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Rules, rogues, and risk assessors: Academic responses to Enron and other accounting scandals

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  • Sue Ravenscroft
  • Paul Williams

Abstract

The recent accounting scandals in the USA and the resulting regulation of the US profession via the Sarbanes-Oxley Act have led to the resurrection of an old debate: principles vs. rules. We argue that such a debate is jejune and serves as little more than a diversion from discussing more substantive issues raised by events like Enron and Andersen. Accounting is not confronted by a choice of principles to the exclusion of rules or vice versa. Principles underlie any set of rules, and any implementation of principles will inevitably involve adopting some rules. We take issue with various analyses of the accounting scandals that rely too exclusively on the principles of neo-classical economics. We conclude by identifying four major obstacles impeding meaningful academic and educational treatment of the maladies of which Enron is merely a symptom.

Suggested Citation

  • Sue Ravenscroft & Paul Williams, 2005. "Rules, rogues, and risk assessors: Academic responses to Enron and other accounting scandals," European Accounting Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 14(2), pages 363-372.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:euract:v:14:y:2005:i:2:p:363-372
    DOI: 10.1080/09638180500124889
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    Cited by:

    1. Ravenscroft, Sue & Williams, Paul F., 2009. "Making imaginary worlds real: The case of expensing employee stock options," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 34(6-7), pages 770-786, August.
    2. Weetman, Pauline, 2006. "Discovering the ‘international’ in accounting and finance," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 38(4), pages 351-370.
    3. Murphy, Tim & O’Connell, Vincent, 2017. "Challenging the dominance of formalism in accounting education: An analysis of the potential of stewardship in light of the evolution of legal education," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 44(C), pages 1-29.
    4. Renes, S., 2020. "When Debit=Credit. The balance constraint in bookkeeping, its causes and consequences for accounting," ERIM Report Series Research in Management ERS-2020-005-FA, Erasmus Research Institute of Management (ERIM), ERIM is the joint research institute of the Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University and the Erasmus School of Economics (ESE) at Erasmus University Rotterdam.

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