Why We Do International Accounting Research

Abstract

This essay was a Keynote Address at the Third International Conference of the Journal of International Accounting Research in Sao Paulo Brazil. It addresses the question of why the volume and quality of international accounting research have grown rapidly in recent years. It begins by asking why we do accounting research and moves on to discuss the reasons for conducting international accounting research. These include: to better understand others (and in the process, to better understand ourselves); to provide more replication options; to exploit differences in national institutional structures when investigating the determinants and effects of institutional variables on accounting; to address some limitations of within-jurisdiction research; and to obtain a wider range of changes to exploit (the paradigm example being the advent of IFRS). I then offer some concluding comments. Despite its somewhat presumptuous title, I do not presume to speak for others; the essay reflects a purely personal viewpoint.