Analytical Necessity

Abstract

It is necessary that accounting actions should rest on accounting concepts, for these can explain so much. These concepts can speak about what our action is, about what it is not, about things to which action is related, and about the necessity for the relationship. Concepts can be compelling and many accounting actions are analytically necessary. Equivalence of experience for both parties is a necessary feature of every exchange-priced transaction consummated in the market. Equivalence of favorable and unfavorable effects is a necessary part of each party’s record of a transaction. Neglect to recognize the analytical necessity could destroy the service function of accounting.

Citation

(2016), "Analytical Necessity", A. C. Littleton’s Final Thoughts on Accounting: A Collection of Unpublished Essays (Studies in the Development of Accounting Thought, Vol. 20), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 73-78. https://doi.org/10.1108/S1479-350420160000020030