A Study of the Impact of APB Opinions Upon Practicing CPAs

Abstract

The accounting profession is properly concerned with the choice of mechanisms for the development and promulgation of accounting principles or standards. In little more than a decade, we have observed first a change from the Committee on Accounting Procedure to the Accounting Principles Board (APB) and then a change from the APB to the Financial Accounting Standards Board (F.A.S.B.). These changes in the institutional structure of the profession provide a justification for any inquiry into the impact of a particular structure upon the practice of accounting. The present study was designed to assess the impact of the APB upon attitudes expressed by members of the profession relative to certain accounting principles. As such, it offers some evidence toward understanding aspects of the APB's influence. The intent here is to expand upon the appraisals of others who have looked at other dimensions of the general problem.1 This study adds both substantively and methodologically to previous research in that it probes empirically the causal factors underlying reactions to official pronouncements. Part 1 of this paper presents the a priori model which underlies the empirical inquiry. The model is drawn from selected behavioral science litera-