The Conceptual Framework – A ‘Long and Winding Road’^*

* … with apologies to the Beatles … 

 … 

Abstract

Understanding the conceptual framework (CF) assists in understanding the issues in its construction. Existing characterisations of the CF as a theory of accounting and as the outcome of a political process are examined and found not to identify essential characteristics or have different interpretations. Recent work on the CF that identifies essential characteristics finds that the CF is something that identifies what is wanted from financial reporting. The paper also identifies issues that arise in constructing it. Various attempts to deal with these issues by those who construct CFs are examined. They are re-described in the light of a better understanding of the nature of a CF. The paper concludes that progress in constructing a future CF will only be made if the nature of the CF is grasped and issues that need to be dealt with, given the new characterisation, are confronted head-on.

Keywords:

• conceptual framework
• conceptual enquiry
• normative theorising
• objectives of financial reporting
• political processes

Notes

* … with apologies to the Beatles …