The fundamental problem of accounting

Robert Cairns

Canadian Journal of Economics/Revue canadienne d'économique, 2013, vol. 46, issue 2, 634-655

Abstract: The fundamental problem of economic accounting is to determine a forward‐looking schedule of rentals, user costs or quasi‐rents to provide for the recovery of irreversible investments. The method derived herein relaxes some restrictive assumptions that are common in capital theory. There can be multiple forms of comprehensive capital. Accounting for all forms of capital, including tangible and intangible capital, is symmetrical. The analytical focus becomes one of fixities and frictions and not optimality. Rentals obey inequalities as opposed to marginal conditions. If discounted profit is positive, rentals, depreciation, and capital value are not unique. Le problème fondamental de la comptabilité. Le problème fondamental de la comptabilité économique est de déterminer une cédule des loyers, coûts d'utilisation ou quasi‐rentes anticipés permettant de récupérer la mise de fonds dans des investissements irréversibles. La méthode proposée ici relaxe certains postulats restrictifs conventionnels en théorie du capital. La comptabilité de toutes les formes de capital, y compris le capital tangible et intangible, est symétrique. La focalisation analytique devient centrée sur les fixités et les frictions et non l'optimalité. Si le profit escompté est positif, loyers, dépréciation et valeur du capital ne sont pas uniques.

Date: 2013
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:wly:canjec:v:46:y:2013:i:2:p:634-655

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