Imre Lakatos developed the structure of Research Programs (PI), based on the ideas of Karl R. Popper and Thomas S. Kuhn, establishing a hypothetical theoretical framework in the development of Research. This has been applied to all sciences taking into account the characteristics of each one, including Accounting. Professor Leandro Cañibano has been one of the main exponents of this theory in accounting, presenting three PIs and eleven subprograms, which he recognized as the main elements in their formulation, and based on these he named them: Legalistic, economic and formalized.
P rograms research
From the perspective of the (PI), a group or scientific community would be characterized by an agreement around a set of basic methodological propositions, where all or the vast majority would agree on the steps to follow and which should be avoided in the investigation.
The PIs are made up of a nucleus and a ring, in the nucleus the whole set of methodological instruments and basic hypotheses are present that can be used to explain or predict new facts (Negative Heuristics), these demarcate the routes that we must avoid and which are not subjected to falsification, the Positive Heuristic constitutes the content of the Research Program, they can be discussed and lead to the formulation of new theories (auxiliary hypotheses) that form the protective ring of the nucleus, showing the path that must be followed, the auxiliary hypotheses are built by the nucleus, but they can undergo modifications, adjustments and if necessary they can be supplanted in such a way that they can defend against the refutation of the Program itself.
The approach to the elements of the Program (nucleus and ring) and the alterations that it may undergo during its maturation, can be difficult to define, due to the different concepts that can be had of what the nucleus and the ring are, since The analysis carried out in a PI is done historically, and the conclusion of this analysis can never be given with complete certainty and conclusively, given that what we now believe to be a basic and elementary hypothesis belonging to the nucleus, with the passage of time could be restated as an auxiliary hypothesis corresponding to the ring.
A PI is really useful and viable in its use when it has the ability to successfully anticipate or predict new events, and even the results not suspected by the program, being one step ahead of its alternatives. The elements given by the PI, when used are expected to give favorable results consecutively, this strengthens the Program, making it more stable, but in the event that elements appear that challenge the PI, it does not mean that it should be condemned to rejection. On the contrary, the variations or modifications necessary to consolidate or evolve the Program may occur, as a result of these challenges, progressive changes or Degenerative changes may occur, the former occur when their theoretical growth anticipates their empirical growth, that is say,manages to hypothetically anticipate events that occur in a real way. Degenerated PIs are produced when they have been repeatedly losing their ability to forecast, the hypotheses raised being contradicted by empiricism and in each new case of refutation the complexity of this is increasing, leading to replacement.
Lakatos, specifies that the refutation in these cases not only proves that a Program is wrong, but also needs to show that there is another that improves the performance of the current one.
Accounting research programs
"Using the term Accounting Research Program, Cañibano presents three programs and eleven subprograms in accounting as follows:
to. Legalist Program: Subprograms (codes and laws, determination of principles and conceptual framework)
b. Economic Program: Subprograms (search for true profit, utility for the decision maker, positive accounting theory)
c. Formalized Program: Subprograms (the axiomatization of accounting, circulatory analysis, agency theory, the CAPM / HEM model and the information economy) ”(1)
Below is a brief analysis of the main elements of each Program and Subprogram:
Legalist Program
The Legalist Program's main purpose was to seek the guarantee for third parties regarding their current and future obligations, for this it concentrated on revealing the merchant's assets. Cañibano called it in this way "Legalistic" because it highlighted the influence of objectivity, in the legal sense, where absolutely all accounting values had to be reflected and supported by the facts (books and supports). This program worked with a control criterion, orienting itself to act in the control of fraud, starting from the principle of bad faith, where everyone within the company are thieves and the control has to act to prevent the property from being stolen.
Codes and Laws.
In history, codes and laws have marked a fundamental role in the evolution of different cultures, their appearance going back to the birth of civilization, these were applied in all areas, including accounting, although in its primitive form, it has been found hints of this from the creation of the Hammurabi code, through Greek societies, Roman societies, Cicero's Paetiela Papiriá law, until today.
Determination of Principles.
The Principles were formed from the need for a summary of the things that the accountants did in their daily practices, for the construction of these, the search for solutions problem by problem has been used as a method for each new circumstance that has arisen., observing the common elements in each case, identifying the acts that lead to the accounting of a being to a must be.
Conceptual framework.
The conceptual framework has provided the justification of accounting practices in a reasonable way, gathering the descriptions, characteristics and accounting practices of general acceptance, systematizing them, giving them an order, a structure and a classification, and from this obtaining a logical accounting argument..
Economic Program.
The Economic Program dedicates its accounting information to internal information for the correct measurement of results, control of productivity and especially looking for this information to serve in adequate decision-making, based on reality, therefore the purpose of this program is related directly with the knowledge of the economic reality and the business environment, both in the economic part, as well as in the social and environmental part.
Search for true profit.
This subprogram is concerned with the correct determination of the results of the activities carried out by economic entities, such as profits, creation of wealth and distribution of it. Objectivity in this case is the main basis in determining the real result, calling into question the forms of measurement in accounting, such as the unit of measurement to be used, the value of the work, the forms of depreciation, etc. Since these can generate the uncertainty of whether they are truly reflecting the real value at a given moment. Due to this, during the development of the search for true profit, work has been carried out in order to reformulate the measurement bases in accounting and from this results have been obtained such as adjustments for inflation, its accounting and the profit value.
Usefulness for the decision maker.
Accounting is not limited to compilation and global communication, but also takes internal and external information to create decision models that offer a high percentage of success and from another line conducts research based on the behavior of the decision maker.
This subprogram is based on the usefulness that the information may have in decision-making.
Positive accounting theory.
Positive research investigates accounting practices, conducting case research, highlighting how things are done and what is the level of subordination of entities to the established regulation, serving to explain and forecast the accounting behavior of companies objectively Since this is not part of what it should be, but what it really is, seeking to understand accounting, determine its characteristics and the interaction of its elements. Another line of positivist research is the measurement of the economic impact of accounting standards, verifying through empirical research how they intervene in entities (agents, sectors or economic activities) as well as the capacity of regulatory structures to produce information that reflects reality..
Formalized Program.
This subprogram is marked by technological and computer development, it seeks to pose in a numerical way the accounting propositions (theory) to be interpreted the results semantically, trying to explain the accounting knowledge through logical models - Mathematics.
Axiomatization of Accounting.
The axiomatization of is the mathematization of accounting, reflecting and expressing accounting relationships numerically, giving accounting a Logical - Mathematical approach, from these theorems are built that allow solutions to problems within organizations to be found.
Circulatory Analysis.
The circulatory maps of resources are the objective of knowledge of this subprogram, as well as the elaboration of models of inter-company relationships, how the macroeconomic accounts interact and how they affect companies, although accountants have problems due to the difficulty that they present in the management of the technical information of the company at the microeconomic level.
The agency theory.
This is an approach that helps to decisively comply with the regulation in accounting, as it tries to represent the relationship between financing and management in a numerical way, looking for tools or elements that allow evaluating, for example, the management and measurement of the fulfillment of commitments. The elements that are recognized in the subprogram are the principal or principal. "Which are not only shareholders, partners or owners, but also includes all the providers of resources, the members of the financing" (2) and administrators or agents, who are in charge of managing resources with the idea of obtaining wealth.
CAPM / HEM model
They are positive research results models which have reached a high degree of development and fulfill the purpose of being valuation - decision models applied to the financial assets of companies or the stock market.
The CAMP (Camp Asset Pricing Model) or price model of financial assets, determines that the present value of a financial asset is given by the net present value of its cash flows that it can provide in the future, its final realization value and the associated risk. (3) The HEM or Capital Market Efficiency Hypothesis, states that current prices incorporate information from the past and present whether available or confidential.
Information economy
This makes the formulation of decisional models based on empirical research, historical information and its trends, proposing the strategies to follow more conducive to take from a real situation in the present to a desired situation in the short or long term, for this It is necessary to complement the microeconomic analysis with the theory of production, the theory of distribution, the theory of the consumer and decision models.
conclusion
The IPs have evolved according to the characteristics given by the environment they have faced, during certain periods the accounting has had specific needs and uses, which has led them to present the accounting information to us from being a mechanism that sought to give guarantee to third parties, to be indispensable today in the formulation of decision models trying to reduce the uncertainty of companies, seeking to guarantee success in the expected results.
Therefore, we hope that the next step in accounting will be the determining influence of the social and environmental part in the construction of business decision models in the accounting part.
Bibliography
- Burbano, Jorge Enrique, Historical analysis of its object and method, WWW.GOOGLE.COM Cañibano, Leandro and Gonzalo Angulo José. Scientific research programs and subprograms in accounting. in: Universidad de Antioquia magazine, No. 29, September 1996, pp. 12-53Franco Ruiz, Rafael. Towards comprehensive accounting. In: international journal legislation of accounting and auditing, No. 16, July-September 2003, pp. 113-154 (2) (3) Gómez López, Roberto. Scientific and methodological evolution of the economy, Accounting Science, Scientific and Methodological Foundations, WWW.EUMED.NET, University of Málaga Mantilla Galvis Omar de Jesús / Mejia Soto Eutimio / Montes Salazar Carlos Alberto, Emerging Accounting Pag 200 (1) Tua Pereda, Jorge, Principles and Standards of Accounting, Madrid: ice, 1983
