Accounting has not developed motivation towards accountants, in the sense that the professional practice of the public accountant has not been dignified against the promotion of the scientific development of accounting.
What makes us think that this accounting science is definitely only for a few, and for a few.
The scientific potential must be harnessed in order to obtain a greater accounting knowledge that implies developing accounting or economic models that serve to support the improvement of the quality of life.
Accounting seen by people of a specialized science nature, such as physics, as one of the most outstanding sciences in our environment, does not agree with thinking that accounting can have scientific approaches.
After this we find the great confrontation that accounting has, in terms of investigative work and accounting practice, in terms of Professor Tua pereda "accounting practice and accounting research two irreconcilable methods".
In Colombia we find that we have very few thinkers, that is, a very poor population in the sense of theoretical constructions that have involved little participation in the development of accounting.
This is the low participation of accountants, to say that there has been a lot of emphasis on accounting training in the sense of the labor market, regulatory and practical aspects which software currently runs. "Accountants practically forgot to think."
Accounting as a Science:
A matter of epistemological formation
To understand accounting as a science, it is necessary that we have prior knowledge of what is science, what is knowing, what is knowledge, science classes, etc.
The disputes that we find of the normative and the positive make accounting seen from science have the following positions:
- Get closer to mathematical science Deepening in social science
There are attempts by accounting experts because of the time accounting became a science.
Some like José María Requena affirm that accounting as a science was located at the beginning of the 20th century. Jorge Tua Pereda says that accounting as a science was located in Francesco Villa in 1846 when he separated “bookkeeping from true accounting science.
And finally, according to Montesinos, the scientific stage of accounting was consolidated in the 1950s, when Richard Mattessich developed a mathematical model, which consisted of recording accounting using algebraic matrices.
But it is necessary to clarify that the development of accounting was not incurred simply by the implementation of mathematical models that were applied to accounting, but it had to accommodate the Economy, Statistics, Law, Sociology, and Administration.
We can say then that accounting builds its scientificity from methodological tools and conceptual instruments from other disciplines.
"Epistemology provides us with diachronic tools to construct and evaluate theory-v. gr.: Kuhnian paradigms, Lakatosian research programs, Estegmuller and Esneed theoretical networks, Mario Bungue research fields and Popperian falsification ”
Finally controversies arise between the object of the accounting study that according to Machado is “the circularization of resources, represented in the processes of production, distribution and conservation of wealth, product of human interaction in the framework of the economic and social of man ”
But there are those who have the audacity to think that accounting is not at all theoretical, as Golberg affirms, where he also states that accounting differs from other sciences and that it is fundamentally practical.
Accounting has been in constant changes and evolution due to the new needs that arise, both for those who are in academic training and for those who need their knowledge, and for this reason many underdeveloped countries and therefore Colombia have been adapting and / or reinforcing their knowledge in the methodological.
Accounting science has presented a great weakness in the methodological aspect and a great strengthening of the pragmatic aspect, where “accounting methodology is confused with technical accounting procedures”.
And to give solution to this problem, some bases are given in characteristics cited by Mattessich (2), to be the basis of a general theory:
- Formulation and use of well-defined terms and empirically significant concepts. Adaptation of general scientific instruments and methods from other sciences to general accounting theory. Orientation of accounting towards specific objectives and management information models with specific objectives. Integration of areas Specific accounting in a coherent and expanded unit. Systematic procedures for checking models and alternative hypotheses for an identical objective.
Accounting today, with the process of standardization, in accounting concepts have been changing, as the one of company-owner has passed to company-investor, as that of public faith has passed to the public interest, among others.
In addition to a new concept that is social accounting and this concept is linked to that of social responsibility, which tries to see how it affects the decisions that the company makes vis-à-vis society, positively or negatively, in terms of the quality of life both of society like all members of the company.
Scientific Advance of Accounting and Quality of Life
Scientific and technological evolution forces society to modify its behavior, and as a result customs and achievements also change.
The future of third world countries, in their desire to have a model that governs aspects such as the economic, social and political, leads to the adoption of economic models from developed countries, this does not seem the best option, since these models They were created according to the situation and environment of those countries, and if it is adapted to the situation of the underdeveloped countries, it will not really meet expectations.
The imposition of the free market model to the full extent of its implications as an accelerated process represents a concrete affirmation of this horizon line. In this context, intelligence as an essential resource in developed countries would be assimilated to the application of that intelligence in undeveloped or underdeveloped countries, giving the word creativity a simple sense of adaptability to transfer under this trend.
Accounting as a discipline of the accounting profession should aim to keep pace with the changes in the environment, it is here that intellectual development can help manage changing situations imposed by the globalization model.
It is necessary for those of us who work in accounting to question ourselves about knowledge regarding accounting as opposed to quality of life as a factor in national development.
"Accounting and quality of life are interrelated insofar as accounting has to do with aspects of observation, measurement, analysis, evaluation, information and control of complex variables.
On the other hand, public accounting as a profession, must use the advances in accounting to improve their information, certification and supervision in order to more effectively circulate scarce resources. "
The role of accounting professionals in terms of quality of life is decisive, more than anything in a country like Colombia, a country with a large number of problems, it is necessary to train new accountants trained to meet current demands, persist in the approach It is essential to train data recorders, financial statement makers or indicator calculators. It is essential to increase the social debt of accounting as a science and accounting as a problem solving profession, if accountants do not advance in these aspects, only quality can be discussed. of life as a theoretical reference.
In order to advance in the aforementioned concepts, accounting research can be taken as too useful a tool. If we commit ourselves to it, we can act in the development of accounting, venturing into new aspects that may arise, as well as reducing the possibilities that the Public accountant in practice is not only technically.
The resignation to the commitment with the profession implies in the short term an individual benefit, which causes that one lives of the profession and not for it, but in the medium and long term it can cause projection and status crises, as well as labor incompetence.
This indicates that from now on we must concern ourselves with research on accounting in order to improve the quality of the provision of our accounting service and achieve intellectual development, this will allow the profession of public accounting to continue to be decisive in the situation in our country.
