From a System of National Accounts to a Process of National Wellbeing Accounting

There are repeated calls to go ‘Beyond GDP’, for measures of wellbeing and progress in addition to those that the System of National Accounts (SNA) is designed to provide. We identify key issues that can help build on the rigour of SNA whilst fitting the measurement of economic performance within a broader assessment of national wellbeing and progress. Such drivers are already leading to a proliferation of indicators and accounts, for example in the development of non‐monetary measures of natural resources, but there are significant measurement challenges, not least the question of whether a single, overall measure or index of wellbeing is valid. But the challenge of measurement, per se, is one thing: in our view, a more critical issue is whether the measures will actually be used. We propose a dynamic and multi‐staged approach for developing SNA, embracing the production and use of measures. This would start by identifying user requirements for wider measures, to provide the basis for national and cross‐national developments in well‐being accounting. We envisage greater branding and marketing of national well‐being concepts to promote measures and support their use. We call for outreach by producers, so that there is dialogue about the development and use of measures.     

Errors and questionable judgments in analysts’ DCF models

We investigate the number of and reasons for errors and questionable judgments that sell-side equity analysts make in constructing and executing discounted cash flow (DCF) equity valuation models. For a sample of 120 DCF models detailed in reports issued by U.S. brokers in 2012 and 2013, we estimate that analysts make a median of three theory-related and/or execution errors and four questionable economic judgments per DCF. Recalculating analysts’ DCFs after correcting for major errors changes analysts’ mean valuations and target prices by between ?2 and 14 % per error. Based on face-to-face interviews with analysts and those who oversee them, we conclude that analysts’ DCF modeling behavior is semi-sophisticated in the sense that analysts genuinely make mistakes regarding certain aspects of correctly valuing equity but also respond rationally to the incentives they face, particularly the reality that they are not directly compensated for being textbook DCF correct.     

Tackling an accounting coursework assignment - action research on the student perspective

The study focused upon first year undergraduates' experiences and perceptions of a major coursework assignment in accounting. The context was a modular programme with several hundred students from many different courses taking a common first year, first semester introductory accounting module. In the role of a reflective practitioner, the author adopted an action research approach, and gathered various forms of evidence including in-depth interviews with four students at key points during and after completion of their courseworks. The main issues highlighted were: (1) the effect which the university, as a new environment, has on learning in the early weeks of a course, and the fractured nature of learning in a semesterized course; (2) the personal strategies which students adopt for scheduling time on coursework, and the way in which this may differ from the expectations of staff; (3) the variety of learning approaches represented within the student group. These issues are reflected upon and implications for both the author's practice and for other practitioners are considered.