نقد بهاي تاريخي

Historical Cost: A Review

The present article deals with the emergent factors that have stabilized the historical cost including educational methods, of legal protection, inacurate generalization of initial book-keeping, protection of syndicates, and non-existence of a complete market. It then proceeds to analyze the criticisms levelled at the cost price which cover unreal assumptions, internal inconsistencies of rules, regulations and accords, absence of a physical entity for accounting terms and figures, irrelevancy of accounting information to the decision-making models and negative implications of the historical cost. In another section, the arguments supporting the historical cost such as the assessment of stewardship, historicism and decision-making, have been explained. The research also discusses the adverse effects of the cost price on investors, businesses, accounting professionalism and the institutes in charge of accounting standards accreditation. In conclusion, a new accounting model tailored to the needs of the information age is suggested and the role of each one of the interested groups applying this model is accordingly discussed.