FROM THE UNION HALL: A LABOR CRITIQUE OF THE NEW MANUFACTURING AND ACCOUNTING REGIMES

This study presents the critique of new manufacturing regimes that is emerging out of debates within the U.S. labor movement over the merits of union/management cooperation as a strategy for revitalizing American manufacture. The research focuses on the labor histories of three union locals in Decatur, Illinois and their critique of new forms of factory governance such as teams, quality circles and employee participation programs. The paper examines the implications of the labor critique for management accounting's attempt to establish its relevance within contemporary manufacturing environments.Introduction A new conventional wisdom has found its way into management accounting theory and practice. Accounting academics, industry consultants, the media, trade journals and accounting textbooks now almost uniformly accept that traditional cost accounting, with its emphasis on controlling production workers, is no longer relevant to contemporary management and manufacturing strategies (Johnson @2e Kaplan, 1987). Consequently, traditional cost accounting is being re-thought, revised and revolutionized (Johnson, 1992; Shank @2e Govindarajan, 1993).     

Why Do Politicians Intervene in Accounting Regulation? The Role of Ideology and Special Interests

Politicians frequently intervene in the regulation of financial accounting. Evidence from the accounting literature shows that regulatory capture by special interests helps explain these interventions. However, many accounting rules have broad economic or social consequences, such as their effects on income distribution or private sector subsidies. The perception of these consequences varies with a politician's ideology. Therefore, if accounting rules produce those consequences, ideology plausibly spills over and explains a politician's stance on the technical accounting issue, beyond special interest pressure. We use two prominent U.S. political debates about fair value accounting and the expensing of employee stock options to disentangle the role of ideology from special interest pressure. In both debates, ideology explains politicians’ involvement at exactly those points when the debate focuses on the economic consequences of accounting regulation (i.e., bank bailouts and top management compensation). Once the debates focus on more technical issues, connections to special interests remain the dominant force.     

THE SIGNIFICANCE OF AMBIGUITY IN ACCOUNTING AND EVERYDAY LIFE: THE SELF-PERPETUATION OF ACCOUNTING

This research study seeks to demonstrate accounting's autopoietic capacities in social enactments of change such as a preferencing tribal-based corporatisation. The paper, through a form of critical ethnography, underscores the argument that accounting self-reproduces through a complex interplay between: (a) the political effecting of ambiguity in a controversial and sensitive policy of change; (b) assumptions about accounting's ability to reduce ambiguity; and, (c) the inherent ambiguities in the accounting language. The research suggests that in order to be more appreciating of accounting's self-reproducing capacities, we need to be more conscious of the interplay between the politics of ambiguity in society and the aesthetics of ambiguity in accounting. In the process, the paper highlights the general applicability of accounting as an act of self-replication, and the way in which perceived “meaningless[ness]” and time “eating” notions of accounting, ironically contemplate more of it.     

THE INFORMATIONAL CONTENT OF BOND RATINGS

This paper explores the risk structure of interest rates. The focus is on whether yields on industrial bonds indicate that market participants base their evaluations of a bond issue's default risk on agency ratings or on publicly available financial statistics. Using a non-linear least squares procedure, the yield-to-maturity is related to Moody's rating, Standard and Poor's (S&P) rating, and accounting measures of creditworthiness such as coverage and leverage. Market yields are found to be significantly correlated with both the ratings and a set of readily available financial accounting statistics. These results indicate (1) that market participants base their evaluations of an issue's creditworthiness on more than the agencies' ratings and (2) that the ratings bring some information to the market above and beyond that contained in the set of accounting variables. The paper also asks whether the market views Moody's and Standard and Poor's ratings as equally reliable measures of risk or whether the market attaches more weight to one agency's ratings than the other. Finally, the hypothesis that the market pays more attention to the accounting measures and less to the ratings if the rating has not been reviewed recently is tested.     

A MARXIST CRITIQUE OF THE FASB'S CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK

In developing its conceptual framework the FASB challenged supporters of traditional accounting to provide objective and operational definitions of the elements of financial statements that do not depend on definitions of assets and liabilities as future economic benefits. The paper answers this challenge by deriving a general theory of accounting from Marx's analysis of the circuit of industrial capital. It concludes that whereas the FASB's framework, based on the marginalist idea of economic value, is subjective and vague, the Marxist theory of financial accounting derived here provides critical accounting with a scientific foundation.     

THE THREAT OF ETHICAL ACCOUNTANTS: AN APPLICATION OF FOUCAULT'S CONCEPT OF ETHICS TO ACCOUNTING EDUCATION AND SOME THOUGHTS ON ETHICALLY EDUCATING FOR THE OTHER

There are an increasing number of papers within the accounting literature which are concerned with the relationship between accounting education and the ethics of accountants (see, e.g. Gray, 1994). This paper attempts to contribute to this literature. It draws on the work of Michel Foucault to argue that ethical accountants may pose just as great a threat to society as unethical ones. The paper initially explains Foucault's work on power/knowledge and delineates his novel perspective on how power may operate through an individuals sense of moral identity. It is argued that the way accountancy is taught may predispose accountants to discipline themselves in such a way that they behave in a manner which serves the interests of capitalism and subjugates opposition to it. However, the paper also draws on Foucault's notion of resistance to explain how accounting education might be able to produce students who could represent a threat to this hegemony.     

Douglasian cultural dialogues and the Financial Reporting Council complexity project

There has been near-universal reliance upon Hofstede's cultural dimensions as the theory base for culturally related accounting research. Given the criticisms that have been raised in respect of Hofstede this paper proposes Mary Douglas's cultural theory as a more appropriate theory base for future research. Central to Douglasian cultural theory is the notion of cultural dialogues which proposes that within any community four solidarities will be present and in constant competition. The paper identifies cultural dialogues through an analysis of comments letters submitted to the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) in response to their ‘complexity of corporate reporting’ discussion paper. To understand how a particular solution has been arrived at when an accounting or auditing issue is reviewed, the debates that precede the outcome need unscrambling by reference to cultural dialogues and the analysis of the comments letters reveals the voices of the different solidarities as they seek to persuade others of the validity of their way of life. The paper proposes a clumsy solutions approach is appropriate for resolving debates on accounting and auditing issues. This approach recognises that, because the solutions offered up by each culture have limitations, all four voices need to be heard in any debate.     

THE RHETORIC OF TEACHING FINANCIAL ACCOUNTING ON THE CORPORATE WEB: A CRITICAL REVIEW OF CONTENT AND METAPHOR IN IBM'S INTERNET WEBPAGEGUIDE TO UNDERSTANDING FINANCIALS

This paper analyses IBM's teaching of financial accounting via the Internet. The seductive nature of the hyperreal pedagogy in IBM's @9pGuide to Understanding Financials@2p is explored in two stages: first, by means of a technical critique; and second, by examining the @9pGuide's@2p rhetorical features. Particular focus is given to IBM's use of pictorial metaphors as visual rhetoric. We conclude that the curriculum of IBM's web-based financial accounting teaching contains much more than is apparent upon superficial examination. IBM's website paraphernalia constructs beliefs and shapes public discourse. Like all curriculum, IBM's @9pGuide@2p is contestable social construction.     

THE IMPACT OF THE FINANCIAL REPORTING REVIEW PANEL ON ASPECTS OF THE INDEPENDENCE OF AUDITORS AND THEIR ATTITUDES TO COMPLIANCE IN THE UK

The UK Financial Reporting Review Panel (FRRP) enforces the regulatory framework for larger companies and requires companies to restate non-compliant accounts. It is authorized to deal with directors but not auditors. Recent UK based research indicates a belief that the FRRP's activities have enhanced auditor independence and changed attitudes to accounting compliance. Defective accounts indicate a lack of audit quality as the auditor must have failed to detect and/or prevent the deficiency. By analysis of fifteen semi-structured interviews with finance directors and audit firm partners with experience of an FRRP inquiry, and by review of publicly available information, the impact of the FRRP on some aspects of audit quality is sought. The FRRP is found to have motivated auditors to improve accounting compliance by increasing the possibility of some errors being exposed. It is also found to have enhanced the independence of auditors at the pre-conventional level of ethical cognition as identified by Ponemon and Gabhart (1990), by changing the cost-benefit for auditors of permitting non-compliance. FRRP inquiries cause auditors to incur non-recoverable costs, can undermine the auditor–client relationship and increase the risk of client loss. Personal embarrassment, possible career damage and the risk of an ICAEW disciplinary inquiry arise for the audit partner. The FRRP is found to provide auditors with an additional negotiating tool in dealing with directors, thus making in easier for auditors at the conventional and post conventional level of ethical cognition to prevent non-compliance. Direct evidence is, therefore, found that the FRRP's activities have provided incentives for all auditors to focus more on accounting compliance (at least for items visible from an inspection of the accounts) and have provided incentives and mechanisms for auditors at lower levels of ethical cognition to be independent.     

A COMBINATION TEST TECHNIQUE FOR THE AUDITING OF MINI COMPUTER BASED ACCOUNTING SYSTEMS

This paper describes a technique developed by the authors which will complement the tools available to auditors of minicomputer based accounting systems. The technique uses a sparse matrix drawn up by the auditor that aids the detection of illogical data composition and thereby ensures that an enterprise's transactions are recorded according to generally accepted accounting principles, government regulations and management's authorities. In addition to this combination test, a volume and frequency test are also performed. From an education viewpoint, the techniques described are simple enough to be understood, modified, and executed by educators and students with limited programming experience, and could therefore also be a worthwhile addition to present day auditing courses.     

基于心理账户的企业员工忠诚管理研究

企业员工忠诚对企业的发展至关重要。从心理契约角度对员工忠诚进行管理很新颖,但在管理上的操作性不强,而心理账户的引入可以很好地解决这个问题。心理账户可以分为经济账户和情感账户,其中经济账户主要与交易型心理契约相关联,情感账户主要与关系型心理契约关联。管理者可以通过对员工心理账户的管理作用于员工的心理契约,从而提高员工的忠诚度。     

会计信息可比性与企业商业信用融资——基于企业市场地位和行业竞争环境的双重考量

不同于传统的基于资本市场情境进行的会计信息可比性经济后果研究,将研究场景拓展至商品市场中企业供应链层面,考察企业会计信息可比性能否影响供应链伙伴的商业信用政策制定,进而反映到企业的商业信用融资水平.研究发现:会计信息可比性越高的企业,其商业信用融资水平也越高;会计信息可比性对商业信用融资的促进作用只在市场地位较低、所处行业竞争程度较高的企业中存在.进一步的拓展研究证实,提高会计信息可比性可以有效缓解我国中小微企业普遍存在的融资难问题.     

Accounting for the Social Relations of Feudalism

It is becoming increasingly accepted that accounting concepts and practices can only be understood in their socio-historical context (e.g., Hopwood and Johnson, 1986). From this perspective, accounting scholars can both learn from historians, and may contribute to broader historical debates. The main purposes of the paper are: to make an accounting contribution to the debate between historians about the nature and development of feudalism in England and the transition to capitalism; to illustrate the general argument that accounting concepts and practices must be understood in the specific historical context in which they occur; and to suggest that a useful conceptual framework for understanding the emergence and development of feudal and capitalist accounting is Marx's concept of the ‘mode of production’.     

SOCIAL ANALYSES OF ACCOUNTING INSTITUTIONS: ECONOMIC VALUE,ACCOUNTING REPRESENTATION AND THE CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK

The paper is a commentary on Bryer's article “A Marxist Critique of the FASB's Conceptual Framework”; the commentary is divided into three main sections. The first section begins by addressing the changing relationships between accounting and economics and, more specifically, the ideas of economic value and accounting representation (often called “representational faithfulness”, see Bryer, p. 582) that underlie Bryer's concerns with the FASB project. The second section considers the role of the FASB conceptual framework project in order to address the different ways that the “impact” of the FASB's Conceptual Framework project upon accounting practices can be considered. Several of the existing studies of this project that consider its purpose in social and political terms are reviewed. This is not to suggest that the FASB's work has had @9pno@2p effects, but rather that its consequences might be thought of in institutional and political terms. In the final section some of the specifics of Bryer's Marxist analysis are addressed. In particular the relationship between Marxian analysis and accounting change is considered.     

会计师事务所内部治理：理论基础与机制创新

声誉、客户资源以及人力资本是会计师事务所的关键资源,也是事务所治理的主要对象.进入权是审计师控制和使用自身人力资本及其关键性非人力资本的能力.关键资源的控制和保留机制是事务所内部治理的关键所在,这一机制主要包括:决策权配置机制、剩余收益分配机制、授权机制以及合伙人遴选与退出机制.模型分析进一步表明,以进入权为基础的治理机制有利于事务所内部资源的优化配置,能够对审计师专用性人力资本投资形成有效激励.     

FOREIGN-CURRENCY ACCOUNTING METHODS: REPORTING THE EXCHANGE RATE RISK EXPOSURE OF EQUITY

This study tests whether Australian firms' unregulated foreign-currency accounting policies indicated the extent to which equity claims against the firm were exposed to exchange rate risk. Evidence supports the hypothesis that the methods of accounting for foreign-currency gains and losses on long-term monetary-items were associated with the exposure. Methods of disposing of the gains and losses arising from translation of the accounts of overseas subsidiaries were also associated with the exposure, but not in the manner predicted. The results indicate that foreign-currency accounting policies were established in an interactive (portfolio) decision-making process, and that managers reported equity claim exposures relative to the returns to equity claims against other firms. Overall, the study provides evidence that at least some unregulated choices of foreign-currency accounting methods were made to minimise the agency costs associated with contracts between shareholders and management.     

Critical commentary: Government accounting and the politics of fear. A NOTE ON FEDERAL GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTING AND THE POLITICS OF FEAR

This paper describes the misleading information regarding Social Security and Medicare that is conveyed by political activists to the general public and promoted in the financial community. One way to limit these misleading efforts is to arm the public with some basic knowledge of governmental fund accounting; accountants should also promote improved reporting by the federal government.     

Public Policy and Accounting Research: What Is to Be Done?

Abstract

Singleton-Green [2010. The communication gap: Why doesn't accounting research make a greater contribution to debates on accounting policy? Accounting in Europe, 7(2), 129–145] argues that a communication gap between researchers and those involved in public debates on accounting problems significantly reduces the impact of accounting research. A new ICAEW report, The Effects of Mandatory IFRS Adoption in the EU: a Review of Empirical Research, tries to bridge the communication gap on the subject that it covers. The report found not only a significant amount of relevant research, but also that its usefulness was limited in various ways. The paper makes a number of recommendations to researchers: they should point out any biases in the data they use, address some issues through field work, not assume that surrounding institutions are unchanged, be careful to understand the specific features of the countries they cover, investigate differences in previous research, and state the economic significance of their findings. The paper also makes recommendations for non-academic participants in public policy debates, including: they should actively promote relevant research, help researchers get access to information, and help ensure that researchers have the incentives to do what is needed to benefit public policy.     

THE FASB'S CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK SURVIVES A MARXIST CRITIQUE: A COMMENTARY ON BRYER

Rob Bryer has thrown down a fascinating challenge to practitioners of accounting standard setting and to accounting theorists by his bold conclusion that whereas the FASB's framework, founded in the marginalist concept of economic value, is subjective and vague, the Marxist theory provides accounting with a `scientific' foundation. The present author has intellectual capital both in the type of accounting theory which gave rise to the FASB's framework and in the work of the UK's Accounting Standards Board (ASB), which has adopted principles similar to those of the FASB. Not surprisingly, he was sceptical about Rob Bryer's paper, both before and after reading it. However, it is not necessary to accept the conclusions to find the argument illuminating and challenging to the accepted wisdom. What follows is a sceptic's attempt to interpret the Bryer argument and to explain the sources of doubt. The subsequent commentary follows the paper's argument chronologically and uses the same headings. A final summing up section attempts to identify the key issues identified in the commentary.