Are Superannuation Disclosures in Company Financial Reports Useful?

An analysis of superannuation disclosures in the financial reports of 120 public companies shows surprisingly frequent instances of non-compliance with AASB 1028. This is attributed to inherent weaknesses in the mandatory disclosure requirements. Significant problems include inconsistencies in the reporting of information about hybrid superannuation funds sponsored by companies, absence of timeliness, and non-disclosure of contribution holidays. These findings suggest that present superannuation disclosure requirements do not meet the objective of providing useful information for decision-making.     

Are Superannuation Disclosures in Company Financial Reports Useful?

An analysis of superannuation disclosures in the financial reports of 120 public companies shows surprisingly frequent instances of non-compliance with AASB 1028. This is attributed to inherent weaknesses in the mandatory disclosure requirements. Significant problems include inconsistencies in the reporting of information about hybrid superannuation funds sponsored by companies, absence of timeliness, and non-disclosure of contribution holidays. These findings suggest that present superannuation disclosure requirements do not meet the objective of providing useful information for decision-making.     

Compliance and Controversy: The AAS 25 Reporting Paradox

The adoption of AAS 25, which specifies uniform reporting requirements for superannuation funds, has been particularly controversial. While the Australian Accounting Research Foundation (AARF) has maintained that uniform reporting practices for superannuation funds are necessary to provide performance information to investors, the superannuation industry has argued that AAS 25 will cause "confusion, misunderstanding and unnecessary concern among fund members". Although the controversy has been widely reported, little information has emerged about the extent to which funds were already complying, or substantially complying, with the standard. This paper reports the results of a survey which indicates, contrary to expectations, that in the two years before the introduction of AAS 25 most funds were reporting in a way which would effectively comply with provisions of the standard.     

Superannuation in Society: What are the Accountability Relationships and is there a Role for (Group) Accounting?

Superannuation fund reporting is a topical issue: it is in a state of flux and currently on the Australian Accounting Standards Board (AASB) work program for 2012, with the release of ED 223 Superannuation Entities in December 2011. Issues under debate include uncertainty regarding the users of superannuation financial reports, and the application of the principle of ‘transaction neutrality’ to accounting for corporate groups by superannuation entities. Accountability reporting by superannuation funds has remained largely unchanged since the introduction of compulsory superannuation 20 years ago. This paper describes the changing nature of superannuation from a managerial gratuity to a type of deferred pay, and how accounting for superannuation is likely to increase in significance as it responds to the shifting economic nature of superannuation, especially since the global financial crisis. This paper uses basic content analysis to analyse member submissions to the Australian Government's Review into Governance, Efficiency, Structure and Operation of Australia's Superannuation System 2009, and submissions to the AASB's consultation paper on consolidation accounting for superannuation entities in 2007. Limited characterisations of members as being not interested in financial reporting are out of step with the underlying nature of superannuation, and will likely change as the economic significance of superannuation increases in the future.     

Voluntary Compliance With AAS 25: Another Look At the 'Reporting Paradox'

Contrary to the findings of earlier research, this paper reports a low and declining level of voluntary compliance with important reporting provisions of AAS 25. Implications for AAS 25 of new "competing" government-backed financial reporting regulations are also investigated. Examination of both "formal" annual accounts and "informal" member reports of various types of superannuation funds issued during 1991-93 shows that many funds did not distribute AAS 25 reports to their members and, in fact, received very few requests for this information.     

Director expertise and co-option in industry superannuation funds?

This study examines whether independent directors who possess financial expertise and are independent from the CEO (i.e., non-co-opted) are associated with improved outcomes for industry superannuation funds. Our results highlight that independence alone is insufficient to improve fund outcomes. Instead, we find that only non-co-opted independent directors benefit fund members in terms of higher performance and lower fees. Moreover, we find that independent directors' financial expertise is not associated with fund performance and fees. Our study has implications for regulators and superannuation funds who are currently debating the need for one-third independent directors on the board of Australian superannuation funds.     

Pension Accounting: How Large Australian Companies are 'Paying Up' for Superannuation

In Australia accounting requirements for companies to report on superannuation fund costs substantially lag those overseas and are unsettled. Superannuation commitments for defined-benefit funds are required to be disclosed by sponsoring employers, although corporations are not required to disclose interests in defined-contribution funds. This paper documents the extent of companies' annual report disclosures of interests in defined-benefit superannuation funds. The paper also reviews the debate on pension accounting overseas and examines the impact of AASB 1028 on the reporting practices of sponsoring firms.     

The Role of the Auditor in Modern Society: An Exploratory Essay

This paper examines competing proprietary and political cost arguments for incentives facing managers of different types of Australian and UK pension fund, to voluntarily disclose pension liability information in annual reports sent to their participants. For Australian defined benefit pension funds, the disclosure reveals the fund's actuarial surplus or deficit, which conveys information to participants about the pension fund's ability to generate future cash flows. Tests are conducted on the voluntary reporting practices of a sample of 119 Australian and 100 UK pension funds, using variables which prior research suggests affects their financial valuation and performance. The empirical results support predictions that managerial discretionary disclosure carries proprietary cost implications for Australian defined benefit pension funds, as proxied by their investment risk and funding ratio, and political cost implications for Australian defined contribution and UK defined benefit pension funds, as proxied by their size.     

Effect of fund size on the performance of Australian superannuation funds

This study examines the relationship between fund size and performance for two major superannuation industry sectors in Australia: retail and not‐for‐profit, using a unique but confidential database. Results suggest that members benefit from being invested in larger superannuation funds for three reasons: (i) larger not‐for‐profit funds provide diversification benefits of investing in more asset classes including unlisted property and private equity, (ii) larger funds in both sectors avoid the scale diseconomies in investment returns documented in studies of equity mutual funds and (iii) larger funds make substantial savings by spreading fixed operating costs (such as IT infrastructure) over a larger asset base.     

How Much Investment Choice is Enough for Members?

In recent years Australians have been given increased responsibility in making investment strategy decisions for their superannuation contributions. The investment choices superannuation funds typically offer include ready-made options with a strategic asset allocation or a "do-it-yourself option where the members choose their own asset allocation. This paper examines a sample of choices by members of a large industry fund which allows members any combination of six ready-made pools and eight asset classes. About one-quarter of these decisions involve choices which suggest a possibly naïve view of diversification unless members are conscious of resulting asset allocations.     

The effect of disclosure committees on non-GAAP reporting quality

I examine whether company-implemented disclosure committees help to improve non-GAAP reporting quality. I find that firms with disclosure committees provide higher quality non-GAAP performance metrics and that the exclusions used to calculate their non-GAAP numbers are less persistent for future operating income and operating cash flows. Moreover, I find that firms with disclosure committees are less likely to receive SEC comment letters about non-GAAP disclosure. For firms that receive comment letters about non-GAAP reporting, disclosure committees can help to improve non-GAAP reporting quality. Comparing the influence of audit committees and disclosure committees, I find that audit committee financial experts have stronger monitoring effects than those on disclosure committees. Meanwhile, legal experts on disclosure committees provide similar monitoring compared to audit committees’ financial experts. Finally, the interaction between audit committee financial experts and disclosure committee legal experts produces the strongest effect on non-GAAP reporting quality. In sum, my analyses suggest that disclosure committees can provide important monitoring of non-GAAP reporting.     

Accounting for carbon and reframing disclosure: A business model approach

This paper contributes to the research in accounting and the debate about the nature of carbon footprint reporting for society. This paper utilises numbers and narratives to explore changes in carbon footprint using UK national carbon emissions data for the period 1990–2009 and six years (2006–2011) of carbon emissions data for the FTSE 100 group of companies and a case study that focuses on the UK mixed grocery sector. Our argument is that existing approaches to framing carbon disclosure generate malleable, inconsistent and irreconcilable numbers and narratives. In this paper we argue for an alternative framing of carbon disclosure informed by a reporting entities business model. Specifically, we suggest, that a reporting entity disclose its carbon–material stakeholder relations. This alternative, we argue, would increase the visibility of carbon generating stakeholder relations and avoid some of the difficulties and arbitrariness associated with framing carbon disclosure around a reporting entity boundary where judgements have to be made about responsibility and operational control.     

The Impact of the Disclosure of Non‐GAAP Earnings in Australian Annual Reports on Non‐Sophisticated Users

The disclosure of non‐GAAP earnings in Australian annual reports has risen steadily in recent years. These non‐statutory earnings measures are generally disclosed in the unaudited section of the annual report and are not consistent with statutory profit as defined under generally accepted Australian accounting standards (GAAP). Recent research conducted in the United States (US) has provided evidence that non‐sophisticated investor decisions are influenced by the presence and prominence of non‐GAAP earnings information. Further evidence suggests that investor perception changed after non‐GAAP earnings disclosures became subject to regulation in that jurisdiction. Australia has high investor participation rates by international standards, including investors operating self‐managed superannuation funds, resulting in a significant number of active individual investors. This study employs an experimental design to investigate the impact on non‐sophisticated investors of the reporting of non‐GAAP earnings information in addition to GAAP earnings information in Australian annual reports. The results of this study show a positive association between the prominent disclosure of non‐GAAP earnings information and non‐sophisticated investor reliance on this information. These results provide important evidence to Australian regulators as these narrative disclosures are not subject to regulation, in contrast to the US where mandatory regulation has been in place since 2003.     

The Relation Between Voluntary Disclosure and Financial Reporting: Evidence from Synthetic Leases

I investigate how the use and voluntary disclosure of synthetic leases is affected by incentives to defer cash outflows and manage the financial statements by keeping debt off the balance sheet. I find that managers of cash‐constrained firms with incentives to defer cash payments are more likely to finance asset purchases with synthetic leases. The mandated reporting for synthetic leases allows managers to avoid disclosing the financial consequences of these transactions. Managers of firms with incentives to use off‐balance‐sheet financing do not provide transparent disclosure about their synthetic leases. However, managers of cash‐constrained firms, which are less likely to use synthetic leases for financial reporting reasons, do voluntarily disclose the existence and financial consequences of these contracts. Alternative tests around FIN 46 adoption corroborate these findings.     

FINANCIAL LITERACY AND PENSION INVESTMENT DECISIONS

The call for enhanced financial literacy amongst consumers is a global phenomenon, driven by the growing complexity of financial markets and products, and government concerns about the affordability of supporting an ageing population. Worldwide, defined benefit pensions are giving way to the risk and uncertainty of defined contribution superannuation/pension funds where fund members now make choices and decisions that were once made on their behalf. An important prerequisite for informed financial decision‐making is adequate financial knowledge and skills to make competent investment decisions. This paper reports the findings of an online survey of the members of a large Australian public sector‐based superannuation fund and shows that although respondents generally understand basic financial matters, on average, their understanding of investments concepts, such as the relationship between risk and returns, is inadequate. These results highlight the need for education programs focusing specifically on developing fund members’ investment knowledge and skills to facilitate informed retirement savings decisions.     

Asset allocation and age effects in retirement savings choices

We examine the asset allocation decisions of members of three large Australian retirement savings funds. Superannuation Guarantee legislation in 1992 made Australian employees compulsory investors by requiring employers to contribute a fixed proportion of earnings to a superannuation fund on behalf of employees. A majority of these employees can choose an investment strategy for these contributions. We examine how actual investment strategy and asset allocation choices of members change with age in view of the conventional wisdom that individuals allocate less to risky assets as they age and investments theory which provides conflicting advice on the issue.     

A Note on The Cost of Capital and Investment Evaluation For Companies Under the Imputation Tax

The 25 May, 1988, Statement of the Federal Treasurer indicated that superannuation funds are to be taxed at 15% from 1 July, 1988. Also, it has become increasingly clear that the cost of tax arbitrage is not so great that it is going to inhibit or prevent those receiving franked dividends, such as offshore investors, from selling the tax credits associated with such dividends. The net result is that franked dividends have the potential for benefitting all investors irrespective of their tax status. The outcome could substantially reduce company tax for Australian companies which in turn can be expected to have an effect on their before-tax cost of capital and on the after-tax cash flows but not on their before-tax cash flows or their after-tax cost of capital. This effect will increase the value of companies paying franked dividends.     

Effects of frequent information disclosure: the case of daily net asset value reporting for closed-end investment companies

There are two competing hypotheses regarding the effects of increased financial disclosure. One states that increased disclosure leads to decreased information asymmetry and more efficient pricing resulting in reduced bid-ask spreads, volatility and illiquidity. The other says that increased disclosure places additional burdens on traders leading to increased transactions costs and volatility. This paper examines the effects of more-frequent reporting for the case of closed-end funds that voluntarily changed their net-asset-value reporting from weekly to daily beginning in 1998. Multivariate analyses indicate a decrease in asymmetric information following initiation of daily reporting as evidenced by lower spreads, greater transactions volume, reduced volatility and decreased illiquidity. We conclude that closed-end fund daily net-asset-value reporting provides an example of information disclosure that provides useful information to investors and reduces information asymmetry.     

Attribution of investment performance: an analysis of Australian pooled superannuation funds*

This paper evaluates the market timing and security selection capabilities of Australian pooled superannuation funds over the eight‐year period from January 1991 to December 1998. Evaluation of both components of investment performance is surprisingly scarce in the Australian literature despite active investment managers engaging in both market timing and security selection. The paper also evaluates performance for the three largest asset classes within diversified superannuation funds and their contribution to overall portfolio return. The importance of an accurately specified market portfolio proxy in the measurement of investment performance is demonstrated. This paper employs performance benchmarks that account for the multi‐sector investment decisions of active investment managers in a manner that is consistent with their unique investment strategy. Consistent with U.S. literature, the empirical results indicate that Australian pooled superannuation funds do not exhibit significantly positive security selection or market timing skill.