Search results

1 – 10 of over 2000
Per page
102050
Citations:
Loading...
Access Restricted. View access options
Article
Publication date: 10 April 2017

G. Stevenson Smith

This paper aims to examine the accountants’ stereotype as it is developed within a sample of fiction novels. The descriptions of accountants in these novels are used to determine…

8586

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to examine the accountants’ stereotype as it is developed within a sample of fiction novels. The descriptions of accountants in these novels are used to determine the attributes associated with the accountants’ image. Further, the purpose is to identify and compare the results of the present study with those images that have been identified in previous studies.

Design/methodology/approach

The descriptions in the novels are analyzed using context analysis and the corpus available through the General Inquirer (GI). A comparison is made between the results found in the present study using context analysis with previous studies using social-cultural methods to investigate stereotypes. The current paper attempts to avoid investigator bias based on social learning; lessens subjective interpretations; and rather than using a non-transferable rating scale unique to one article, it uses a widely accepted evaluation measure in the GI.

Findings

The image of accountants in the sample of novels was found to be positive rather than the negative image described in previous papers. The conclusion reached is that past studies of the accountants’ image have not eliminated social-cultural biases from their research results. The present study suggests that an image filled with negative characteristics may vary with the medium, and there may not be a universal image of the accountant.

Research limitations/implications

One weakness of content analysis is that positive words are used in phrases that may have negative connotations. For example, the word “cool” as related to a person may have the meaning that a person is really neat or that they are standoffish. Another limitation of context analysis is coding bias as a consequence of the subjectivity among the various individuals performing the coding. The corpus used in the GI attempts to overcome these issues.

Practical implications

Managers’ potential interactions with accountants are affected by their internal perceptions of the accounting profession. If accountants are associated with negative images as outlined in previous research, why is their decision-making input still widely used? An understanding of why a group of such professionals are considered to be important to decision-making needs to be analyzed. If managers truly believe accountants are weak, negative and short-sighted, as has been confirmed in previous research, accountants and their skill set would not be used by managers. Yet, their skills are sought out by managers. The dichotomy is investigated in the paper.

Social implications

Stereotypes affect members of the public in their support, approach and interactions with a profession. The job functions available to a profession are affected and restricted by its stereotype. Unfortunately, many people develop distortions and biases in their perceptions and react toward a group based on those internally held perceptions. It is worthwhile to understand how a group is viewed in society to be able to understand how they can deal with these stereotypes.

Originality/value

The approach in the paper is the first application of context analysis to the study of the accountant’s image. In this context, data identified in the structure of a text provide a basis to the underlying patterns in the text and by implication its attributes. Unlike the past studies, which rely on social learning to evaluate the accountants’ image, the current research combines content analysis with corpus linguistics to identify themes and the significance of relationships in the data set.

Details

Meditari Accountancy Research, vol. 25 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2049-372X

Keywords

Access Restricted. View access options
Article
Publication date: 1 January 1999

Roger Debreceny, Andy Lymer, G. Stevenson Smith and Clinton White

The methodologies and the mode of delivery for accounting courses are undergoing dynamic changes as Internet‐based teaching techniques continue to expand into higher education…

182

Abstract

The methodologies and the mode of delivery for accounting courses are undergoing dynamic changes as Internet‐based teaching techniques continue to expand into higher education. Private, for‐profit organisations are developing accredited courses and degrees that can be completed at any location, at any time and that compete directly with university programmes of study. The Internet has provided these organisations with an easier entry into the educational market because the infrastuccture of a large campus, required for a resident population, is no longer necessary. It has been found that educational institutions with a tradition of providing accounting education courses and degrees to a resident student population have been slow to adopt new Internet teaching methods. This essay examines several issues facing university programmes in accounting as these environmental changes and challenges continue to accelerate in the new millennium.

Details

Pacific Accounting Review, vol. 11 no. 1/2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0114-0582

Access Restricted. View access options
Book part
Publication date: 14 December 2017

Giaime Berti, Catherine Mulligan and Han Yap

The chapter introduces digital food hubs as disruptive business models in the agri-food system shifting away from the unsustainable industrialized and conventional food sector and…

Abstract

The chapter introduces digital food hubs as disruptive business models in the agri-food system shifting away from the unsustainable industrialized and conventional food sector and moving toward a re-localized food and farming pattern. They are new digital business models developed to support small and mid-size farms with a value focus, forming new ways to leverage the technology as a facilitator for coopetitive organizational forms. Indeed, they respond to a competitive strategy constituted by a “value strategy” oriented to the production and distribution of “shared value.” Second, they are based on an “organizational strategy” that shifts from individual competition to “coopetition” through the development of local “strategic networks” among small size producers. Central to the development of these business models is the digital disruption that has offered the space for the creation of unconventional exchange and transaction mechanisms distinguishing them from the already existing traditional ways of work. The agri-food markets exhibit structural holes that impede small farms from connecting with local consumers. This is due to a lack of material infrastructures and organizational forms on behalf of small farms that cannot reach the consumers, as well as the concentration of power in the hands of a restricted numbers of distributors, which causes the unequal redistribution of the economic value and impedes small farms accessing the food market. The advent of the digital technology is reshaping the market relationship by allowing out centralized intermediaries and creating new bridges between producers and consumers.

Details

Global Opportunities for Entrepreneurial Growth: Coopetition and Knowledge Dynamics within and across Firms
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78714-502-3

Keywords

Access Restricted. View access options
Article
Publication date: 5 January 2015

G. Stevenson Smith

The purpose of this paper is to identify how the management structure of cybercriminals has changed and will continue to be revised in the future as their criminal business models…

2395

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to identify how the management structure of cybercriminals has changed and will continue to be revised in the future as their criminal business models are modified. In the early days of hacktivism, a distinction was made between a “hacker” and a “cracker”. The hacker was considered someone who was interested in the vulnerabilities in a computer system, but they were not out to exploit these vulnerabilities for illicit gains. Today, this is no longer true, as loosely coordinated gangs of computer hackers exploit vulnerabilities of financial institutions and the public to steal and transfer money across borders without difficulty.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper reviews legal cases dealing with the computer theft of assets from financial institutions and individuals. The focus is on external exploits of hackers not on employee’s theft of assets. It explores the management structure used by cybercriminals who have been caught and prosecuted by legal authorities in the USA and other countries. The paper discusses how this management structure has evolved from older traditional crime business models based on “family” relationships to morphing criminal gangs based in Russia, the Ukraine and other locations almost untouchable by the US legal authorities. These new criminal networks are based on knowledge relationships and quickly disappearing network connections. The paper concludes with a discussion regarding the management structure cybercriminals will follow in the future, as they continue their criminal activities.

Findings

The study provides indications of a trend toward more complex management and organizational structures among cybergangs.

Originality/value

Although there are many annual studies identifying the growth of cybercrime and the types of attacks being made, but there is not even a single study that shows how the cybercrime business model has changed over the past 20 years. From that perspective, the paper provides information of a changing and more effective business model for cyberattacks.

Details

Journal of Financial Crime, vol. 22 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1359-0790

Keywords

Access Restricted. View access options
Article
Publication date: 13 July 2012

G. Stevenson Smith

A first responder to a crisis acts by stabilizing the situation and preventing further losses to victims. The purpose of this paper is to explore the issue of whether auditors can…

3510

Abstract

Purpose

A first responder to a crisis acts by stabilizing the situation and preventing further losses to victims. The purpose of this paper is to explore the issue of whether auditors can act as first responders to a financial fraud.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper reviews Securities and Exchange (SEC) regulations and auditing practice pronouncements to identify the role of digital evidence in those statements.

Findings

Auditors will act as first responders if such a role is required in SEC regulations or under the auditors' professional practice guidelines. Recent SEC regulations and practice guidelines are reviewed to determine if any such role exists. The effectiveness of a first responder to financial frauds is dependent on the tools they use to evaluate the crisis.

Originality/value

In order for auditors to act effectively, they must carefully take into consideration fraudulent digital documents.

Details

Journal of Financial Crime, vol. 19 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1359-0790

Keywords

Access Restricted. View access options
Article
Publication date: 1 February 1994

Nancy M. Stanley

The purpose of this report is to provide information about the accrual method of Financial accounting for non‐profit organizations, to explain who uses the accrual method and why…

196

Abstract

The purpose of this report is to provide information about the accrual method of Financial accounting for non‐profit organizations, to explain who uses the accrual method and why, and to determine if it poses a problem in managing the business of library acquisitions. This report is in response to concerns raised by acquisitions librarians regarding the uses and interpretations of accrual accounting methods at some institutions. In addition, it includes discussions of the possible ramifications accrual accounting methods can have on the process of acquiring selected library materials, such as serials and standing orders.

Details

The Bottom Line, vol. 7 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0888-045X

Access Restricted. View access options
Article
Publication date: 1 March 1990

Gary J. Egan and Brinley R. Franklin

Library accounts in the university financial accounting system should give administrators information for sound management decision. In light of the extensive body of literature…

53

Abstract

Library accounts in the university financial accounting system should give administrators information for sound management decision. In light of the extensive body of literature published recently on library accounting and cost analysis, 12 university libraries were reviewed to determine whether their accounting practices were keeping up theory.

Details

The Bottom Line, vol. 3 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0888-045X

Access Restricted. View access options
Article
Publication date: 1 January 1988

Robert C. Miller

Fiscal support from endowments is a longstanding tradition in many institutions of higher education. The first known endowment in an American academic library resulted from a…

97

Abstract

Fiscal support from endowments is a longstanding tradition in many institutions of higher education. The first known endowment in an American academic library resulted from a bequest of £500 from Thomas Hollis to the Harvard College Library in 1774. The number of endowments grew steadily in the 1800s, and by the turn of the century there were significant endowments in many libraries, including Yale, Columbia, the University of Pennsylvania, Brown, the University of Virginia, and the University of North Carolina. Some institutions came to be heavily dependent on trusts for library funding. Between 1928 and 1956, for example, endowment supplied the total budgetary allocation for acquisitions at the Dartmouth College Library. Similarly, as late as the early 1950s, all of the book funds for the Harvard College Library came from its endowment.

Details

The Bottom Line, vol. 1 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0888-045X

Access Restricted. View access options
Article
Publication date: 10 August 2015

Kate-Riin Kont

The purpose of this paper is to mainly find out how well is time-driven activity-based costing (TDABC) suits for a university library setting in Estonia. For this purpose, all…

1625

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to mainly find out how well is time-driven activity-based costing (TDABC) suits for a university library setting in Estonia. For this purpose, all activities related to acquisitions process were identified and recorded in detail, and the cost of all these activities related to acquisition process in Estonian university libraries based on the example of the TDABC method were anlyzed.

Design/methodology/approach

The data used in this paper is based on a review of relevant literature to provide an overview of the concept of the different cost accounting methods suitable for the measurement of the acquisition process. Through a case study, conducted among Estonian university libraries, the TDABC approach was used to analyze the acquisition process in university libraries. More specifically, the acquisition process studied concerned print format books, audiovisual documents and sheet music, and covered acquisition processes such as receipt of orders, ordering documents, communication with bookshop (if necessary), receiving documents and communication with the customer.

Findings

On the basis of the current study it can be said the TDABC methodology seems to be one of the best tools for understanding cost behavior and for refining a cost system for university libraries. While analyzing the results, it appeared that the difference in time and cost for acquiring a document can be remarkable and concerns both – acquiring foreign documents (documents from other countries) and acquiring domestic documents, and between the university libraries chosen for the current study.

Originality/value

The subject of cost accounting as a performance measurement method is in general an unexplored field in Estonian university libraries. Time guidelines for acquiring the documents were, however, quite common in the 1980s in the USSR, including Estonia. Soviet-wide regulatory documents were issued on all library work processes, but each library could still implement their own rules. In the 1990s, the regulations were consigned to oblivion. Very few cost surveys involving different library activities have been carried out in Estonia and none have been published. Where such studies have been conducted, the results remain for internal use only.

Details

Library Management, vol. 36 no. 6/7
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0143-5124

Keywords

Access Restricted. View access options
Article
Publication date: 1 February 1990

Glenn R. Wittig

“Documentation”—that which is incorporated into the spreadsheet file, in contrast to manuals that come with the software per se—seems to be acknowledged more in theory than in…

248

Abstract

“Documentation”—that which is incorporated into the spreadsheet file, in contrast to manuals that come with the software per se—seems to be acknowledged more in theory than in practice. Documentation appears in the first section of the spreadsheet, for it introduces the reader to the model and enables the reader to “get his/her bearings.” Necessary elements include a title line, a purpose statement, directions on how the model is to be used, references to sources and ideas, and a table of contents.

Details

Library Hi Tech, vol. 8 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0737-8831

1 – 10 of over 2000
Per page
102050