The effect of academic literature on accounting regulation: evidence from leases in Germany

ABSTRACT This study explores the history of lease accounting in Germany and examines how the industry managed to maintain the favourable off-balance sheet treatment, despite regulatory opposition. Drawing upon expert interviews as well as bibliographic analysis, this study shows that the established ties to state actors, combined with the purposeful involvement in the scientific discourse, enabled the leasing industry to fend off regulatory challenges in the areas of accounting, civil law, and supervision. Combining the concept of accounting constellations with elements of structuration theory, field theory, and socio-legal studies, the study demonstrates how academic literature affects accounting regulation.