Exploring attitudes to financial reporting in the Australian not‐for‐profit sector

The current level of satisfaction among different stakeholders about the current approaches and practises of financial reporting of not‐for‐profit (NFP) entities is underexplored ( Christensen and Mohr, 2003 ; Lee, 2004 ; Gray et al., 2006 ; Parker, 2007 ). This paper uses content analysis to examine submissions to the 2008 Australian Senate Economics Standing Committee for its inquiry into the disclosure regimes of charities and NFP organisations, which aimed to explore attitudes about financial reporting in the NFP sector. Financial reporting is viewed as an important part of accountability, but the sector identifies deficiencies in the current regime in terms of consistency, efficiency and transparency. Respondents to this inquiry believed that a sector‐specific accounting standard was important. Financial reporting standards, regulations and legal structures should be uniform across the entire sector, but with some variation allowed for smaller NFPs. The cost of complying with standards was a significant issue for smaller NFPs.     

Professional Accounting Standards and the Public Sector—a Mismatch

Professional accounting standards have been applied to the public sector in Australia as part of the process of adopting accrual accounting. However, the reason given for their application to the public sector is questionable. The modes of operation of governments and of the business sector are very different, and accounting standards must be tailored to suit the specific information needs of each sector for the accounting systems to provide relevant information. The four Accounting Concepts Statements and the broad requirements of AAS 29 and AAS 31 are examined to show where changes are needed in the standards to make their information more relevant to the needs of the public sector. These changes would better enable accrual accounting information systems to assist in enhancing the efficiency and effectiveness of public sector operations and the accountability of governments to parliament and citizens.     

New development: The conceptual underpinnings of international public sector accounting

The conceptual underpinnings of accounting standards are potentially very important for the future of public sector accounting internationally. The authors explain why and comment on the implications for public sector accounting.     

Business as Usual? An Institutional View of the Relationship Between Management Control Systems and Strategy

The relationship between management control systems (MCS) and strategy has received considerable attention in the management control literature. Contingency‐based approaches, however, have traditionally dominated this research, with limited attention devoted specifically to how MCS and strategy may combine in organisations operating within highly institutionalised environments. Adopting an institutional perspective, the current study is based on interviews with CEOs and senior executives in 32 Australian Not‐for‐Profit organisations. Our findings indicate a tendency for these organisations to decouple informal control from MCS, producing a ‘business as usual’ mentality via the pervasive informal approach to control, supplanting contingency‐based predictions relating to MCS‐strategy relations.     

International Accounting Standards: An Alternative Rationale

International aspects of financial reporting have begun to receive an increasing amount of attention by a range of organizations. There is a need then, to appraise critically the performance and the underlying rationale of those agencies responsible for influencing international practices. Identification and appraisal of the rationale underlying the existence of those agencies is a necessary step in determining their potential for achieving the objectives which they have been set. This paper examines the rationale behind one of these agencies, the International Accounting Standards Committee (IASC, 1977). Unlike many others, the paper does not attempt to explain why we should have an organization such as the IASC and the standards it produces. Rather, it represents an attempt to explain why we do have an organization such as the IASC. To that end, an alternative rationale is suggested for the output of the IASC, based on theories of professional selfinterest, agency, and property rights. It is argued that that rationale is likely to have significantly greater explanatory power in respect of the present output produced by the IASC than those traditionally presented.     

Challenges to Implementing Strategic Performance Measurement Systems in Multi‐Objective Organizations: The Case of a Large Local Government Authority

A case study of the implementation of the balanced scorecard in a large local government authority is reported. Based on interview data, the factors that were perceived by senior managers to be important to the success or failure of the implementation are analysed. It is determined that scorecard measures were not effectively cascaded down to lower levels of the organization. Various inter‐related problems of leadership, training, feedback, employee empowerment and weak incentive schemes combined to cause communication difficulties which prevented the cascading problem from being effectively addressed.     

The Equity Accounting Saga in Australia: Cyclical Standard Setting

Equity accounting in Australia has had a long, chequered history. This article examines that history by reference to a succession of six Exposure Drafts, one Statement of Accounting Practice and two Standards issued between 1968 and 1995. We adapt Nobes' (1991, 1992a. 1992b) cycle model of regulation to explain variation in 'standardization' across these documents. Nobes defined 'standardization' to mean the restriction of choice in accounting methods but we modify the concept to allow for measurement rule 'improvements' and changes in required disclosure levels. Nobes' cycle model has four stages: a starting point of varied practice: energy inputs, often crises, drawing attention to the issue at hand: forces opposing and forces in favour of standardization. A cycle- like pattern of variation in standardization emerges in the present context. Potential shortcomings of the cycle model are addressed, including Skerratt and Whittington's (1992) criticisms of Nobes' cycle model. The article extends the literature with respect to a cyclical explanation of the standard setting process. The cycle pattern evident here reflects a slow and incomplete resolution of various conceptual and legal difficulties in regulating equity accounting in Australia.     

Holliston Helping Hands

This case focuses on fraud investigation in a not‐for‐profit organization, along with an examination of governance and management control practices. The student assumes the role of an accountant investigating a possible fraud. The student is first presented with sample invoices paid by the organization that are fraught with irregularities and red flags of potential fraud. Drawing on the student's knowledge of control systems and corporate governance, the student's task is to identify suspicions of possible fraudulent transactions, identify key suspects, and develop an investigative plan. The class can also discuss recommendations to improve governance and control mechanisms to avoid future occurrences of fraud. The case is presented in three parts, and closely parallels a fraud investigation as additional information is revealed in each successive part of the case. This is much like peeling the layers of an onion which is a common way to describe the evolution of a fraud investigation. This case is based on a real fraud investigation conducted by one of the authors who was engaged by the province's Ministry of Health. Students who express disbelief about issues portrayed in the case can be reassured that these faithfully represent actual events.