Financial Accounting, too practical for theory and too theoretical for practice?

Is Financial Accounting too practical for research? A question in a recent interview. A question that surprised me. Why too practical for research? Can we only perform research on topics that are not related to practice at all? Or is it not clear where Financial Accounting is about and that it is more than bookkeeping? Using examples of recent research, I will explain why Financial Accounting is certainly not too practical for theory.

The question whether or not Financial Accounting research is too theoretical for practice is a more challenging question. What does the business community learn from Financial Accounting research? Does our research have any societal relevance in the current dynamic environment or do we provide scientific evidence too late to be relevant? Or more specifically, do I use academic research in my work in practice? In recent years, several academics commented critically on the relevance of Financial Accounting research. I will discuss two initiatives that should prevent that we as Erasmus University Rotterdam will perform Financial Accounting research that is too theoretical for practice, namely the Ernst & Young Academic Network and the Erasmus Marketing & Accounting Research Centre.

About Maarten Pronk
Maarten Pronk is (part time) full professor financial accounting at the Erasmus School of Economics. He earned his MSc at Erasmus University Rotterdam and his PhD at Tilburg University. He received part of his PhD training at the University of Iowa. His research is focused on the use and communication of financial reporting information. He has published in leading journals such as The Accounting Review, Journal of Accounting Research and Journal of Accounting Auditing and Finance. Maarten has been a member of the Accounting & Valuation Advisory Services group of PwC for five years and is as of February 2012 (part time) member of the professional practice department of Ernst & Young.