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Purpose – Focusing on reporting for financial instruments, the paper tries to capture the role that regulations play within the complex mechanism of capital markets. The outcome of financial reporting represents useful information for decision making. Meanwhile the mechanisms of the capital markets determine reactions on behalf of accounting regulatory bodies who take action through standard setting. It is these standards that will have a big influence on the aforementioned outcome of financial reporting. Beside, there are other influential factors such as accounting practices, the accounting profession, national history, culture, and economy acting at different levels. It was this reasoning that motivated this research demarche of achieving a complete diagnosis of two emergent capital markets, shaped into a SWOT analysis for financial instruments’ reporting and the current financial crisis.

Design/methodology/approach – A special emphasize is put on analyzing formal harmonization on issues related to financial instruments by performing an empirical study. Moreover, the analysis is completed by a descriptive approach of the influential factors such as economic, cultural, and political background of the two nations. The paper also comparatively positions the foresights of the national, European, and international referential. Statistical indicators help quantifying the similarity and dissimilarity degree.

Findings – In times of financial crisis, when everybody is trying to point his finger on somebody else, an empirical analysis of national accounting regulations proving a high level of formal harmonization with and among the international referential and European directives proves an interesting point. The results make us think twice before designating a scapegoat.

Research limitations/implications – The paper only creates the framework proving that individual experiences should be put into good use especially in an area that is continuously exposed to financial engineering. Further developments completing the study focusing on accounting regulations with accounting practices should indicate more precise actions to be taken.

Practical implications – Findings show a significant similarity level between the two national accounting standards, and most importantly between the international referential and the European accounting regulations, and should determine us to furthermore rationally approach the accounting regulation process instead of impulsive reacting to the current financial crisis.

Original aspects – The originality of the paper consists in offering insights on the specific case of Romania and Czech Republic, correlating the state of facts with the foresights of national accounting regulations, by reference to the international referential and the current financial crisis.

We propose a research design involving the use of Bloom’s taxonomy both in facilitating the teaching–learning process and in the educator assessing students’ final grades. The latter are compared with students’ self-acknowledged grades. Testing is done by considering a sample of accounting students enrolled for the Controlling course in Romania.

The employed research methodology relies on two instruments: a questionnaire and the examination process. Cluster analysis is used in analyzing students’ grades. Determinants of students’ academic performance are discussed by using factor analysis.

Comparing students’ self-acknowledged grades with those assessed by the educator, we document the necessity of further work in enhancing students’ ability to better assess their academic performance. Questions belonging to the application and analysis levels seem to be preferred by students.

We raise a series of theoretical questions in the area of examination performance. The obtained results in relation to the assessment of accounting students’ academic performance and its determinants offer useful insights for accounting educators.

Our chapter tests the use of Bloom’s taxonomy in the context of an emerging country’s educational system that lacked consistency and faced significant challenges throughout history. We also consider two measures for students’ academic performance as perceptions upon what should be the same result of the teaching–learning process. The chapter addresses the evolutions and particularities of the Romanian academic environment in the area of economics, developing a brief analysis meant to position the testing of the proposed research design.

The purpose of this paper is to document key elements of union strategy at Sydney (Lidcombe) branch of Australia's Construction Forestry Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU) in an attempt to document and critique its branch level strategy in the year immediately after the removal of the Howard‐Costello Government.

A case study approach is used in analysing data obtained from internal CFMEU documents and correspondence; interviews with the New South Wales State Secretary of the CFMEU Andrew Ferguson, union organisers, one former organiser who worked for a number of years at Western Sydney but is now with a white‐collar union in the education sector, and construction workers; CFMEU official publications; news media stories and a series of building site visits. The authors use a theory framework of Roman Catholic social teaching to frame the discussions and analyze the case study findings.

In focus groups with construction workers, the authors find one challenging external constraint for the CFMEU: reaching out to and meeting effectively the needs of younger workers especially those from families hostile to unionism. However, younger workers seem to hold a mix of individualistic and collectivist philosophies. The final case shows the CFMEU organiser Tulloch to be adaptable and flexible in the heat of industrial disputation. Finally, the fact that building workers brought the asbestos issue to CFMEU's attention in the final case study shows union willingness to pursue issues not initiated by the union.

The paper documents the fact that the CFMEU has the ability and potential to rebuild its influence on building sites in Sydney and win further favourable outcomes for exploited and vulnerable workers within its sphere of influence. Through the theoretical framework, the authors point that as it does so it will assist in bringing to fruition the Roman Catholic social teaching that presents strong trade unions as a valid form of collective voice for workers and a way for collective and individual labour to retain in practice the dignity that God has already clothed them with.

It is well known that once regulatory bodies adopt a financial reporting paradigm, it becomes the guiding principle for accounting regulation. This paradigm itself in the field of accounting represents the starting point of the research. The purpose of this paper is to focus on the specific case of the Czech Republic and Romania, namely on aspects concerning regulations in the field of financial instruments.

The authors have approached an a priori economic analysis of national regulations in correlation with international standards inferences. In doing so, they have identified several key issues, which need to be discussed when thoroughly analyzing accounting regulations for financial instruments. Furthermore, the authors have used statistical indicators in order to determine the degree of similarities and dissimilarities between the two national accounting systems and also in correspondence with the international referential.

The results of the performed analysis show a high level of similarities between the two national set of GAAPs and IFRS/IAS, and also among the two of them, still both of them being closer to the international referential than to each other. Research limitations/implications – The paper only approaches formal harmonization in the area of reporting for financial instruments. Moreover, those issues analyzed through the regulations' perspective need to be closely quantified in matters of their actual implementation, pertinent conclusions and correlations being then made regarding the status of each country within the global capital market.

The paper represents a first step within the intended scientific démarche, a priori research having the attribute of generating feedback on hypothetical reporting alternatives prior to implementation.

This parallel analysis performed on the two national accounting systems from the financial instruments' point of view finds results, which are explained through the bonding theory.