Privacy in E-Commerce: Development of Reporting Standards, Disclosure, and Assurance Services in an Unregulated Market

Government regulation of financial reporting by publicly listed firms, coupled with a punitive regime for violation of generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP), has been in place in the United States for seven decades. Whether this regime is effective or useful is an open question, especially in the absence of data on the behavior of unregulated economies. Privacy disclosure in e‐commerce is essentially an unregulated environment with some parallels to financial disclosure. A study of privacy standards, disclosures practices, and demand for audits can help accountants and security regulators project the consequences of a competitive regime sans regulation for accounting standards, disclosure and audit practices. In this article we set up a framework for such a study, gather data from the field, and analyze privacy standards, privacy disclosure practices, and the effectiveness of opt‐out practices of 100 high‐traffic e‐commerce Web sites. We observe four diverse sets of privacy standards (TRUSTe, BBB Online, WebTrust, and PWC Privacy) competing in this market, attracting clienteles of their own as reflected in privacy policies and the disclosure of such policies. With a few exceptions, actual disclosure and opt‐out practices correspond reasonably well to stated policies in e‐commerce. There is little evidence that the prevailing competitive regime induces a race to the bottom with respect to privacy standards and disclosures. We explore the implications of these results for the consequences of a competitive regime for regulation of financial reporting.     

Discussion of Privacy in E-Commerce: Development of Reporting Standards, Disclosure, and Assurance Services in an Unregulated Market

Jamal, Maier, and Sunder (hereafter, JMS), have written an interesting paper on the development of standards in an unregulated market. The development of private standards and assurance that there is compliance are important for creating trust among market participants and for the success of new markets. The paper is relevant for accounting professionals who are responsible for assuring investors that firms' financial information is reliable and trustworthy. It shows that there is demand for market standards absent regulation, that firms voluntarily adopt standards, and that they generally comply with them. The authors contrast these findings with the regulated outcomes in the capital market and raise questions about the merits of regulation.     

The Withdrawal of Current Cost Accounting in the United Kingdom: A Study of the Accounting Standards Committee

Evidence from the archives of the U.K. Accounting Standards Committee (ASC) is used to trace the events leading to the withdrawal of the current cost accounting standard, SSAP 16, from 1980 to 1988. Three central issues are addressed. First, the ASC's role as a regulatory body is considered in the light of the failure to obtain compliance with SSAP 16 and to find an acceptable replacement. Second, the decline in support for SSAP 16 is explained in terms of changes in the economic environment. Third, the roles of different interest groups in the process are analysed.     

中英支付体系发展比较研究

支付体系是一国的核心金融基础设施,是金融业乃至整个国民经济运行的基础。本文在梳理我国和英国支付体系发展概况的基础上,从法律法规体系、支付服务组织、支付工具、支付系统和监督管理等方面,比较分析我国和英国支付体系的异同点,并把握全球支付体系发展趋势,提出促进我国支付体系发展的政策建议。     

The Origin of General Limited Liability in the United Kingdom

This article discusses the introduction of general limited liability into the United Kingdom. This was effected by the independent Irish Government through a Statute it enacted in 1782, commonly referred to as the Anonymous Partnership Act. The article explores the political and economic circumstances of eighteenth century Ireland which led to the passing of the Act. It summarises the provisions of the Act and seeks to highlight the insights which it gives into the nature of the limited partnership form of business organisation. An appendix provides statistics which demonstrate the infrequent use that was made of the Act. The probable reasons for this are discussed. The article concludes by pointing to some general lessons that can perhaps be learned from a study of the history of this Irish experience of employing an innovative commercial form of business organisation.     

中国与美国地方税制的比较分析

中国目前地方财政收入总量和结构特征 (一)总量特征. 所谓总量特征是指一定时期内地方本级收入、中央补助收入分别占地方财政总收入的比重,以及地方本级收入占全部财政收入的比重.     

International trade and finance: Complementaries in the United Kingdom 1870-1913 and the United States 1920-1930

Do international trade and finance flow together? In a variety of theoretical models, trade and finance can be shown to have the potential to be substitutes or complements, so the matter must be resolved empirically. We study trade and financial flows from the United Kingdom from 1870 to 1913 and the United States in the interwar years. These were the two major capital exporters and key financial centers in each era. We find that trade and finance were robustly correlated for each case. We consider simultaneity issues. We also discuss evidence from the British Empire which casts doubt on the idea that trade is a punishment device in the event of a default.     

Inflation and growth in the United Kingdom: A longer-run perspective

This paper analyzes British growth and inflation over the past 90 years. The core of the paper is a simulation analyses of a monetary model of the U.K. economy, which establishes the systematic influence of domestic and overseas impulses on trends in British prices, output and the balance of payments in different subperiods. The analysis establishes a coherent explanation of varying British economic performance, which places considerable weight on the relative growth of the government sector, and the accompanying monetary expansion or contraction, variable world price developments, and the successive devaluations of the pound.     

Accounting for Accountability and Management in NPOs. A Comparative Study of Four Countries: Canada, the United Kingdom, the USA and Spain

Financial and non–financial information are developing issues in the NPO field. Countries such as Canada, the UK, the USA and Spain have recently updated their accounting systems for NPOs through the implementation of full accrual basis to enhance their accountability and the usefulness of accounting information for decision–making purposes. The information provided by accrual accounting will be incomplete until performance indicators are developed. The performance indicators are essential for making budgets, for planning and forecasting, for evaluating the financial needs, for carrying out benchmarking with other NPOs or governmental entities, and for explaining the welfare activities realised to donors.     

Corporate debt and financial balance sheet adjustment: a comparison of the United States, the United Kingdom, France and Germany

The level of UK corporate debt directly affects financial stability in the United Kingdom because a significant amount of the exposure of the UK financial system is to UK corporates. Our paper provides a comparison of the determinants of corporate debt in the United States, the United Kingdom, France and Germany. The comparison serves to benchmark our findings about the determinants of UK corporate debt. In addition, the UK financial sector is significantly exposed to the corporate sectors in the United States, Germany and France. The model assesses the contribution of investment, acquisitions, cash flows and market-to-book values to the determination of debt, and also the tendency of debt to revert to its optimum level. Debt was found to be positively related to the financing needs of the firm, and the optimum level of debt to be negatively related to the market-to-book ratio. This casts some light on the procyclicality of debt.     

美德两国『减税』政策比较分析及对我国税制改革的借鉴作用

税收是财政政策中用于调节、干预经济生活的一种重要手段.美德两国是世界上经济最发达的国家,眼下,美国要减税,德国正在实施减税计划,其他欧元国家也在或将要减税.这些国家减税的背景、动机、内容等各不相同.本文通过两国"减税"政策的分析比较希望能对我国在"十五"期间的税制改革有借鉴作用.     

Corporate domicile and average effective tax rates: The cases of Canada,Japan, the United Kingdom,and the United States

We use financial statement information to estimate three alterantive average effective tax rates for firms domiciled in Canada, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States during the period 1982 to 1991. While many of the firms we examine operate worldwide, we use the termdomicile to refer to the legal residence or site of incorporation of the parent company. Our objective is to determine themarginal impact of a company's domicile on its worldwide tax burden, with controls for industry and year. We find both among domestic-only companies and among multinational companies the domiciles are consistently ranked in descending order by average effective tax rates as Japan, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Canada. In comparing domestic-only companies and multinationals domiciled in the same jurisdiction, only U.S. multinationals consistently face a greater tax burden than their domestic counterparts.     

上市公司临时报告之重大交易披露标准研究——基于股票上市规则的监管实践与思考

重大性标准是股票上市规则中持续信息披露制度的核心要素。目前部分上市公司资本运作频繁,偏离主业、盈余管理问题突出,同时亦存在通过拆分交易等规避披露要求之情形,导致当前重大性标准未能充分适应市场变化的需要,上市公司商业效率、决策效率以及投资者知情权之间的平衡难以维系。本文在归纳总结上市公司交易事项披露之重大性标准表现形式及内在逻辑的基础上,梳理了我国现行规则的特点及应用难点,研究了成熟资本市场的做法,就股票上市规则中重大性标准测试指标体系的优化、累计计算规则中"标的相关"条件的适用以及上市公司证券投资行为的披露等方面提出完善建议。     

美国共同基金税制考察及评价

基金税制是基金业得以健康发展的一个必要条件。随着我国证券市场的不断完善，基金业已取得了长足的进步，但我国基金税制的建设却还远未跟上发展的需要。本文拟从美国基金税制的现状出发，对美国基金税制进行探讨，试图对我国的基金税制建设起到抛砖引玉的作用。     

Temperature and Growth: A Panel Analysis of the United States

We document that seasonal temperatures have significant and systematic effects on the U.S. economy, both at the aggregate level and across a wide cross section of economic sectors. This effect is particularly strong for the summer: a F increase in the average summer temperature is associated with a reduction in the annual growth rate of state‐level output of 0.15 to 0.25 percentage points. We combine our estimates with projected increases in seasonal temperatures and find that rising temperatures could reduce U.S. economic growth by up to one‐third over the next century.     

会计教学体系研究:来自英国大学的借鉴

通过在英国有关大学的实地调研,文章对英国大学会计教学目标、会计专业课程体系、会计教与学、会计课程考评等几个方面进行了考察和分析。在此基础上,借鉴英国大学的做法,提出了改进中国会计教育的教学目标、教学过程、课程体系和学生学习过程等的具体途径和方法。     

美国反洗钱“长臂管辖”的渊源与演变

2008年次贷危机后,反洗钱逐步成为金融监管跨境执法的重点关注对象,而长臂管辖原则这一具有"单边主义"色彩的管控手段,成为美国反洗钱跨境执法的重要工具。本文回顾了美国反洗钱长臂管辖原则的来龙去脉,梳理了长臂管辖的三类适用情形和四种判定原则,并对2008～2018年间45家机构54次遭受美国1亿美元及以上的反洗钱巨额处罚的案例进行了归纳分析。通过分析,本文发现美国反洗钱处罚具有处罚主体的"交叉性"、涉嫌类罪的"行业性"和处罚金额的"威慑性"三大特征。鉴此,本文提出了持续完善我国反洗钱域外管辖、持续研究国外长臂管辖的实际判例以及密切关注美国反洗钱执法的新变化等政策建议。     

Disclosure Practices, Enforcement of Accounting Standards, and Analysts' Forecast Accuracy: An International Study

Using a sample from 22 countries, I investigate the relations between the accuracy of analysts' earnings forecasts and the level of annual report disclosure, and between forecast accuracy and the degree of enforcement of accounting standards. I document that firm‐level disclosures are positively related to forecast accuracy, suggesting that such disclosures provide useful information to analysts. I construct a comprehensive measure of enforcement and find that strong enforcement is associated with higher forecast accuracy. This finding is consistent with the hypothesis that enforcement encourages managers to follow prescribed accounting rules, which, in turn, reduces analysts' uncertainty about future earnings. I also find evidence consistent with disclosures being more important when analyst following is low and with enforcement being more important when more choice among accounting methods is allowed.