Global ranking of accounting programmes and the elite effect in accounting research

We provide a global ranking of accounting research and examine the elite degree and elite affiliation effect. Based on 24 accounting journals during the period 1991–2005, the top 5 most productive countries in accounting research are in the following order: the USA, the UK, Australia, Canada and Hong Kong. We find a significant elite degree effect, indicating that authors who graduated from elite accounting programmes have a disproportionate share of publications in top‐notch journals. The same conclusion is also supported by the elite affiliation effect in which leading accounting journals have higher concentration of authors who are affiliated with elite institutions.     

Racial biases in recruitment by accounting firms: The case of international Chinese applicants in Australia

This paper documents the difficulties in finding accounting work faced by international Chinese accounting graduates in Australia in the two years after graduation. We argue that Chinese accounting graduates remain a marginalised group within today's Australian society. The interview results support this assertion, with even high-achieving Chinese graduates finding it difficult to obtain work with mainstream accounting firms and corporations. The main reasons appear to be their lack of Australian working experience, lack of knowledge of Australian culture, and lack of “Australian English”. Australian accounting firms, due to a revealed preference to hire white Australian graduates, appear to be missing out on a vast reservoir of Chinese talent. Chinese accounting graduates speak two or three languages and have established business networks in China or at the very least insider knowledge of how that country's business culture operates. Whilst their sub-cultural capital may be lower on average than white graduates on some conventional measures, it is higher in those areas of bilingual capability and cross-cultural knowledge which are becoming of increasing importance to Australian business.     

Desired attributes of public accounting firms in the job selection process: an empirical examination of accounting graduates' perceptions

The purpose of this study is to identify attributes of public accounting firms that accounting graduates find most desirable in their job selection decisions, and the impacts of individual differences on these perceptions. Factor analysis performed on the responses of 167 final-year accounting students in Hong Kong to a 30-item questionnaire identified seven factors. The results indicate that accounting graduates considered help in finishing their professional accounting examinations and good staff relationships as the most important criteria in their choice of employers. In addition, female accounting graduates were more concerned about the possibility of being required to travel or be transferred, but were less concerned about the reputation and profile (such as the client base and the size) of the firms than their male counterparts. Accounting graduates with a higher grade point average (GPA) were less concerned about the working environment, but more concerned about a firms' reputation and profile than those with a lower GPA. The implications of these results are discussed.     

Equity with Warrants in Private Placements

We examine private equity with warrant (unit) placements and compare them with private equity placements. Firms making unit placements are smaller, younger, riskier, and characterized by higher information asymmetry than equity‐placing firms. Furthermore, unit‐placing firms experience good pre‐placement stock performance; however, their post‐placement performance is poor and worse than that of equity‐placing firms. We also find that very few of the placed warrants are in the money at expiration. Our results are consistent with the window of opportunity hypothesis and the theory that warrants are especially desirable to a clientele of overoptimistic investors.     

The Wealth Effects of Reducing Private Placement Resale Restrictions

Recently, the US Securities and Exchange Commission reduced resale restrictions on Rule 144 private placements from 12 months to 6 months with the intention of lowering the cost of equity capital for issuing firms. In Canada, similar regulatory changes were adopted several years ago, providing a unique opportunity to test the wealth effects of reducing private placement resale restrictions. We find that shortening resale restrictions reduces the liquidity portion of offer price discounts, and thus lowers the cost of equity capital for issuing firms, but has no significant effect on announcement‐period abnormal returns after controlling for issuer type. However, there is a fundamental shift in the types of firms making private placements of common stock after the legislation‐induced easing of resale restrictions. Specifically, we find that smaller firms and firms with greater information asymmetry are less likely to issue privately placed common stock after the legislative change, suggesting that the easing of resale restrictions reduces the costly signal that helps to overcome the Myers and Majluf (1984) underinvestment problem.     

Employers’ Perceptions of Information Technology Competency Requirements for Management Accounting Graduates

Abstract

Management accountants work in a computerized workplace with information technology (IT) for producing financial ledgers and for reporting. Thus, the role of the management accountant has shifted from capturing and recording transactions to analyzing business issues. The research question is: what IT knowledge and skills do employers require of management accounting graduates? An exploratory field research approach was used; chief financial officers and their subordinates at some of New Zealand's largest firms were consulted. These respondents were consistent in their requirements. They emphasized intermediate proficiency with some Microsoft tools (Excel, Word, PowerPoint, and Outlook) and sufficient familiarity with the structure and navigation of an enterprise resource planning system to process transactions such as accounts receivable. Of those requirements, Excel for analysis was the most important. Our contributions update and augment the literature by clarifying the perceptions of employers regarding the IT competencies required of management accounting graduates.     

Understanding accounting as a career: an immersion work experience for students making career decisions

This paper reports on a project which is designed to increase the participation of high school students in accounting work experience placements. The focus of the paper is on an Australian-based project which overcomes the identified barriers to offering high school accounting work experience placements with a resultant increase in the number and quality of placements offered. The research project responds to a decline in both the number and quality of students enrolling in accounting degree programmes in Australia. The paper draws on the work experience, social psychology, careers, and accounting education literatures to design a ‘connective’ model (Guile &; Griffiths, 2001 Guile, D., &; Griffiths, T. (2001). Learning through work experience. Journal of Education and Work, 14(1), 113–131. doi: 10.1080/13639080020028738[Taylor &; Francis Online] , [Google Scholar]) of accounting work experience for high school students. The project adopts an action research methodology which engages professional accounting practice, high school career advisors, and the university sector to deliver a structured work experience programme which addresses barriers to participation in accounting work experience and improves the quality of the work experience ‘experience’ for both employers and students.     

Effects of Interspersed versus Summary Feedback on the Quality of Students' Case Report Revisions

Abstract

This study examines whether students show greater improvement in written case analyses when given feedback that is either interspersed throughout their written case analyses or presented only as a summary, and whether the benefits of these placements vary across differing levels of student performance in the course. Results from an exploratory field experiment conducted with Canadian accounting students who revised and resubmitted case analyses indicate that the effectiveness of feedback depended on an interaction between its placement and the course performance of students to which it was provided. Lowest-performing students increased the quality of their case responses most when provided with interspersed rather than summary feedback, mid-level students improved more when given summary rather than interspersed feedback, and highest-performing students improved significantly regardless of feedback placement. The primary conclusion from this study is that feedback placement influences how well students at different levels respond, suggesting that teachers should consider students' relative course performance when determining the most appropriate placement for their feedback. We also present evidence of the factors that affect the initial quality of case analyses and which influence students' decisions to revise and resubmit their case analyses.     

The organizational context of professionalism in accounting

This study analyses the degree to which change in the organizational context, content and location (both of the individual within the organization and the organization within the field) of professional work has contributed to variation in attitudes toward professional ideology and institutions. Through an online survey of Canadian chartered accountants we observe that, contrary to current accusations, a majority of accounting professionals remain committed to their profession, despite profound changes in the context, content and location of their work. We do find, however, that the strongest espoused deviation from core professional values and logics has occurred in traditional work contexts (i.e. public accounting firms), and for the distinctive value of commitment to independence enforcement, the deviation is most pronounced in the elite core of the profession – the Big Four professional service firms. Accountants in higher ranks also tend to identify more with commercialistic values. We speculate on the implications these findings hold for the professional project of accountancy.     

How do Professional Financial Services Firms Understand their Skill Needs and Organise their Recruitment Practices?

Abstract

The recruitment practices of professional financial service firms are informed by hegemonic cultural norms embedded in global and national institutions. There is a propensity, particularly in the financial services, to employ ‘people like us’ [Erel, U. (2010). Migrating cultural capital: Bourdieu in migration studies. Sociology, 44(4), 642–660. doi:10.1177/0038038510369363], which, it is argued, has constrained the employment outcomes of skilled migrants. Using the concept of cultural fit, this paper draws on interviews with representatives of accounting firms in Australia to understand the criteria for recruiting in a highly commercialised and globalised professional labour market. The results demonstrate that client-focused firms place an emphasis on cultural fit in the recruitment process. It is concluded that a lack of cultural capital by migrants means that their efforts to infiltrate the professional accounting labour market in Australia are limited. Furthermore, from an education perspective, the skill set taught in the accounting curriculum is increasingly geared to meet the recruitment strategies of professional service firms.     

Accounting Education and the Prerequisite Skills of Accounting Graduates: Are Accounting Firms’ Moving the Boundaries?

The current requisite skills of accounting graduates guide the graduate attributes delivered by university learning outcomes. A recent trend by Australian accounting firms to outsource accounting services may impact on accounting graduates if entry‐level tasks normally completed by graduates are sent to offshore processing centres. This study examines the impact of the outsourcing of accounting services by Australian accounting firms and classifies the current requisite skills for accounting graduates identified by accounting firms. Following a review of the current academic literature, a positivist approach using empirical data is taken in this paper. The responses elicited from a survey questionnaire mailed to a random sample of Australian accounting firms provide information for the data analysis. One of the most widely outsourced services identified is the preparation of income tax returns, which has been identified as a key area where graduate accountants normally learn the basic skills required to phase them into the profession. Accounting firms that considered the outsourcing of accounting services would change the 12 ranked prerequisite skills for graduates presented in this paper in order of importance.     

An analysis of working capital efficiency and shareholder return

Since 1997, CFO Magazine has published a ranking of 1000 companies in its “Working Capital Scorecard.” Our research explores the question as to whether working capital management practices based on the accounting metrics used by CFO Magazine serve as a basis for investor-based strategies for superior return generation. We examine the stock performance of top ranked companies from 1997 to 2012 against benchmark portfolios. Controlling for market, market capitalization, book to market, momentum factors, liquidity factors, and corporate governance; the higher ranked firms produce statistically higher excess returns than bottom ranked firms. In bull market periods, firms with superior working capital management outperformed their counterparts on a raw and risk-adjusted basis. These top ranked firms also provide statistically significant active returns regardless of market cycle. In sum, our results indicate that shareholders reward firms with superior working capital management strategies with higher raw and risk-adjusted performance over longer holding periods across the economic cycle especially in bear markets cycles.     

THE ROLE OF INVESTMENT BANK REPUTATION AND RELATIONSHIPS IN EQUITY PRIVATE PLACEMENTS

We explore the role of placement agents in equity private placements. Reputable agents are more likely to place shares of firms that have performed better and that have had frequent prior relationships with the agent. Controlling for self‐selection and endogeneity, firms using reputable agents offer smaller price discounts. However, issuers having frequent prior relationships with placement agents incur higher gross spreads. Although the results support the certification role of investment banks in private placements, they also shed light on the costs incurred by issuers that frequently rely on the same investment bank.     

Editor's introduction

Prestige distinctions are critical to any understanding of the US academic community. Past rankings of academic departments of accounting, based on a variety of factors including faculty publications, citations and external perceptions, fail to provide a means of assessing relative prestige. This paper proposes that an accounting department's ability to place its doctoral recipients should serve as the pivotal prestige measurement. As such, prestige becomes an ex anteattribute of the stratification system rather than an ex postproductivity metric. An empirical analysis of accounting faculty placements from graduate schools in the US was conducted as a means of ranking US departments of accounting that offer the doctoral degree. The resultant rankings, also evaluated over time and against programme size, provide a unique opportunity to observe a hierarchy of social judgment.     

INVESTOR OVEROPTIMISM AND PRIVATE EQUITY PLACEMENTS

We reexamine investor tendency to overweight recent experiences when predicting future performance of firms by examining a sample of firms making private equity placements. Our findings are consistent with the projection argument that investors use the recent experiences of other firms to predict the success of placing firms. Specifically, we find that the placements preceded by a larger number of recently very successful firms are associated with the significantly more favorable market reaction to the placement announcement and significantly poorer post‐placement stock price performance.     

Job offers of multi-national accounting firms: the effects of emotional intelligence,extra-curricular activities,and academic performance

This study investigates the effects of academic performance, extracurricular activities (ECA) and emotional intelligence (EI) of potential accounting-major graduates on the outcomes of their respective interviewing activities and the number of final job offers given by the multinational Big 5 public accounting firms. The following outcomes are identified: (a) the number of initial job interviews is affected by both a graduate's academic performance and level of participation in ECA; (b) the number of subsequent job interviews is affected by both the number of initial job interviews as well as the level of a graduate's EI; (c) the number of final job offers is affected by the graduate's level of EI and both the number of initial and subsequent job interviews. The results indicate the relevance of EI in the job search process and will also be useful for accounting educators to plan their curricula more effectively to enhance the job placement of their graduates with the Big 5 firms.     

Corporate governance and private placement issuance in Australia

In this study, we examine the effectiveness of corporate governance in mitigating dilution in the economic and voting interests of existing nonparticipating (retail) shareholders in private placements. Based on a sample of 2420 private placements in Australia from 2001 to 2012, we find support for this proposition through the influence of corporate governance on pricing negotiation and firms’ choice of issuing method in private placements. Specifically, firms with better corporate governance offer private placements with a smaller discount, and are more likely to include a share purchase plan, which protects nonparticipating shareholders from ownership dilution in the placement.     

定向增发与上市公司长期业绩下滑

本文以2006-2009年我国A股市场上市公司定向增发事件为研究样本,从经营业绩的角度考察了上市公司定向增发后的长期业绩状况。本文的研究发现我国上市公司定向增发前的长期业绩呈上升趋势,在定向增发实施当年达到峰值,随后在增发后出现下滑趋势,特别是定向增发后一年内的下降幅度在统计上显著为负。本文从盈余管理假说、自由现金流假说和发行对象类别等角度检验了上市公司定向增发后长期经营业绩下滑的影响因素,发现上市公司定向增发前的盈余管理行为和自由现金流水平、定向增发后的过度投资以及大股东及其关联方的认购是造成定向增发后长期经营业绩下滑的重要原因。     

Empirical evidence on factors significant for employment in government accounting

The primary objective of this study is to investigate the perceptions of government agencies regarding the importance of selected job characteristics in entry-level accountants. We collected our data with a survey instrument which contained detailed questions on appearance, education, extracurricular activities, performance, and personality. Our sample consisted of federal agencies with a known proclivity to hire accounting graduates. In addition, for comparative purposes we also sampled the 11 largest U.S. public accounting firms. We mailed the instrument to both the treatment and the control group of firms. Our results indicated that a number of achievement, personality, and social factors were particularly important to each employer group. Interoccupational comparisons revealed minimal overlap in the factors of particular significance to both federal agency and public accounting firm recruiters. These findings suggest that different knowledge, skills, and personality traits might be crucial to students seeking employment with federal agencies as opposed to large public accounting firms.