Transition Of Positive And Normative Accounting Thinking

Transition of positive and normative accounting thinking

In history it is said that accounting is born at the same moment that man sees the need to bring accounts, although, he also informs that he is present in many civilizations behind, such as the Sumerians, the Babylonians, the Egyptians, the Greeksamong others, in order to register the most important transfers thus evolving and perfecting this practice. Accounting records arise from the need to complement the memory of human being, after commercial transfers overcome the power to remember them.

We are not going to engage in the history of how accounting arises, but in how accounting thinking has changed from the same Island in which it is recognized. In past times there has been a clear examples that accounting thinking goes through a series of stages where its evolution is clearly seen, through an empirical period where accounting records grow with the rise of commerce, a second part with the emergenceand development of the double game, a third with the implementation of this and finally reaching the great scientific period where it was characterized by being and recognizing science as a group of notions that are generated through objectively experiencing with the senses,Mediated by observation, and the experimentation that lead to the analysis and reasoning of the phenomena generating hypotheses, waiting to be proven (Ibáñez, 2007).

That is why at this time the positivist term began to be discussed since this refers to human observation, the perception of independent reality, also to absolute truths and the useful, that is, that it is affirmative and that has no mistakes.

This concept became a very recognized current in the world, since it is a guided thought to the scientific and logical in which only studies of science are incorporated. Positivism is oriented towards the objective observation of economic movements, to real facts and does not admit other types of knowledge as valid but anyone who comes from the scientifically demonstrated experience is to say:

“Positivism considers that there is no other knowledge than the one that comes from experience, therefore, denies the possibility that the theory can be a source of knowledge and, more, denies the possibility that philosophy can contribute to scientific knowledge". (Díaz Narváez, 2014, p 237).

It arises or is generated in the mid -nineteenth century, at which time there were many changes, which mainly focus on the industrial revolution with transformations throughout the world, and in all aspects of both social, cultural and economic life, this wentlinked to scientific advance, developing discoveries and research in great way.

The positivist current has its beginnings in the country of France, but as time was passing it was implemented and every day was adopted in Europe, and then having a great expansion in all parts of the world;This current is closely linked to the scientific, the quantum, what it does has an objective character of seeing things, focusing on seeing reality as it is, therefore, scientists, philosophers, mathematicians, historians, among othersThey identify with this thought since it is useful for deepening knowledge and research. This idea is adapted by the great researchers, discoverers of new things, and especially the interest of seeking the origin of things not as the Church raised at that time, leaving out the dogmatic and theological arguments, to focus on their owninvestigations and be able to touch reality with their own senses, in order to know where the phenomena presented more than all in nature were produced or generated.

Therefore, the human being had had multiple disagreements and fell short in the explanations that the Church gave with the creation of the world, they wanted more solid, feasible and truthful answers since they needed to capture, see, experiment and analyze with theirown means the origin of things.

That is why philosophers as Humé author or founder of the positivist current, characterized by being one of the greatest figures of Western philosophy, with studies in economics, sociology and history and solid thoughts that all knowledge was caused by experimentation withThe senses, that is why, that identified with the sciences and therefore, with the positivist theory, his representative was Augusto Comte;Exemplary author in the development of human thought, influencing the development of positivism and sociology, whose contributions greatly affected organizations and the course of the world (Velázquez, 2006).

Comte, from a very young age he demonstrated apathy with everything related to the religious, in this case what the traditional church said, that is, the Catholic, leaving behind those supernatural beliefs and the explanations of biblical origin about the world, dedicating himself to the investigationscientific, capturing reality empirically.

In a way he tried to use an intellectual adjustment, arriving as a conclusion that science was what the human being needed so that he could open his eyes and understand the real of the world in which he lives. His concern to show the world that the only valid knowledge according to him was that of science, studying the thought of the human being and the process that must happen to leave aside religious beliefs and advance in a more real knowledge, speaking inscientific term.

Therefore, he began the process of moving from beliefs to the scientific or logical by three states, in which he assured that man passed through these stages to achieve an objective thought of things. The first state refers to the teleological stage that is submerged the human being, referring to the imaginative, to the thoughts and beliefs of the human being, something fictional created by each one, so that in a way to be able to respond to things,attributed to supernatural beings or gods. The second state is metaphysic, it is a step of the imaginative, from the creative to criticTo be an adult, with the ability to have autonomy in their thoughts, analyzing things in a more complex way and wanting to capture reality with their senses. In the last state, what is sought is acquired, and that is that the human being has a positivist identity or consciousness, it is a stage of determinism that seeks the noun, the real through laws and investigations that account for each phenomenon (Casal& Viloria 2002).

Then, when the human being focuses on the third state, he maintains very entrenched characteristic of positivist thought such as;that this includes objectivity in all aspects, understanding this term as what does not allow value judgments, which does not involve the research subject, his desires, his feelings and thoughts. That is, it takes what will investigate with the attempt to analyze it and obtain pure, logical and consistent knowledge with reality, describing as it is and not as the person wants it to be. The positive current also admits that the subject, that is, the intellectual contemplates reality with his senses, which I acted empirically concluding this experience as the real.

However, many philosophers concluded that everything is not perfect, within the positivist current, the human being in a certain way felt imprisoned in the same context, since they could not freely express what they thought of the subject and moreThat everything could not be related to the object to be known, the consequence of this is that many complaints and men tired of this situation were raised, saying to great voice that it is not possible to attend to an investigation away from the subject, without taking into account whatThat is, a reflexive, analytical, communicative being that is born with capacities, with a mind that helps you think and question each of the situations that arises.

Then, they thought of adapting a new method that took into account all these shortcomings that in positivism were not taken into account, giving a resounding change to accounting thinking that he no longer thought in a positivist way, which had the great disadvantage of limiting himself in theConstruction only descriptive making the methodology become mechanics, static and non -dynamic. The great change to normativism which focused on the assumption of human behavior, in what should be and happen in a more idealistic and subjective way. Normativism has a concession based on ethics and well -being with determining objectives for the user, enclosing value judgments.

The normativism developed by Hans Kelsen Professor of Philosophy of Law, conceived the right not only for the laws and norms that dictated but for the ability to solve social problems, acting autonomously. When this current arrived, all things changed, not only in the field of law but also in the other aspects of life such as: the way of educating, to proceed in investigations. In positivism it was not allowed to relate the subject to the object to investigate, but it was necessary since there was a link that united them for the inquiry to be more effective, focusing not on the object, but on the subjects, in theirinterests, in their desires, giving power to the creativity inherent in them.

Within the normativism, there is also into account the value judgments, the human being, their attitudes, their behaviors and behaviors, since we are immersed in society, a changing and complex society.

This way of proceeding and acting that man has been having in his way of imparting his knowledge, due to the different forms that others have had, which have adapted very well in society and making it paradigms, which they have createdIn the human being, a vision, a way of understanding reality and living in the same way of how it has been understood.

Within the normative current we also have Montesinos where their thoughts refer to accounting under a reflexive, explanatory character, on the environment since accounting cannot only remain empirical, it must take into account both the object and the subjectresearch. But this current also has its shortcomings, since it is not possible to focus only on value judgments since these are more than changing within Unan Company or Society we find different value judgments or opinions, so it is very complicated that they put themselvesOkay, that is why this current is not so feasible and optimally to develop it in accounting. That is why it is stated that:

"The accounting theory, from professional practice, requires that interventions in economic facts be done with open and reflective criteria, which, supported by retrospective and projective analyzes, favor decision -making based on impact evaluations" (Ariza & Villasmil, 2014, P.46).

All people must be able to define their learning objectives in proportion to the values and the situation of developing a plan to achieve them, to apply the necessary effort and will and to evaluate the results.

Accounting is a science that has been developed over the years, seeking to improve more every day for better integrity in all aspects. Therefore, for its optimal functioning, it has adopted two important currents in society such as normativism and positivism, which is why it is concluded that it cannot be separated from these concepts since both currents were made for very good purposes andbenevolent to help in the development of multiple areas and in this case in the accounting area, therefore it is considered that this needs both contributions, both quantitative and qualitative, so that it develops effectively needs so much, sinceIt is impossible to separate the subject from the object since these are complementary, that is, they help themselves so that the result of the investigation is more real.

“The support of accounting as an empirical, social and positive-normative science, allows us to understand accounting in its cognitive dimension, but above all in its teleological dimension, oriented to specific purposes of the different environments in the different accounting systems whereThey develop the same ”(Mejia, 2004, P. 67).

What is said today of accounting thinking that if it is positive or normative, or that instead is the union of both currents to give meaning to what we now call accounting thinking, the UN discovers knowledge, and has access to reality, areality that is acquired through the senses, obtained through experience, that is, empirical. Helping the accounting theory obtains results from your research in a reliable, objective, mental, uniform way and maintaining some relevance, among others and the other focuses on the information, the analysis of this, in reflecting, is oriented in theCreation of information by admitting what should be or not, good or bad according to the social, cultural and economic environment in which the accounting system is developed, while in positivism they focus on the use.