Caterpillar: Two stories and an argument

This article responds to Miller and O'Leary's account of the reorganization of Caterpillar's Decatur plant. The first section explains how Miller and O'Leary use specific discourse mechanisms and quote management. The second section provides an alternative account which uses the empirics to question management. A short concluding argument discusses the implications for critical accounting research.     

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).     

Accounting Choice and Theory in Crisis: The Case of the Victorian Desalination Plant

This paper traces the financial developments of the desalination plant in the State of Victoria in Australia. The desalination plant was built via a public–private partnership (PPP) vehicle, and commissioned at a time when water storage levels in the state were low. Subsequent rainfall has meant that no water has yet been ordered by the Victorian Government from the plant. In the paper an analysis is undertaken of the impact of the manner in which accounting treatment has been used in valuing this infrastructure asset. It is concluded that the applied accounting policy choices and treatments for this infrastructure asset are not consistent with conventional accounting theory, the Conceptual Framework for accounting or generally accepted accounting principles.     

The accounting practices of a sixteenth-century pastel merchant from the French region of Toulouse

Until the end of the sixteenth century the French region of Toulouse was an important centre for the export of pastel, the plant used at that time to produce blue dye. What does the ledger belonging to the factor of a Toulouse pastel producer (pastelier) teach us about the role played by accounting in the relationship between the factor and the commissioning merchant? Under what accounting methods did the agent carry out his business mission? Was the accounting technique used double entry or that which we could call the factors' accounting system?     

The impacts of inventory in transfer pricing and net income: Differences between traditional accounting and throughput accounting

This research proposes the Theory of Constraints (TOC) throughput accounting (TA) as an alternative management control mechanism in an international transfer pricing setting. We compare TA with the traditional accounting method and demonstrate that the traditional method underestimate factors as demand variation and inventories, which affects decisions, such as moving production to an offshore plant. A detailed system dynamics model is built to simulate the production process in an offshore supply chain to compare the methods. The study aims to fill a gap in the management accounting studies and contribute to the understanding of international transfer pricing and their management controls, exploring more than just the tax savings, which are usually considered isolated from operational factors for supply chain (SC) offshoring decisions. Furthermore, we conduct a brief literature review, present the model and discuss the results. It has been observed that inventory levels are an important part of accounting, offshored supply chains, and transfer pricing. Traditional cost and accounting methods favour higher inventory levels, and they can overestimate net income results up to 70% – especially in higher demand variation scenarios – when compared to the throughput accounting.     

The value relevance of deferred tax attributed to asset revaluations

Our study focuses on the incremental value relevance of the balance sheet relative to the income statement approach to deferred tax accounting and whether such value relevance is attributable to firms being required to report the deferred tax consequences of asset revaluations. Our results suggest that the increment to deferred tax balances upon adopting the balance sheet approach has value relevance, with such value relevance driven by the deferred taxes on certain asset revaluations (specifically, property, plant and equipment, and equity-accounted investments). We interpret our results as reflecting investors’ preference for the balance sheet approach to deferred tax accounting and their view that deferred taxes on asset revaluations are real liabilities.     

Does fair value accounting for non-financial assets pass the market test?

The choice between fair value and historical cost accounting is the subject of long-standing controversy among accounting academics and regulators. Nevertheless, the market-based evidence on this subject is limited. We study the choice of fair value versus historical cost accounting for non-financial assets in a setting where market forces rather than regulators determine the outcome. In general, we find a very limited use of fair value accounting. However, the observed variation is consistent with market forces determining the choice. Fair value accounting is used when reliable fair value estimates are available at a lower cost and when they convey information about operating performance. For example, with very few exceptions, firms’ managers commit to historical cost accounting for plant and equipment. Our findings contribute to the policy debate by documenting the market solution to one of the central questions in the accounting literature. Our findings indicate that, despite its conceptual merits, fair value is unlikely to become the primary valuation method for illiquid non-financial assets on a voluntary basis.     

The Value Relevance of Accounting Numbers Under International Financial Reporting Standards

We study the market reaction to the mandatory adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) in Spain by examining the value relevance of the information contained in the IFRS reconciliation adjustments in relation to the local generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP). The two‐staged IFRS disclosure in the transition period is specific to Spain: the aggregated numbers of accounting differences are disclosed in stage 1, and the IFRS individual adjustments on book value of equity and earnings are disclosed in stage 2. This unique reporting timeline provides an opportunity for the market both to assess the impact of those new accounting policies adopted by firms and to assess differences when compared to the previous GAAP. We find no evidence of increased value relevance after IFRS adoption. However, our results from the incremental value relevance test show that investors consider the individual reconciliation adjustments in the second stage to be valuable and significant, specifically in relation to marked‐to‐market adjustment to financial instruments, adjustments to intangibles, provisions and impairment adjustments to property, plant and equipment, adjustments to inventories, and adjustments to pension benefits. Moreover, the results are significantly higher for low leverage firms. Our findings indicate that the market prices the informativeness of the reconciliation adjustments once the transition to IFRS disclosure cycle is complete.     

财务会计的信任功能

本文初步论证了财务会计的信任功能。财务会计发挥作用的起因是委托人对代理人的不信任;财务会计信息能够增进委托人对代理人的信任;而财务会计系统能够增进委托人对代理人提供的财务会计信息的信任。财务会计是一个自身构建十分完善的信任机制。在论证财务会计的信任功能之后,本文建立了一个初步的分析框架,将其他信任机制与财务会计联系起来。进一步地,将理论应用于分析制度对财务会计信息的影响,厘清了现有研究中的一些争论。     

The persuasiveness of audit evidence: The case of accounting policy decisions

This study examines how auditors respond to precedents in accounting situations where authoritative guidance does not exist. Three experiments were conducted with practicing audit managers and partners from a Canadian Big Six accounting firm. The results show that auditors rely to a greater extent on precedents that are similar (versus not similar) to the problem situation. When the client's position on the accounting matter was known to the auditor and all available precedents pointed to the same treatment of the accounting issue in question, auditors did not heed the client's position. Rather, they used the available precedents to judge the appropriate accounting. In contrast, when the client's position was known and the available precedents were mixed in their implications for the appropriate accounting treatment, auditors tended to follow the client's position. These results are considered in light of issues of auditor independence and the accounting regulatory environment.     

The accrual anomaly in Europe: The role of accounting distortions

Numerous studies claim that the accrual anomaly in the U.S. stock market is due mostly to temporary accounting distortions arising from accrual accounting. We examine the validity of this explanation in an international setting. Across the 15 developed European equity markets we examine, accounting distortions contribute to the negative relation between accruals and future earnings performance in 14 equity markets. Further, we show that the negative relation between accruals and stock returns could be at least attributable to accounting distortions. In particular, accruals related to accounting distortions predict returns in 7 out of the 9 markets where the accrual anomaly occurs in Europe. Finally, we show that the impact of accounting distortions on the pricing of the accrual component of earnings is stronger in markets with a higher level of trust and a lower level of secrecy.     

The integration of behavioral accounting in graduate accounting curricula

This paper reports the results of a survey of the administrators of graduate accounting programs in 186 accredited business schools on the incorporation of behavioral accounting materials in graduate accounting curricula. The majority of respondents (57.7%) reported that their accounting programs do incorporate behavioral accounting materials. A greater number of respondents (84.2%) favored inclusion of behavioral accounting in the future. Teaching behavioral accounting in a hybrid course is the most popular approach, and managerial accounting and auditing courses are most likely to include behavioral accounting materials.     

The archeology of accounting systems

Accounting systems change over time. However relatively little is known of the preconditions for such change, the process of change or its organisational consequences. Existing perspectives on accounting change are reviewed and evaluated in this article. Thereafter three examples of accounting change are discussed. Based on these cases, a number of theoretical issues relating to the understanding of the process of accounting change are examined. Emphasis is placed on the diversity of factors implicated in accounting change, the constitutive as well as reflective roles of accounting and the ways in which accounting change can shift the preconditions for subsequent organisational changes.     

公司治理中的会计角色

近年来 ,上市公司的治理成为企业改革的又一个热点话题 ,其中 ,财务信息失真问题引起社会愈来愈多的关注 ,会计也成为人们非议的焦点。本文要厘清的是会计在公司治理中真正的角色和地位是什么 ,以便正确发挥会计在公司治理中的作用。本文认为 ,会计在公司治理中所扮演的角色为 :一方面 ,财务会计和审计作为一个信息系统 ,在减少信息的不对称方面起着重要的作用 ;另一方面 ,管理会计与内部审计为监督合约条款的实施 ,保障合约的有效运行也发挥着重要的作用。     

丧失相关性的会计与会计的持续性变革

会计是管理的工具。会计两大分支领域相关性弱化的问题至今依然存在甚至相当严重。管理会计因其与资本经营脱节、与业务脱节、对金融经济危机状态的适用性差等削弱了相关性,财务会计因其信息的失真、混淆、形式化和负相关等严重降低了相关性。提升会计的相关性,需要持续性的进行变革会计,并跨越财务会计与管理会计在认识上和机制上的鸿沟。     

体制不协调与监管瓶颈:我国会计监管体制的演变及路径选择

我国的会计制度改革是为满足国企改革的需要而启动展开的,是我国体制转轨中的一项基础性制度建设。在改革起点上,首先是解决市场会计规则的制定和施行问题,通过新、旧会计制度转换,为国企产权改革提供支持。当国企进入以现代企业制度建设为目标的改革阶段之后,随之出现的大面积会计行为失范和会计秩序混乱,从反面提出了加强会计监管的改革需求。本文认为,在我国体制改革初期制定的会计监管框架与委托代理关系的企业制度存在脱节和错位,会计监管之所以成为制度瓶颈,原因在于对现行会计监管安排的路径依赖。     

The usefulness of a performance measurement system in the daily life of an organisation: a note on a case study

The design and introduction of performance measurement systems in business organisations continues to be one of the areas within Management Accounting that attracts a great deal of interest. We have focused on this field using the case study method, a research approach which is helpful for the development of greater understanding of innovative management accounting systems, discarding other methods, such as data collection through surveys.The research work we present here aims to examine the usefulness of performance indicators in a Spanish subsidiary of a North American multinational company dedicated to the car sector. The present performance measurement system, which undergoes annual revisions, was designed and introduced by the management team of the Spanish plant and does not exist in any other plant in the group with the same structure and complexity. How it works is not therefore the result of any imposition by headquarters but is rather the result of negotiation and consensus within the plant itself, its main aim being to motivate behaviour.Access to a wealth of both quantitative and qualitative information has enabled us to (i) observe the integration of this performance measurement system within the organisational structure of the plant, its continuing revision, the resources it has at its disposal, its usefulness for achieving employee involvement, its capacity to motivate learning, its relation with the incentive system, and also (ii) to suggest a correlation between certain measures of the performance measurement system and profitability.     

我国会计国际化进程刍议

本文分析了会计国际协调的成因和进展 ,论证会计国际化是必然趋势 ;探讨了主要发达国家和部分西方学者对会计国际化的态度 ,论证会计国际化是一个政治程序而非技术范畴 ;分析了国际会计准则的基本特点及其在我国的实践及研究发现 ,推论了国际会计准则的角色 ;讨论了国际财务报告准则的发展战略及其应用环境问题 ,并对我国会计国际化进程提出政策建议     

The concept of an accounting regime

This paper develops and illustrates the concept of an accounting regime. The concept is mobilized in order to explore the nature and power of accounting in totality and to identify its dimensions. Drawing on the work of Anthony Giddens, we portray an accounting regime as a set of social practices constructed through the disembedding and reembedding of accounting as an abstract system that interrelates institutions of modernity and modern forms of reflexivity. The regime simultaneously generates trust and scepticism, and displays recursive cycles of dissolution and reconstruction. Its power—although temporary, partial and fragile—depends on its ability to provide guarantees of expertise in the face of risk. We conclude that the concept of an accounting regime offers a useful framework for the study accounting as a totality, and thus to detect its power in the modern world.     

The evolution of a graduate capstone accounting course

This paper discusses how the design of a graduate capstone accounting course evolved over 3 years, taking into consideration input from various stakeholders. The course has three, 5-week modules: accounting ethics, earnings management, and business strategy. The accounting ethics module emphasizes codified principles of ethics and professional behavior in accounting. The integrating theme of the last two modules is how accounting professionals can detect earnings management being used as a short-term solution to a longer-term strategic problem. Materials are included that may assist other schools contemplating a capstone accounting course in their 150-hour program.