A.H Amershi and E.H Feroz
Conducts an exploratory analysis of the probability distribution of the ratio total debt/total invest capital, to determine if the occurrence of the Finobacci golden mean and…
Abstract
Conducts an exploratory analysis of the probability distribution of the ratio total debt/total invest capital, to determine if the occurrence of the Finobacci golden mean and ratio, as possible values of this ratio, are random or indicative of firm survival. Uses highly technical mathematical and algebraic explanatory means to emphasize points. Adopts the use of figures and tables to aid explanation. Concludes that, although some progress has been made, more sophisticated analysis is required.
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Ehsan H. Feroz, Sungsoo Kim and Ray Raab
Corporate finance studies of mergers and acquisitions have relied mostly on stock price reactions to evaluate the impact of these events. In this paper, we analyze the performance…
Abstract
Corporate finance studies of mergers and acquisitions have relied mostly on stock price reactions to evaluate the impact of these events. In this paper, we analyze the performance of a sample of merged firms over a ten year period using a managerially controlled efficiency measure, data envelopment analysis (DEA). Our individual firm‐level year‐by‐year analyses indicate that the managerial performance of the merged firms generally improved in the post‐merger period as documented in the earlier studies of mergers and acquisitions. However, there were also a significant number of cases where we could not observe improved managerial efficiency using this less aggregated approach. We conclude that DEA based disaggregated approaches are useful tools in the hands of corporate governance boards with an interest in yearly or even quarterly managerial performance at the individual firm level.
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Nargis Makhaiel and Michael Sherer
Previous literature on earnings management (EM) indicates that managers are motivated to adjust reported income to serve their own self-interests, and to try and influence capital…
Abstract
Purpose
Previous literature on earnings management (EM) indicates that managers are motivated to adjust reported income to serve their own self-interests, and to try and influence capital markets. However, previous research has failed to provide an appropriate theoretical underpinning for EM and has ignored the effect of cultural and environmental factors on shaping managers’ motivations. Therefore the purpose of this paper is to draw on interpretive methodology and new institutional sociology (NIS) theory to identify the external factors that motivate managers of Egyptian companies to use EM to modify financial statements.
Design/methodology/approach
The research adopted an interpretative methodology and interview methods. Interviewees were conducted with 34 participants, who were divided into four different categories; executives, financial analysts, auditors and stock exchanges’ authorities.
Findings
This paper provides empirical evidence on the range of external factors that motivate Egyptian corporate executives to adjust the earnings number in financial statements. These external factors include the expectations of investors, lenders and employees, the impact of stock exchange listing rules, beating an earnings target, and the privatisation of key state-owned companies.
Research limitations/implications
The authors recognise that the paper has a number of limitations. The research is concerned solely with EM in Egypt and, therefore, it would not be safe to generalise the results to other contexts, even in the Middle East. Further research on the behaviour of managers towards EM in other countries would be useful to test validity of the results reported in this paper.
Originality/value
The principal contribution of this paper is to build on the previous EM literature to include external factors within the Egyptian context which motivate Egyptian managers to manage the earnings of companies in an upward direction. It adds additional EM motives to available literature including: employees, stock exchange’s rules, privatisation and meeting industrial norms. Also, the paper provides evidence of the effect of concentrated share ownership on managers’ likelihood to engage in EM behaviour. The paper also extends NIS theory to recognise the importance of the interplay between institutional and economic environment by including economic reform, and non-financial providers as factors that can explain the EM behaviour.
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Neo-institutional theory (NIT) has strengthened its position as one of the theories and frameworks used to investigate accounting as organizational, legislative, social and…
Abstract
Purpose
Neo-institutional theory (NIT) has strengthened its position as one of the theories and frameworks used to investigate accounting as organizational, legislative, social and policymaking phenomena. This study aims to review how aspects of NIT are used and understood by accounting researchers. As a growing body of accounting and auditing articles in recent years has used NIT as a theoretical framework, this paper reviews and analyzes articles using NIT.
Design/methodology/approach
This study develops a comprehensive synthesis of current academic knowledge about NIT in accounting and auditing regulation literature. Further, it reveals areas requiring further examination.
Findings
The findings of this study indicate that prior studies have found evidence that accounting and auditing regulation is associated with all forms of isomorphism (coercive, mimetic and normative). For instance, institutional pressures influence the accounting and auditing standards adoption in different environments. Therefore, the synthesis of the literature suggests that coercive, mimetic and normative pressures have played a significant role in the harmonization of accounting and auditing practices worldwide. To conclude, NIT has become one of the relevant alternative approaches used to explore accounting and auditing regulation as a complex phenomenon.
Research limitations/implications
Accounting has often been referred to as a “narrow” and “technical” topic. In a way, NIT broadens the research field by extending, for instance, the approach of which external and internal pressures are associated with accounting standards adoption and why different accounting practices are adopted.
Originality/value
This study informs accounting scholars as to how NIT has been applied, and can be applied, in the accounting and auditing regulation literature. This benefits accounting researchers if they are considering whether to use NIT in their research. This study evaluates the contribution of NIT within this research field. It can be suggested that accounting researchers need to become more aware of the debates within the NIT literature, particularly as the theory is seen as conceptually ambiguous. To conclude, the synthesis highlights that NIT has offered a range of important contributions and has drawn attention to the link between accounting and auditing regulation research and the institutional environment.
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Yan-Jie Yang, Jengfang Chen, Qian Long Kweh and Hsin Chi Chen
– This study aims to examine the effect of the separation of control and ownership on the efficiency performance of Taiwanese electronics firms.
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to examine the effect of the separation of control and ownership on the efficiency performance of Taiwanese electronics firms.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper employs data envelopment analysis to estimate efficiency performance. Following Kuan et al., the paper measures the severity of a firm's agency problems using the difference between voting rights and cash flow rights, and the difference between seat control rights and cash flow rights. Using a panel dataset for the period from 2004 to 2010, the paper runs OLS regressions to find the relationship between efficiency performance and the separation of control and ownership.
Findings
The results show that both the divergence between voting rights and cash flow rights, and the divergence between seat control rights and cash flow rights are significantly and negatively related to efficiency performance. Using Tobit regression in the second stage also provides a consistent result.
Research limitations/implications
Shareholders, especially the minority group, should think twice before investing in a firm with a high deviation of control and ownership.
Originality/value
This is the first paper to examine the effect of the separation of control and ownership on the efficiency performance of Taiwanese electronics firms. The empirical evidence suggests existence of negative entrenchment effects in the electronics industry in Taiwan.
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Ehsan H. Feroz, Sanjay Goel and Raymond L. Raab
The purpose of this paper is to show the applicability of data envelopment analysis (DEA) in arriving at an unbiased account of relative performance in a set of companies, using…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to show the applicability of data envelopment analysis (DEA) in arriving at an unbiased account of relative performance in a set of companies, using the pharmaceutical industry as an example.
Design/methodology/approach
A DEA‐based income efficiency measure of business performance for the pharmaceutical industry is computed. The pharmaceutical industry, which includes many multinational corporations with complex governance problems, and the strategies that allowed firm efficiency rankings to change over time, over ten recent years, are analyzed.
Findings
The analyses indicate that the inclines and declines in DEA efficiency rankings are related to the strategic choices made by the upper management.
Research limitations/implications
The paper attempted to trace firm behavior post hoc to validate the DEA rankings. All relevant firm behavior may not have been captured; the paper only attempted to capture behavior reported in the respectable business press, which may introduce a bias.
Practical implications
The approach may be ideal to evaluate strategic managers (CEOs, general managers, and presidents) by board of directors, since it relates multiple performance indices to a meta‐measure of performance. Another group of beneficiaries include sector financial analysts. The approach adds a new dimension to sector analysis, to compare specific industries and identify the relative rankings of firms on multiple performance indices.
Originality/value
The paper demonstrates the usefulness of DEA in performance governance measurement by applying it to the pharmaceuticals industry.
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Francisco Javier Andrades Peña, Domingo Martinez Martinez and Manuel Larrán Jorge
Drawing on managerial innovation model proposed by Abrahamson (1991), this chapter tries to gain a better understanding of how the UN SDGs have impacted the practice of…
Abstract
Drawing on managerial innovation model proposed by Abrahamson (1991), this chapter tries to gain a better understanding of how the UN SDGs have impacted the practice of sustainability reporting of Spanish public universities. Data were collected from a variety of sources, such as: several email structured interviews with university managers, an examination of the Chancellor letters of sustainability reports of Spanish public universities, a detailed reading of some sustainability reports and a consultation of the website of each Spanish public university. The findings reveal that there has been an increasing number of Spanish public universities that have started to publish stand-alone sustainability reporting since the appearance of the UN SDGs. According to Abrahamson's framework, our findings reveal that governmental-policy forces have shaped the sustainability reporting landscape in the Spanish public university setting, and their behaviour is mostly explained by the forced-selection and fad/fashion perspectives.
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This study aims to investigate whether objective and subjective rationality affects individual voters’ use of accounting information and if such use affects voting behavior. While…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to investigate whether objective and subjective rationality affects individual voters’ use of accounting information and if such use affects voting behavior. While prior accounting studies assume voter rationality concerning financial performance and political outcomes, this study distinguishes between two types of voters: objective rational voters (who make voting decisions about multiple alternatives based on objective information) and subjective rational voters (who make decisions based on their subjective values, and thus do not explore information or explore only information biased toward one alternative). This study expects that accounting information can influence the voting behavior of objective and subjective rational voters.
Design/methodology/approach
Focusing on the 2020 Osaka Metropolitan Plan Referendum, this study used an online survey conducted on 768 respondents after the referendum.
Findings
This study finds that objective rational voters use accounting information more than subjective rational voters, voters who used accounting information were more likely to vote against the referendum, and voting behavior is not directly affected by the type of rationality of voters; rather, objective rational voters are more likely to use accounting information that has a mediating effect on voting behavior.
Originality/value
The results advance the understanding of public sector accounting research and practices by providing evidence of the individual voter’s use of accounting information and their voting behavior in political contexts.