Convergence in accounting standards: Insights from academicians and practitioners

The efficiency and competitiveness of global capital markets depends on the ability of financial statement preparers to communicate effectively with investors through financial reports. Despite the global movement to adopt IFRS, US adoption of IFRS is still uncertain. To assess potential for convergence, this study compares perspectives of academicians and practitioners regarding convergence to a set of global accounting standards. The majority of respondents believe that effective convergence to a set of globally accepted accounting standards would be beneficial to preparers, users, auditors, analysts, and standard setters. Convergence in accounting standards can require extensive and possibly costly changes to the standard-setting infrastructure and enforcement process in the US and other countries, and will also require proper training for management, auditors, and investors.     

Insights from history: The next great empire

An analysis of the evolution of the phenomenon of Empire is presented, together with some general observations on the nature of empires. It is concluded that empires are becoming more frequent and larger in size. Extrapolation of the results leads to some intriguing speculations about the future.     

Irish accounting, business and financial history: a bibliographical essay

Historians have engaged with accounting and business archives primarily in the areas of social and economic history. While much economic and social history draws on macro-economic data, micro-level sources have cast new light on old historical problems such as the Great Famine (1845-51) and the development of trade in Ireland and between Ireland and abroad. This paper traces the contributions of historians of Ireland to our understanding of accounting, business and financial history and maps out potential areas of research for accounting and business historians in the light of earlier and current trends in historical research. Adopting a historians' perspective, the paper will also provide a historical background and suggest potential bibliographical and archival sources to present and future accounting and business historians with a view to enhancing and enriching our understanding of the context in which accounting and business is situated in Ireland.     

Oral history, accounting history and an interview with Sir John Grenside

This article arises out of a programme of oral history funded by the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW). It discusses the issues involved in setting up and carrying through the programme and the advantages and disadvantages of the technique particularly with regard to accounting history. It uses as an example an interview with one of the leaders of the accountancy profession in the period since the Second World War - Sir John Grenside. Grenside discusses his training and the changes he saw and helped bring about as senior partner in his firm, Peat Marwick Mitchell. Grenside was also one of the leading lights in the ICAEW in the 1970s and early 1980s and was the architect of the Joint Disciplinary Scheme on which he gives his views as well as on the recent troubles of the profession.     

Cullen, Lochhead and Brown, architects: the business, financial and accounting history of a non-profit maximising firm, 1902-2002

The study which follows charts the business and financial progress of a Scottish regional architectural practice, Cullen, Lochhead and Brown, from 1902-60 in detail, and from 1960 to the present in outline. It examines the firm's origins, the architectural context in which it has operated and the strategies by which it has survived and prospered over its life to date. Analyses of the firm's fee income and sources of work are given, together with details of its financial progress and accounting arrangements. The study concludes with some observations of relevance to the business strategy and small business literatures. Drawing brief comparisons with a Canadian study by Mintzberg et al. (1986), it also provides empirical evidence to suggest that at least some architectural practitioners are motivated by non-financial as well as financial rewards, and points to financial practices which may be characteristic of such firms.     

Insights into accounting choice from the adoption timing of International Financial Reporting Standards

This paper collects survey evidence on the costs and benefits of adopting International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). It also examines the motivations for the timing of IFRS adoption. Significant differences exist between early and late adopters for three of nine benefits and for one of six cost measures. No significant differences exist in terms of firm size or the impact of IFRS on contracts. Early adopters perceive themselves as market leaders. They are more certain about the manageability of implementing IFRS and are more specific with regard to the impact of IFRS adoption. Late adoption decisions are motivated by adverse consequences and uncertainty.     

The relevance of history in accounting education: Some observations

This paper was commissioned by the Journal of Accounting Education in order to provide our readers with an assessment of the relevance of history in accounting education. Based on over 40 years of accounting experience, the author contends that accounting curricula should be broadened to include the teaching of accounting history. It is suggested that valuable insights can be gained from the study of how accounting has developed and changed in response to environmental changes (economic, political, social). Without such a historical perspective, accounting graduates will not have the necessary background to critically evaluate current accounting practices or be in a position to contribute significantly to our constantly changing profession.     

Cost accounting standard and cost accounting systems in Japan. Lessons from the past - recovering lost traditions

This paper aims to show two things. The first is how Japanese culture has contributed to the development of Japanese cost accounting history. The second is to reveal the research possibilities of cost accounting history. This paper also reviews the salient features of several important examples of these aspects of cost accounting practice in Japan. It therefore explores, through some practical illustrations, how and why Japanese cost accounting differs from that found in the West.     

Linking international business theory to accounting history: implications of the international evolution of the state and the firm for accounting history research

Accounting is an interdisciplinary subject. We routinely draw insights and models from the base disciplines (e.g. economics, psychology etc.) as a starting point for research on accounting issues. As accounting researchers, and accounting historians in particular, explore the international dimensions of accounting it is appropriate, therefore, to look to the literature on international relations for insights. This paper provides examples of how we could use the literature on the nation-state and international enterprises to frame questions about international accounting history.     

When global accounting standards meet the local context—Insights from an emerging economy

We investigate the translation and application of global accounting standards in a local context, with Romania as our country case study. Our theoretical framework is derived from institutional theory. We develop this by complementing isomorphism (DiMaggio and Powell, 1983) with an emphasis on the behavior of actors and with the different strategic responses that organizations enact as a result of the institutional pressures toward conformity, following Oliver (1991). We contend that local actors play a more important role in triggering organizational responses than is implied by Oliver's (1991) framework in the application of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). This is because organizational responses to these global standards are conditioned by the interplay between actors, who are searching for legitimacy and the attainment of their own (mutually conflicting) interests.Contrary to earlier institutional propositions, we find that acquiescence strategies may occur even when there is a great degree of constituent multiplicity, and that avoidance may occur in entities with a smaller degree of multiplicity. We thus argue that countries are not homogeneous in terms of accounting practices. Finally we suggest that intra-organizational interests and actions are important for IFRS implementation, and future research should investigate this in depth.     

In pursuit of legitimacy: A history behind fair value accounting

An examination of the history of attempts by regulators, practitioners and scholars from the mid nineteenth century to 2005 to establish an appropriate accounting measurement basis for financial reporting here leads to an evaluation of the likelihood of fair value accounting (FVA) practices becoming fully institutionalised. Using concepts drawn from theories of legitimation, it is shown here that historic cost accounting (HCA) only enjoyed an episodic legitimacy in the 1940s–70s and that prior and after this period mixed measurement incorporating market values is routinised. Although principles of FVA have been legitimised to an extent, it is argued here that this has resulted in the practice of mixed measurement bases being taken for granted.     

The limits of postmodernism in accounting history: The Decatur experience

This paper presents a response to Miller and O'Leary's (1994) study of the factory modernization at Caterpillar's Decatur plant and the role of accounting and other expertises in constituting subjectivities. The research draws extensively from interviews with workers in Caterpillar's Decatur plant to develop a defense of historical materialism against postmodern interpretations of managerial accounting practices that abandon the concepts of class, ideology, and social structure.     

Excel in the accounting curriculum: perceptions from accounting professors

Public accounting firms emphasize the importance of accounting graduates being proficient in Excel. Since many accounting graduates often aspire to work in public accounting, a question arises as to whether there should be an emphasis on Excel in accounting education. The purpose of this paper is to specifically look at this issue by examining accounting faculty's perceptions of Excel in public accounting and accounting education. We survey 245 faculty members at over 100 accounting programs. We find that a majority of faculty incorporate Excel in their accounting classes consistent with their perception of Excel importance. However, we find that students are not fully proficient in Excel based on faculty's perceptions. This study contributes to the accounting education literature by identifying possible disconnections between Excel skills faculty include in the accounting curriculum and specific Excel skills faculty believe new hires (i.e. recent accounting graduates) most often use in public accounting.     

The influences of Confucianism, Feng Shui and Buddhism in Chinese accounting history

This paper attempts to examine the influences of Confucianism, Feng Shui and Buddhism on the evolution of Chinese accounting before recent accounting reforms commencing in the 1980s. Chinese cultural variables (e.g. Confucianism, Taoism, Buddhism, etc.) have been widely utilized in studying Chinese accounting systems, the accounting profession and the evolution of Chinese accounting techniques. However, the literature has not taken into account the traditional Chinese Feng Shui belief, which was broadly considered as the most important part of Chinese traditional culture. There is much evidence to show that Chinese accounting development was not only influenced by Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism, but also by the prevalence of Feng Shui belief in ancient China over thousands of years. This paper first discusses the concepts of culture and describes Confucianism, Feng Shui and Buddhism in China, and then examines the influences of Confucianism, Feng Shui and Buddhism on the evolution of Chinese accounting. The influences discussed are those on bookkeeping methods, accounting information, accounting profession/accountants, regulating and standardizing accounting practice, government accounting and private-sector accounting respectively. This paper also identifies some areas for future research in Chinese accounting history and culture.     

Dialogic framing of accounting information systems in social and environmental accounting domains: Lessons from,and for,microfinance

The successful design, application and evaluation of accounting information systems (AIS) in social and environmental accounting (SEA) domains increasingly requires that stakeholder interests be addressed. Because various stakeholders have competing interests, new thinking about how these can be accommodated is needed. Brown (2009) proposes a dialogic framework following from agonistic democracy, which takes the position that when consensus is not possible, progress can be facilitated through ongoing commitment to accounting processes that represent and accommodate competing perspectives. Previous work in AIS (Blackburn et al., 2014; Dillard and Yuthas, 2013) builds on Brown's work to develop a theoretical perspective useful in the AIS-SEA context that takes pluralism seriously. We extend this line of research by exploring developments in the microfinance industry and illustrate how the agonistic accounting principles can be useful in considering AIS-SEA design, implementation and evaluation as well as the initiation of innovation and change in the industry. Microfinance provides an example of an antagonistic context where the social mission/values come into unambiguous conflict with the economic objectives of microfinance institutions. Agonistics suggests that such conflict, if acknowledged and facilitated, has the potential for fostering innovative responses and reducing the likelihood of one perspective dominating the others. Relating accomplishments in this field to the principles of dialogic accounting demonstrates how this perspective can be incorporated into the design and use of systems that address social and environmental objectives as well as economic ones. We explore both accomplishments and shortcomings in achievement of pluralistic systems in the microfinance domain.     

'Presenting' the past: perspectives on time for accounting and management history

Concepts of time in accounting and management historiography have only previously been considered as partial subsets of other methodological issues. This paper investigates our concepts of historical time with a view to offering alternative foundations to the unidirectional linear concept of chronological time employed in historical research project design and execution. Its analytical approach is pluralist in that it draws upon the historiographic writings of historians and historical theorists of traditional and post-modern persuasions, both within and beyond the accounting and management history fields. It addresses teleological, historicist and narrativist temporal underpinnings and considers historical practice in relation to assumptions about and interpretations of continuity and discontinuity. Time is extended beyond its conventional accounting and management chronology to include consideration of co-present, cyclical, relativist, structuralist and spatial time. Intrinsic and reflexive relationships between past, present and future are explored. The paper argues for a postmodern pluralisation of our historiographic approaches to time and their informing revisitations of historical accounting and management subjects with a view to better understanding that which we thought we already knew.