knowledge, the method of collecting theoretical and regulatory information, the method of formalization, as well as analysis, synthesis, observation, and comparison. Results. Based on the research, the article finds that at present there is no clear understanding of the need for accounting models. They do not reflect the specificities of national accounting systems, as classification approaches are based solely on one or a couple of environmental factors rather than on the system as a whole. Conclusions and Relevance. The use of the existing accounting models, such as the Continental and Anglo-American ones, to characterize national accounting systems is misleading and does not reflect their institutional characteristics. Therefore, it is necessary to revise the theory of environmental determinism and resume accounting research in this area. Particular attention should be paid to the analysis of the positive and negative impact of international standards on the economies of foreign countries that have adopted them, and compare this experience with the Russian practices. The results of the work are a call to continue scientific research in the field of international accounting, in connection with which they are primarily addressed to the academic community, as well as researchers whose activities are focused on accounting and taxation, and to other interested persons who study international accounting.
Keywords: international accounting, environmental determinism theory, accounting models
References:
Kothari S.P., Ramanna K., Skinner D.J. Implications for GAAP from an Analysis of Positive Research in Accounting. Journal of Accounting and Economics, 2010, vol. 50, iss. 2–3, pp. 246–286. URL: Link
Ahmed K., Chalmers K., Khlif H. A Meta-analysis of IFRS Adoption Effects. The International Journal of Accounting, 2013, vol. 48, iss. 2, pp. 173–217. URL: Link
Brown P. International Financial Reporting Standards: What Are the Benefits? Accounting and Business Research, 2011, vol. 41, iss. 3, pp. 269–285. URL: Link
Cooke T.E., Olusegun Wallace R.S. Financial Disclosure Regulation and Its Environment: A Review and Further Analysis. Journal of Accounting and Public Policy, 1990, vol. 9, iss. 2, pp. 79–110. URL: Link90013-P
Böckem H., d'Arcy A. Evolution of (International) Accounting Systems Critical Assessment of the Environmental Determinism Theory with an Application to Tax Influences. Schmalenbachs Zeitschrift für betriebswirtschaftliche Forschung, 1999, vol. 51, pp. 60–76. URL: Link
Hatfield H.R. Some Variations in Accounting Practice in England, France, Germany and the United States. Journal of Accounting Research, 1966, vol. 4, iss. 2, pp. 169–182. URL: Link
Mueller G.G. International Accounting. New York, Macmillan, 1967, 255 p.
Choi F.D.S., Meek G.K. International Accounting. 7th ed. New Jersey, Prentice Hall PTR, 2011, 476 p.
Nobes C.W. A Judgemental International Classification of Financial Reporting Practices. Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, 1983, vol. 10, iss. 1, pp. 1–19. URL: Link
Nobes Ch. Towards a General Model of the Reasons for International Differences in Financial Reporting. ABACUS, 1998, vol. 34, iss. 2, pp. 162–187. URL: Link
Shubina O.V. [Causes and principal aspects of international accounting models]. Mezhdunarodnyi bukhgalterskii uchet = International Accounting, 2016, vol. 19, iss. 11, pp. 51–62. (In Russ.) URL: Link
Alexander D., Archer S. On the Myth of “Anglo-Saxon” Financial Accounting. The International Journal of Accounting, 2000, vol. 35, iss. 4, pp. 539–557. URL: Link00078-9
Nobes Ch. On the Myth of “Anglo-Saxon” Financial Accounting: A Comment. The International Journal of Accounting, 2003, vol. 38, iss. 1, pp. 95–104. URL: Link00213-3
Alexander D., Archer S. On the Myth of “Anglo-Saxon” Financial Accounting: A Response to Nobes. The International Journal of Accounting, 2003, vol. 38, iss. 4, pp. 503–504. URL: Link
Kliukin A. [Modern accounting in foreign countries and the Republic of Belarus: models, evaluation and automation]. Agrarnaya ekonomika = Agrarian Economics, 2023, no. 4, pp. 80–96. (In Russ.) URL: Link
Voskresenskaya N.V. [Historical preconditions of bookkeeping and fiscal accounting in modern home practice]. Vestnik Chuvashskogo Universiteta = Bulletin of Chuvash University, 2010, no. 4, pp. 335–339. URL: Link (In Russ.)
Rossetti S., Verona R. International Differences in IFRS Policy Choice and the Persistence of Accounting Classification: The Case of China. International Journal of Business and Management, 2017, vol. 12, no. 2, pp. 27–46. URL: Link
Nair R.D., Frank W.G. The Impact of Disclosure and Measurement Practices on International Accounting Classifications. The Accounting Review, 1980, vol. 55, no. 3, pp. 426–450. URL: Link
Frank W.G. An Empirical Analysis of International Accounting Principles. Journal of Accounting Research, 1979, vol. 17, iss. 2, pp. 593–605. URL: Link
Doupnik T.S., Salter S.B. An Empirical Test of a Judgmental International Classification of Financial Reporting Practices. Journal of International Business Studies, 1993, vol. 24, no. 1, pp. 41–60. URL: Link
Olomskaya E.V., Aksent'ev A.A. [Filling in the gaps in bookkeeping and tax accounting: A comparative analysis of international and Russian practices]. Mezhdunarodnyi bukhgalterskii uchet = International Accounting, 2021, vol. 24, iss. 3, pp. 338–368. (In Russ.) URL: Link
Heidhues E., Patel C. A Critique of Gray's Framework on Accounting Values Using Germany as a Case Study. Critical Perspectives on Accounting, 2011, vol. 22, iss. 3, pp. 273–287. URL: Link
Hoogendoorn M.N. Accounting and Taxation in the Netherlands. European Accounting Review, 1996, vol. 5, iss. sup. 1, pp. 871–882. URL: Link
d'Arcy A. Accounting Classification and the International Harmonisation Debate – An Empirical Investigation. Accounting, Organizations and Society, 2001, vol. 26, iss. 4–5, pp. 327–349. URL: Link00036-2
Lee C.-W.J. Accounting Infrastructure and Economic Development. Journal of Accounting and Public Policy, 1987, vol. 6, iss. 2, pp. 75–85. URL: Link90007-X
