Putting our money where their mouth is: Alignment of charitable aims with charity investments – Tensions in policy and practice

Given the values-driven nature of the mission of most charities, it might be expected that investment behaviour would be similarly values-driven. This paper documents the ethical investment policies and practices of the largest UK charities and explores how these are aligned with the charitable aims, drawing upon accountability, behavioural and managerial perspectives as theoretical lenses. The study employs two distinct research methods: responses to a postal questionnaire and follow-up semi-structured interviews with selected charities. The evidence indicates that a significant minority of large charities do not have a written ethical investment policy. Charities with larger investments, fundraising charities and religious charities were more likely to have a written ethical policy. We suggest that there is a pressing need for improved alignment between charities' aims and their investment practices and better monitoring of investment policies.     

Bankruptcy in long-term investments

Long-term portfolio management is an important issue in modern finance and practice. We have analysed various known continuous-time strategies in portfolio management, with a focus on bankruptcy probabilities under these strategies. We show that, for each strategy, there is a threshold in the target return rate. When the target return rate is set above this threshold, the application of the strategy for a long investment horizon leads to certain bankruptcy. For a target return rate lower than this threshold, bankruptcy never occurs. Bankruptcy probabilities under a finite investment horizon are also studied. An empirical study based on the Dow Jones Industrial Average Index confirms these results. By comparing the behaviour of these strategies in various parameter regions, we reveal connections among these seemingly different strategies.     

Maximizing the firm's value to society through ethical business decisions: Incorporating ‘moral debt’ claims

We argue that all three forms of justice (economic, legal, distributive) require to be incorporated into the firm's business decisions in order to protect stakeholders’ alienable and inalienable rights. In addition, the firm has ‘moral debt’ obligations which require to be distributed fairly amongst all stakeholders. We develop a model that demonstrates that just distribution of stakeholders’ ‘moral debt’ and residual claims leads to the maximization of the firm's value to society in the long-run.     

IFRS adoption in China and foreign institutional investments

We examine the effectiveness of China’s IFRS adoption from the perspective of an important set of financial report users, foreign institutional investors. We find that foreign institutional investment does not increase after China’s IFRS adoption, and some evidence that it actually declines, particularly among firms with weaker incentives to credibly implement IFRS, or with greater ability to manipulate IFRS’s fair value provisions. We also find that the association between earnings and returns generally declines after IFRS adoption, consistent with reduced earnings quality. In addition, we find that foreign institutional investors’ returns decrease after China’s IFRS adoption. Finally, the decline in foreign institutional investment is greater among investors from countries with weak institutions that have also adopted IFRS. Taken together, our evidence suggests that the weak institutional infrastructure in China’s transitional economy impairs IFRS’s intended goal of attracting institutional investment through improved financial reporting quality. Further, financial information users’ home country institutions and IFRS adoption experience affect the effectiveness of IFRS adoption.     

The performance of socially responsible investments: A meta-analysis

In this article, we use a meta-analysis to examine the performance of socially responsible investing (SRI). We find that, on average, SRI neither outperforms nor underperforms the market portfolio. However, in line with modern portfolio theory, we find that global SRI portfolios outperform regional subportfolios. Moreover, high-quality publications, publications in finance journals and authors who publish more frequently on SRI are all less likely to report SRI outperformance. In particular, we find that including more factors in a capital market model reduces the likelihood that a study will find SRI outperformance.     

Social investment: Subjectivism, sublation and the moral elevation of success

Investment products that deploy ethical values and social considerations in portfolio construction have persisted since the 1980s. Pitting Habermasian discourse ethics against Foucauldian power relations and radical institutionalism, the paper argues that socially directed mutual funds ascribe capital markets with validities of high moral magnitude, work up extant tendencies toward financial hegemony and stymie criticism of the political–economic order. Institutional pressures do not permit the exercise of an ethic stronger than an aesthetic care of the self. The balance struck between economic and social priorities is investigated by interviewing investment managers, reviewing archival material and surveying the attitudes of unit holders in retail social mutual funds.     

Financial factors in foreign direct investments: A dynamic analysis of international data

In contrast to existing empirical foreign direct investment (FDI) studies that examine the static effects of strategic or real economic variables, this paper focuses on the impacts of financial variables on FDI outflows for four largest industrial countries using dynamic time series methods. The results show that FDI outflows are non-stationary but have a long-run cointegrating relationship with real exchange rates. In addition, there are causal effects of exchange rates on direct investments in the short run. Multivariate cointegration analysis shows the significance of financial channels such as cost of capital and real wealth through which the real exchange rate effects operate. The effects of financial channels are comparable to those of the real wage rate channel. Overall, the present paper provides significant and methodologically consistent international evidence for dynamic interactions between FDIs and financial variables.     

The production of strategic and financial rationales in capital investments: Judgments based on intuitive expertise

This paper's aim is to examine how strategic and financial rationales are produced in strategic capital investments. Informed by literature on capital investments, strategic fit, and intuitive expertise, the study examines the production of strategic and financial rationales and how they are related. This is done by conducting a detailed case study of how these rationales are described in decision documents and how the documents were produced. The setting is an acquisition by a large, successful serial acquirer.The analysis reveals how the production of strategic and financial rationales is based on judgments of a myriad of data using rough estimates. We argue that these judgments are made through an intuitive process based on expertise. The study contributes to the literature by surfacing individuals' intuitive expertise as an important ‘hidden’ activity of judgment in strategic investment decision-making. Thus, the study shows, and brings theoretical underpinnings, to how the presence of expertise and the character of the tasks can result in appropriate intuitive judgments positively affecting strategic investment decision-making.     

The networking function of investment banks: Evidence from private investments in public equity

We examine investment banks' networking function in capital markets, using a sample of Private Investments in Public Equity (PIPEs). We argue that investment banks develop relationships with investors through repeat dealings, and that investment banks' networks of relationship investors form the basis of their networking function. We find that investment banks, especially those with larger investor networks, help issuers attract investors. Correspondingly, an issuer that desires more investors is more likely to hire an investment bank than place the shares directly. We also find that issuers pay higher fees to hire investment banks with larger investor networks. Our empirical findings suggest that the networking function of investment banks is important in securities offerings.     

From moral evaluation to rationalization: accounting and the shifting technologies of credit

The purpose of this essay is to stimulate an examination of the nature of consumer credit and accounting's role in its techniques of operation. The site of this examination is the US department store of the 1920/1930s. Our study, informed by Foucauldian concepts of disciplinary power and governmentality, reveals that a new mode of record keeping played a decisive role in the creation of an alternative to local knowledge in the granting of credit. This manifested itself in new accounting techniques, particularly, the analysis of age-based accounts receivable.     

The dynamism of pre-decision controls in the appraisal of strategic investments

In this study we examine the dynamism of pre-decision controls in the appraisal of strategic investments, an area largely overlooked by the literature, even though it is of the utmost importance to understand the mechanisms companies use to ensure their optimal capital investments. More specifically, we investigate how changes in companies’ economic, strategic, and organisational conditions relate to an increased emphasis on pre-decision controls such as policies, procedures, and routines. The empirical data is based on 108 interviews from among the 150 largest Finnish manufacturing companies. The paper contributes to the scarce capital budgeting literature by extending the discussion of the adaptations of pre-decision controls to external and internal environmental changes. We add to the literature by showing that changes in management may play a decisive role in control adaptations. Furthermore, we provide strong support to maintain that increased financial pressure can be related to the tightened use of controls.     

Melting pot or salad bowl: Some evidence from U.S. investments abroad

We estimate the number of foreign-origin persons in the United States classified by their country of origin from census data in 1970, 1980, 1990 and 2000. We find, both in cross-sectional tests and in panel data tests, that the size of the foreign-origin group from a country living in the U.S. is positively correlated with U.S. investments in that country. This national origin bias is strong for direct (FDI) and modest for indirect (equity holdings) investments. The results continue to hold even after controlling for the “fundamentals” hypothesized to affect foreign investments. The other economic geography variables of a country—physical distance from the U.S., race, language and religion—do not seem to affect US investments in that country.     

Accountability in a Free-Market Economy: The British Company Audit, 1886

The relative merits of market forces compared with regulations as the more efficient mechanism for ensuring adequate accountability from business (and non-business) organizations is a subject of keen debate. Britain in the second half of the nineteenth century is regularly cited as an example of how the market will ensure adequate accountability in the absence of regulatory requirements. There is a great deal of speculation but very little hard evidence concerning the precise levels of accountability during this period. This study is designed to penetrate contemporary attitudes and actions by using primary sources to determine the audit arrangements made by quoted companies in the year 1886. It is discovered that professionally qualified accountants generally, and chartered accountants in particular, had achieved a dominant position by 1886, and possibly rather earlier; a finding which is also used to illuminate the question of the nature of the professional accountants' work in the late nineteenth century.     

Trust and accountability in UK charities: Exploring the virtuous circle

Public trust and confidence in charities is essential for the achievement of their missions. However, recent evidence suggests that trust in UK charities has been damaged, potentially affecting charities' and the charity sector's sustainability and effectiveness. This paper constructs accountability as an important means of developing, maintaining and restoring trust in charities. Through a series of interviews with charity managers, it investigates the public and private mechanisms used in discharging accountability to, and building trust with, charities' main stakeholder groups. The paper identifies the use of a wide range of mechanisms, often highly tailored to particular stakeholders' perceived information needs, which are seen as critical in this process. It is argued that the use and interplay of these can create a ‘virtuous circle’ of accountability and trust, where each reinforces the other. It is argued that where this is achieved, trust in individual charities, and the sector as a whole, can be enhanced.     

Knowledge transfer in project reviews: the effect of self‐justification bias and moral hazard

In this study, we examine two factors that impact managers’ willingness to share private information during the project review stage of capital budgeting. Drawing on the cognitive dissonance theory and the agency theory, we find that both high perceived personal responsibility and the use of project reviews for performance evaluation result in a greater tendency for managers to withhold negative private information. However, we do not find an interaction between these two factors. Our study makes a contribution to both the academic literature investigating factors affecting project reviews and the practitioner literature looking at design and implementation of effective project reviews.     

The imperatives for organizational governance in a large charity: a strategic choice perspective

This paper explains the factors that shaped governance practices in a large charity. The author uses strategic choice theory in an analysis of case study data to bring into calculation the internal and external factors that impacted the roles of board members and executives. The paper finds overall support for a powersharing model and contributes to our understanding of governance in nonprofit organizations.     

Project Appraisal and Capital Investment Decision Making in the Scottish Water Industry

Restructuring the Scottish water industry has changed the way in which both project appraisal and capital investment decisions are performed. This article examines the project appraisal and subsequent capital investment decision in the case of a reed bed sewage treatment scheme which is compared with a more traditional scheme. Although the capital profiles of the schemes are similar there are major differences in the revenue costs. In addition, there are potential public benefits to the reed bed scheme. A comparison is made of management mechanisms in the pre-1996 water industry with that of restructured water authorities. In the pre-1996 water industry, local authorities had a broad remit which encouraged them to value these factors, in effect an implicit social account. The creation of water authorities with narrow remits and specific performance measures, constructed a framework that does not support the integration of social accounts into the decision making process. The paper demonstrates that investment appraisal is a product of the institutional framework in which the decisions are made. As that framework changes, mechanisms and measures of accountability shift in parallel.     

Enforceability of non-compete covenants,discretionary investments,and financial reporting practices: Evidence from a natural experiment

Non-compete covenants are widely used in employment contracts to promote employee stability. Using legal amendments of non-compete enforceability as a natural experiment, we find that as non-compete enforceability increases, firms display an increased likelihood of meeting short-term earnings benchmarks, lower discretionary expenditures, and declining future performance. These effects are more pronounced when CEOs have lower ability or shorter tenures, and when firms have more growth opportunities or operate in localized industries. Our results suggest that managers actively adapt investment and financial reporting practices to the changing environment that affects their contractual relations with firms.     

Breakdowns of accountability in the face of natural disasters: The case of Hurricane Katrina

Hurricane Katrina, which struck the Gulf Cost of the United States at the end of August 2005, was one of the most costly and deadly natural disasters ever experienced by the United States. A breach of levees and the subsequent flooding of the city of New Orleans resulted in the displacement of more than 250,000 people. The death toll exceeded 1800 persons and total damages were estimated to exceed $125 billion. The response to the hurricane by city, state and the federal governments has been severely criticized by many commentators. The purpose of this paper is to examine breakdowns in accountability during and after the storm which were manifested by a lack of communication between government officials and a failure on the part of officials to act responsibly on behalf of victims, many of whom were poor, black and elderly. We also examine whether the breakdown in accountability may be traceable to institutional racism embedded in the history and geography of the city of New Orleans. Following McKernan's (2012) argument, the paper reinforces the need to go beyond a “calculative accountability” toward “the potential of accountability to enhance levels of responsibility for the other” (p. 259). It is this moral aspect to the concept of accountability that was sorely lacking in the response of government officials to Hurricane Katrina.     

Enterprise risk management and continuous re-alignment in the pursuit of accountability: A German case

COSO defines ERM as a set of activities that lead to organizational alignment and accountability, given structured work with stable, mobile and combinable information objects. This study argues against this representation by offering three insights developed from case research. We observe ERM as a practice that oscillates between IT-based representations and social interpretations, which never “adds-up” but creates circulation and movement instead. Rather than to produce a common understanding of corporate affairs, ERM communalizes the process of identifying risks and chances and promotes a quest for accountability. Thus, ERM does not focus on improving performance or compliance. Nevertheless, by separating subjects and objects in the organizational context, ERM creates space for otherness and heterogeneity. To the extent that these are mobilized as resources, ERM might offer “intelligence” beyond the coherence and homogeneity, which accounting systems represent.