Belinda Williams, Sumit Lodhia, Mitali Panchal Arora and Lisa McManus
With an increased focus on the need for higher levels of accountability and transparency in the public sector, this study aims to provide insights into non-financial reporting…
Abstract
Purpose
With an increased focus on the need for higher levels of accountability and transparency in the public sector, this study aims to provide insights into non-financial reporting (NFR) practices as a mechanism in facilitating accountability. This study also aims to investigate the changing role of the public sector accountant in this process, specifically focusing on the Australian local government sector.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors used a mail survey across two time periods, 2009 and 2017, to analyse the role of accountants in NFR practices. Institutional theory provides a theoretical framing for the study.
Findings
The findings reveal an increase in the use of accountants across time in the preparation of voluntary information, being used in a variety of roles because of their financial abilities and analytical skills. The results also indicate a shift has occurred with more emphasis being placed on cross-departmental approaches to NFP incorporating the accountant. These results suggest a greater recognition of the role of accountants in NFR and a dilution of accountant’s boundaries in relation to their existing traditional focus.
Research limitations/implications
This study contributes to the academic NFR literature by providing evidence of an institutional shift that is occurring with the accountant’s role widening to a broader context beyond their traditional roles.
Practical implications
This longitudinal study provides practical evidence to management of the potential offered by accountants as the public sector seeks to achieve higher levels of accountability and transparency. Policy implications also arise in relation to the need for development of quality assurance guidelines and further education and training as the public sector embarks on the journey of NFR.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first that has explored the evolution of NFR over a period of time through its focus on the role of accountants.
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Ratnam Alagiah, Debbie Delaney and Lisa McManus
This study provides some empirical evidence of the relationship between face‐to‐face contact for accounting students by comparing their performance with their attendance at…
Abstract
This study provides some empirical evidence of the relationship between face‐to‐face contact for accounting students by comparing their performance with their attendance at tutorials. Previous research has shown that there was no significant difference in the performance of students, measured by their results, between students who attended tutorials and lectures with those who did not. Internal students who had face‐to‐face contact outscored those who did not attend lectures and tutorials. This suggests that attendance does explain performance. Consistent with previous studies, we posit that students who attended tutorials have a greater possibility of scoring a higher mean average grade than those who did not attend tutorials. We hypothesise that attendance at tutorials is useful and is conducive to better learning in accounting at the undergraduate levels. With debate about converting all accounting undergraduate courses into the flexible mode over the horizon, this study provides some empirical evidence to accounting students, accounting academics and university administrators as to the suitability of learning and teaching modes in accounting at the undergraduate level.
Kaylene Arkcoll, Chris Guilding, Dawne Lamminamki, Lisa McManus and Jan Warnken
The purpose of this paper is to advance a set of criteria for appraising the merits of alternative options to financing common property capital expenditure in multi‐owned housing…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to advance a set of criteria for appraising the merits of alternative options to financing common property capital expenditure in multi‐owned housing (MOH) complexes and to then draw on this conceptual framework to determine which mode of common property capital expenditure funding is preferable.
Design/methodology/approach
A priori reasoning has been provided to pursue the study's objective.
Findings
Sinking funds represent the preferred approach to financing common property expenditure in MOH schemes and special levies are the least preferred approach.
Research limitations/implications
Due to the a priori based conceptual development undertaken, some subjectivity is bound to be invoked.
Practical implications
The study provides key insights to government policy makers charged with drafting MOH legislation and provides strong support for those jurisdictions that require sinking funds to be raised in MOH complexes. The study also informs the owners executive committees of MOH schemes of the benefits of maintaining sinking funds.
Social Implications
The study highlights the considerable MOH unit owner financial distress that can be averted by pursuing a policy of raising sinking funds.
Originality/value
The study has immense originality, as it is the first academic study to focus on MOH common property capital expenditure issues.
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Nava Subramaniam, Lisa McManus and Jiani Zhang
The purpose of this paper is to examine how a risk management committee (RMC), as a newly evolving sub‐committee of the board of directors, functions as a key governance support…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine how a risk management committee (RMC), as a newly evolving sub‐committee of the board of directors, functions as a key governance support mechanism in the oversight an organisation's risk management strategies, policies and processes. However, empirical evidence on the factors associated with the existence and the type of RMCs remains scant.
Design/methodology/approach
Using an agency theory perspective, this study investigates the association between board factors such as proportion of non‐executive directors, Chief Executive Officer duality, and board size; as well as, other firm‐related factors (e.g. auditor type, industry, leverage, and complexity), and the existence of a RMC, and the type of RMC (namely, a separate RMC versus one that is combined with the audit committee). Data was collected from the annual reports of the top 300 Australian Stock Exchange (ASX)‐listed companies.
Findings
The results, based on logistic regression analyses, indicate that RMCs tend to exist in companies with an independent board chairman and larger boards. Further, the results also indicate that in comparison to companies with a combined RMC and audit committee, those with a separate RMC are more likely to have larger boards, higher financial reporting risk and lower organisational complexity.
Research limitations/implications
Data limited to top 200 top ASX‐listed companies, thus restricting generalisability of the results.
Originality/value
The findings of this study provide additional information on the use and design of RMCs in a voluntary setting.
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Travis Holt, Lisa A. Burke-Smalley and Christopher Jones
In this study, we use the well-researched and validated Big Five model of personality traits to examine accounting students’ career interests in auditing. Using the person-job fit…
Abstract
In this study, we use the well-researched and validated Big Five model of personality traits to examine accounting students’ career interests in auditing. Using the person-job fit literature as a springboard for our study, we investigate the influence of accounting students’ personality traits on their career interests in auditing using a research survey. We uncover a general “trait gap” (i.e., lack of fit) between accounting students’ own personality traits and their perceptions of the ideal auditor, which presents implications for workplace readiness. Additionally, analysis focusing on students who particularly want to work in auditing indicates that those with more auditing work experience are more likely to identify auditing as their preferred job. Furthermore, results indicate that accounting students higher on openness to experience tend to view auditing jobs as more desirable. Finally, accounting students who prefer the auditing career path perceive the ideal auditor as extroverted, agreeable, and open to experience. We extend prior findings in the accounting education literature surrounding personality traits and their impact on student career choices. Because advising students for a career path suiting their traits and talents is important for each student and the accounting profession, our study’s insights into the “matching process” add value to career advising.
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Jennifer A. Espinosa, Donna Davis, James Stock and Lisa Monahan
The purpose of this paper is to explore the processing of product returns at five case companies using a complex adaptive systems (CAS) logic to identify agent interactions…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore the processing of product returns at five case companies using a complex adaptive systems (CAS) logic to identify agent interactions, organization, schema, learning and the emergence of adaptations in the reverse supply chain.
Design/methodology/approach
Using a multiple-case study design, this research applies abductive reasoning to examine data from in-depth, semi-structured interviews and direct researcher observations collected during site visits at case companies.
Findings
Costly or high-risk returns may require agents to specialize the depth of their mental schema. Processing agents need freedom to interact, self-organize and learn from other agents to generate emergent ideas and adapt.
Practical implications
Limiting the depth of individual agent schema allows managers to better allocate labor to processing product returns during peak volume. To boost adaptability, managers need to craft a dynamic environment that encourages agents with diverse schema to interact, anticipate, and self-organize to brainstorm new ideas. Managers need to resist the urge to “control” the dynamic environment that ensues.
Originality/value
This paper builds on existing research that studies the key decision points in the analysis of product returns by exploring how processing-agent behaviors can create adaptability in the reverse supply chain. Additionally, this research follows in the tradition of Choi et al. (2001) and Surana et al. (2005) and proposes the application of CAS to a specific part of the supply chain – the processing of product returns.
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Stephen Lippmann, Amy Davis and Howard E. Aldrich
Nations with high levels of economic inequality tend to have high rates of entrepreneurial activity. In this paper, we develop propositions about this relationship, based upon…
Abstract
Nations with high levels of economic inequality tend to have high rates of entrepreneurial activity. In this paper, we develop propositions about this relationship, based upon current research. Although we provide some descriptive analyses to support our propositions, our paper is not an empirical test but rather a theoretical exploration of new ideas related to this topic. We first define entrepreneurship at the individual and societal level and distinguish between entrepreneurship undertaken out of necessity and entrepreneurship that takes advantage of market opportunities. We then explore the roles that various causes of economic inequality play in increasing entrepreneurial activity, including economic development, state policies, foreign investment, sector shifts, labor market and employment characteristics, and class structures. The relationship between inequality and entrepreneurship poses a potentially disturbing message for countries with strong egalitarian norms and political and social policies that also wish to increase entrepreneurial activity. We conclude by noting the conditions under which entrepreneurship can be a source of upward social and economic mobility for individuals.