“It may well be that Briloff is the nearest US equivalent to Sikka”

Purpose – A reply to responses by Prem Sikka and Tony Willmott (“The withering of tolerance and communication in interdisciplinary accounting studies”) and Robert Scapens (“Reactions on reading ‘ The withering of criticism ’”) to Tony Tinker's initial paper, “ The withering of criticism ”. Design/methodology/approach – The paper employs argument and discourse to critique the responses and defend the author's position. Findings – The paper offers the authors' view of the comparative research approaches of Briloff, Sikka and Willmott. Originality/value – The paper extends critical debate on North American and UK contributions and approaches to critical accounting scholarship.