If it's a paper for external publication in a journal then any acknowledgement should be specifically for help and advice
"The authors wish to thank Dr Bob Beaker for his help in taming the dragon and his advice on how long to boil its eggs"
If it's an internal one, like a dissertation or a thesis you can be a bit more lax. My PhD thesis thanked Oliver Heaviside, John Peel, the Bulgarian State wine exporting company, several cats and Mrs MV. In verse