The concept of a scale in accounting measurement

Abstract

This study compares the practices of accounting measurement with the principles of the representational theory of measurement to determine whether the attributes of accounting phenomena are measured on well-founded scales. The results of this study indicate that the concept of the representational scale is misapplied in the accounting discipline. The principles of representation measurement are hinged on the precise specification of how a scale of measurement is formed. Consequently, the findings suggest that accounting is not a measurement discipline.