Despite criticism from some quarters, Neuroeconomics has now become a well-established field of academic study (with dedicated research departments at New York University, Duke University, and Claremont Graduate University). A logical extension of the field, however, remains considerably less mainstream – Neuroaccounting.

To draw attention to this shortcoming, a recent paper from Jacob G. Birnberg,

the Robert W. Murphy Jr. Professor of Management Control Systems

Emeritus at the University of Pittsburgh’s Katz Graduate School of

Business, and Ananda Ganguly,

Ph.D. the Morcos Massoud Associate Professor of Accounting at the

Robert Day School of Economics and Finance, Claremont McKenna College,

asks : “Is Neuroaccounting Waiting in the Wings?” (Claremont McKenna College Robert Day School of Economics and Finance Research Paper, No. 2011-01).

The authors present a review of the current progress in Behavioral

Accounting Research (BAR), which involves “studying the human mind” (in

accountancy settings) and with special reference to the workings of “the

black box” – i.e. the human brain. And there are suggestions too for

possible experimental research projects with accountants.

“ … technologies such as transcranial Direct Current

Stimulation (tcDCS) and Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS),

together with the availability of presumably harmless (or at least

permissible) drugs and synthetic hormones which can be administered to

implement experimental manipulations on the brain have opened the brain

up to experimentation in a way unimaginable twenty years ago.”

The team point, however, to possible future hurdles -

“Given the difficulty in performing a ‘neuroaccounting’

study relative to the early laboratory experiments in BAR, the volume of

neuroaccounting research is likely to be small.”