An empirical evaluation of accounting income numbers(第二期).pdfVIP

Accounting Research Center, Booth School of Business, University of Chicago An Empirical Evaluation of Accounting Income Numbers Author(s): Ray Ball and Philip Brown Reviewed work(s): Source: Journal of Accounting Research, Vol. 6, No. 2 (Autumn, 1968), pp. 159-178 Published by: Blackwell Publishing on behalf of Accounting Research Center, Booth School of Business, University of Chicago Stable URL: /stable/2490232 . Accessed: 31/07/2012 08:04 Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms Conditions of Use, available at . /page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp . JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@. . Blackwell Publishing and Accounting Research Center, Booth School of Business, University of Chicago are collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Journal of Accounting Research. An Empirical Evaluation of Accounting Income Numbers RAY BALL* and PHILIP BROWNt Accounting theorists have generally evaluated the usefulness of account- ing practices by the extent of their agreement with a particular analytic model. The model may consist of only a few assertions or it may be a rigorously developed argument. In each case, the method of evaluation has been to compare existing practices with the more preferable practices im- plied by the model or with some standard which the model implies all practices should possess. The shortcoming of this method is that it ignores a significant source of knowledge of the world, namely, the extent to which the predictions of the model conform to observed behavior. It is not enough to defend an analytical inquiry on the basis that its assumptions are empirically supportable, for how is one to kn