The future study of key drivers affecting generational accounting: a scenario analysis approach

Purpose One of the most emerging concepts in the field of accounting knowledge, which in recent years has become a factor for connecting the public sector to achieve sustainable development in the private sector, is generational accounting, which was created to measure the relative financial burden on future generations. The purpose of this study is to draw the future scenarios of generational accounting drivers at the level of capital market companies. Design/methodology/approach This study is considered applied in terms of the type of result and from the point of view of the goal, it is placed in the hands of exploratory studies that have been carried out using quantitative and qualitative models. The present study does not follow one type of research method, but uses a separate method to answer the formulated questions according to each department. Therefore, based on the nature of collection, this study can be classified as mixed method research. The statistical population in the qualitative section includes 14 academic experts and accounting professors with professional experience in the field of accounting and financial reporting and in the quantitative part, 25 people from managers of brokerage companies and experts from vice-chancellors of different capital market sectors participated in this study. Findings The result of this study in the qualitative part indicated the existence of three categories, eight components and 38 themes as drivers of generational accounting, which was confirmed based on Delphi analysis. Then, by choosing two factors out of 8 identified components as the basis of scenario creation, nine themes identified as subfactors of scenario creation were examined. The result of the acquisition in a small part talk about the existence of four scenarios with a favorable situation, which shows that the scenario of the second quarter with the metaphorical title of “Subsidence” is the most effective suffix of generational accounting at the level of Iran’s capital market prospects. In fact, the result obtained in this study shows that the strengthening of generational accounting drivers can strengthen the possibility of increasing government support to the industry sector through transfer payments. Because the government is trying to reduce the impact of international sanctions on the industry by supporting the industry and thus strengthen the business cycle of liquidity in the economic field and prevent the stagnation of the industry and help increase the gross domestic product. Originality/value Depending on how policies are financed, the results of this study can reduce the financial burden by current or future generations, affecting future generations’ net wealth and, as a consequence, they entail intergenerational distribution. Because the results of this study can change the direction of future policies toward sustainability in resource protection and provide a more legitimate level of accounting functions in responding to the needs of stakeholders.