AT THE INTERSECTION OF FINANCIAL AND NON-FINANCIAL ACCOUNTING IMPACT MEASUREMENTS

Accounting can be defined in different ways, but despite the possible nuances of its potential definitions, it has been established that accounting is a science that sets a system of measurement that could, ideally, be built in several ways (Alexander & Nobes, 1994; Frank, 1979; Schipper & Trombetta, 2010). Examining accounting from a normative point of view, scholars have discussed several important issues, for example how to define the building blocks of a proper measurement system for recording organizational facts by using different sets of evaluation metrics (Mattessich, 1995). In this vein, Mattessich (2002) distinguished between normative and conditional normative accounting approaches, considering the latter able to synthetize the opposing views of the more orthodox normative approach and the positive one. Despite the opposition between the normative and the positive stances (Ball & Brown, 1968; Watts & Zimmerman, 1978; 1990; Kaplan & Ruland, 1991; Milne, 2002), accounting has developed over time both as a normative and as a positive science, depending on the cognitive needs that scholars aim to address. In particular, the normative foundations of accounting determine its features as a measurement system and should not be considered an old-fashioned topic given its importance in influencing all the results on which all theoretical discussions are based (Tinker et al., 1982). In this regard, referring to the normative foundation of accounting, Ahmed and Belkaoui (2004, p. ix) stated: “A single generally accepted accounting theory does not exist. Several attempts have been made to formulate such a theory … the various attempt have resulted in different frameworks for financial reporting standards”. This sentence highlights how the normative approach is not a unified block; it is rather a nuanced set of different approaches. The differentiation among possible accounting approaches comes from the fact that accounting develops “in response to perceived needs … adapting to meet changes in the demands made on it” (Alexander & Nobes, 1994, p. 4). In addition, accounting depends on the value theory adopted, so that “while value theory has traditionally provided the logics for exchange relations, accounting has provided the system for measuring and reporting reciprocity and exchange” (Tinker et al., 1982, p. 174).