Issues on Public Sector Accounting Reform in Jordan

This study reviews recent articles discussing the benefits of International Public Sector Accounting Standards(IPSAS)implementation in reforming public sector accounting,specifically in developing countries.These benefits are among others better transparency,accountability,and decision making in public sector financial transactions.The purpose of this study is to examine the role of IPSAS in addressing some critical financial issues,including financial aids,budget deficit,taxes,and corruption,which may hinder the progress of Jordanian public sector and the country’s economic growth.This study concludes that IPSAS has an effective role in addressing these thorny issues and its implementation would therefore allow the Jordanian public sector to reach its development goals.The unique contribution of this study is that it enriches the body of knowledge regarding the benefits of IPSAS implementation in a more holistic manner and in a new context,Jordan.     

The Perception of Small- and Medium-Sized Enterprises （SMEs） on the Importance of a Proper Accounting System： Malaysian Evidence

This paper examines the relationship between small- and medium-sized enterprises＇ （SMEs） entrepreneurs＇ perceptions towards a proper accounting system with the level of accounting staff recruited, preparation of final accounts, meetings with accounting staff, and entrepreneurs＇ ranking of accounting according to their priority. The methodology used to gather the data is survey questionnaire. It has been distributed to SMEs based on simple random sampling method. Three hundred businesses were selected from the total of 3,390 businesses listed in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia area obtained from Small and Medium Industries Development Corporation （SMIDEC） website and a few random selected from Ampang and Cheras areas. Regression analysis has been used to analyze the data. The results of the study reveal that there was a significant relation between SMEs entrepreneurs＇ perceptions on the importance of a good accounting system and the level of professional accounting staff recruited. Furthermore, findings of this study also found that there was an insignificant relationship between SMEs entrepreneurs＇ perceptions on the importance of a good accounting system and preparation of final accounts of the company and frequency of meetings with accounting staff.     

Forensic Accounting and Fraud： Capability and Competence Requirements in Malaysia

The 2011 Global Economic Crime Survey instituted by PricewaterhouseCoopers （PwC） confirms the economic crime in Malaysia to be on the increase and, therefore, requires immediate attention to stem the tides. In anticipation of the challenges occasioned due to a shift from the modified cash basis to the accrual basis of accounting, the Malaysian State＇s determination to move from a developing nation to a developed nation, and to be ranked among the first 10 in 2020, this paper presents the need for forensic accountant and auditor capability （i.e., mindset and skills） on forensic accountant and auditor competence （i.e., task performance fraud risk assessment （TPFRA）） in the Malaysian public sector. It also draws the attention of the users of public sector accountants and auditors to the understanding of fraud mechanisms and how to deal with fraudsters. The population of this study comprised the accountants and auditors in the office of the Accountant General and Auditor General of Malaysia. The objective of this paper is to investigate the competence requirements of accountants and auditors in the effective and efficient utilization of capability requirements, which have the potentials to usher in the best global practices in fighting fraud in the Malaysian public sector.     

Prediction Ability of Cash Flows,Net Income （NI）, and Auditors

The accounting information should help investors and creditors evaluate the amounts, timing, and uncertainty of firms＇ future cash receipts and disbursements. The Financial Accounting Standards Board （FASB） contends that accrual-based historical earnings are superior to cash flows in predicting future cash flows. But, Bowen, Burgstahler, and Daley （1986） showed that traditional measures of cash flows （net income （NI） plus depreciation and working capital from operations） appear to be better predictors of future cash flows than accrual accounting earnings. Since then, many researchers have articulated the importance of accounting data, especially cash flows and NI, in the predictive and forecasting processes. In this study, we empirically re-examined the ability of cash flows from operating activities （CFO） and accrual-based NI in predicting firms＇ bankruptcy. In the past, the results of this type of research were mixed. Differently from previous research, we focus on the timing of predictive ability, i.e., which indicator, cash flows or NI, is faster in predicting a firm＇s bankruptcy. We also investigate the timing of auditors＇ issuance of a going-concern opinion. The preliminary results show that the accrual-based NI is more accurate and faster than either CFO or audit opinion in predicting firms＇ failures. On average, NI signals a firm＇s bankruptcy 2.41 years before the bankruptcy filing, while CFO signals 1.48 years before filing. Auditors issued a going-concern opinion, another signal for firms＇ failure, to only 16 out of 41 bankrupt firms one year before bankruptcy, and no auditor issued the going-concern opinion two years before bankruptcy.     

Impact of IFRS adoption on accounting quality in European firms

In this paper it is examined whether firms following International Financial Reporting Standards （IFRS） exhibit higher accounting quality. While IFRS are supposed to improve international comparisons by harmonisation and definition of strong principles, Ball （2006） and Nobes （2006） were concerned about differences in the application of IFRS cross-countries and firms. Barth, Landsman ＆ Lang （2008） stated that the flexibility of principles- based International Accounting Standards （IAS） could create incentives for firms to manage earnings. This paper contributes to analyse the impact of IFRS on accounting quality for European firms. The findings show that for firms in the European Union （EU） IFRS produce a negative effect on accounting quality that continues after 2005, when IFRS becomes mandatory. By contrast, for European firms which are not EU members the IFRS adoption increases accounting quality. These results support the concerns about IFRS application and flexibility and indicate that accounting quality does not improve just because the adoption of IFRS is mandatory.     

Development of the Insurance Industry in Europe in Economic and Financial Crisis

This paper analyzes the evolution of the insurance sector in Europe, focuses on the European Union （EU） member states, and considers the impact of economic and financial crisis on that sector. The European private insurance market is a developed market having an investment portfolio of 7,740 billion euros in 2011, an amount corresponding to 55% of the gross domestic product （GDP） of the 32 European markets members of Insurance Europe. Therefore, the importance of this sector as a long-term investor and major employer is obvious for the stability and growth of European economy. However, the insurance sector has been considerably affected since 2009 due to the global economic and financial crisis, which has had negative effects not only on the evolution of the value of insurance premiums underwritten, but also on the return on investment of the insurance companies.     

Applications of Business Process Management （BPM） in Chinese Firms： A Managerial Accounting Perspective

Based on a questionnaire survey, the aim of this paper is to explore the relationship of business process management （BPM） with managerial accounting system （MAS） and their economic performance consequences in Chinese firms. Statistical data show that more firms accept business process improvement （BPI） other than business process reengineering （BPR） and optimize their activity chains other than supply chains. Through the construction of three elements, i.e., goal-setting, monitoring, and incentive schemes, of MAS, the study finds that when implementing BPM, firms usually use accounting indexes to set goals of the effect of business processes and combine the goals with monitoring and incentive schemes. Statistical data also show that incentive schemes get the lowest usage degree compared with goal-setting and monitoring. In addition, there are differences in their managerial accounting usages for BPM among firms considering ownership, industry, and scale. The main finding of this paper is that BPM empirically brings favorable changes to firms＇ economic performance via managerial accounting in general, and via goal-setting, monitoring, and incentive schemes in particular.     

The Audit Opinion of Earnings Management in Listed Companies of China

The paper testes the relationship between audit opinions and financial sensitive zones and accounts on the basis of the data of A-share companies in China. The author finds that when ROE of listed companies is in the small-profit zone or in the large-loss zone, the probabilities that they get modified audit opinions increase. But the right-offering zone, accrual accounts and accounts below the line have no significant effects on the modified audit opinions. Besides, the author also finds that the ratio of accounts receivable to asset, debt ratio, previous year＇s audit opinion and change of CPA firms have significant positive effects on the modified audit opinions, while the ratio of major business revenue and size of companies have no notable effects. Some other factors such as cash ratio, age of the listing and CPA firm ranking have no consistent and continuous effects.     

Accounting regulation and IPSAS implementation： Efforts of transition countries toward IPSAS compliance

The need for high quality standards to enhance sound and consistent financial reporting and the fact that the inefficiency and ineffectiveness of public sector extended to a belief that public and private sectors did not have to be managed in fundamentally different ways, fostered a wide-ranging discussion about the harmonization of public sector accounting systems and their convergence towards the private sector financial reporting standards. This paper discusses the state and perspective of public sector accounting and financial reporting in transition countries. Precisely, this paper aims to examine the adequacy of governmental accounting and financial reporting model, reflecting the existing accounting regulation and financial reporting framework in Slovenia, Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina. The motivation for this paper emerges from international discussions about IPSASs development and adoption, and the fact that the topic is becoming more and more relevant as many countries are moving towards adopting full accrual accounting using IPSASs as their method of financial reporting. Our results show that the degree and dynamics of government accounting systems＇ transformation in transition countries depends upon several specific factors which have to be taken into account when evaluating the systems and making comparison between government accounting system reforms in countries in the analysis. Thus, the study distinguishes certain similarities but also discrepancies regarding the status and possible further development of governmental accounting in countries examined.     

Do auditors perform governance functions？ A research on the change of performance notice

Whether auditors provide high-quality audit services has been a concern of academics for a long time, but it has not clear answer. In this paper the author studies this problem from the real basis of audit activities, in view of an endless stream of the performance of listed companies notice ＂change＂ phenomenon. The author finds that auditing is the important reasons of listed companies notice ＂change＂, auditor can improve disclosure quality, is the gatekeeper to accounting information. The author also finds that there may be exist collusion of listed company with auditor, SEC should enhance inspection of the implementation of listed companies notice of earnings.     

Exploring the presence of accounting amongst petty traders in Ghana

This paper seeks to investigate the presence of accounting among petty traders in Ghana. The methodology applied was the mixed method under the multiple methods choices. Both qualitative and quantitative techniques were used. The findings were that formal education is not a pre-requisite requirement to the operations of a petty trading business. However, the study revealed the presence of accounting in petty trading; thus confirming the assumption that accounting is a universal good and is present in the petty trading business. Findings on the three major factors that influenced the present or absent of accounting among petty traders revealed that： there were no state institutions or pressure groups in Ghana to influence or oblige private entrepreneurs （petty traders） to prepare financial statements; the literacy of the petty trader though was found to be a necessary factor, it was not sufficient to explain the accountancy presence or absence in the traders＇ businesses. The usefulness of the accounting information to the petty trader influenced the presence of accounting in the traders＇ business. Finally, the level of trust - social capital in the community, and its influence on the presence of accounting, was relatively insignificant in the context of urban Ghana. No study of this kind has been conducted in the field of accounting presence or absence in Ghana.     

Implementing Sustainability Reporting （SR）： （Neo-） Institutional Theory Insights in the Analysis of the SGR Group,Italy and CityGas,Bulgaria

The aim of this paper is to investigate how the corporate characteristics and contextual factors influence the choice of managers in initiating the sustainability report/reporting （SR） and to understand the role of organisational dynamics. The research design develops through a deductive and inductive approach. The deductive approach is based on an analysis of the Social and Environmental Accounting Research （SEAR） strands which use the theoretical framework of （neo-） institutional theory to inquire the adoption and diffusion of SR. The inductive method is based on a research case that focuses on the SGR Group. ＂How can the rico-institutional theory help explain the process of SGR＇s SR implementation in Italian and Bulgarian companies＂？ The study identifies both the internal and contextual factors associated with the SR development and the regulative, normative, and cognitive dimensions/factors that affect the implementation and institutionalisation of SR in Italy and Bulgaria, in accordance with the different institutional environments in which the social and sustainability accounting projects are developed.     

European Insurance Markets＇ Size and Trends in Regulatory Environment in the Context of Its Complexity

In today＇s globalized world, regulatory issues are heatedly debated, and experts can be divided into two groups based on their attitudes towards these issues. In the first group, representatives are in favor of stricter regulation, and representatives of the second group are in favor of removing legislative barriers in the markets of financial services. An important objective of the European Commission in recent years is to integrate the individual segments of the financial services into a whole so as to ensure the proper functioning of the whole to satisfy all the member states. The aim of this paper is to show the complexity of the regulatory environment, to point out the large number of institutions that cooperate in the creation of legislative measures, and also to highlight the different approaches to regulation in individual member countries and these issues do not ease the situation.     

Using Project-Based Learning （PBL） in Management Accounting Course： Lesson and Reflection From Entrepreneurship Education

One of the main issues in entrepreneurship education is integrating core course to entrepreneurship course. Many educators fail to integrate core course and entrepreneurial education. The purpose of this study is to investigate whether the integration of management accounting course in entrepreneurship course will accomplish the objective of entrepreneurship education. This study is derived from the experience of entrepreneurial project course at Management Department of Ciputra University, Surabaya. This study uses an explorative approach to investigate the implementation of project-based learning （PBL） in management accounting course. The result shows variation of output. There are about 91% business can be implemented by business groups and about 33% target achieved. Several management accounting techniques are used in this study, such as balanced score card （BSC）, activity-based costing （ABC）, activity-based management （ABM）, cost-volume-profit （CVP） analysis, and tactical decision making. This study found that by using management accounting techniques, student can run the business well especially when they have to make decision. This study strengthens the role of management accounting in business practices, and furthermore, this study proves that management accounting is beneficial for entrepreneurs who are still in the start-up business stage.     

How to Prepare the Accounting Entry on the Basis of Capital Movement

It is well known that economic transactions must be prepared the accounting entries before they are registered in account books. Therefore, it＇s the most important procedure in the whole accounting work to prepare the accounting entries correctly. This paper puts forward how to prepare the accounting entry on the basis of capital movement because the traditional method is so complex, abstract and incomprehensible to be mastered by beginners. The research shows that the new method proposed in the paper is very direct, pictorial, and concrete. It is very easy to be mastered by a beginner of accounting.     

Chinese accounting reform： It will be a continuous process

Based on a thorough review, this paper points out that there is still two types of problems in the newly formulated China Accounting Standards 2006 （CAS 2006） which were enacted on Jan. 1, 2007. The first type is that some economic events have been accounted for incorrectly, and the second is confusion and misunderstanding have been caused in the practical world when some guidelines of CAS 2006 are carded out to converge to the International Financial Reporting Standards （IFRS）. In my opinion, it is a great leap to establish a set of accounting standards that harmonize with the IFRS, but China＇s accounting reform is a continuously improving process. During the process, the accounting standards setting departments shoulder heavy burden, face a dilemma, and meet some challenges. After all, China＇s accounting reform will be a long way.     

Empirical Research on Accounting Profits and Net Cash Flow of Chinese Public Companies ——Analysis Based on Profitability

In traditional analysis, enterprises＇ performance evaluation largely depends on profits indices, which results in the public companies＇ strong pursuit of accounting profits and neglect of net cash flow. It is of great significance to study this phenomenon in public companies for it can help to evaluate their profitability correctly. By making an empirical research on the status quo of the medical public companies＇ accounting profits, net cash flow, receivable and prepaid items, it is found that the phenomenon that the current accounting profits and net cash flow are inconsistent universally exists in the public companies; the current growth rates of accounts receivable, notes receivable, other accounts receivable and accounts prepaid in the companies which the phenomenon exists in are higher than those in other companies and the industrial average, especially for the latter two items; this phenomenon in economically developed areas is more obvious than in other areas. How to avoid the contradiction of accounting profits and net cash flow in the public companies？ Firstly, the credit risk awareness and management should be strengthened. Secondly, cash budget management should be enhanced. Finally, the index system of evaluation of the public companies＇ operating performance should be improved.     

Political Impact of Chinese Foreign Direct Investment （FDI） in the European Union （EU）

This paper explores the political challenges posed by the recent influx of Chinese outward foreign direct investment （OFDI） into the European Union （EU）. Chinese OFDI has increased substantially in recent years. Chinese direct investment is still minute in the EU, but it is growing fast, and the strong upward trajectory is likely to continue in the years to come. This surge represents challenges and opportunities for EU countries. In the current context of economic and debt crisis in Europe, whether China is seen as a saviour or a predator, the question of a Faustian bargain made by European countries by courting and hosting Chinese investment needs to be asked. The benefits of foreign direct investment （FDI） for the host economy are well known, but Chinese OFDI may come with implicit strings attached and could potentially act as a Trojan Horse, affecting European norms and policies. The influx of Chinese OFDI can create an unhealthy transatlantic competition with security ramifications, which should therefore be addressed. It is interesting to find the right balance between ensuring the benefits from Chinese FDI （from job creation to productivity gains） and protecting from its harmful effects.     

Value-Added Tax （VAT） on Selected Financial Transactions

This paper deals with the approach to imposing value-added tax （VAT） on financial transactions. The VAT is a highly harmonized consumption tax within the European Union （EU）. VAT operational rules have been set down by the relevant directive of the Council of the EU. Under the directive, it is possible to select either exemption or taxation of financial transactions. Only the first option is permitted in the Czech Republic. Pros and cons of both models are described, in particular, the problems with determining the difference between financial transactions and other similar performance that must always be subject to tax. Potential lower VAT revenue or tax base assessment, as appropriate, seems to be crucial in the case of the taxation of financial transactions.