On Language in Accounting.

A practicing accountant asked a question about stuff on the use of language in accounting, and here is my response:
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I am not sure you'll find anything there. Always engrossed in numbers, the accountants are notorious for using language loosely. The quality of writing in the academic accounting journals is exhibit 1.

Years ago, I used to teach a case in auditing dealing with mergers and acquisitions (I do not remember the name of the case, but Arthur Young was one of the parties, and the venue was Arkansas) that went all the way to the Supreme Court. The supreme court decision in this case is one of the most fascinating that I have read; thee justices were arguing over the interpretation of one word "control". You should read the arguments of Justice Souter in that case. Judge Frank Easterbrook once observed, “the choice among meanings [of words in statutes] must have a footing more solid than a dictionary—which is a museum of words, an historical catalog rather than a means to decode the work of legislatures.” (See Posner article cited below).

In the legal area, one fascinating recent book worth taking a look at is the following. I have partially read it and am sure I'll finish reading it soon.

Reading Law: The Interpretation of Legal Texts by Antonin Scalia and Bryan A. Garner

There are very few things on which I would agree with Scalia, but still it is worth reading. The same goes for the works of Posner, but he hasn't written that much on language. That is a tragedy, because Posner is one of the most fascinating writers I have known. Unlike Scalia, Posner does not have to get a hired hand lexicographer to write his books. 

Since Scalia wrote the above, these two jurists have been at loggerheads. That should thrill any one interested in polemics in law. See Posner's comments at http://www.newrepublic.com/article/magazine/books-and-arts/106441/scalia-garner-reading-the-law-textual-originalism

Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy has excellent articles on law and language, which I would read. Another interesting read is http://lawnlinguistics.com/2012/07/13/three-syntactic-canons/

While none of the above provide guidelines for action, they do provide reasoning which is useful in the choice of words.

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