A Comparative Study of Accounting and the Environmental Factors Essay

A Comparative Study of Accounting and the Environmental Factors Influencing Accounting in Australia and Sweden - Essay Example It begins with the discussion of Mueller’s classification of accounting then narrows down to the accounting values within which a comprehensive analysis of the Swedish and Australian accounting environments are based. Gerhard Mueller carried out an environmental analysis which supports the discussion on the accounting classifications. Gerhard identified four different approaches to the accounting development which provide the necessary categorization of countries based on accounting values. This includes the microeconomic pattern, macroeconomic pattern, uniform accounting pattern, and the independent discipline pattern (Mueller, 1967). The macroeconomic pattern is based on the interrelationship between business accounting and the economic policies of the nation. The corporate objectives are usually to follow instead of leading national economic policies. Business and economic stability is promoted through the smoothening of accounting income; to stimulate growth, adjustment of depreciation rates is necessary; to promote investment, the creation of special reserves is necessary; and to meet macroeconomic concerns it is necessary to develop social responsibility accounting. The examples given for this approach included French, Germany and Sweden. The microeconomic pattern on the other hand can be seen as a sub discipline of business economics. This pattern provides the focus directed towards the specific economic entities. In this pattern, economic analysis is the source of accounting concepts. An essential concept is determined by maintaining in real terms the monetary capital invested in the companies. The microeconomic approach is demonstrated by some companies in Netherlands and Australia through replacement-value accounting (Chanchani & Willett, 2004). Accounting is viewed in the light of an efficient method of control and administration derived from the uniform accounting