<b>Epistemological roots of going concern in accounting</b> - doi: 10.4025/enfoque.v30i3.14206

Abstract

The study investigates the epistemological roots of the concept of going concern in accounting. To that end, we performed a theoretical essay by a literature search, the interpretation of works of authors such as May (1937), Byrne (1937), Mautz (1965), Sterling (1968), Yu (1971) and Hendriksen and Van Breda (1999) by comparison of their views and criticism seeking to enrich the debate. We demonstrated the meanings of axioms, postulates and principle, speaking out about the role of these terms in the construction of knowledge. Also, we discussed about the foundation of the accounting concept of going concern, where it was identified that most of the works consulted uses a prescriptive approach for handling the topic, which did not diminish the importance of the topic. We emphasize the work of Yu (1971), who had the greatest concern to enlighten the importance of explaining, scientifically, the going concern as a phenomenon experienced by companies in accounting. It was found that, mostly, the establishment of the postulate and the principle of going concern have motivated the definition of guiding basis for the solution of problems arising from the accounting practice. We expect that this work will motivate other researchers to investigate the subject from further angles, with new findings useful for professionals and researchers