In the following article, the advantages and disadvantages of a purely positivist accounting will be revealed and how its influence has harmed the development of the practice itself, in its attempt to eliminate value judgments, clinging to pure and mechanistic knowledge of reality. (Tua, 1983, p. 385).
Accounting Regulation and with it the practice in the positive approach is based on the accounting representation of reality oriented to the fulfillment of pragmatic purposes defined in the specific environments where accounting systems are developed. (Mejía, 2005, p. 137)
Here the positivist construction observes the practice, it is generalized and universal laws of how it behaves are enunciated, it is also revealed that positivism in the construction of principles can have notable deficiencies.
Introduction
The International models of accounting systems adopted by Colombia have generated negative effects on accounting and its environment. Leaving aside that before adopting an accounting system, it must be taken into account that all countries are not equal and therefore have different environments, objectives, characteristics and needs. (Tua, 1989, p. 136)
Accounting has been a discipline that over time has been channeled towards the positivist approach more than any other approach, based on the observation of the phenomena of nature, that is, the knowledge of reality establishing generalizations of the practice existing, refraining from making any value judgment.
Positivism. Advantages and disadvantages
Over time, the accounting discipline in Colombia in its desire to strengthen itself, has adopted and implemented (without harmonization) accounting systems of countries where its development has occurred in a significant way compared to that of the country, resulting in the non-satisfaction of accounting needs. Despite the fact that the Technical Council of Accounting (2) has promoted and promoted research in the accounting field, there has not been a radical change by means of which they develop and create their own models adapted to our needs.
The positivist perception is aimed at the real facts of the generalized accounting of empirical research (3), embodied by other models appropriate to its environment of need, so it is necessary to make it unified and validated to achieve a radical context in a common decision making.
As has already been mentioned, Colombian accounting has revolved around a positivist approach, therefore, it has limited itself to establishing generalizations of the existing practice, leaving absolutely aside any question of value.
Positivism (4) is based on independent perception, by the observer who ultimately dispenses with all kinds of interpretation that are not strictly supported by reality. (Tua, 1983, p. 346).
One of the most significant advantages of the positivist approach is that it does not admit value judgments (5), since these do not guarantee verifiability in reality, while limiting itself to describing perceptible facts and verifying them in the environment certifies its credibility.. This seeks to build an aseptic science free from any prescriptive position. At the moment of recounting the daily life of an economic entity, it must reflect what it is and not what it should be. Which means to put aside the value judgments.
For the proper development of an accounting system according to the positive aspect, one must start from the description, that is to say, be totally objective, seeking certainty in one's own knowledge. The determining factor of objectivity is necessary to base and establish any knowledge, it also influences the evolution of certain constructions.
From another point of view, one of the shortcomings of positivism is that it is an approach that is limited to the only descriptive construction, which makes it become a mechanical, static and non-dynamic methodology, which means that it has to be included within the accounting discipline another approach such as the normative one.
Due to the aforementioned, the positivist aspect must be complemented with a normative approach that represents a central nucleus of basic propositions, whose development based on specific objectives is made through instrumental hypotheses. (Tua, 1983, p. 388).
In conclusion, the concept of science has room for both the positive and the normative approach and what is truly essential is to understand when one is in one case and when in the other, in order to choose the most viable method in terms of accounting development.
Accounting is not normative or positive, but normative and positive.
Conclusions
- The accounting discipline cannot be based solely on a positivist approach, it must be complemented with normative aspects, to become a complete science, in addition to the lack of an adequate distinction between the creation of a theory and its practical interpretation. Accounting as an applied science requires positive and normative instruments, although these in accounting have different material objects and appear with a good degree of independence, they require a joint treatment to achieve that accounting has a development and a great advance as an accounting discipline. The lack of maturity in accounting as an intellectual theory has been due to the great generalization of accounting theory in its cognitive aspect.For positivism, only what is real is true without taking into account the judgments that can be generated in the construction of a better accounting understanding, to achieve such a fact it is necessary to start by leading the investigation, which provides the necessary methods and resources for the unification of the needs of each accounting environment Accounting is not positive, nor normative, nor is it inductive or deductive, it does not have a unique method, nor an exclusive way of approaching its study, it assumes an eclectic position in which it takes each methodological tool the most useful, as do other human sciences. Methodological monism, such as physicalism and even falsificationism, is discarded and a constructive conceptual pluralism is advocated. (Mejía, 2005, p. 166).
Bibliography
Mejía Soto, Eutimio. Introduction to accounting thinking by Richard Mattessich. In: international journal Legis de accounting y auditing, October / December 2005, p. 137-166.
Molina, Jorge E. History of Public Accounting. Colombia 20th century.
Tua Pereda, Jorge. Accounting principles and standards. Madrid Spain, 1983.
Tua Pereda, Jorge. Readings of accounting theory and illustration, Medellín: Inter-American Legal Financial Center, Graphic editions, 1995.
Ferrater Mora, J. Dictionary of Philosophy.
(2) Body in charge of the technical-scientific part of the accounting profession in Colombia.
(3) Positivism tries to stick to the things themselves, to the phenomena as they are given, to the facts and to substitute the imagination and reasoning for observation (Maria J. Introduction to Philosophy. Ed. Western Magazine. 1969).
(4) To the facts for the facts and from the facts (Tua, 1983, p. 346).
(5) "Referred to those appraisals of reality that lead to face a certain way or that incite certain preferences and decisions." The phrase in quotation marks belongs to Camps, V. Economic Notebooks of Ice 3-4 p. 2. 3.
