Management accounting texts in New Zealand: the need for a paradigm shift

This paper questions the dominance in textbooks of a management accounting grounded largely in neo-classical economics and scientific management. In New Zealand the most popular textbook used in introductory management accounting courses is Horngren and Foster's Cost Accounting - a Managerial Emphasis.The current seventh edition of the text, although extensively used, is not regarded as adequate for the purpose by many New Zealand educators. The text is seen as being rootd firmly in the traditional understandings of the role of management accounting which are subject to increasing challenge. Other popular texts which are influencing the content of management accounting courses also are reviewed. We conclude that, despite much criticism over many years, modern textbooks have failed to evolve; change is overdue.     

A friend in need is a friend indeed: Allocation and demand in IPO bookbuilding

This paper uses proprietary data on European IPOs with detailed information on the demand at different points of time and allocation for institutional and retail investors. The nature of the data allows us to analyze the reason of why institutional investors as a group get more allocations of underpriced issues than retail investors. By explicitly examining institutional and retail demand for different kinds of stocks, we find that this is due to institutional investors' superior ability to detect underpriced stocks rather than the underwriter's preferential treatment. At the same time, the subset of domestic institutional investors supports the underwriter in issues with weak demand and receives in turn favorable allocations in underpriced issues.     

Rationalities, domination and accounting control: A case study from a traditional society

Previous studies on management control in less developed countries have mainly concentrated on the state and privatised enterprises. Drawing upon Weber's work [Weber M. The protestant ethic and the spirit of capitalism. New York, NY: Scribner; 1958; Weber M. General economic history. New York, NY: Collier Books; 1961; Weber M. Economy and society: an outline of interpretive sociology (two volumes). New York, NY: Bedminster; 1968; Weber M. Economy and society. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press; 1978] on traditional society, and a Weberian framework developed by [Colignon R, Covaleski M. A Weberian framework in the study of accounting. Accounting, Organiztions and Society 1991;16(2):141–57], this paper seeks to understand ‘private management practices’, including accounting, in a stock exchange listed company (public limited company). The case study evidence indicates that organisational controls are biased to serve the dominant owners or family/sponsors of the company instead of general shareholders. The paper argues that family dominance is facilitated by the external and internal layers within which the company is operating. The greater understanding of traditional societies developed in Weber's works [Weber M. Economy and society. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press; 1978] is very useful in explaining why managers work to serve the family. Domination by family via trusted managers using accounting calculations instead of bureaucracy is highly relevant, as the case study shows. These findings are not dissimilar to those of previous studies conducted in privatised and family-owned companies in Bangladesh and elsewhere. The paper calls for more research on management accounting practices employing Weber's works, especially in traditional societies.     

TEACHING NOTE Promoting participation-breathing new life into the old technology of a traditional tutorial: a teaching note

This note is an outline of our experience and a reflection on the lessons learned, when innovative teaching and learning methods were used to encourage participation in traditional tutorial classes. We hope that, by communicating our experience, readers will be encouraged to explore the identified approaches in their own courses. The problem of students' lack of participation in tutorials has long been recognized by staff and students. This problem is further exacerbated by the external factors of increased student numbers and more vocal employer opinions on graduates' lack of personal transferable skills. Three problems were identified as possible reasons for students' non participation in tutorials: dominance by one or a few students; students not forming a cohesive group; too many students in a tutorial. Strategies for dealing with these problems are detailed together with the results of our experience and conclusion on the success of each technique. The general conclusion is that it is possible to breath new life into old technology. Students can be encouraged to participate in a traditional tutorial by utilizing innovative teaching and learning strategies. We hope readers will learn from our experience and be encouraged to incorporate some of the strategies in their courses.     

Not-for-profit accounting in a changing world of standard setting: What professors and students need to know

Generally, accounting standard setting in the 21st Century promises to be an interesting and increasingly diverse endeavor. This paper discusses the formation of the FASB’s Not-for-Profit Advisory Committee in 2010 and its work to date. I identify the various changes that will likely impact accounting and auditing for not-for-profit entities. Specifically, prospects for changes to current not-for-profit standards are discussed with emphasis on how future changes might follow the patterns outlined for private companies or small and medium-sized entities. New possibilities and implications for educators and curriculum design are introduced.     

Revival of a traditional community engagement model for the sustainable future of a historical commercial district: Bursa/Turkey as a case

Historical commercial districts in city centres in Turkey face social, cultural, environmental and economical challenges of managing rapid urban and economical development in the last two decades. They are being subjected to dramatic physical deterioration and rapid social and economical decline. Enriching relationships between local tradesmen associations, local authorities and non-governmental organisations through a structured engagement process can deliver innovative new revitalisation approaches and design options towards sustainable futures of historical commercial districts both in Turkey and in the world. This paper presents a community engagement model, which can be seen as the revival of a guild system (Lonca), which is unique to Ottoman Turkish culture, for the sustainable future of a historical commercial district in a Turkish city, Bursa. One of the main objectives of this study is to discuss and evaluate successes and failures of this community engagement model. Other objective of the paper is to discuss the effectiveness of this civil organisation for creating scenarios about sustainable future of a historical commercial district. The key finding of this study shows community engagement models should support public decision making by developing a coherent framework to identify the sustainable future scenarios with multi- or interdisciplinary collaborations.     

Where is globalization taking us? : Why we need a new ‘Bretton Woods’

While globalization brings global increases in income in the aggregate, it also threatens to leave much of humankind in conditions of absolute poverty and to widen the gap between rich and poor. These trends are likely to be accentuated with the advent of the information/knowledge economy, the increasing power of multinationals, and the growing severity of environmental constraints. This article sketches these trends and then addresses the question: what are the necessary conditions for the attainment of a growing global economy with equity and acceptable environmental standards? It then tackles the issue of the prospects for these conditions to be realized under the prevailing global economic/financial system.     

The "perfect storm" in compensation: convergence of events leads to a greater need to review compensation strategies

The recent unprecedented convergence of significant strategic events in the compensation arena has created the need for ongoing and extensive compensation planning. This article reviews the events leading to this point, describes the implications of the results from a recent Aon study with WorldatWork, and suggests what employers can do to successfully navigate the "perfect storm" in compensation.     

Urban sustainability and knowledge: Theoretical heterogeneity and the need of a transdisciplinary framework. A tale of four towns

The academic debate on «sustainable city» is like a large arena, where heterogeneous approaches and contributions, coming from different disciplines, flow into without converging on a common vision. The growing awareness that an increasing percentage of the world's population now lives in urban areas makes the organization of this space a crucial issue for global sustainable development. In order to acquire this challenge, urban studies need to overcome conceptual oppositions, seeking new integrated responses to implement the principle of sustainability at urban scale. This effort requires a new managerial approach of science and policy, which can be based on a transdisciplinary vision to knowledge production. The paper is divided into four different sections. The first and second sections review the theoretical literature on urban sustainability and explore the conceptual relations between knowledge and knowledge production in urban governance processes. The third section presents a comparative empirical analysis based on a survey of 2213 questionnaires carried out in four different urban contexts. The fourth and last section outlines the conclusion, suggesting a new approach to manage knowledge in urban governance, in a trans-disciplinary perspective.