A cross-discipline comparison of top-tier academic journal publication rates: 1997–1999

We examine “top-tier” academic journal publications in four major business disciplines (accounting, finance, management, and marketing) during the 1997 through 1999 time period. We document cross-discipline differences with respect to the number of articles published per discipline and the types of institutions that capture these publications. Specifically, the accounting discipline has considerably fewer top-tier articles published relative to other business disciplines. In addition, a significantly higher percentage of accounting top-tier publications are written by authors with top 20 academic affiliation relative to the top-tier publications in other business disciplines. Other cross-discipline differences are also documented.     

论公司财务概念框架

公司财务学领域需要借鉴其他相近学科的经验,关注概念框架的研究。财务的性质和职能始终是公司财务概念框架的研究起点,国内外从来都没有真正意义的目标起点论。公司财务概念框架内含财务本质与职能、财务环境与假设、财务目标、财务对象与要素、财务分析和财务管理工具箱等一系列概念。在构造公司财务概念框架时,需要对确认、计量和报告三个概念在会计与财务之间加以区别,确立财务确认、财务计量和财务报告三个新概念。     

Bridging the gap between accounting and finance

I suggest that the separation of the academic disciplines of accounting and finance has had some detrimental consequences for the development of research and practice in both disciplines, and especially in finance. I argue that an understanding of financial statement numbers and the accounting principles on which they depend – the accounting microstructure – can be important in developing better valuation and asset pricing models and in identifying relevant dimensions of risk. Therefore finance research can benefit from assimilating recent advances in accounting research. Similarly, accounting research relevant to valuation and asset pricing can benefit by adopting theoretical perspectives and empirical methods from finance research.     

基于价值的管理与公司理财创新

本文从基于价值管理理念出发,引出了现代公司发展的基础与导向是资本增值的主题。在此基础上,将会计报告、财务分析、资本经营和管理控制融入公司理财之中,形成创新的公司理财体系框架:以资本增值为公司目标和财务目标,以基于价值管理为公司理财导向,以会计报告与财务分析为理财基础,以处理与投资界的关系、评估战略以创造价值和借助全面绩效管理创造价值为理财领域,以资本经营与管理控制为理财两翼。文章论述了基于价值的公司理财创新与会计报告、财务分析、资本经营及管理控制的关系,明确它们在公司理财创新中的地位与作用。     

Current Trends within Social and Environmental Accounting Research: A Literature Review

Given the recent rise in the evolution and maturity of social and environmental accounting (SEA) research and scholarship, we provide a literature review of the current trends within this area in a concise and harmonized manner for a wider audience in academia and practice. More specifically, we visit the current state of scholarly work, which can be useful in facilitating future research questions and further development of SEA research associated with relations between corporate social performance (CSP), corporate social disclosure (CSD), and corporate financial performance (CFP). Our goal is to offer insights to the current state of SEA research that is informative to both novice and expert SEA scholars, with the hope to promote and stimulate further advancement of research in this particular area. Drawing knowledge from relevant disciplines such as accounting, management, finance, and economics, this article visits the current trends within SEA research in terms of definition, research topics, theoretical viewpoints, methodological approaches, as well as suggestions for future research.     

Event studies: A methodology review

Originally developed as a statistical tool for empirical research in accounting and finance, event studies have since migrated to other disciplines as well, including economics, history, law, management, marketing, and political science. Despite the elegant simplicity of a standard event study, variations in methodology and their relative merits continue to attract attention in the literature. This paper reviews some of the fundamental topics in short‐term event study methodology, with an attempt to add new perspectives to some pressing topics.     

Changes in the marketing and operational capacity of retail sector firms through corporate securitization

Corporate securitization is a structured finance product that retail companies use to raise funds on the back of their operating assets. We investigate whether corporate securitization enhances the retail firm's marketing and operational capacity through a set of structural enhancements including operating covenants. Operating covenants are designed to mitigate the financial and operating risks of a securitized business and improve its marketing potential. Using the case of a retail firm's securitization, the United Kingdom's Mitchell's & Butler's, we find some support for this conjecture. We also find that corporate securitization is more successful where managers have considerable scope for making changes in the retail firm's operating and marketing environment.     

宏观经济政策与微观企业行为——拓展会计与财务研究新领域

本文首先回顾国际主流会计学术研究近年来遇到的挑战与质疑,然后提出以宏观经济政策与微观企业行为互动为基础的会计与财务研究框架,并以货币政策变动对企业融资、会计选择、经营业绩的影响为例说明这个框架对会计与财务研究可能产生的影响。本文认为结合宏观经济政策与微观企业行为互动作用的研究可能拓展会计与财务研究的新领域。     

Increasing the role of auditing in corporate governance

While critical accounting research has long been vitally interested in relationships between accounting, auditing and control of business organizations, mainstream research in accounting, finance and management has only recently displayed an increased interest in questions of corporate governance. The notion of corporate governance typically employed in mainstream research focus on enhancing benefits to shareholders. The structure and the functioning of boards of directors, and audit committees of such boards, are primary concerns within this line of research. This paper presents an alternative view of corporate governance and the role of auditing within corporate governance. We argue that the role of auditing should be increased in order to enhance the control of corporations for the benefit of all stakeholders and society generally.     

税务筹划的经济学性质及其对会计价值之拓展

作为现代会计的重要组成之一,税务筹划极大地丰富了企业的会计职能,扩大了现代企业经营收益的含义。企业的税务筹划收益本质上是一种制度收益,具有特殊的租金属性;与产品市场相比,税务筹划市场也有着不同的均衡过程和均衡条件。作为企业财务和会计活动的新领域,税务筹划实现了对财务价值管理、管理会计应用、会计信息使用的价值拓展,提高了会计在企业中直接现金流的创造能力,从而也改进了会计能力定价方式与契约机制。     

PRIVATE EQUITY INVESTING IN EMERGING MARKETS

After a proliferation of emerging market funds in the 1990s, growth has slowed drastically due to disappointing preliminary results. Private sector funds initially appeared promising because of the burgeoning demand for capital in emerging markets, the new receptivity of governments to foreign investors, and the prospect of high returns. But in many cases, the regulatory and legal frameworks did not provide adequate investor protection, and dramatic differences in accounting standards, corporate governance, and exit potential created problems. These problems are often accentuated because local owners are adept at navigating the legal and accounting systems, placing investors at a disadvantage.
As global competition intensifies, local policies, regulations, and business practices are becoming increasingly important in attracting investors. Local governments must institute the reforms necessary to improve the investment environment, including the strengthening of shareholder rights and corporate governance standards and improving access to public equity markets. Development finance institutions must provide direction and leadership in these areas. And fund managers must align their business models more closely with emerging market realities by establishing a local presence, adopting a more hands-on approach to monitoring their investments, and developing creative exit strategies.     

The effect of corporate social responsibility on the branding of financial services

In today's global world, corporate social responsibility (CSR) is increasing public demand for greater transparency from multinational companies. CSR is a new and growing financial risk factor. If it is mismanaged, a firm's corporate reputation can be badly damaged and a direct negative impact on its business and bottom-line may result. Instead of simply campaigning directly against industrial groups and lobbying governments and international organisations to issue new legislation, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) are increasingly putting pressure on the financial services groups and insurance companies. This new global tactic may affect a bank's relationship with its clients and shareholders.There are market benefits and competitive advantages for those companies whose business policies integrate CSR. The growth in socially responsible investments and in CSR awareness among City people persuades some bankers that the most successful firms of the future will be those who proactively balance short-term financial goals with long-term sustainable franchise building. To respond to this challenge, corporations will have to convince citizens they can trust both their brands and the people behind them. In this context, one must recognise that finance brands have been clumsily managed. Nowadays, several big consumer brands are used as societal role models, but they are also the targets of anti-globalisation and anti-logo activists. In order to avoid such an outcome — not to mention corporate mortification — the key social marketing strategy must be to communicate proactively the business activity's raison d'être to opinion leaders and the general public. In general, industry does not yet care enough and many companies are reacting only when put under pressure by public opinion. It is time, however, to market the social raison d'être of a business and indeed to contest its current exclusion from ‘civil society’. Consumer and service sectors lead the field. In view of the downturn of the global economy, more than ever before, CSR branding is of paramount importance to the financial sector if bankers do not want to become the easy scapegoats. It is necessary to make it clear that financial services companies are global citizens too.     

再论公司财务概念框架

有效率的企业是经济增长的关键。为指导财务实践,提升公司价值,有效保护利益相关者的财产权益,助推经济发展,有必要在不同流派财务理论体系中抽象出高度认可的基本概念,形成公司财务概念框架。财务概念框架就是财务理论体系中认可度高的一系列基本概念的凝结,旨在为财务活动开展提供逻辑一致的理论指导,为发展高质量的财务规范奠定坚实基础。企业财务行为具有的内部私密性、自主性、创造性等个性化特征,并不是否定建立统一、一致认可的"公司财务概念框架"的充分条件。在新兴市场经济国家,构建"公司财务概念框架"具有必要性和可行性。     

Causal inference in empirical archival financial accounting research

This study discusses the challenges and opportunities of establishing causal inference in empirical archival financial accounting research. Causal inference requires identification of a theoretically predicted causal mechanism in a research setting optimized to avoid endogenous causes and using a suitable statistical inference strategy. After briefly describing potential research design strategies, I analyze the frequency of causal studies published in leading business and economics journals. I identify causal studies by their abstract including an explicit reference to their causal nature and find that they are significantly more common in the areas of economics and finance compared to other business-oriented research disciplines like accounting. Also, the extent to which research designs are optimized for causal inference differs significantly between causal empirical archival studies in the area of financial accounting and finance. I discuss potential reasons for this gap and make some suggestions on how the demand for and supply of well-designed causal studies in the area of empirical archival financial accounting research might be increased.     

The Achievements and Future of Business Education

The dean of Columbia Business School is joined by the deans of Stanford, Harvard, and Wharton in discussing the challenges and opportunities facing today's graduate business schools. Most business schools aim to provide students with a certain body of knowledge—in disciplines such as marketing, finance, and accounting—as well as some general management and leadership training and skills. The biggest challenge to this model of business education is now coming from the high cost of the traditional two‐year MBA program and the threat of disruption by “online” alternatives. But the consensus of the four deans is that the combination of training and experience provided by today's top business schools will enable them to withstand the threat from online alternatives. And thus for the leaders of these top schools, one of the main challenges in designing and maintaining a successful business school program is to find the right mix of theory and practice, classroom and “experiential” learning. To the extent the schools succeed in achieving and maintaining this balance, they should continue to produce graduates who are sought by employers that include not only companies large and small, but non‐profits and, at some points in their careers, even the public sector. What's more, the deans all sense the growing demand for business to play a larger role in addressing social problems that have traditionally been seen as the responsibility of government and non‐profits. And one implication of this demand is that business schools, besides producing talent that finds its way to the public as well as private sectors, should prepare to play a greater role in the public debate over solutions to social challenges, such as protecting the environment while at the same time trying to stimulate enough economic growth to limit rising inequality.     

审计委员会:本原性质与作用机理

本文研究审计委员会的本原性质和其在公司治理中的作用机理,并剖析以美国为代表的现行审计委员会制度安排。本文分析指出,审计委员会的本原性质在于,它是代表股东利益直接负责企业外部会计事务,并享有企业内部会计事务的消极权力,从而确保注册会计师对经理人的独立性,以降低企业治理成本。审计委员会的作用机理则需基础于其本原性质而设计。而以美国为代表的现行制度安排下的审计委员会不是符合本原性质的审计委员会,其性质是经理人为履行自身向股东等诚实报告之受托责任而专设的职能管理机构。     

Corporate political strategies

The paper offers a comprehensive and integrative review of the current literature on corporate political strategies sharing common boundaries with finance, accounting and corporate governance. While there appears to be a heightened interest among researchers in studying the value relevance of corporate political strategies [ Chen et al. (2010) , Goldman et al. (2009) , Cooper et al. (2010) , Richter et al. (2008) , Hochberg et al. (2007) , de Figueiredo and Edwards (2007) , Faccio and Parsley (2009) , and Myers (2009) among others], interestingly, finance and corporate governance scholars have yet to embrace the research on political strategies as part of their mainstream research. Taking a micro perspective at the firm level, we review the major scholarly works in the economics, finance and management disciplines with respect to the firm attributes shaping the corporate decision to engage politically, modes of corporate political participation, and the value impact of corporate political activity. The overarching theme of the review article is to integrate diverse – political economy and management – paradigms of corporate political participation and rationalize the value relevance within the corporate finance and corporate governance perspective. The paper also presents focused preliminary evidence on the determinants and value impact of corporate lobbying strategies. For the sample of 5452 firm‐year observations, the results indicate that while for large firms corporate lobbying may not be agency driven and may create value, for small firms, despite low shareholder rights associating with higher lobbying engagements, lobbying still relates positively to value added.     

Intangible Marketing Assets: A Managerial Accounting Perspective

Intangible marketing assets, such as brand strength, product image and reputation, appear to be of growing significance to companies. This paper seeks to offer a management accounting perspective on intangible marketing assets. A typology is developed that categorises related constructs, hitherto referred to, somewhat broadly, as marketing assets. The typology (1) redefines intangible marketing assets from an accounting perspective, and (2) identifies the inputs and outputs of the intangible marketing asset management process. The traditional accounting methods afforded to intangible marketing assets are noted, together with their adverse implications for asset development. It is suggested that management accounting should develop a method of accounting for such assets that is more consistent with supporting longer-term corporate objectives.     

The Modigliani and Miller Propositions: The History of a Failed Foundation for Corporate Finance?

The Modigliani and Miller (MM) propositions provide a foundation for corporate finance theory. Nevertheless, this paper argues that their adoption has led to a disengagement of such theory from the humanity of business, as well as, more broadly, from concepts of corporate strategic management. As a result, the context within which textbooks allow corporate investment and financial decisions to take place is severely distorted from reality. The paper argues that we require the context of behavioural and strategic corporate management if we are to accommodate the reality of business, the behaviour of formalised groups, and an ethical dimension to business.     

CAFR 1999–2021, the past two decades and a look ahead

The China Accounting and Finance Review (CAFR) was jointly established in 1999 by the Hong Kong Polytechnic University and Tsinghua University. Over the past 22 years, CAFR has published original papers in accounting and finance with a focus on China-related research. In this article, we review the journal’s publishing patterns and the impactful articles it has published, with the aim of better understanding past research on China-related issues and recent publication patterns and trends as well as developing new insight that may inspire future submissions. We divide past CAFR articles by topic into six groups: (i) information disclosure; (ii) auditing; (iii) corporate governance; (iv) market efficiency; (v) corporate finance; and (vi) miscellaneous. We use these categories as the basis of our review for articles published before 2020. We also summarize articles by their regional setting, research methodology, and authors’ university affiliation. We then highlight the contributions of a few impactful CAFR articles that are actively cited in both the Chinese and English literature. We complement the literature review by going over China’s financial stability research in JFS. We also compare CAFR with other major accounting and finance journals in the Asia-Pacific region. CAFR stands out by welcoming research using a diversity of regional settings and research topics. Finally, we discuss the new editorial strategies that began in 2020. Under the new editorial policy, CAFR now publishes more non-China and more cross-disciplinary studies than it used to. We review several recent publications to demonstrate the change. Going forward, we intend to call for the publication of more high-quality papers in accounting and finance that are not restricted to a region, area, or methodology providing new insights into accounting and finance.