Our Retirement in Their Hands: A User Perspective

This paper reports on a survey of Australian retirees' attitudes to financial planning advice before, at or after retirement. The results demonstrate that, despite government initiatives aimed at enhancing consumer confidence in the financial services market, most retirees feel dissatisfied with, and lack confidence in, the services provided by their financial advisers. This suggests an increased role for financial planners in providing not only the additional information required under government policy, but also information that is understandable and useful to retirees.     

Interactive multimedia teaching of Accounting Information System (AIS) cycles: Student perceptions and views

This paper describes the design and development of a CD ROM intended to assist students’ learning by bringing a sense of reality to the concepts studied in relation to accounting information systems cycles. The educational design is underpinned by constructivist theories of learning which espouse the benefits of experiential learning in facilitating effective student learning. Three Australian companies – Warner Brothers Movie World, Golden Circle and Zupps Parts – are featured on the CD ROM to provide virtual “experiential learning experiences” for students. An extensive evaluation of the CD ROM was conducted, involving both qualitative and quantitative methodologies, to ascertain students’ perceived value of the CD ROM in assisting their learning. Results indicate that the CD ROM offered students a real life understanding of applicable concepts and that students were receptive to learning in online environments which are appropriately designed and constructed.     

The customer orientation of financial advisers

Customer orientation, the disposition to meet customers' needs, is central to creating satisfactory relationships with clients. Yet to date, no research has examined the customer orientation of financial planners despite a number of recent scandals in the mutual fund industry that directly affected investors. This research provides survey results from 530 financial advisers regarding their customer orientation levels. The results indicate that financial advisers exhibit very high customer orientation levels, although customer orientation varied across gender, income, and company type. The results also indicate that the importance that advisers place on critical mutual fund characteristics varies according to advisers' level of customer orientation. Finally, the results indicate that advisers with higher customer orientation are more satisfied with their performance in a number of key areas.     

An Empirical Analysis of the Effect of Financial Education on Graduating Business Students’ Perceptions of Their Retirement Planning Familiarity,Motivation, and Preparedness

Today's multifaceted and dynamic financial environment requires a high level of individual financial literacy to ensure that sound financial behaviors are the norm. Unfortunately, many individuals have limited knowledge regarding financial issues and are ill prepared to make sound financial choices. The purpose of this article was to benchmark and then determine if graduating business students’ perception of their retirement planning familiarity, motivation, and preparedness improved after taking a semester‐long course in Personal Risk Management and Insurance (PRMI). We discovered that business students were more financially literate than nonbusiness students and that business students’ familiarity with retirement plans and personal level of readiness to make retirement planning decisions improved significantly after taking the principles class. Specifically, we showed that only 15.8 percent and 42.3 percent of the nonbusiness and business control students, respectively, felt adequately prepared to make retirement decisions, while 82 percent of the business students who completed the PRMI class felt prepared. Ex post, graduating seniors who were exposed to coursework covering life‐cycle risks and options to treat those risks perceived that they are leaving college with a better ability to meet the financial challenges that await them. Last, we showed that significant differences existed in retirement plan and investment familiarity based on gender. Our findings provide support for including financial literacy as a general education requirement at colleges and universities.     

TEACHING RESOURCE Using MONOPOLY TM and Teams-GamesTournaments in accounting education: a cooperative learning teaching resource

A three-week financial accounting simulation was conducted using university accounting majors (n=36) in one section of a junior-level financial reporting issues course. The curriculum involved using the board game Monopoly as a teaching resource in cooperative learning teams. Findings indicate students' attitudes toward financial accounting and learning, mutual concern for fellow students and perceived achievement were very positive upon completion of this cooperative learning exercise. Additionally, gender and student ability were found to impact the level of some measures of student attitudes and perceived achievement.     

Learning by doing: offering a university practicum in personal financial planning

Given the importance of interpersonal relationships in the financial planning process, it is surprising that relatively few registered financial planning programs explicitly provide students the opportunity to meet with real clients on a one-to-one basis. This paper describes the structure of a financial planning practicum developed for the purpose of providing such experience to future financial planners. It is hoped that this information will encourage others to consider offering experiential learning opportunities to those seeking positions in the financial services industry.     

Is international accounting education delivering pedagogical value?

This paper examines whether universities are delivering pedagogical value to international accounting students commensurate with the costs of studying abroad. The paper uses survey and interview methods to explore the extent to which Chinese Learners (CLs) in an Australian postgraduate accounting subject have distinct learning needs. The paper then reviews universities’ responses to these needs, especially in light of funding and resource pressures. The paper reinforces findings that CLs have different learning approaches to local students, but not inferior or ‘shallow’ approaches. However, since CLs face distinctive financial and social pressures to achieve high results, their learning practices may be more sensitive to changes in teaching and assessment, such that cost constraints on educational resources might disproportionately affect their learning. This suggests that a paradoxical result of the funding pressures on many universities may be to encourage large international student cohorts while constraining available resources to meet their learning needs.     

An early warning indicator system to monitor the unsecured interbank funds market

A core goal of regulators and financial authorities is to understand how market prices convey information on the financial health of its participants. From this viewpoint we build an Early-Warning Indicators System (EWIS) that allows for identifying those financial institutions perceived as risky counterparts by the participants of the interbank market. We use micro-level data from bilateral overnight unsecured loans performed in the interbank market between January 2011 and December 2014. The EWIS identifies those participants that systematically pay high prices for liquidity in this market. We employ coverage tests to estimate EWIS’ robustness and consistency. We find that financial institutions with an elevated frequency of signals tend to exhibit a net borrower liquidity position in the interbank market, hence suggesting they are facing recurrent liquidity needs. Those institutions also exhibit higher probability of insolvency measured by the Z-score indicator. Thus, our results support the existence of market discipline based on peer-monitoring. Overall, the EWIS may assist financial authorities in focusing their attention and resources on those financial institutions perceived by the market as those closer to distress.     

The tax benefit of income smoothing

A worker can reduce tax liability by contributing to a private pension plan when marginal tax rates are high and withdraw pension benefits when marginal tax rates are low. We quantify the tax benefit of income smoothing through the private retirement system and find that it is negligible. This conclusion is important to households, investment advisers, tax policymakers, and scholars engaged in financial retirement planning.     

Stock market timing effects on individual retirement plans: All holding period returns are not ‘average’

This paper suggests a win-win approach to dealing with stock market uncertainty in the advisory role of financial planning. It gives historical examples of holding periods where the stock market returns were above and below ‘average’ as suggested by Ibbotson Associates, Inc. stock return data. Examples are used to illustrate how conservative return estimates can provide safety for individual retirement plans and more assets under management for financial advisers. Suggesting conservative planned rates of return also protects the adviser against the many ‘accountability’ lawsuits that emerge during market declines.     

Paths of learning, grieving and transforming

This paper looks at the internal paths people walk as they are engaged in learning about future generations. The deep personal relevance and immediacy of the topic engage students as whole persons in learning processes that transform their perspective on the world and on themselves. Facilitating students as they go through this transformative learning cycle is the task of the teacher. Furthermore, although not widely recognized as such, grief is a part of any learning process as people let go of one thought, perspective or behavior, and try on a different one. When the topic is emotionally loaded with such profound implications as that of the future of our planet, grief becomes even more intense for the learner. Thus educators benefit from an understanding of both learning and grieving processes as they teach courses about future generations. By acknowledging the mourning associated with transforming the learners' world view, educators may assist students to move beyond immobilizing blocks and despair to creative action. This paper explores the normal experiential learning cycle and natural grief processes as they are played out within students while learning about global futures.     

Do students’ judgment models of instructor effectiveness differ by course level,course content,or individual instructor?

Student evaluations of teaching (SET) are commonly used to evaluate classroom instruction, but their validity in assessing teaching effectiveness is not firmly established. This study investigates a question not previously studied in the literature: the consistency with which students utilize information in evaluating different instructors and courses. Specifically, the study examines students’ relative weightings of six factors in their judgment models for instructor effectiveness. Significant differences (p≤0.0001) are found between the models used to evaluate instructors in upper-level and lower-level accounting courses, instructors in cost/managerial and financial accounting courses, and even different instructors teaching the same course. The data are from the SET instrument used at a major state university, and cover a 6-year period. The findings imply that, in comparing and rewarding instructors based on summative evaluations, one needs to be aware of contingencies that affect students’ judgment models. Some of the differences in models are normatively appropriate, but personality or other extraneous environmental variables may inappropriately influence students’ judgment models of instructor effectiveness.     

Sharing corporate tax knowledge with external advisers

Tax knowledge is critical for companies to comply with tax laws and engage in tax planning and avoidance. Firms rely on external advisers in handling tax issues, however, sharing corporate tax knowledge with external advisers entails both opportunities and risks. We identify four relational factors that are associated with the decision of corporate taxpayers to share knowledge with external tax advisers. Survey data from 221 corporate taxpayers reveals a novel distinction between operational and strategic knowledge sharing. The operational dimension has a functional nature, whereas the strategic dimension has a more intentional character. Accessibility to, and a positive experience with, external advisers enables operational knowledge sharing. When firms perceive specific tax benefits in relation to sharing knowledge, they are more inclined to engage in operational knowledge sharing with external advisers but less prone to strategic knowledge sharing. Instead, strategic knowledge sharing is enhanced when firms have access to, and value the knowledge of their advisers, although this latter factor plays no significant role in explaining operational knowledge sharing. A positive experience with advisers also associates with strategic knowledge sharing. We link our results to other research and discuss implications for regulators considering, or requiring, firm disclosures of corporate tax strategy.     

Banks: Advisers or sellers of mortgage loans?

The financial sector has undergone major changes in recent years. From being sharply divided between various sub-sectors, financial activities within banking, insurance and mortgage credit have become increasingly integrated. Two different trends have emerged in this process: One of them is the conglomerate strategy in which the various sub-sectors are linked through joint ownership offering the customers all financial products in-house. The other trend is the focus strategy in which the financial institution sticks to its core business but offers its customers complementary products sourced from other financial institutions. This paper presents an analysis of the conglomerate strategy versus the focus strategy. A questionnaire sent to Denmark's largest companies reveals that the choice of bank and mortgage credit institution is not based on independent decisions. The paper raises the question of whether the financial service businesses are able successfully to balance their functions as sellers and advisers to the customer.     

The use of on-line summative assessment in an undergraduate financial accounting course

According to the Quality Assurance Agency [QAA (2006). Section 6: Assessment of students, Code of practice for the assurance of academic quality and standards in higher education. <http://www.qaa.ac.uk/>. Accessed 14.03.2007] “Assessment describes any processes that appraise an individual’s knowledge, understanding, abilities or skills” and is inextricably linked to a course or programme’s intended learning outcomes. Assessment also has a fundamental effect on students’ learning where it serves a variety of purposes including evaluation, feedback and motivation. Assessment also provides a performance indicator for both students and staff. Computer-aided assessment (CAA) offers an option for “sustainable assessment” and provides opportunities for creating innovative assessment practices that help engage students and increase their motivation for learning. This paper reports the findings of a qualitative study where a series of on-line summative assessments were introduced into a first-year financial accounting course. Feedback from students obtained from an evaluative survey and focus group interviews indicates that assessment played a significant role in the teaching/learning process. That is, students perceived a beneficial impact on learning, motivation, and engagement.     

大学生学习生涯规划研究

学习生涯规划是职业生涯规划在大学阶段学业方面的体现,大学生有效进行学习生涯规划和高校保障大学生有效进行学习生涯规划,有利于增强大学生学习的主动性和目标性,引导大学生顺利完成学业、更好就业。本文针对大学生学习生涯规划中存在的一系列问题,从学生自身和学校的角度提出改善大学生学习生涯规划的建议,强调通过建立全程化的学习生涯规划指导体系,提升大学生的学习生涯规划能力。     

Introducing a Learning Portfolio in an Undergraduate Financial Accounting Course

This paper evaluates changes made to the internal assessment component of a third year financial accounting course at a university in New Zealand. A learning portfolio was designed to supplement existing coursework. The aim was to engender in students a deep rather than a surface approach to learning. As a record of the students' learning, the learning portfolio was an attempt to produce an innovative development in the assessment of what was a traditionally taught financial accounting course. Within their learning portfolios, students were required to complete a number of tasks, each aimed at improving critical thinking skills and creativity. Students were also required to maintain a personal or reflective section aimed at personalising and deepening the quality of their learning.     

The Nature and Rationale of a Conceptual Framework for Financial Reporting by Islamic Banks

Islamic banks have to abide by the revealed doctrines in Islam in conducting their business and financial transactions. They employ in-house religious advisers—often referred to as Shari'a Supervisory Board (SSB)—who issue a special report to inform users of financial statements whether or not the bank has adhered to the Islamic principles. Recently, a private standard-setting body—the Financial Accounting Organization for Islamic Banks and Financial Institutions (FAOIBFI)—has been set up to externally regulate the financial reporting by Islamic banks. The FAOIBFI has published two statements on the objectives and concepts of financial reporting to act as a framework in setting accounting standards for Islamic banks. This paper examines the FAOIBFI's approach for developing objectives and concepts of financial accounting and investigates its need for such a theoretical framework. It is argued that the FAOIBFI's objectives and concepts would not be useful in mandating accounting standards on issues that are affected by religious ruling. This does not necessarily mean that such a framework may not be useful in legitimating the FAOIBFI's role and in setting accounting standards for issues that are not governed by revealed moral doctrines although it will be subject to similar limitations to those found by other standard-setting bodies in utilising and applying their framework. However, it implies that the more the FAOIBFI sets accounting standards that incorporate religious ruling, the less it would tend to find its own objectives and concepts useful. The ambiguities that may arise from different interpretations of the religious rules will require resolutions primarily by reference to religious rather than accounting authority.     

Implications for brokerage firms’ financial disclosures: From CSR perspectives

Given the importance of transparency in today's financial environment, it is surprising that limited research has examined investors’ attitudes toward brokerage firms’ financial disclosures and how their attitudes toward brokerage firms’ financial disclosures influence subsequent responses such as perceived trust and attitude toward brokerage firms. Research on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) practices and the Social Contract Theory suggests that investors may put a relatively high value on brokerage firms that practice financial disclosures responsibly. This research probed the relevance of this assumption by testing the relations among investors’ attitudes toward brokerage firms’ financial disclosures, attitudes toward CSR practices, perceived trust toward brokerage firms, attitudes toward brokerage firms and behavioral intentions toward brokerage firms with a survey study. The study used brokerage firms’ financial disclosures in general as the focus of this study's survey questions and a convenience sample consisting of investors. The results suggested that investors’ positive attitudes toward brokerage firms’ financial disclosures positively enhanced their attitudes toward brokerage firms’ CSR practices and perceived trust toward brokerage firms, whereas investors’ attitudes toward brokerage firms’ CSR practices mediated their attitudes toward financial disclosures to enhancing their perceived trust toward brokerage firms. Moreover, investors’ attitudes toward brokerage firms mediated their perceived trust toward brokerage firms on enhancing their behavioral intentions toward brokerage firms.     

“慕课”视角下的金融理财“翻转课堂”实践探索

“慕课”以其前所未有的教学及知识传播的新范式引起教育界的关注,“翻转课堂”也是对传统教育的挑战。文章借鉴“慕课”与“翻转课堂”的先进理念,在金融理财课程改革方面进行有益尝试,提出在金融理财教学中,要树立“以学习者为中心＋”的学生“自主学习”理财教育模式;采用精熟教学法创新理财课程;构建理财课程的学科知识图谱;理财教学微视频的制作;增设理财教学反馈与在线互动。