A cross cultural study of the learning style of accounting students

This paper examines how individualism-collectivism, the core dimension of cultural variability, is reflected in the learning styles of accounting students in Australia, Hong Kong and Taiwan. Australia represents the Western individualistic culture, and Hong Kong and Taiwan represent the Chinese collectivistic culture. Using Kolb's model this study shows that the learning styles of accounting students from Hong Kong and Taiwan are more abstract and reflective, as well as less concrete and active. Their Australian counterparts are more concrete and active, as well as less abstract and reflective. While the former exhibit the assimilation style, the latter represent the accommodation style.     

Letters to the shareholders: A content analysis comparison of letters written by CEOs in the United States and Japan

Previous studies suggest that letters to the shareholders are widely used in investors' decision-making processes. Letters to the shareholders, however, are unaudited and usually not subject to regulation. Hence, CEOs may use them strategically to manage the impressions shareholders have of the company. This paper focuses on letters to the shareholders from Japanese and U.S. companies. The research examines whether U.S. and Japanese CEOs explain the causes of good and bad news in different ways. The findings point to a number of interesting differences between the U.S. and Japanese letters to the shareholders, including: (1) that U.S. CEOs in particular emphasize good news; (2) that Japanese and U.S. letters are statistically indistinguishable with respect to the extent to which CEOs claim responsibility for good news; and (3) that while CEOs in general ascribe bad news to causes beyond their control, this tendency is particularly strong in Japanese letters. The implications of the study for both investors and regulators are discussed.     

Temperature and Growth: A Panel Analysis of the United States

We document that seasonal temperatures have significant and systematic effects on the U.S. economy, both at the aggregate level and across a wide cross section of economic sectors. This effect is particularly strong for the summer: a F increase in the average summer temperature is associated with a reduction in the annual growth rate of state‐level output of 0.15 to 0.25 percentage points. We combine our estimates with projected increases in seasonal temperatures and find that rising temperatures could reduce U.S. economic growth by up to one‐third over the next century.     

中美养老保险制度公平与效率的比较

中美两国养老保险制度的确立大致相差20年的时间,但在其各自的发展演变中却形成了不同的特点。美国建立了比较符合本国实际的养老保险制度,即具有完善的法律制度作保证,覆盖面广且具有多层次,强调国家、单位和个人三方面的责任,社会化和市场化程度较高,较好地协调了公平与效率。以上几方面对完善中国养老保险制度具有一定的借鉴意义。     

Effectiveness of minimum tax legislation and its effect on corporate financial reporting: A comparative analysis between the United States and India

This paper reports a comparative analysis of the experience of introducing minimum tax legislation in the US and India. Given the differences in the economic and market settings in the two countries, one would expect the impact of the regulation and the corporate response to its introduction to be different. Our empirical analysis, however, indicates that the response to the minimum tax legislation in India is very similar to that in the US. The evidence indicates that the minimum tax legislation is not the best means of achieving horizontal equity among taxpayers, given its significant administrative and compliance costs and the manipulative reporting response it generates from the corporate sector.     

流动性过剩下美国次贷危机的原因与借鉴

2007年美国的次贷危机展现了现代金融风险错综复杂的特征.反思危机,本文认为在流动性过剩背景下,为追求利润的持续快速增长,商业银行很容易出现过度竞争,放松信贷标准,盲目扩大贷款客户群体,追逐高风险、高收益的投资品种和业务创新.对照我国银行业面临的宏观形势,流动性过剩也是困扰我国商业银行持续盈利和发展的一个外在因素.因此,借鉴美国次贷危机,作者提出以下建议:密切关注客观经济形势;加强内控制度建设,强化审慎合规经营理念;高度重视住房抵押贷款的风险;加速资产证券化的试点和推广,有效分散信贷风险;切实做好风险防范,加强全面风险管理;严格信贷标准和要求等.     

The contract,accounting and trust: A case study of an international joint venture (IJV) in the United Arab Emirates (UAE)

This paper reports on the results of a case study that examines the effect of the contract and accounting on inter-organisational trust in an international joint venture (IJV). The empirical setting of the research was an IJV relation between a United Arab Emirates (UAE) firm and its western partner. Data were gathered from multiple sources, including documents, observations, interviews and discussions with managers. The paper aims to explore the process of trust development and the role of the contract and accounting in this. We find that trust developed differently for the partners. Moreover the trust concerns of the partners were not the same. Based on this we conclude that trust was not automatically reciprocated. Instead it needs relating to other items such as the contract, accounting and also the institutional environment. The open-book accounting we observed could only be termed ‘partial’ because the western partner had access to the local partner's books but not the vice versa. But this partial open-book accounting created conflicts between the partners. We argue that developing one kind of trust through one particular medium may help one party but may damage the relationship between the partners.     

Examining the differences between United States Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (U.S. GAAP) and International Accounting Standards (IAS): implications for the harmonization of accounting standards

Current trends indicate continued movement towards the harmonization of accounting standards, but not without difficulty and concern. At times, the political and financial market pressure, push the movement in opposite directions. The paper discusses the conceptual framework used in establishing Global Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) (International Accounting Standards, IAS) and U.S. GAAP. Numerous transactional examples are illustrated under both Global GAAP and U.S. GAAP treatment. Several country specific references are presented demonstrating the difficulty in achieving harmonization. Implications for harmonization of accounting standards include arguments “for” and “against” Global GAAP.