A contingency framework for the design of accounting information systems

Most of the research to date concerning the design of an accounting information system has taken a rather narrow and inflexible view of accounting information. The primary intent of this paper is to provide a broader and more adaptive framework for designing such systems. A contigency approach, which takes into account the environment, organizational attributes, and managerial decision making styles, is advocated. In this context, several hypotheses are offered concerning the requisites of an accounting information system.     

Towards a meta-theory of accounting information systems

The purpose of this paper is to articulate a model for accounting information systems (AIS) research that synthesizes the primary theoretical perspectives of the extant literature. Building on the three orientations used in prior research (technological, organizational and cognitive approaches) and adopting an explicit systems perspective, we develop a model that links system design alternatives to the three orientations and to task performance. The model places a central focus on the accounting task and suggests a matching process between requirements of the task and system design alternatives at multiple levels of analysis. We also demonstrate how the application of the model suggests future research opportunities, organized around four research propositions.     

Multivariate decision accuracy and the presentation of accounting information

Since multivariate graphics provide spatial integration, summarization and comparison of information, they may provide the means for improving decision-making. This study tests for the incremental benefit of multivariate graphics over a tabular format, by comparing the outcomes for tabular–graphical combination formats with tabular-only formats in an experimental environment. This is an area where research has been sparse and where existing results are inconsistent.The study examines the interactive influence of presentation format and information complexity on multivariate decision accuracy, to determine the most effective presentation format for the performance of multivariate decision tasks of varying complexity. Results show a significant interaction between presentation format and information complexity to affect multivariate decision accuracy. When information complexity is low, presentation format has no impact on accuracy. However, when information complexity is high, the tabular-alone format shows the highest accuracy. The advantages of graphical and pictorial formats reported in earlier studies are not supported, a finding which has significant implications for the manner of disclosure of financial statements through graphical means.     

Optimal design of securities under asymmetric information

A firm must decide what security to sell to raise external capitalto finance a profitable investment opportunity. There is exante asymmetry of information regarding the probability distributionof cashflow generated by the investment. In this setting, wederive necessary and sufficient conditions for a security tobe optimal (uniquely optimal), that is, for pooling at thissecurity to be an (the unique) equilibrium outcome. Using theseconditions we show that the debt contract is (uniquely) optimalif and only if cash flows are ordered by (strict) conditionalstochastic dominance. Finally, we derive an equivalence relationshipbetween optimal security designs and designs that minimize mispricing.     

Exploiting comparative advantage: A paradigm for value added research in accounting information systems

Following the lead of recent papers by Demski [Demski J. Is Accounting an Academic Discipline? Account Horiz 2007;21(2): 153–157], Fellingham [Fellingham J. Is Accounting an Academic Discipline? Account Horiz 2007;21(2): 159–163] and Hopwood [Hopwood A. Whither Accounting Research? Account Rev 2007;82(5): 1365–1374] which questioned the direction and value added of non-AIS accounting research, we discuss the state of research in Accounting Information Systems. AIS researchers face a significant hurdle in undertaking value added research given that the financial and human resources that industry devotes to research and development of AIS technology dwarf the capabilities of academic researchers. In these circumstances, we put forward a paradigm for AIS research based on the principle of comparative advantage, which is the powerful economic force that ensures that trade can take place even between parties where one has an absolute superiority over the other. It is our contention that if AIS academics are to succeed in creating value added research then they have to identify what they can do that the AIS industry, despite all its financial and human resource advantages, cannot or will not do. And what economic theory indicates is that such opportunities to add value always exist — if only academics are willing to seek them out. We illustrate our paradigm by analyzing three potential sources of comparative advantage for AIS researchers and discussing illustrative examples of research in each of these areas.     

Management accounting and corporate governance: An institutional interpretation of the agency problem

Challenging the dominant economic agency theory of corporate governance with a new discourse drawn from institutional theory, the paper analyses how management accounting is implicated in corporate governance. The proposed institutional theory of agency links the micro-institutions of the organization that are informed by the practices of management accounting with external institutional players and stakeholders. The paper identifies emerging narratives in which the management accounting profession has recognised a distinctive, post-Enron set of sensibilities. Although techniques drawn from strategic management accounting can be adapted to embed better corporate governance practices, the institutional theory of agency identifies tensions between the heroic CEO narrative and the routinization of strategy implicit in strategic management accounting.     

Information asymmetry and accounting disclosures for joint ventures

In September 1999, the Financial Accounting Foundation issued a special report recommending the use of the equity method supplemented with appropriate disclosures for corporate joint ventures in the United States. This study, using data for corporate joint ventures in Singapore, provides some preliminary evidence regarding the effect of the supplementary information disclosure on information asymmetry among market participants as measured by bid-ask spreads. The results show that the disclosure of supplementary information of joint ventures is associated with a significant decline in bid-ask spreads. The results also indicate that the decline in information asymmetry is larger when the investment in joint ventures is significant and that larger investing firms tend to have a smaller decline in information asymmetry compared to smaller investing firms. The implications of this study, that the provision of supplementary information about joint ventures could reduce information asymmetry among participants in equity markets, thus leveling the playing field among traders, could have implications for policymakers.     

Publicly traded versus privately held: implications for conditional conservatism in bank accounting

Compared with privately held banks, publicly traded banks face greater agency costs because of greater separation of ownership and control but enjoy greater benefits from access to the equity capital market. Differences in control and capital market access influence public versus private banks’ accounting. We predict and find that public banks exhibit greater degrees of conditional conservatism (asymmetric timeliness of the recognition of losses versus gains in accounting income) than private banks. We predict and find that public banks recognize more timely earnings declines, less timely earnings increases, and larger and more timely loan losses. Although public ownership gives managers greater ability and incentive to exercise income-increasing accounting, our findings show that the demand for conservatism dominates within public banks and that the demand for conservatism is greater among public banks than private banks. Our results provide insights for accounting and finance academics, bank managers, auditors, and regulators concerning the effects of ownership structure on conditional conservatism in banks’ financial reporting.

会计师事务所薪酬体系设计探讨

中国注册会计师协会发布的《会计师事务所内部治理指南》,明确要求事务所应当建立与业绩评价制度相结合的薪酬制度和晋升制度,资合与     

Addressing business needs: A creative module for teaching data macros in an accounting information systems course

Although database technology has advanced considerably, Accounting Information Systems (AIS) courses in business schools generally include only the basic aspects of databases, such as creating tables, queries, forms, reports and relationships between tables. One advanced topic that can be covered to enrich such courses is “triggered events.” Triggered events are useful in implementing accounting processes, such as data validation, control and exception reporting in databases. To date, teaching triggered events required enterprise-level database systems, thereby making it difficult to replicate in an introductory class. However, data macro features introduced in the 2010 version of Microsoft Access can now be used to teach such concepts in an easy-to-use interface. The proposed module in data macros helps students gain the ability to implement validity control and exception-reporting in databases. In addition, the module helps accounting students realize the importance of databases in meeting certain accounting needs. The effectiveness of the proposed module was assessed by an exercise and a survey.     

Optimal design of rating-trigger step-up bonds: Agency conflicts versus asymmetric information

Agency conflicts and asymmetric information are two possible explanations that may rationalize the use of a step-up provision in the bond indenture. Within a continuous-time framework with bankruptcy costs and tax benefits, we analyze the optimal step-up bond design with respect to both frictions. We find that (i) contrary to existing results, step-up bonds are indeed able to mitigate the asset substitution problem, (ii) the use of a step-up feature can be a credible signal to overcome asymmetric information problems, and (iii) the optimal design as well as the conditions for the optimal use of step-up bonds is considerably different for the two explanations. This outcome implies that, based on observable firm and bond characteristics, it is possible to discriminate between the two motives underlying the use of step-up bonds.     

央行履职视角下我国征信业管理热点问题分析

随着互联网金融和金融科技等创新场景的不断涌现和市场对征信服务的需求日益高涨,征信市场出现的新业态、新形式、新需求对中国人民银行征信服务与管理职能的履行提出了新的挑战.挑战主要表现为企业征信机构违规经营、征信系统“曲线接入”并引发投诉、征信信息主体权益保护有待提升等.基于此,从履职视角提出如下建议:中国人民银行应继续强化...     

The case for strategic management accounting: The role of accounting information for strategy in competitive markets

A review of two economic theories is utilized to provide theoretical support for the greater possible involvement by accountants in what has been called strategic management accounting. One of these theories is concerned with the underlying characteristics of enterprise products. It suggests that there is a need for accountants to consider the cost structure of not only their own firm but of all enterprises in the relevant market and of potential entrants. It also suggests that costs can not be considered in isolation from demand factors. The second theory to be reviewed is concerned with whether a firm's cost structure permits its market strategy to be sustainable in the face of potential entry. This theory again emphasizes the intertwining of demand and cost factors and the need to consider these factors simultaneously. The use of this theory allows a new perspective to be taken to cost behaviour which is especially suited to high technology manufacturing.     

Evidence on the role of accounting conservatism in monitoring managers’ investment decisions

Watts (2003), among others, argues that conservatism helps in corporate governance by mitigating agency problems associated with managers’ investment decisions. We hypothesize that if conservatism reduces managers’ex ante incentives to take on negative net present value projects and improves the ex post monitoring of investments, firms with more conservative accounting ought to have higher future profitability and lower likelihood (and magnitude) of future special items charges. Consistent with this expectation, we find that firms with more conservative accounting have (i) higher future cash flows and gross margins and (ii) lower likelihood and magnitude of special items charges than firms with less conservative accounting.     

Auditing standards,increased accounting disclosure,and information asymmetry: Evidence from an emerging market

The interest in accounting disclosure and audit quality by academics, practitioners, and regulators heightened following the various financial reporting scandals, and subsequent legislative and professional response to these scandals. An important question is whether the implementation of stricter auditing standards such as those mandated by the US Sarbanes-Oxley Act would improve the information environment of firms whose shares are publicly traded. In this paper, I investigate the link between information asymmetry, measured by bid-ask spread, and increased accounting disclosures following the adoption of new auditing standards in China—an environment in which disclosure hitherto was relatively low. I report the following primary results of the statistical analyses. First, information asymmetry cost is substantial in the Chinese order-driven emerging markets. Second, the firms in the sample experienced significant reductions in their bid-ask spreads subsequent to the adoption of the new auditing standards. Third, the reductions in the bid-ask spreads were abrupt and permanent. However, no significant result is found for firms in the control group with foreign ownership, whose financial statements were prepared in accordance with international accounting standards and were audited with international auditing standards. The results have implications for policy makers and regulators in general, and those in emerging markets in particular.     

Sensitivity of executive pay to accounting performance measures in all-equity firms

We investigate the relation between chief executive officer compensation and accounting performance measures as a function of the firm's capital structure. We specifically analyse pay–performance relationships for all‐equity firms relative to high‐levered firms. We find a significant positive association between return on equity and the level of compensation for all‐equity firms. Consistent with optimal contracting theory, we cannot discern any such relationship for high‐levered firms. Because of agency costs of debt, managerial compensation in high‐levered firms plays the role of a precommitment mechanism in addition to its conventional role of aligning management incentives with shareholder interest.     

Influence of information systems on organizational results

In recent years, information systems (IS) comprise one of the main fields of study in business organization, caused by the need to identify their business value. Therefore, in this research and based on a theoretical review, a model is developed for the evaluation of the success of the IS for small and medium enterprises (SME) to determine the influence of the IS in the organizational results. To reach this goal, the Partial Least Squares (PLS) statistical technique was used through a survey made to 133 companies of Tamaulipas state, Mexico. The results obtained allow deducing that the companies that pay more attention on improving the quality of the system, of the information, and of the information systems, favor their organizational results. This work contributes to the literature on the measurement of the success of the IS in the context of a country with an emerging economy, particularly by allowing to identify in a broader manner the measurement of its effectiveness and its incidence in the business performance.     

试论会计信息的真实性

会计信息的真实性是会计的本质属性,但在现实生活中,会计信息失真现象仍层出不穷。本文试图从财务报告体系、会计规范体系、会计人员及利益动机等方面探究原因。并提出相应对策。