Title: Conventional accounting in determining an enterprise's wealth: sign or referent - a theoretical discourse for augmentation

Authors: Sudhir C. Lodh

Addresses: Polytechnic Institute Australia, Level 16, 233 Castlereagh Street, Sydney, 2000, Australia

Abstract: This paper is an attempt to assess the duality check of wealth determination through contemporary corporate reporting. In enhancing such a theory of interest, it is argued that there is a necessity to use methodical discretions; which ultimately can 'inform and reflect the implicit epistemology and metaphysics' (Ravenscroft and Williams, 2009) of our discipline of accounting. From extant accounting literature using two metaphors - sign and referent (Baudrillard, 1983, 1994a, 1994b); in a dynamic environment, it is argued that prevalent accounting standards such as IFRS (or otherwise) are considered to be signs and have epistemic objectivity. That is, the determination of wealth (in accounting) based on the current signs is objective. At the referent level, it is argued that the determination of wealth for an enterprise is considered to be subjective; which, as always, requires augmentation.

Keywords: the accounting equation; augmented accounting framework; confidence accounting; fair value; corporate reporting; integrated reporting.

DOI: 10.1504/IJCA.2018.096749

International Journal of Critical Accounting, 2018 Vol.10 No.5, pp.341 - 362

Received: 05 Jul 2017
Accepted: 15 Jan 2018
Published online: 10 Dec 2018 *

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