Accounting research: On the relevance of research to practice

The relevance of accounting research to the accounting profession is an issue that is hard to ignore. Those at the FASB have talked internally about the relevance, or usefulness, of academic research a number of times a year. It should come as no surprise that practitioners do not understand contemporary academic research. Because they do not understand the mathematics and statistics that characterize most contemporary research, many articles published in academic research journals today might as well be written in Greek. Until the next generation of practitioners gets research training, ways will need to be found for researchers to communicate with the current generation of practitioners. One way to communicate research results is by means of abstracts at the beginning of the articles. Another, more comprehensive way might be by means of broader use of the "professional adaptations" that accompany each of the articles in the Journal of Accounting, Auditing, and Finance. Still another way might be "state of the art" annuals written by researchers for practitioners to summarize recent developments and what these developments might mean for practice.