Leigh Holland and Brian Williams
Sustainability as a concept comprises the combination of economic, environmental and social elements, no more importantly when looking at the achievement of local sustainability…
Abstract
Sustainability as a concept comprises the combination of economic, environmental and social elements, no more importantly when looking at the achievement of local sustainability. Local business enterprise is an important factor here ‐ the implementation of the principles of sustainability will benefit enormously from the involvement of local businesses and their owners and employees. However, what is not clear is how this can happen in practice ‐ what ought to be is not yet translatable into what is.
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The Centre for Social and Environmental Accounting Research has been running Summer Schools since 1992, when the first was arranged as part of the British Accounting Association’s…
Abstract
The Centre for Social and Environmental Accounting Research has been running Summer Schools since 1992, when the first was arranged as part of the British Accounting Association’s Summer School programme to encourage new researchers to embark on a research career. Whilst the programme has developed over the ten schools so far held, the ethos has remained the same ‐ encouragement and stimulation in a co‐operative, academic environment. The summer schools have given new and experienced researchers the opportunity to present their ideas ‐ whether as completed papers or as some form of work in progress ‐ to a sympathetic audience in tune with the general themes presented. Mostly, the research forms part of the more general critical approach to accounting research, and participants are more comfortable both with presenting and critiquing ideas using a critical framework. This involves exposing ’conventional’ accounting wisdom and using different frameworks with which to examine what transformations may take place if other perspectives are applied. Having said that, there is a place to air research carried out from a managerialist outlook too, so that a reformist position may also be taken.
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Greig A. Mill and Leigh Holland
Socially responsible investment (SRI): selection of investment portfolios with regard to ethical and social criteria in addition to conventional financial considerations, is often…
Abstract
Socially responsible investment (SRI): selection of investment portfolios with regard to ethical and social criteria in addition to conventional financial considerations, is often considered to bring reduced financial performance, although empirical evidence is inconclusive. Five possible sources of divergence in the performance of socially responsible and conventional investments have been proposed in the literature, and are further examined here. Two proposed mechanisms (the ‘anticipation effect’ and the ‘positive selection effect’) describe firms in which investment is potentially made. Since such opportunities are available to all investors, these are unlikely sources of systematic divergence. Concern (the ‘diversification effect’) that SRI constraints prevent adequate portfolio diversification is shown to be ill founded. The greater proportion of smaller companies in SRI portfolios links to an ongoing debate regarding the ‘small companies effect’, in which smaller companies have at times appeared to have superior (and more recently, inferior) performance, while other studies suggest that this is merely an artefact of the methodology used. It is argued that none of the above provides a basis for expectations of inferior SRI performance. Furthermore, SRI portfolio managers gather additional company information and also increasingly engage in dialogue with companies. It is argued that this ‘information effect’ is a possible source of superior SRI performance.
This paper investigates how one course – a final year undergraduate module – has been developed and implemented to inform students about corporate social responsibility from an…
Abstract
This paper investigates how one course – a final year undergraduate module – has been developed and implemented to inform students about corporate social responsibility from an accounting perspective. It takes as its core the notion of accounting and accountability, and is delivered by accounting lecturers to business students following a range of business programmes. It has an interdisciplinary approach to allow a variety of topics to be addressed and to encourage students to read literature they would otherwise not come across. The course has been running for several years and has been amended as experiences – such as the need for assimilation of current topics and the development of a more critical approach to accounting – are assimilated, and as knowledge is built up. What follows is a study of the course, its content and approach, the barriers to developing an effective critique of the subject, and some thoughts on its further development.
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The paper analyses the concept of ‘user needs’, which has been widely adopted by official bodies as the basis of a conceptual framework for financial reporting, including the ASB…
Abstract
The paper analyses the concept of ‘user needs’, which has been widely adopted by official bodies as the basis of a conceptual framework for financial reporting, including the ASB in the UK, following the lead of the FASB in the US. The user needs approach is essentially deductive: if users of the financial statements are identified, together with the decisions such users want to make with the information such statements contain, then the required information can be specified in the appropriate form. The paper attempts to follow this logic, to test its viability, making reference to the literature and the conceptual framework statements of FASB and the ASB. The paper concludes that the approach throws up such serious problems that no clear conclusions can be drawn from it. FASB and the ASB do not explicitly face these problems, and effectively abandon the user needs criterion. User needs can only serve a rhetorical function within conceptual framework documents.
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Alexandros Galanis and David G Woodward
In the conduct of an organisation’s myriad activities, obtaining value for money is a crucial consideration, and over the years this has increasingly encouraged businesses to…
Abstract
In the conduct of an organisation’s myriad activities, obtaining value for money is a crucial consideration, and over the years this has increasingly encouraged businesses to examine both the effectiveness and efficiency of outsourcing specific business functions. Historically, concern was with more‐or‐less peripheral activities where the cost advantage of outsourcing was readily ascertainable. But more recently attention has increasingly been directed towards more fundamental business activities where consideration of mere cost is supplanted by aspects of quality, and the recognition that greater external quality of provision might well override mere considerations of economy.
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John Pointon and Derek Spratley
An empirical survey, of 136 respondents from UK quoted companies, was conducted with regard to the likely effects of UK corporation tax reform on share buy‐backs, capital…
Abstract
An empirical survey, of 136 respondents from UK quoted companies, was conducted with regard to the likely effects of UK corporation tax reform on share buy‐backs, capital investment and financing choices. Overall, 45 per cent expected ACT abolition to lead to an increase in share buy‐backs. Logistic regression analysis links this view to corporate liquidity. The abolition of advance corporation tax is, however, unlikely to have a significant impact upon UK and overseas capital investment, bond issues, bond redemptions, share issues, finance leasing and projected dividend levels. Capital investment and financing choices are likely to be invariant to the combined effects of a reduced corporate tax rate and a quarterly collection period.
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David Collins, Ian Dewing and Peter Russell
The paper aims to offer an exploration of the Banking Act 1987 which was passed following the failure of Johnson Matthey Bankers (JMB) in 1984. This Act extended the role of…
Abstract
Purpose
The paper aims to offer an exploration of the Banking Act 1987 which was passed following the failure of Johnson Matthey Bankers (JMB) in 1984. This Act extended the role of auditors in banking supervision by removing traditional confidentiality constraints and created a new role of “reporting accountant”. The paper seeks to examine the origin and development of these new reporting roles. In addition, the paper considers the extent to which the findings of this historical investigation might contribute to current debates on the role of auditors in banking supervision.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper draws on official documents, personal accounts of individuals responsible for dealing with the JMB crisis, and semi‐structured interviews conducted with audit partners and banking supervisors who had direct experience of implementing the supervisory reforms instituted under the Banking Act 1987. Power's explanatory schema of controversy, closure and credibility is adopted as a framework for the analysis of documentary sources and interview data.
Findings
The failure of JMB generated sufficient controversy so as to require reform of the system of banking supervision. The paper shows that JMB was a controversy since it disturbed what went before and carried with it sufficient allies for change. To achieve closure of the controversy, agreement by key actors about changes to the nature of the role of auditors was required to ensure legitimacy for the reforms. Backstage work undertaken by the auditing profession and the Bank of England provided the necessary credibility to renormalise practice around the new supervisory arrangements.
Originality/value
The paper develops Power's schema which is then employed to analyse the emergence of the new role of reporting accountant and extended role for auditors in UK banking supervision. The paper provides empirical evidence on the processes of controversy, closure and credibility that help to ensure the legitimacy of accounting and auditing change.
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Aarhus Kommunes Biblioteker (Teknisk Bibliotek), Ingerslevs Plads 7, Aarhus, Denmark. Representative: V. NEDERGAARD PEDERSEN (Librarian).
Sam Robertson, Helen Leigh-Phippard, Donald Robertson, Abigail Thomson, Jessica Casey and Lucy Jane Walsh
This study aims to explore the experiences of peers working in a range of roles within a single NHS mental health service. This study also aims to provide evidence of the impact…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to explore the experiences of peers working in a range of roles within a single NHS mental health service. This study also aims to provide evidence of the impact of existing support, organisational structure and culture around peer working and provide recommendations for a Good Practice Guide for Peer Working. Peer roles require lived experience of mental health conditions and/or services. While the impact on them of using their own lived experience is not fully understood, anecdotal evidence suggests that peer workers may experience a greater emotional impact than other mental health workers. Burnout and retention are particular concerns.
Design/methodology/approach
This was a two-stage study using focus groups and reflexive thematic analysis in Stage 1. The key themes formed the basis of the Stage 2 workshop, which provided recommendations for a Good Practice Guide. The study team consisted of peer researchers with lived experience, supported by a Lived Experience Advisory Panel.
Findings
There is a perceived lack of support and an increased peer burden for peer workers. Recommendations included relevant ongoing training and development; support and supervision; and organisational cultural change.
Originality/value
Working within a peer-led co-production framework, this study contributes to the development of the evidence base for peer emotional labour. Based on the findings, a Good Practice Guide for Peer Working is being developed to promote good practice for the development of future peer worker roles.