Editorial
Journal Title: Zeszyty Teoretyczne Rachunkowości - Year 2016, Vol 2016, Issue 88
Abstract
The issue of „Zeszyty Teoretyczne Rachunkowości” (ZTR) 88 (144) entitled Histori-cal and Theoretical Determinants of Contemporary Accounting is the fifth fully--English issue of this journal which the editorial team planned to publish. We believethat this volume will contribute to the presentation of the results of the scientific workof researchers and the better understanding of the backgrounds of contemporary accounting – its theoretical and historical contexts. The main purpose of this issue wasto present the link between the development of contemporary accounting and its theo-retical and historical bases. The articles present historical and theoretical determinantsof current and near future regulations and accounting practices in a particular coun-try/particular countries, in particular, areas of economic activity or particular aspectsof accounting (e.g. measurement, management control, financial statements frame-work etc.). The articles cover the following topics: the development of public sector accounting, the normative approach in accounting, accounting development phases from chronological and historical perspectives, disclosure on corporate social responsibility, management control and management information in participative planning.We accepted nine papers from three countries. All of them went positively through two independent and blind reviews, one of which was conducted by a foreign reviewer.The accepted papers of the volume present the results of research conducted by scientists in the area of accounting research and practice in Europe, both in history and nowadays. Different research methods were used, such as: content analysis, sta-tistical analysis, literature analysis and interviews. Four papers concern corporate social responsibility reporting and the phenomenonof corporate social responsibility, which is broadly scrutinized in studies all over the world. The papers in the special issue of ZTR present the results of research in this field in Poland and Lithuania, countries where CSR reporting is still in the early phase of development. Research evaluated the quality of social information disclosed in social responsibility reports (Sviesa Leitoniene, Alfreda Šapkauskienė), identified determinants of the phenomenon and trends of its development (Kristina Rudžionienė,Raminta Pučėtaitė, Ieva Vaičiulytė), assessed the form of sustainability reporting within an integrated report (Ana Kundid Novokmet, Andrijana Rogošić) and discovered the reasons of the small scope of disclosure on corporate and NGO collabora-tions (Halina Waniak-Michalak, Jan Michalak).Lithuanians Jonas Mackevičius and Rasa Subačienė presented five accounting de-velopment phases and tendencies in Lithuania since the end of the 13th century. They concluded that the Lithuanian accounting system reflected the political and economic environment and provided information for governors of the country and for other organizations according to their needs and regulations. The authors considered the influence of other countries, the language used, the main forms of activity of the citi-zens and entrepreneurs and the main source of accounting regulations.Przemysław Kabalski asks if we should use positive or normative theories in re-search in accounting. His findings are based on a deep literature review. The author states that in accounting research we use too much mathematics and statistics without deeper thought. According to the author, normative theories of accounting combined with ethics will take accounting science to a higher level and increase the social role of accounting.Tomasz Dyczkowski and Joanna Dyczkowska indicate the importance of partici-pative planning for information balance. The research showed that participative plan-ning reduced information imbalances at different organizational levels.Jacek Gad conducted research on a sample of companies from WIG 30 and DAX companies in order to find out what information is presented in their statements on control systems over financial reporting. The research showed that DAX companies disclose more transparent information than WIG 30 companies.The essay prepared by Wojciech A. Nowak described factors influencing the devel-opment of Polish public accounting in the face of the financial crisis of 2007–2008. The author’s deliberations lead to the conclusion that changes in public sector accounting in Poland had an evolutionary character rather than a revolutionary one.The editorial team takes the opportunity to thank all the supporters of the English issue of ZTR. We appreciate very much the involvement of the reviewers, the com-mitment of the authors of the papers as well as the help of other academics and friends engaged in the preparation of the issue.We also encourage you to visit our website www.ztr.skwp.pl which presents the latest information on our projects as well as all the procedures needed to submit a paper to the journal.
Authors and Affiliations
Halina Waniak-Michalak
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