Constructing an ‘efficient frontier’ of accounting journal quality

This paper reports the construction of an ‘efficient frontier’ of the perceived quality attributes of academic accounting journals. The analysis is based on perception data from two web-based surveys of Australasian and British academics.The research reported here contributes to the existing literature by augmenting the commonly supported single dimension of quality with an additional measure indicating the variation of perceptions of journal quality. The result of combining these factors is depicted diagrammatically in a manner that reflects the risk and return trade-off as conceptualised in the capital market model of an efficient frontier of investment opportunities. This conceptualisation of a ‘market’ for accounting research provides a context in which to highlight the complex issues facing academics in their roles as editors, researchers and authors.The analysis indicates that the perceptions of the so-called ‘elite’ US accounting journals have become unsettled particularly in Australasia, showing high levels of variability in perceived quality, while other traditionally highly ranked journals (ABR, AOS, CAR) have a more ‘efficient’ combination of high-quality ranking and lower dispersion of perceptions. The implications of these results for accounting academics in the context of what is often seen as a market for accounting research are discussed.     

Ethical evaluations and behavioural intentions of early career accountants: the impact of mentors,peers and individual attributes

This study examined how mentoring support, peer influence and individual attributes of early career accountants (ECA) influence their ethical evaluations and behavioural intentions. Respondents indicate that their evaluation of the seriousness of the ethical conflict is affected by the perceived standard of ethical conduct of their peers, their personal ethical orientation, the extent of ethics education at university, and gender. ECAs’ evaluation of a senior colleague's unethical behaviour is affected by mentoring support and the perceived standard of ethical conduct of peers. In terms of ECAs’ willingness to contact accounting professional bodies for ethical advice, the size of the accounting firm and the extent of their ethics education at university are significant factors. Furthermore, the likelihood of respondents choosing a more ethical decision is correlated with his or her individual ethical orientation and the extent of ethics education at university.     

Ethical climate in Chinese CPA firms

Much concern has been expressed in recent years regarding the state of business ethics in the People’s Republic of China, and it has been suggested that unethical behavior is common both in the business community and in accounting firms. Despite such concerns, very little empirical research has been done on ethics in the Chinese public accounting profession, and no previous study has examined the ethical culture or climate in Chinese CPA firms. The current paper reports the results of a preliminary study of the ethical climate in local and international CPA firms operating in China, and the influence of ethical climate and personal ethical orientations on decision-making. Contrary to expectations, the perceived ethical climate in local firms was not more negative; however, auditors employed by local firms judged questionable actions as more ethical and indicated a higher likelihood of committing similar actions. Consistent with our hypotheses, perceptions of the ethical climate in one’s organization had a significant effect on intentions to commit ethically questionable acts. In addition, high relativists (who tend to reject broad moral principles in favor of situational analysis) were significantly influenced by the perceived organizational ethical climate, but low relativists were not similarly influenced.     

The information search process of socially responsible investors

Largely fuelled by an increasing social and ethical concern among private investors, socially responsible investment (SRI) has, in many ways, gone from having a marginal role to becoming a ‘mainstream’ financial service in recent years. SRI is an investment process that, in addition to the ‘traditional’ financial objective of investment, also uses social, ethical or environmental (SEE) criteria when making investment decisions. However, despite the growth of the market for SRI profiled mutual funds, very little research has been carried out with the objective of understanding the decision-making process of private SR-investors. In order to address this gap in the literature, this article addresses one stage in the SR-investor decision-making process: consumer pre-purchase information search. Using a sample of 369 SR-investors, the results of the study indicate that SR-investors search more for SEE information, such as the criteria used for exclusion of stocks than for ‘regular’ financial information such as past financial return and level of risk. Moreover, the study also indicates that involvement and perceived knowledge with regard to both financial and SEE issues impact the nature of the information search process of private SR mutual fund investors.     

USING A PROPORTIONAL ODDS MODEL TO ANALYSE THE FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE ACCOUNTING STANDARD SETTING LOBBYING IN AUSTRALIA

The primary aim of this study was to test the hypothesis that, when making written submissions to the accounting standard setting bodies, lobbyists place the same level of importance, on: 1) the ASRB Release 100 accounting standard evaluative criteria, 2) differential reporting, 3) the ‘relevance’ of the proposed financial reporting disclosures, and 4) the ‘reliability’ of those disclosures to general purpose financial statement users. The secondary aim was to determine if these qualitative factors are afforded different levels of importance by different lobbying groups, viz., public practitioners, corporate accountants, government accountants, and academics/individuals. The responses to a survey of formal lobbyists were examined using a proportional odds model which utilises the ordinal nature of the responses and employs an analysis of deviance between responses. The results showed that the sampled lobbyists, as a whole, considered the four qualitative factors of ‘evaluative criteria’, ‘differential reporting’, ‘relevance’, and ‘reliability’ of financial information, to be of equal importance to their lobbying position. In addition, the ranking in importance was not consistent across the different lobbying groups. That is, company and government accountants rated the ‘reliability’ of the proposed reporting disclosures as the most important factor influencing the nature of their lobbying submissions, while the public practitioner and academic groups perceived the ‘relevance’ of the proposed disclosures as the most important. Testing the effects of the financial reporting issues underlying each of these four factors on the relative importance of those factors, revealed 1) a concern by all lobbyists that the thrust of an Exposure Draft matches the lobbyists' views on the ‘relevance’ of the disclosures proposed, and 2) a desire by all lobbyists that the proposed financial reports faithfully represent the underlying transactions of the entity.     

University Accounting Curricula: The Perceptions of an Alumni Group

Abstract

Many of the problems associated with accounting education could be due to at least two reasons: inadequate attention given to the design of accounting programmes, and the narrow view of stakeholder approach adopted in examining education issues. The existing literature mainly focuses on students' perception about issues such as teaching quality, alumni experience in major accounting firms, and so on. This paper deals with the design of accounting programmes, and proposes to ascertain the views of an important stakeholder group (i.e. alumni) on this issue. The findings of this study give credence to some of the generally held views, e.g. that it is no longer appropriate for tertiary education providers to adopt a one-size-fits-all approach. However, in some other areas, the findings represent a stark contrast to the views on certain issues promulgated by the professional bodies in New Zealand and overseas including the USA, (for example, the issue of appropriate proportions of accounting, business and liberal studies in an accounting programme). Notably, the respondents in general placed a low importance on auditing as part of an education programme. Further, in terms of the emphases that should be placed in an accounting programme, contrary to the endorsement in the literature, ‘work experience’ was not considered as important as other areas of emphasis, (e.g. global perspective, local perspective, professionalism and social and environmental perspective).     

The impact of perceived ethical intensity on audit-quality-threatening behaviours

Although there has been significant interest among researchers in audit-quality-threatening behaviours (QTBs), the decision process through which staff auditors engage in those behaviours has received relatively little attention. It seems likely that the ethical intensity of the behaviours perceived by auditors may play an important role in that process; to date, this has not been tested. This study examines the mediating role of perceived ethical intensity in the relationship between perceived ethical culture of the firm and the auditors' ethical evaluation of, and intention to engage in, three different forms of QTBs. A multi-item measure of ethical intensity is developed and the findings provide the first empirical evidence of a direct relationship between perceived ethical intensity and ethical decision-making regarding QTBs. Moreover, the findings show that perceived ethical intensity fully mediates the relationship between perceived ethical culture and ethical decision-making. Implications of the findings for accounting firms and for researchers are discussed and areas for future research on the mediating role of perceived ethical intensity are suggested in the paper.     

Public services and charities: Accounting,accountability and governance at a time of change

This special issue is based on a selection of papers initially presented at the conference on ‘Public Services and Charities: Accounting, Accountability and Governance at a Time of Change’ (Centre for Not-for-profit and Public-sector Research, Queen's University Belfast, January 2017). ‘Public services and charities’ is a distinctive grouping that includes organisations that are not-for-profit and often have wide social and cultural goals that drive mission and actions. These organisations operate in a very fluid environment. Expectations of the public at large and of government are changing; economic pressures bear down on them particularly acutely; performance metrics and a push for marketisation reflect a spirit of the age; ‘business practices’ are frequently afforded a reputation of being ‘good’ and applicable in all settings; while news reporting and social media often amplify any perceived shortcomings. The papers included in this special issue present an opportunity to reflect on some of the key changes taking place with respect to accounting, accountability and governance in this setting. Such opportunities to reflect can support evaluation of the stated objectives of implemented and proposed changes, and also help to inform policy making within government and elsewhere. Key arguments made in these papers, and the overarching themes of this special issue, are explored in this editorial.     

An Historical Analysis of Ethical Pronouncements and Debate in the Australian Accounting Profession

This paper traces the forerunners of the present-day ethical rulings of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia and the Australian Society of Accountants from the earlies professional Australian accounting bodies of the 1880s and 1890s. Various codes of ethics, articles, and memoranda of association, by-laws, charters, and professional publications are reviewed. Key Australian ethical issues are identified and their orientation over time considered. There is an early orientation towards overseas viewpoints and the issue of advertising is identified as a key impetus for ethical code development. The profession's self-interest is identified as an underlying rationale. This is presented as an historical case study of the development of accounting ethics with a view to identifying factors influencing change over time.     

Ethical impact of artificial intelligence in managerial accounting

Recent advances in technology have accelerated digitalization and intelligence in modern business. Particularly, the increasing use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in managerial accounting is expected to accurately measure corporate performance, provide intelligent analyses, and predict the future of a company. However, along with the benefits, ethical concerns of using AI also arise, such as deprofessionalization, data breach, and isolation among accountants. This paper explores the ethical impact of AI in managerial accounting at both pre- and post-adoption stages. Based on 47 interviews conducted with companies, an AI system vendor, and regulators, we found that data security, privacy, and misuse; accountability; accessibility; benefits and challenges; and transparency and trust of AI are among the most common ethical risks in the development and use of AI in managerial accounting. Unique ethical impacts on four types of stakeholders: developers, managers in charge of AI adoption, managerial accountants, and regulators, were also discovered.     

Striking a balance between ‘Sir’ and ‘Dude’

This postcard reflects on an issue common to many academics, whether they teach accounting, politics or—as in my case—commercial law to business and economics students. Creating an open and effective relationship with students is a balancing act undertaken by educators across the board—and no less by my accounting colleagues down the hall. In teaching commercial law to accounting students, I was recently reminded of the importance and occasional difficulty in maintaining a healthy ‘two-way’ relationship. I trust the following may connect with accounting educators and others who are also trying to achieve the right balance.     

Deprival value and fair value: a reinterpretation and a reconciliation

Measurement is an important current issue for financial accounting standard-setters. Current values are increasingly replacing historical cost measures, but an important unresolved issue is the precise form that current value should take. In this paper two alternative measurement bases that have appeared in accounting standards. Deprivai Value (sometimes called Value to the Business) and Fair Value, are explained and compared. They are then reconciled by making the following three adjustments to their conventional definitions.

(1) In the case of Deprival Value, situations in which net realisable value exceeds replacement cost imply that there is a profitable redevelopment or redeployment opportunity, so that net realisable value is regarded as the appropriate measure of Deprivai Value.

(2) In the case of Fair Value, transactions costs (including installation and removal costs) are added to acquisition values and deducted from disposal values.

(3) In the case of Fair Value, it is assumed that net realisable value represents the ‘highest and best use’, except when it is exceeded by both replacement cost and value in use. In the latter case, ‘highest and best use’ (and therefore Fair Value) is inferred by assuming profit-maximising behaviour by the owner.

It is suggested that the resulting synthesis represents a method of current valuation which is consistent with the objective of measuring the asset in terms of the economic opportunities that are available to its current owner in the condition and location in which it is currently to be found.     

会计伦理决策影响因素研究——基于计划行为理论的检验

诚信建设是社会主义文化大发展大繁荣的重要组成部分,会计诚信是社会诚信的重要基础,会计诚信的建设立足于会计人员高标准的伦理道德水平。本文以计划行为理论为基础,采取情景实验研究法,通过问卷调查的方式探讨了我国会计人员的伦理决策现状以及影响其伦理决策的因素。结果发现,在被调查样本中,只有60%左右的会计人员能做出符合伦理标准的决策,其中,态度和主观规范对他们的伦理意向有显著影响,认知行为控制对伦理意向的影响程度视情景性质而定。本文的研究表明,我国应加强对会计人员的伦理意识和规范意识的教育,同时应注重组织伦理氛围的营造。     

Accounting decoupled: A case study of accounting regime change in a Malaysian company

Using a case study of accounting regime change in a Malaysian company, this paper analyses how an accounting regime was changed to overcome an instance of decoupling that management of the case company perceived to be problematic and, despite certain technological and managerial improvements, why the accounting regime yet remained decoupled from the control of core operations. Through an eclectic use of ANT, neo-institutionalism and political economy, it demonstrates that accounting remains decoupled from operational processes because of the particular manner in which accounting is constructed and enabled; the ostensive characteristics of accounting objects around which performativity of accounting is defined; and the organisational context, which involves certain ‘political imperfections’ that cannot be narrated within organisational apparatus of modernity. Accounting, being an apparatus of modernity, finds it difficult to codify such ‘imperfections’ and to offer an operational doctrine to govern the real business processes that are embedded within these ‘imperfections’. Hence, it remains decoupled from core operational activities but performs an important role of insulating ‘political imperfections’ with which business operates.     

Consequences of perceived acceptability of a bank's service failures

This paper presents a study of service failures of a bank and their impact on customer satisfaction and recommendation intention. In contrast to most other studies on this topic, this study uses a large, real-customer sample where the respondents describe a real failure incident, regardless of whether they complained about it. The paper aims to make three contributions: first, based on a literature review, it introduces the construct of ‘acceptability’ of service failures and relates it to the concept of a ‘tolerance zone’ for dissatisfaction. Secondly, it tests its impact on satisfaction and recommendation intention, which is both statistically significant and managerially relevant. Thirdly, the ‘service failure pyramid’ as a managerial tool is proposed and linked to the idea of perceiving every service encounter as a ‘moment of truth’. As a consequence, the use of a ‘perceived acceptability’ measure in customer surveys is suggested.     

Critical accounting as an epistemic community: Hegemony,resistance and identity

In this paper I discuss the School of Accounting and Finance's epistemic community, which has been a result of the vision of Professor Michael Gaffikin. The distinguishing feature of this epistemic community is the critique of accounting which rejects positivist ideologies and its claims to objective knowledge. As a member of this epistemic community, I present a critical reflexive ethnography and question the role of identity of the self and of the epistemic community. I consider the importance of resistance, particularly in the light of national research evaluation ‘initiatives’. I conclude that hegemony, or the potential of hegemony, is a necessary condition for the epistemic community to sustain its identity.     

An integrated academic literacy approach to improving students’ understanding of plagiarism in an accounting course

Plagiarism in higher education is a widespread and complex issue. Students' understanding of plagiarism differs as a result of combining their prior learning about referencing with their current experience of institutional policies and generic resources. Plagiarism was identified as a major learning issue in a core second-year undergraduate accounting course at an Australian university. The purpose of this field study was to implement and evaluate an educative, integrated, discipline-specific intervention designed to address this learning issue. In the study, the theoretical and practical components of understanding plagiarism are identified as conceptualisation and application. Evaluation of students’ questionnaire responses pre and post the implementation of the intervention showed an improvement in their understanding of plagiarism, both conceptually and in the application of their knowledge. Furthermore, students’ reflections evidenced that they perceived positive changes in their understanding of plagiarism post intervention.     

Accounting for Intangible Assets: Thinking It Through

With the modern corporation investing more in intangible assets, the issue of appropriate accounting for these assets is very much at the fore and formally on the agendas of accounting standards boards. Some commentators advocate that internally generated intangible assets should be booked to the balance sheet, just like tangible assets. This paper explains that this apparently straightforward solution is not so simple. There are subtleties that, when recognised, indicate that such accounting would often make both balance sheets and income statements less informative. In response, the paper outlines an accounting for intangible assets that preserves, indeed enhances, the information conveyed by both the balance sheet and the income statement and satisfies the financial reporting objective of providing information to investors about ‘the amount, timing, and uncertainty of future cash flows’.