Understanding the Concept of Profit as an Economic Information Instrument: Disclosure of Semantic Meanings
Date
2019-04-22Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
Accounting information presented in financial statements is likened to a set of symbols.
These symbols are expected to represent certain realities, which are called semantic
meanings. One of the symbols presented in the financial statements is profit. As a communication
medium,
the
presentation
of
profits
must
be
interpreted
exactly
the
same
as
the
intended
meaning,
so
that
accounting
information
becomes
unbiased.
The
purpose
of
this
study
is
to
reveal
the
understanding
of
the
concept
of
profit
based
on
semantic
meaning
from
the
point
of
view
of
the
accounting
accountant.
This
study
uses
an
interpretive
qualitative
approach.
Data
were
obtained
from
structured
interviews
with
informants,
namely
educator
accountants
in Indonesia
with
“mainstream
and
anti-mainstream”
schools
of
thought.
The
results
of
the
study
reveal
that
the
tendency
has
been
a shift
in thinking
from
educator
accountants
that
originated
from
idealism
to
being
pragmatic.
The
meaning
of
profit
at
the
semantic
level
is
not
only
materially
interpreted.
Although
profit
is
used
as
an
indicator
of
the
success
of
the
company,
profit
is
interpreted
as
a
representation
of
changes
in
the
company’s
economic
reality.
That,
the
meaning
of
profit
reflects
the
company’s
efforts
to
improve
its
economic
capacity
and
its
usefulness
to
the
wider
community.
In
other
words,
that
profit
is
an
economic
information
instrument
that
is
expected
to
provide
value-added
to
its
users.
Collections
- LSP-Jurnal Ilmiah Dosen [7368]