UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS ROUNDTABLE ON ENERGY DERIVATIVES AND THE TRANSFORMATION OF THE U.S. CORPORATE ENERGY SECTOR

In this roundtable, a successful oil entrepreneur and a group of ex‐bankers whose careers have taken them into the energy business discuss the deregulation of energy markets and the emergence of energy derivatives, and how these two developments have affected both the way companies do business with each other, and how the companies themselves are organized internally. The first part of this two‐part discussion explores how derivatives and corporate risk management have produced a strikingly new business model for a number of once traditional energy companies, including Enron Corp. and Mirant Corporation (until recently, Southern Energy). In addition to its ability to change corporate strategy, the panelists also consider how the hedging of price risks can affect a company's financing strategy and cost of capital. A notable feature of the new business model is a corporate structure that differs greatly from that of conventional large energy companies. And in the second half of the discussion, the focus shifts from risk management and strategy to issues of corporate structure, such as: How do companies divide themselves into business centers for reporting and accountability; how much decision‐making authority is entrusted to the managers of those divisions; and how many layers of corporate management are necessary to coordinate and control the activities of the business units? Also discussed at great length are questions of performance evaluation and incentive compensation: How do companies evaluate their own performance on a year‐to‐year basis? And what basis do they use for rewarding their managers?     

What really works

When it comes to improving business performance, managers have no shortage of tools and techniques to choose from. But what really works? What's critical, and what's optional? Two business professors and a former McKinsey consultant set out to answer those questions. In a ground-breaking, five-year study that involved more than 50 academics and consultants, the authors analyzed 200 management techniques as they were employed by 160 companies over ten years. Their findings at a high level? Business basics really matter. In this article, the authors outline the management practices that are imperative for sustained superior financial performance--their "4+2 formula" for business success. They provide examples of companies that achieved varying degrees of success depending on whether they applied the formula, and they suggest ways that other companies can achieve excellence. The 160 companies in their study--called the Evergreen Project--were divided into 40 quads, each comprising four companies in a narrowly defined industry. Based on its performance between 1986 and 1996, each company in each quad was classified as either a winner (for instance, Dollar General), a loser (Kmart), a climber (Target), or a tumbler (the Limited). Without exception, the companies that outperformed their industry peers excelled in what the authors call the four primary management practices: strategy, execution, culture, and structure. And they supplemented their great skill in those areas with a mastery of any two of four secondary management practices: talent, leadership, innovation, and mergers and partnerships. A company that consistently follows this 4+2 formula has a better than 90% chance of sustaining superior performance, according to the authors.     

Integrated Reporting,Quality of Management,and Financial Performance

Interest in integrated reporting continues to grow as its proponents cite a number of significant benefits to both companies and investors. But given the still‐early stages of development of this new management practice and the relative paucity of data, establishing empirical confirmation of these claims is difficult. Using RobecomSAM's proprietary database of over 2,000 companies surveyed during its annual Corporate Sustainability Assessment (CSA), the authors discuss the extent and recent growth of integrated reporting, and its likely effects on important indicators of both ESG quality of management and financial performance. The authors begin by reporting that although only 12% of the companies in the survey dataset practiced some form of integrated reporting in 2012, that number represented a 50% increase from 2011. The authors also report a strong relationship between integrated reporting and ESG quality of management, which some studies suggest has become a useful indicator of the overall effectiveness of management in creating value over the long term. This relationship is particularly strong in certain sectors, notably healthcare. At the same time, the authors find a relationship between integrated reporting and financial performance for two sectors—healthcare and information technology—though not for the population as a whole. The authors suggest that this apparent lack of effect may be attributable to a time lag between integrated reporting's contribution to better ESG quality of management, and the eventual reflection of such management in financial performance.     

The influence of corporate governance mechanisms on the quality of financial reporting and auditing: Perceptions of auditors and directors in Singapore

This study uses two hypothetical cases to examine the perceptions of auditors and directors in Singapore about corporate governance practices relating to the quality of financial reporting and auditing. In the first case, the strength of the audit committee, the existence of an internal audit function and the strength of a corporate code of conduct were manipulated. All three variables were perceived to have some influence on financial reporting and audit quality. However, some interesting differences were found between the perceptions of auditors and directors. Auditors place more weight on the internal audit function, possibly due to their familiarity with the role that internal audit can play in reducing audit risk and enhancing controls. Directors have more confidence in board enforcement of a strong code of conduct, possibly reflecting the view that this encourages staff to adhere to higher ethical standards. In the second case, audit partner rotation, outsourcing of internal audit services and whether the audit firm audited all companies within a group were manipulated. Auditors believed that their ability to resist management pressure was enhanced when they audited all companies within the group. No significant differences were found for the other variables, suggesting that neither group believes that these practices impair audit independence.     

Determinants of CSR Reporting and Assurance: An Analysis of Top Cooperative and Mutual Organisations

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) has greatly influenced business communication. CSR reporting has become the main tool through which organisations worldwide communicate their economic, social and environmental performance. Just as this practice is consolidated, the need for credible information in this area is critical. As a result, some companies subject their CSR reports to an assurance process. Several studies have analysed CSR reporting and assurance among stock companies, but few authors have developed a non‐stock firm perspective. Given the shortage of prior research, we analyse these practices, focusing on cooperative and mutual organisations because, as social enterprises, they have a special link with CSR, and they represent another kind of firm with different transaction costs. By combining statistical and content analysis methods, we aim to identify the determinants that influence the adoption of CSR reporting and assurance, the choice of assuror and the quality of assurance statements. The findings reveal that size is positively but non‐linearly related to reporting, while country and sector significantly affect the adoption of reporting and assurance. Assurance statements substantially differ across providers and their quality depends on size, sector and assuror, exhibiting interactions between size and assuror and between sector and assuror.     

Anticipating the Impact of IFRS on the Management of German Manufacturing Companies: Some Observations from a British Perspective

The introduction of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) in 2005 marked a significant departure from Germany's traditional financial accounting practices. This paper questions whether this change may have consequential effects on the distinctive traditional management accounting practices in the field of Controlling. We examine the possible impact on manufacturing companies drawing upon perceptions and expectations of managers in three Bavarian companies and two management consultancy firms. We consider whether financial accounting will assume an increased importance within firms, and whether this may lead to abandonment of some traditional management accounting practices and the adoption of different techniques in internal reporting compatible with the new IFRS regime for external reporting. This prompts consideration of whether such changes would lead to financial accounting domination of management accounting in Germany analogous to that argued by Johnson and Kaplan in 1987 in their ‘Relevance Lost’ thesis. We conclude that, at this juncture in the development of their information systems, German managers face an important choice between integrating external and internal reporting in ways that might fundamentally change established Controlling practices, or of continuing to operate dual accounting systems in much the same way as in the past so that adoption of IFRS is restricted to external reporting.     

What Causes Fraudulent Financial Reporting? Evidence Based on H Shares

This paper investigates fraudulent financial reporting (FFR) in the China-based companies listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (called H shares) in which Chinese government officials have a high degree of involvement and heavy impact on audit quality and corporate governance. It intends to find out the causes of FFR, the opportunities that make such reporting possible, and whether the presence of politically connected executives creates an environment that is conducive to FFR. The results show that the corporate environment most likely to lead to FFR is characterized by earnings management accounting practices.     

Effects of audit partners on clients’ business risk disclosure

We empirically investigate audit engagement partners’ involvement in business risk disclosure. Specifically, we examine whether the quality of business risk disclosure is influenced by engagement partner tenure and knowledge. We also examine whether the effects of partner tenure and knowledge are similar for Big 4 audit firms and non-Big 4 firms. Since fiscal year 2003, listed companies in Japan have been required to disclose business risk information. Although the business risk information is not audited, auditors concerned about their audit quality may seek to influence clients’ business risk disclosure practices. Giving advice to management on the narrative business risk disclosure can contribute to improving the perceived value of the auditor’s services which can be a competitive advantage. Using a sample of Japanese listed companies from 2003 to 2010, we find that if the engagement partners’ tenure is shorter, a company discloses more business risk information and the disclosure is more detailed. Furthermore, companies with audit partners who have a larger number of client engagements disclose larger amounts of business risk information in more detail. However, the engagement partner effects are mitigated if they belong to a Big 4 firm.     

Teaching managerial responsibilities for internal controls: Perception gaps between accounting and management professors

An organization needs a proper managerial tone to maintain a sound control environment. However, managers cannot support a control environment they do not understand. This misunderstanding generates a perception gap between corporate managers and auditors concerning internal control responsibilities, which may extend to academia as well. This research examines the perceptions of accounting and management professors concerning the understanding of who is ultimately responsible for establishing and maintaining internal controls over financial reporting and finds a statistically significant difference of opinion between the two groups. A large number of management professors surveyed relegate this role to internal auditors instead of management. These findings indicate management professors may not be fully aware of the responsibilities placed on managers of publicly traded companies for internal controls over financial reporting by the Sarbanes–Oxley (SOX) Act of 2002. The survey also finds a statistically significant difference in the perceptions of accounting and management professors concerning where the topic of internal controls should be taught and who is most qualified to teach internal controls to non-accounting business majors. This disconnect between management and accounting professors could potentially generate a business curriculum that leaves non-accounting business majors with little or no exposure to the roles and responsibilities of managers concerning internal controls over financial reporting. This research highlights the important role of accounting professors to help minimize this disconnect and provides specific recommendations to improve the exposure necessary for non-accounting business majors.     

The association between ISO 9000 certification and financial performance

This study explores the association between ISO 9000 certification and financial performance at the organizational level in a mature quality initiative market. It extends the limited literature on quality initiatives and objective measures of financial performance. The study hypothesizes that ISO 9000 certification is associated with improvements across three dimensions of financial performance. These dimensions are operating efficiency, growth in sales, and overall financial performance. These dimensions of performance are measured using profit margin, growth in sales, and earnings per share, respectively. Based on data for a sample of 70 companies listed on the Singapore Stock Exchange over a 6-year period, the results of the study are consistent with the hypothesized effects. In particular, the results show that the extent of improvement is driven largely by operating efficiencies and suggests that firms can benefit from ISO 9000 certification if they are genuinely interested in the quality philosophy by improving their internal business processes.     

Sustainability Risk Disclosure Practices of Listed Companies in Australia

This paper investigates the extent to which the top 100 ASX listed companies disclosed economic, environmental and social sustainability risk factors during the 2014/15 financial year in light of the changes introducing Recommendation 7.4 to the third edition of the Corporate Governance Principles and Recommendations in 2014. While all companies complied with the Recommendation, questions of substance over form were raised because some companies had risks that were not disclosed according to Recommendation 7.4. Our conclusion outlines how this research contributes to the growing literature on sustainability and corporate governance. We add to the continuing debate on mandatory versus voluntary disclosures, advocating that Australia may need to introduce mandatory guidelines, beyond the ASX, to regulate the disclosure of material economic, environmental and social risks. Additionally, we conclude that Recommendation 7.4 is unlikely to substantially change Australian corporate reporting and disclosure practices – that, for most companies, it is ‘business as usual’. However, under business as usual, we can naturally expect to see further increases in sustainability and alternative reporting frameworks, such as integrated reporting, as well as increasing use of the Internet to report and disclose sustainability risks.     

Financial performance explanations and institutional setting

The aim of this study is to investigate whether country differences in the institutional setting for financial reporting affect the attributes of managers’ explanations of performance in management commentary reports. We include 172 listed companies from five industries (building materials, food processors, pharmaceuticals, biotechnology and retail) in the UK, Australia, the USA and Canada in 2003. We find significant country differences in attributional properties of performance explanations in management commentary reports. The US and Canadian companies are generally less assertive and less defensive in causal explanations offered compared to their counterparts in the UK and Australia. The North American companies are also more extensive and formal in their explanations, relying more heavily on technical‐accounting language. These tendencies are most pronounced in the USA, where the aggregate of private and public enforcement is greatest. Taken together, our evidence suggests that higher expected regulatory and litigation costs induce a more elaborative, but risk‐averse explanatory stance that may well reduce the overall incremental value of the explanations offered.     

The Influence of Integrated Reporting on Business Model and Strategy Disclosures

Business model (BM) and strategy disclosures could provide investors with relevant information. This study offers a platform for future research on BM and strategy disclosure and is the first to analyse the change in BM and strategy disclosures after the introduction of an integrated reporting (IR) requirement, to propose a framework for disclosure quality analyses, and to analyse how companies disclose the relationship between their BM and strategy. The findings show that BMs and strategy were not disclosed before the requirement to publish an integrated report in South Africa, but were disclosed thereafter. By 2014, companies used diagrams, flow charts, and informative narratives of business plans and value chains. Companies now disclose their strategic goals more transparently, but still do not link these goals to BMs, key performance indicators, risks or opportunities. The findings provide insight into disclosures that improved since the IR requirement and matters that are still not fully disclosed, which would be of interest to regulators tasked with investor protection.     

Private company finance and financial reporting

This article provides a comprehensive assessment of private firms’ financing sources and their relation with financial reporting practices. We consider debt financing (bank financing, leasing, and government guarantees), equity financing (family ownership, government ownership, employee ownership, and private-equity financing), and trade credit (supplier credit and factoring). Our primary conclusions are that there is significant heterogeneity in the way in which private companies are financed that is influenced by their specific business contexts, and that this heterogeneity in financing is associated with differential demand for and supply of financial reporting.     

On the interplay between environmental reporting and management accounting change

This paper investigates how environmental reporting (ER) and environment-related management accounting (EMA) practices may interact in the process of responding to disturbances of the natural environment (e.g., changes in environmental regulation, green consumerism, societal pressures for environmentally-responsible conduct). Based on data gathered in four Belgian case companies, we find that the emergence of an interplay between ER and EMA practices is related to the change pathways followed by these disturbances. Moreover, the strength of the environmental disturbances, top management commitment and the presence of an environmental champion are important contingent factors in understanding the development of a recursive relationship. Finally, the findings illustrate that an interplay between ER and EMA practices has the potential to foster or stifle organizational greening.     

Ownership structure, contingent-fit, and business-unit performance: A research model and empirical evidence

This study investigates the influence of contingent-fit on the relationship between ownership structure and business-unit performance. We predict that contingent-fit between business strategy and its contextual variables will have a positive relationship with business-unit performance. We also predict that widely-held companies will perform better than their closely-held counterparts but that the magnitude of the performance differential will decrease with the increasing level of contingent-fit.Overall, the results are consistent with our predictions. We found that contingent-fit is positively related to business-unit performance and widely-held business-units perform better than their closely-held counterparts. The performance advantage, however, was mitigated by the level of contingent-fit.     

An Exploratory Study of Profit Reporting Differences of Publicly Owned Professional Service Firms and Partnerships

There has been a trend for large professional service firms (PSFs) to move away from the traditional partnership structure to other ownership forms such as publicly owned companies. Research on the relative performance of these ownership forms has been constrained by the lack of availability of financial information for partnerships, and proxy revenue‐based measures used have resulted in conflicting findings. This paper seeks to guide future research by exploring accounting reporting differences between partnerships and publicly owned PSF companies in order to identify adjustments required for comparison and implications for performance measures used. This paper reviews the literature and examines the annual reports of two Australian publicly owned accounting companies and one large accounting partnership; pre‐initial public offering pro forma reporting in the prospectus of one of the companies identifies significant profitability reporting differences across ownership forms. The findings also suggest that the lower revenue per professional and per person for publicly owned PSFs found in prior studies may be offset by significantly lower salary costs. The paper concludes that significant value can be achieved by further analysis of profitability across ownership forms and suggests data requirements to inform the development of further case studies and large‐scale surveys of financial performance.     

IFRS Practices and the Persistence of Accounting System Classification

The earliest paper on international classification of accounting systems is one hundred years old. For about fifteen years from the late 1960s, many papers on the subject were published. One feature of several of the classifications was the dichotomous split of countries into Anglo and continental European. This has been extensively debated. This paper prepares a classification based on the accounting policy choices made by the largest listed companies of eight countries in 2008/9. All the companies were using the same reporting rules, International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). This classification by IFRS practices shows the same two groups as a classification of national practices drawn up in 1980, despite 30 years of harmonization. None of the classifications above or the more recent ones was based on the actual accounting practices of companies in annual reports. This has several disadvantages, as the paper investigates. This paper's classification is the first to be based on accounting practices, as well as being the first in the IFRS era. The paper also investigates the implications of the persistent differences in practices for assessing the success of the IASB's whole project on improving comparability of financial statements.     

Corporate social responsibility and earnings management in U.S. banks

Business decision making depends on financial reporting quality. In identifying the drivers of financial reporting quality, proxied by earnings management (EM), prior literature has drawn attention to the association between corporate EM practices and commitment to corporate social responsibility (CSR). Empirical evidence, however, provides inconclusive results regarding the direction of this association. Using simultaneous equations, we examine the bi-directional CSR–EM relationship in U.S. commercial banks. We demonstrate that, although banks that engage in EM practices are also actively involved in CSR, the reverse relationship is not significant. We provide implications for investors, analysts, business participants and regulators.     

Inter-and intra-organizational stakeholder arrangements in carbon management accounting

This research investigates the role of inter-organizational arrangements and intra-organizational activities as sub-parts of carbon management accounting to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. We apply the concept of stakeholder engagement, normally utilized in sustainability reporting, to carbon management accounting and performance. We also examine if carbon management projects that encompass many functional areas aid in GHG emissions performance. Using a sample of firms headquartered in the United States with data available from the CDP, we apply the three-stage least squares (3SLS) method to test for the endogeneity of GHG emissions reporting and performance. We find that both inter-organizational and intra-organizational arrangements improve GHG emissions performance through carbon management processes and procedures. Our research contributes to the literature by providing insight into how companies work externally with their stakeholders and internally with multiple functional areas to implement carbon management projects that reduce GHG emissions.