The Convergence Of Economic And Accounting Concepts Of Income

Abstract

One of the most disputed areas of contention between professional accountants and economic theorists is the divergence between their respective definitions of income. Generally, an economist views any accretion to net worth as income, while the accountant defines income to include only those increases in net worth that result from a realization event, i.e., a sale or exchange. Recently, however, the professional accounting community has begun an attempt to redefine its own measure of income. The following article reviews the controversy, as well as analyzing the struggle for a new measure of accounting income.