Country-level Accounting Enforcement and IPO Underpricing

Using a sample of up to 2,503 initial public offerings (IPOs) in 32 countries from 2011–2017, we predict and find that higher levels of country-level accounting enforcement are associated with lower levels of IPO underpricing. IPOs in countries with a relatively low accounting enforcement score (second quintile) exhibit a mean underpricing of 19%, whereas the mean underpricing amounts to just 9% in countries with a relatively high score (fourth quintile). The results remain qualitatively the same when we employ a multi-level model or a difference-in-difference design. In countries that substantially strengthened their accounting enforcement in the 2003–2009 period, the level of IPO underpricing decreased significantly. We show that accounting enforcement matters for the cost of going public.     

Fair value accounting from a distributed cognition perspective

This study offers a unique interdisciplinary perspective on fair value accounting. The growing influence of esoteric financial instruments whose valuation is becoming increasingly complex makes it necessary to focus on actual valuation practices. Based on an extensive review, this paper regards fair value accounting for complex financial instruments as involving processes distributed among actors located inside and/or outside a reporting entity. It also draws attention to collaboration by organizations that apply their external and internal resources to perform complex financial valuations. Furthermore, it demonstrates that cases involving unusual market conditions underline the importance of human interactions to the valuation process.     

Accounting change and value creation in public services—Do relational archetypes make a difference in improving public service performance?

Evidence points out that the outcome of accounting change in local governments is not simply a matter of ‘corporate’ resource investments and change management activities to accounting system replacement. This paper examines the link between such corporate-level interventions and the patterns of value creation at street-level. It emphasizes a resource- and capability-driven approach to explore processes and consequences of an ‘embedded agency’-effect assigned to the street-level rationale of public service improvement. Considering a logic chain of cause-and-effect sequences, the data analysis provides evidence that corporate and street-level interventions are unique dimensions to signify the multiple patterns of accounting change in local governments. The supplementary effect of cross-functional relationships is also distinguished, considering the relational archetype as a mechanism to explain the emerging outcome state. Recognizing the distinction and the sequential effects of relational archetypes induces a refined typology of accounting change according to its processes and outcomes in local governments. The analysis is based on a comparative case study design to explore accrual accounting introduction in six German municipalities.     

Commentary on Bryer's “Conscious practices and purposive action: A qualitative study of accounting and social change”

This paper seeks to provide a general and informative commentary on Rose Bryer's paper, “Conscious practices and purposive action: A qualitative study of accounting and social change” (2011), which explores the role of accounting in the specific setting of empresas recuperadas (ERs). ERs (reclaimed enterprises) are businesses that have been brought back into operations as a cooperative by the workers when they were thought to be bankrupt. The commentary presented here focuses primarily on Bryer, but also discusses additional elements that may shed light on the unique phenomenon of ERs. As case studies, ERs provide an ideal context in which to research accounting change and test critical perspectives in accounting. This commentary focuses on the particularities of the socioeconomic environment that became the fertile ground of ERs, while also offering a long-term view of the phenomenon ten years after it was initiated. In particular, it undertakes a comparison between the initial situation and the situation in 2012. The commentary makes two key arguments: first, that accounting is an instrumental technology; and second, that the constructs that existed in 2001 have evolved significantly—and have even become partially obsolete—as diverse management forms emerged in successful ERs. This evolution is analyzed along five dimensions: (1) hierarchical organization; (2) property rights and the concept of profit; (3) community action and its links with access to financial resources; (4) the duality of members and non-members; and (5) the role of accounting reporting and discourse.     

Institutional changes in university accounting education in post-revolutionary China: From political orientation to internationalization

Since the formation of the Peoples’ Republic of China (PRC) in 1949, the broad field of accounting education in China has undergone many changes in the context of a dramatically changing sociopolitical environment. The institutional mechanisms in Chinese university accounting education are examined in this paper, principally through a re-reading of the historical experience since 1949. We utilize an institutional theory frame to examine how action in the regulative, normative, and cultural-cognitive pillars have shaped accounting education from its heavily political orientation in the early years of the PRC to a more internationalized university accounting education system that has begun to take shape in contemporary China. We seek to contribute a contextualized understanding of contemporary China's accounting education, while adapting and extending the role of institutional theory in explaining education changes more broadly.     

Accounting and Finance: authorship and citation trends

Accounting and Finance (A&F ) has experienced a surge in published research in the last decade. The analysis here reveals a marked increase in the number of published articles in A&F since 2003, a distinct trend for published papers to have a larger number of authors, a significant and stable contribution by the top 5 Australian accounting/finance departments, as well as a notable increase in contribution from non‐US foreign universities, particularly those located in the UK, Canada, Hong Kong, Singapore and Spain. An analysis of citations indicates the increasing impact of A&F in recent years.     

Publishing characteristics,geographic dispersion and research traditions of recent international accounting education research

This paper describes, analyses and critiques accounting education research over the period 2005–2009. In doing so, it compares and contrasts the distinctive North American research tradition with that of Europe and the rest of the world. Six journals and 446 publications by 963 authors were included in the sample frame, along with a further 70 publications in other journals. The findings identify distinguishing characteristics among these publications that range from the composition of their editorial teams to the nature and type of output they publish. Evidence was found of geographic dominance and divergent research traditions which has mitigated against the development of a genuinely international accounting education research community. Possibilities for further research are identified and guidance for researchers publishing in this field is presented.     

A comparative study on the effectiveness of English-medium and Turkish-medium accounting education: Gazi University case

The authors explore the effect of medium of instruction on students' attainments at a large state university in Turkey in the Department of Business Administration. The findings indicate no statistically significant difference in grades of 386 students with respect to medium of instruction. As for entry rankings however, those in the English-medium program who had higher scores on the university entrance exam appeared to be more successful. It may be concluded that English-medium instruction is not a disadvantage in attaining learning objectives.     

CFO审计师经历、旋转门现象与会计稳健性

到客户管理层就职是会计师事务所审计师的一个重要职业选择,但监管机构对审计质量和企业财务报告质量的担忧引发了对此类现象的严格监管.本文基于2002年~2011年我国A股上市公司CFO的变更事件,从审计师的职业谨慎性出发,探讨了CFO审计师经历、"旋转门"现象对上市公司会计稳健性的影响.研究发现:CFO审计师经历能提高会计稳健性;"旋转门"现象并没有削弱公司会计稳健性;相比仅有审计师经历的新聘任CFO,"旋转门"现象下的CFO能更快地融入新公司并发挥作用.     

面对反倾销调查:企业会计准备好了吗?——以美国为例的分析报告

反倾销调查赋予了企业会计新的内容和方法,本文在分析反倾销问卷调查有关会计内容的基础上,提出了企业会计在特殊时期应承担的具体任务:会计资料的重新归类、生产成本的合理计算、正常价格的适当选择、会计方法有目的进行调整等,按照会计信息决策有用的目标为反倾销调查取证提供依据。