OBJECTIVITY IN FINANCIAL ACCOUNTING: IT CANNOT EXIST

The general public tends to consider Financial Accounting as a set of scientific and objectively grounded techniques, suitable, if properly used, to offer the "real" representation of the value of those items measured. Nonetheless, Financial Accounting leaves a wide room for subjectivity, even when professional Accountants act in full respect of existing rules. This papers discusses the issue and, after providing a general overview of the main ideas regarding the existence of Objectivity in Social Sciences, moves to study three selected segments of Financial Accounting where decisions involves a certain degree of Subjectivity: writing off receivables, depreciation and estimating the Fair Value. Overall, the paper highlights how the very decisional process in all three cases is strongly characterised by a certain degree of subjectivity. It contributes to disseminate information and knowledge about an aspect of Financial Accounting which is often misunderstood by the public.