Gianmarco Corradini

Accounting Bias: An Economic Theory of Accounting Measurement

Gianmarco Corradini, 01.08.2026

This book develops an economic interpretation of accounting as a measurement system. Its central question is how accounting rules transform economic reality into reported financial numbers, and how the resulting representation may diverge from an underlying economic benchmark.

Selected chapters are available below as PDF downloads. The technical appendices are published online as supplementary material and are also available as separate PDF files.

Contents

Part I — Theoretical Foundations

1. Introduction — Download PDF
2. Accounting as a Measurement System
3. The Axioms of Accounting Measurement
4. The Recognition Problem
5. The Measurement Problem
6. Information, Uncertainty, and Capital Markets
7. The General Theory of Accounting Bias — Download PDF

Part II — Applications of the Theory

8. The Balance Sheet as a System of Accounting Bias
9. Cash
10. Trade Receivables
11. Inventories
12. Property, Plant and Equipment
13. Intangible Assets — Download PDF
14. Goodwill
15. Financial Assets
16. Deferred Tax Assets

Part III — Accounting Bias in Liabilities

17. Trade and Other Payables
18. Financial Liabilities
19. Provisions and Contingent Liabilities
20. Lease Liabilities
21. Pension Obligations
22. Deferred Tax Liabilities
23. The Balance Sheet Revisited: A Unified Theory of Accounting Bias — Download PDF

Part IV — Accounting Bias in Financial Performance

24. The Income Statement as a Measurement System
25. Revenue Recognition
26. Expense Recognition
27. Cost Allocation: Depreciation, Amortization and Impairment
28. Fair Value Gains and Losses
29. Other Comprehensive Income
30. Earnings and Economic Income
31. Financial Performance Revisited: A Unified Theory of Income Statement Accounting Bias

Part V — Measuring and Testing Accounting Bias

32. From Theory to Empirical Measurement
33. Measuring Accounting Bias — Download PDF
34. Data and Sample Construction — Download PDF
35. Empirical Strategy
36. The Empirical Structure of Accounting Bias — Download PDF
37. Hypothesis Tests and Economic Outcomes
38. What the Evidence Tells Us — Download PDF

Online Appendices

The appendices are supplementary to the printed edition and can be downloaded individually below.

• Appendix A — Empirical Variable Dictionary — Download PDF
• Appendix B — Sample Construction and SEC/XBRL Extraction — Download PDF
• Appendix C — Computational Reproducibility — Download PDF
• Appendix D — Statistical Specifications and Supplementary Results — Download PDF
• Appendix E — Sample Firms and Industry Classification — Download PDF
• Appendix F — Research Limitations and Extensions — Download PDF