Discussion of “articulating accounting principles Classical accounting theory as the pursuit of ‘explanation by embodiment’”

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to provide a discussion of Brian Rutherford’s paper “Articulating accounting principles: classical accounting theory as the pursuit of ‘explanation by embodiment’ ”. Design/methodology/approach – The paper draws on the author’s experience of 13-years working at ICAEW trying to improve relations between the worlds of accounting practice and accounting research. Findings – The paper argues that classical accounting theory became discredited because it was too detached from the world of practice and in fact seriously misunderstood it, and that accounting research using the methods of the social sciences is not incompatible with normative accounting theory. However, if Brian Rutherford’s paper encourages even more accounting researchers to engage in accounting policy debates, and to do so in ways that reflect a sympathetic understanding of existing practices, that would be a welcome development. Originality/value – The paper contributes to the continuing debate on how accounting research can contribute to improvements in accounting practice. K