Il percorso scientifico degli studi nordamericani di Financial Accounting: dal "Normative Approach" alla "Positive Accounting Theory"

In the last decade the Italian “Ragioneria” has been involved in a process of internationalization, with its scholars facing with different research paradigms, especially those experienced by the North American financial accounting studies. The paper investigates such studies dealing with the three following research questions: which are the scientific landmarks of these studies? Which research methods are mainly adopted in the North American financial accounting studies? Which main scientific aims are driving these studies? In the paper, the answers to such questions are given through the analysis of the scientific milestones that characterized the evolution of the North American financial accounting studies from the “Normative Approach” of the ’50 and ’60 to the widespread of the “Positive Accounting Theory”.