An earlier North American controversy in financial reporting that arose from the American
Accounting Association’s Committee on Concepts and Standards for External Financial Reports led to the
statement that, "until consensus paradigm acceptance occurs, the utility of accounting theories in aiding
policy decisions is partial" (AAA, 1977, p.51). Further, because no one theory could satisfy all paradigms,
"defenders of a particular paradigm are forced to rely on persuasion rather than logic and empirics in
attempting to defend a proposal