Critical Perspectives on Accounting Essay

In this article Marcus Milne raises critical overview and analysis of literature devoted to establishing evidence for positive accounting theory in regards of corporate companionable disclosure. The central argument of the paper is that positive accounting theorists are trying to annex social and environmental accounting research. The present article is empirical research and the former employs qualitative and vicenary data to support the claim that positive accounting theory of social disclosure has failed in its endeavor.The authors purpose is to challenge the perceptions of positive accounting theory and to illustrate why efforts of theorists to social and environmental accounting has failed. The author focuses on the original work of Watts and Zimmerman and tends to present their concern and ideas with the lobbying behavior observed in US oil companies. The companies were claimed to be monopolists and self-interested politicians that had pursued mainly wealth transfers in th e form of taxes and other semipolitical costs. For them, social responsibility is passing remark.The article is useful to my research topic as Milne suggests that modern businesses and companies should be more concerned with social and environmental responsibility as our worlds resources are non unlimited. The main limitation of the article is that only sensation original work is incorporated the article presents one viewpoint without presenting multiple views on the problem. The author indicates that literature on positive accounting theory has failed to provide arguments for self-interested managers wealth maximizes. The article will be useful supplementary information for my research on social and environmental responsibility.