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Research CornerThe UncertainNature of UniversityResearchBy Dr. Kin Lo, CA, Ph.D.While researchers do have specific goalsfor their research programs, those goalsdo not define or limit the eventual impactof the researchOver the last few months, I have readseveral books on topics ranging fromneurology and cognition to geneticsand evolution. Each one has been fascinating inits own right, but even more so were the ideasand concepts that transcended these fields,particularly those that reached into accounting,business, and economics.In particular, the intersection of neurology andaccounting is currently spawning an intriguingline of research I would have considered a mereflight of fancy only a few months ago. For example,soon after reading Predictably Irrational, 1 inwhich a professor with over 20 years of researchin behavioural economics explains why peopletend to behave irrationally in predictable ways,and How We Decide, 2 which examines thebrain’s various roles in the decision-makingprocess, I had the opportunity to attend aworkshop entitled “NeuroAccounting,” givenby Professor Greg Waymire 3 from EmoryUniversity in Atlanta, Georgia. Another exampleis The Geography of Thought: How Asians andWesterners Think Differently...and Why, in whicha professor of social psychology discusses theinter-dependent development of culture, language,and thought processes. 4 Importantly, the bookhighlights the significant differences that havearisen between the “East” and “West” in termsof how people think. These differences certainlyhave implications for evaluating the appropriatenessof uniform global accounting standardsand how we educate students with diversecultural backgrounds.A fourth example involves many ideas in The Selfish Gene, 5 which have had similar applications inbusiness. Many readers are likely to be familiar with the idea of “economic Darwinism”—or survival ofthe fittest in terms of businesses, products, and practices; but research is revealing that there are manymore such commonalities.Consider, for example, the well-known “prisoner’s dilemma” in mathematical game theory, whichhas remarkable applications for the understanding of business competition as well for the prediction ofanimal behaviour and evolutionary development. Another idea is that organisms are merely “vehicles”that carry “replicators” called genes—an idea largely equivalent to the notion that a business/firm is justa “nexus of contracts” among individuals. As explained in The Selfish Gene, successful genes are thosethat are able to continue replicating for many generations by programming useful functions for theorganism in the context of the organism’s other genes and environmental conditions. Genes that donot cooperate with other genes in the same vehicle lead to the death and end of the replicator. Theanalogy to individuals in business organizations should be clear.My recent readings highlight the highly unpredictable nature of scientific research. While researchersdo have specific goals for their research programs, those goals do not define or limit the eventual impactof the research. However, many who are not familiar with research do not understand the randomnature of research output. Among them are the key policy makers in the current federal government,as demonstrated in a series of decisions in the last two years:• The 2008 federal budget cut $148 million from the three federal research councils over three years,at a time when the federal government is attempting to stimulate the economy. 6• Instead of using peer review, the Minister of Industry will now identify the projects that will receivepriority funding from the Canadian Foundation for Innovation.• The 2009 federal budget allocated $87.5 million from the budget of the Social Science andHumanities Research Council for graduate scholarships solely for candidates who are pursuingbusiness-related degrees.1Daniel Ariely, Predictably Irrational, HarperCollins 2008. Ariely is the James B. Duke Professor ofBehavioural Economics at Duke University in North Carolina and a visiting professor at theMassachusetts Institute of Technology.2Jonah Lehrer, How We Decide, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt 2009.3Professor Waymire’s current research focuses the history of accounting measurement anddisclosure.4Richard Nisbett, The Geography of Thought, Free Press, 2003. Nisbett is the Theodore M.Newcomb Distinguished Professor of social psychology and co-director of the Culture andCognition program at the University of Michigan.5Richard Dawkins, The Selfish Gene, 30th anniversary edition, 2006.6The three research councils are the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada,the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, and the Canadian Institutes forHealth Research.6 ica.bc.ca June/Summer ’09
As someone working in a business school, Ishould probably applaud this last policy, but as amatter of principle, targeted funding is misguidedand short-sighted, as I believe I have illustratedabove.Much research is highly technical and noteasily penetrable for non-academics. Consequently,the use of peer review to allocate funds is anecessary and effective means of identifying theresearch that is worthy of funding. As both arecipient of these funds and a reviewer of others’applications, I can attest to the thoroughness ofthe peer review process. The outcome of thisprocess is that only one third of all applicationsare accepted—a far cry from the seemingmisperception that every research proposalreceives public funding. 7The alternative—letting politicians and bureaucratsmake these choices—is a recipe for failure,as far as I’m concerned, especially when I thinkabout the choices that might be made by ourMinister of State for Science and Technology,Gary Goodyear, whose remarks in March of thisyear suggest that he does not understand thegenetic science behind the theory of evolution.I believe the research granting system that hasbeen in place in Canada is a good one. Thegranting councils serve as a marketplace for ideasthat compete with other ideas. Each applicationis adjudicated by knowledgeable peers—theconsumers of that research, in a sense. There isno doubt that this approach is superior to acentrally controlled system in which one entitydirects thousands of researchers across the country.To reinforce my point about the interconnectednessof ideas, let me approach it from adifferent angle: How do we explain the origin ofspecies and the diversity of life on earth? Is itthe result of evolutionary trial and error orintelligent design, which requires an omnipotentdesigner? And what arrogance must an individualhave to think they alone can handle the role ofthe designer?Whether we use the analogy of capitalism vs.central planning or evolution vs. intelligentdesign for university research funding, I believethe evidence is overwhelming and the choice clear.Helping future CAsHave you ever wondered how you could help students who are interested inbecoming members of our proud profession? Consider donating to the CAEducation Foundation (CAEF).The CAEF is a registered charity established by the BC Institute of CAs in1990 to support the endeavours of current and future CAs.One of the Foundation’s important activities is to ensure that scholarshipsare available to students at every university and college in BC. The 25scholarships currently available each year are administered either directlyby the universities or by the CAEF itself. Some of these scholarships helpstudents with financial need; others recognize academic excellence and/orleadership; all go to students who’ve indicated their intentions to become CAs.There are different ways to donate:• General donations – Mail, fax, or drop off a donation at the ICABC’soffices in downtown Vancouver. (Did you know that many of our ProfessionalDevelopment Program instructors donate their fees?)• Planned giving – Consider naming the CAEF as a beneficiary in your will.This legacy could be a fixed sum or estate residue. Alternatively, youcould name the CAEF as a primary or secondary beneficiary of an annuity,RRSP, or other financial instrument of your estate.• Giving in memoriam – The CAEF was originally set up as the Institute’sMemorial Scholarship Fund in 1969/70, when colleagues and familymembers of Desmond O’Brien, CA, sought to acknowledge and maintainhis contributions to the profession. This tradition has continued, withmany such gifts being made over the past 30+ years.• Matching Scholarship Program for CA firms and associations – The CAEFhas set aside funds to encourage a matching program for CA firms andassociations in order to fund new scholarships at educational institutionsthroughout BC.Please visit the CA Education Foundation’s website at www.caef.bc.ca formore information about past donors, a listing of our most recent scholarshipwinners, and a summary of the other valuable activities undertaken by theCAEF each year.Kin Lo, CA, Ph.D., holds the CA Professorship inAccounting in the Sauder School of Business atUBC. The CA Professorship is funded by the CAEducation Foundation of BC. Send your questionson accounting research to Kin at kin.lo@sauder.ubc.ca.7Gwyn Morgan, “Not all research deservespublic funding,” Globe and Mail, April 27,2009.June/Summer ’09 ica.bc.ca 7
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