The Use of Computers in Accounting Courses: A New Perspective—A Comment

This comment examines the framework put forward by Er and Ng (Accounting and Business Research, Autumn 1989) and calls for a more radical re-evaluation of the role of computers in accounting education.     

New development: Governmental accounting reforms in Latin America. The case of the municipality of Medellín,Colombia

ABSTRACT

Government accounting reforms in Medellín (Colombia) were promoted with the adoption of New Public Management principles. The reforms began by introducing accrual accounting, using this financial information for decision-making and, finally, adopting international standardization and comparability. This article shows how and why the government of Medellín modernized its public financial management systems to achieve transparency, accountability and efficiency.     

Carl L. Nelson: The Interrogator (1910–2007)

During the 1940s–1970s, Carl Nelson was an imposing figure, literally and figuratively, in American academic accounting. With high expectations for his students, he taught several generations of accountants, practitioners, and professors. He made accounting exciting and provocative by encouraging his students to critique GAAP, to explore alternatives to conventional accounting wisdom, and to search for substance in transactions regardless of form. He urged his students to question every thing, regardless of who said or wrote it. As a classroom professor and a reviewer of academic works, he was at times a harsh critic. As an advisor to students, he was generally helpful, if not gracious. Carl Nelson was most assuredly a rare breed in accounting academe. This paper examines his controversial teaching approach and considers his legacy.     

峨眉山A(000888.SZ):再融资项目利在长远,现有主业持续增长

所属行业:旅游景点行业9月11日,峨眉山公告非公开发行股票方案,拟以不低于19.96元/股的价格发行不超过3010万股股份,募集资金不超过6亿元。募集资金将分别投入峨眉山旅游文化中心建设项目、峨眉雪芽茶叶生产综合投资项目、成都峨眉山国际大酒店改建装修及补充流动资金。本次增发投资项目属旅游产业链延伸,基本契合峨眉山的资源禀赋特征,我们认为项目建设将对公司中长期发展产生积极影响。再融资项目延伸产业链本次再融资项目有助于公司延伸旅游产业链,打造多元化业态,符合对公司中长期发展趋势的判断。     

The Structural Dynamics of U.S. Output and Inflation: What Explains the Changes?

We examine the dynamics of U.S. output and inflation using a structural time-varying coefficients vector autoregression. There are changes in the volatility of both variables and in the persistence of inflation, but variations are statistically insignificant. Technology shocks explain changes in output volatility; real demand disturbances variations in the persistence and volatility of inflation. We detect important time variations in the transmission of technology shocks to output and demand shocks to inflation and significant changes in the variance of technology and of monetary policy shocks.     

The Role of Analysts’ Forecasts in Accounting-Based Valuation: A Critical Evaluation

This paper critically evaluates the use of analysts forecasts in accounting-based valuation. Specifically, I assess the usefulness and the limitation of analysts forecasts in predicting future earnings and in explaining the market-to-book ratio, in light of a comprehensive set of 22 explicit information items, including: economic rent proxies, conservative accounting proxies, earnings quality signals, transitory earnings proxies, industry characteristics, and risk and growth proxies. While analysts forecasts capture 45–83% of the information from these sources depending on model specifications, they do not appear to fully incorporate certain information items. In particular, proxies for conservative accounting and transitory earnings are incrementally useful in predicting future earnings; proxies for economic rents, conservative accounting, and risk are incrementally useful in explaining the market-to-book ratio. Collectively, these results validate the use of analysts forecasts as a parsimonious proxy for forward-looking information in accounting-based valuation and suggest how to improve on their use.JEL Classification: D4, G12, M4     

New development: A game of responsibility? The regulation of health and social care professionals

The UK's law commissions in a recent joint report have recommended that individual regulatory bodies for medical and other healthcare professions receive more decision-making power and that procedural regulation (for example fitness to practice proceedings) be standardized. Patient wellbeing and professional standing of practitioners are likely to be deeply affected. The legislative process needs to be scrutinized closely to ascertain that government and regulatory bodies do not use the reform to shirk accountability and engage in a blame game.