Organizational change in an Australian university: Responses to a research assessment exercise

The objective of this paper is to explore the way internal organizational control processes are changed in response to external demands. It does this by investigating the organizational change undertaken by an Australian university in anticipation of, and in response to, an externally imposed research assessment exercise (RAE), specifically focusing on the university's internal research-related performance management system (PMS) and its impact on academics. It adopts a case study method, using data from publicly available documents, interviews with senior management, and a survey administered to academics. The data is interpreted and analyzed using Broadbent and Laughlin's organizational change model. The findings reveal that RAE was anticipated with the appointment of new senior leadership, a new vision, restructure of faculties and departments, and changes to the research PMS. The changes to both the university's mission (significant and longlasting, second order change) and its internal systems (less significant, first order change) are evident. In the context of the global proliferation of PMSs in the higher education sector, this paper contributes to the literature on PMSs, indicating its relevance to universities. Its empirics provide useful insights for university managers and regulators and, more broadly, the paper contributes to our understanding of organizational change.     

Research productivity of Australian accounting academics

In recent decades, substantial changes have impacted the global academy, such as the increasing use of key performance metrics for academics. This study provides recent evidence of Australian accounting academics’ performance in publishing in A/A* journals during the period 2010–2018. We find that the top 25 percent of Australian academics produce approximately 60 percent of published journal articles through an analysis of the A/A* Australian Business Deans′ Council (ABDC) accounting journal listing. The majority of published Australian co‐authored research output in the sample is in A ranked journals (80 percent), with only 20 percent observed in A* ranked journals.     

The association between performance appraisal systems,work‐related attitudes and academic performance

This study examines the association between Brown et al.’s (2010) four dimensions of the quality of the performance appraisal system (the clarity, communication, fairness and trust) with the work‐related attitudes [job‐related stress, employee organisational commitment (EOC) and propensity to remain] of Australian accounting academics. Furthermore, the study examines the influence of such work‐related attitudes on academic performance in respect to research, teaching and community service. Data were collected from a mail survey distributed to accounting academics within Australian universities. The results indicate that all four dimensions of the quality of the performance appraisal system were associated with work‐related attitudes. Specifically, communication, fairness and clarity were positively associated with the level of EOC, trust was negatively associated with job‐related stress and fairness was positively associated with the propensity to remain. With respect to the effect on academic performance, job‐related stress was found to be negatively associated with research performance, while the level of EOC was positively associated with both teaching and community service. The findings highlight the importance of improving the quality of performance appraisal systems within the Australian higher education sector.     

The Impact of Research Assessment Exercises on UK Accounting and Finance Faculty

Published research outputs have for a long time been used to assess the performance of UK accounting and finance faculty. This process has been institutionalised and formalised through the introduction of Research Assessment Exercises (RAEs). RAEs have now become a central and recurring feature of university life. This research evaluates the perceptions of UK accounting faculty of the RAE. We surveyed 713 research active academics in November 1997 drawn from old and new universities, and from senior and non-senior faculty. The 182 academics who responded perceived that the quality of their individual and their department’s research had been increased. However, teaching and administration were believed to have been negatively affected. Overall, twice as many academics believed the RAE had a negative rather than a positive impact upon their jobs. The results across the university divide (old vs. new universities) were fairly homogeneous. However, the responses of senior and non-senior staff were significantly different. Non-senior respondents believed the RAE had a significantly greater negative impact on their teaching, administration, promotion prospects and job mobility than senior respondents. Overall, respondents perceived the RAE ratings to be fair. Publication in top UK research journals was perceived to be the greatest indicator of research quality. The findings have important implications, particularly for the recruitment and retention of non-senior accounting and finance faculty.     

The ERA: A Brave New World of Accountability for Australian University Accounting Schools

This study examines the potential impact of Excellence in Research for Australia (ERA) on Australian university accounting schools through a series of in-depth interviews with Heads of Schools. Using an institutional theory framework we find that the pending introduction of the ERA has brought about changes in school structures, processes and systems. A creeping isomorphism is apparent as evidenced by a sector-wide movement towards targeting publications in highly ranked North American journals. While participants were generally positive about the overall aims of the ERA many felt that it would marginalise non-mainstream research. Furthermore, they were of the opinion that the ERA would lead to a reduction in the standing of accounting schools within Australian universities relative to other disciplines.     

Expectations and Perceptions of Overseas Students in a Post-graduate Corporate Accounting Subject: A Research Note

This study examines the expectations and perceptions of overseas students undertaking the post-graduate corporate accounting subject taught at an Australian university. An understanding of students' perceptions and expectations in learning of the subject is important in assisting accounting academics to enhance their teaching programmes, and to manage the diverse student cohorts which are now a feature of university classrooms in Australia. The findings show that overseas students expected the post-graduate corporate accounting subject to be challenging and interesting. Moreover, they expressed a strong desire that the subject should emphasise the practicalities of accounting.     

Accounting as an engine for the re‐creation of strategy at a university

This paper examines the role of accounting in the strategy re‐creation of a university. Drawing on Donald MacKenzie's theoretical notion of performative engines, our field study of an Australian university reveals how accounting, through various calculative practices, fuelled change and steered people into strategic action, leading to the formation of a new strategic plan. We contribute to the existing accounting and higher education literature on university strategising by illustrating how accounting, when convincing and accepted by decision‐makers, can function as an engine for the transformation and financialisation of universities’ strategies.     

Does emotional intelligence matter to academic work performance? Evidence from business faculties in Australia

Using data collected through survey questionnaire across 15 universities, we examine the effect of emotional intelligence on academic work performance (in research, teaching and service) in Australian business faculties. We find academics’ ability to use emotion enhances performance across research, teaching and service, while ability to regulate emotion enhances performance for teaching and service only. We also find support for a process‐based model of emotional intelligence in which appraisal of emotion is a necessary antecedent to emotion’s use and regulation. The results have implications for management in appointment decisions and professional development programmes in business/accounting faculties.     

Further Evidence of Critical Thinking and Final Examination Performance in Advanced Financial Accounting

This study examines whether in-course test components requiring stronger critical thinking skills can help explain final examination performance in an advanced undergraduate financial accounting course, conducted in 2003 and 2004 over three continuous semesters at an Australian university. It proposes and validates two levels of dimensions affecting final examination performance: in-course test components and students’ previous university academic performance. Analysis of a database of 1,816 students using standardised multiple regression over three continuous semesters suggests that while overall Grade Point Advantage (GPA) is the single best predictor of final examination performance, in-course test components that require more critical thinking are better predictors than others, except for the in-course ethics essay test. Length of stay also had some predictive ability. This study suggests that academics should pay attention to monitoring and providing feedback to students on their in-course performance in tests that examine critical-thinking skills covering a wide range of topics. Such monitoring and feedback may assist in improving the final examination performance of students in this course.     

Special issue: Australian Accounting Standards Board Research Forum

The Australian Accounting Standards Board (AASB) engages with academics and encourages them to make practical recommendations for the standard‐setter across three sectors: for‐profit, public and other not‐for‐profit sectors. In doing so, the AASB organised Research Forums in 2016 and 2017 that were of great value to researchers, practitioners and the standard‐setters. Four papers from the Forums in 2016 and 2017 were submitted and accepted for publication in this special issue. This paper provides an overview of the Forum, discusses the impact of conducting research and how the findings of the researchers informed the AASB’s standard‐setting process.     

Disclosure of Goodwill Impairment under AASB 136 from 2005–2010

An accounting standard for goodwill, AASB 136 Impairment of Assets was implemented in Australia in 2005. However, several issues of compliance with the Standard were noted in the initial adoption periods. This study examines goodwill reporting practices in Australia over the five‐year period from 2005 to 2010. It explores the extent to which Australian listed entities complied with mandatory requirements in relation to impairment testing. Using a sample of 287 Australian listed firms, we found that compliance with the Standard's goodwill allocation requirements generally improved; however, there was still non‐compliance for all reporting periods. Also, there was a tendency for firms to define the same or smaller numbers of cash‐generating units (CGUs) than reporting segments. This suggests the existence of CGU aggregation, which may have the capacity to influence the incidence of goodwill impairment, and thereby the financial position of an entity. Coupled with non‐compliance and a lack of audit attention, compliance issues surrounding goodwill impairment testing under AASB 136 still remain of concern to regulators. The findings are useful to academics, regulators and policymakers because they signal the (lack of) compliance with AASB 136.     

Is there an association between Vice‐Chancellors’ compensation and external performance measures?

We provide evidence on the pay for performance relation between Australian university Vice Chancellors’ compensation and independent measures of university teaching, research and other performance indicators provided by external ranking bodies. Our results show limited association between university rankings and Vice Chancellors’ compensation, but confirm that Vice Chancellors’ compensation is predominantly driven by size measures based on the different components of revenue. Further, we find that few universities offer performance‐based bonus payments. Our results are robust with respect to a number of sensitivity tests.     

The Employment Landscape for Accounting Graduates and Work Experience Relevance

This study outlines the results of a survey undertaken at an Australian university in 2007 and examines the factors that are associated with an undergraduate accounting student obtaining a job offer. Undertaking relevant part‐time work, academic performance and social (extra‐curricular) activities are significant factors leading to job offers prior to graduation. Our study also identifies a high level of part‐time work currently undertaken by full‐time students, confirming the trend identified in other studies. Interestingly, this high level of part‐time work was not found to negatively affect students’ academic performance.     

Editorial to Introduce the Bloom and Webinger Forum

Abstract

Undergraduate accounting students in Australian universities are dissatisfied with the feedback that they currently receive. Recent evidence from the Course Experience Questionnaire (CEQ, a national survey of Australian university graduates) suggests that the accounting discipline ranks poorly on assessment feedback when compared to other disciplines. This finding aligns with the results of local university data, which also shows that students appear dissatisfied with feedback. Similar results can be found in other jurisdictions, as noted by the Higher Education Academy in the UK. Given the importance of feedback to enhancing students' learning, these results are of concern to accounting academics and other stakeholders, including professional accounting bodies and graduate employers. To date, few studies have sought to understand in a comprehensive manner the relatively poor performance in feedback scores in the discipline of accounting. This exploratory study seeks to address this gap by investigating the reasons underlying students' dissatisfaction. We report on students' perceptions obtained from a large survey of Australian undergraduate accounting students across 12 universities. Over 2600 students responded to the survey. Our findings indicate that accounting students value feedback that is individualised, detailed, constructive and timely, and that currently they are not receiving feedback with these attributes.     

Performance measurement systems in higher education: How levers of control reveal the ambiguities of reforms

This paper focuses on the introduction of new performance measurement system (PMS) for measuring teaching performance in Universities. The adoption of such PMS should prompt significant changes in existing control processes, but the goals of reform do not automatically translate into the desired organisational responses. Given the impact of PMS on management controls, the nature of such ambiguities may be better investigated using a framework that allows management control systems (MCS) to be taken in account. This paper investigates key actors' perceptions regarding the introduction of PMS through the lens of the levers of control (Simons, 1995, 2000). A qualitative analysis is conducted on interviews held with Italian university teaching managers and heads of programmes to examine the ambiguities arising from the implementation of a PMS.Several ambiguities emerge, both within and between the levers analysed, suggesting some reasons for the (partial) ineffectiveness of PMS reforms. In particular, the belief systems lever is crucial in making reforms acceptable, bureaucratic procedures are important in the diagnostic control systems lever, and performance indicators operate as a boundary system lever. Our findings show that administrative and academic actors perceive the interactive control capacity of PMS differently.     

Positive Accounting Theory as a Lakatosian Research Programme

‘Positive accounting theory’ fails to meet Popper's falsificationist criteria for scientific inquiry. This paper argues, however, that Lakatos' ‘methodology of scientific research programmes’ is superior to Popper's falsificationist methodology, and that ‘positive accounting research’ does meet Lakatos' criteria for ‘scientific' status. Within Lakatos’ philosophy of science, however, this claim does not necessarily represent an endorsement of positive accounting theory.     

The impact of an independent inspectorate on penal governance,performance and accountability: Pressure points and conflict “in the pursuit of an ideal of perfection”

This paper examines the impact of an independent Inspectorate on the enactment, of and accountability for, penal reform in the Australian State of Western Australia. Intended to improve system wide custodial outcomes through the introduction of a privately managed operator acting as standard bearer and innovator, the reform agenda was predicated on an overhaul of governance, performance, systems and reporting practices in the sponsoring department and the state's public prison network. Insights from three credos of imprisonment, theorizations of ‘hierarchical’ and ‘intelligent’ governance and accountability, the interplay of values in changing practice, and the ways in which inspectors establish particular inspection regimes, frame analysis of reform implementation and the inspection regime in action over a ten year period. Using archival material, this research examines how the Inspectorate, in making things auditable, altered perceptions and organizational realities of a network of actors. It is contended that the governance and accountability tensions inherent in managerialism, exemplified in its reliance on ‘neutral’ accounting technologies to incentivise, manage and monitor custodial outcomes, privilege instrumental hierarchical governance and accountability regimes that ignore the rehabilitative aspects of imprisonment. Further, conflicting publicly espoused and privately held values play vital roles in moulding performance in a penal setting, and are fundamental to changing outcomes in networks. The Inspectorate's public values and intelligent accountability regime resonate with the Department's policy objectives and public values, but are shown to have been initially inconsistent with network actors’ hidden private values. The research concludes that the appointment of an independent Inspectorate has facilitated the accountability of those responsible for prison quality and positively influenced the treatment of prisoners. A secondary concern is investigating conflicting propositions about the relative governance, performance and accountability of privately and publicly operated prisons.     

The Impact of Journal Rankings on Australasian Accounting Education Scholarship – A Personal View

Abstract

The higher education environment in which academics currently find themselves is one characterised by corporatisation and commodification. The pursuit of scholarly academic research is increasingly plagued by quantification, ranking pursuits, and what might be referred to as a ‘publication’ maximisation culture. This paper provides reflective insight into the impact felt of journal rankings on Australasian accounting education research. The paper challenges the short-termism and narrow focus currently adopted by many business faculty executives, who continue to use journal rankings as the sole measure of academic performance. The paper argues that this results in incentive schemes not too dissimilar to that recently found within the financial industry. The paper concludes that such a narrow approach to measurement should be abandoned in order to encourage creativity and innovation in business research that assists in solving business problems today and well into the future.     

Compliance Over Time by Australian Firms with IFRS Disclosure Requirements

Prior literature indicates that compliance with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) is not complete in many countries. This study examines practice under the Australian version of IFRS by measuring compliance with the disclosure requirements of eight standards. The study focuses on data drawn from the consolidated financial statements of a sample of the top 200 Australian listed companies. To enable a time‐series analysis of compliance over time, this study examines three reporting years: 2006, 2010 and 2014. This research identifies material non‐compliance among Australian companies, finding that some disclosure items appear to be neglected by companies, such as some of the requirements of AASB 137 Provisions. This non‐compliance raises questions about accounting and audit quality in Australia. It may suggest poor regulatory oversight.     

Whither Financial Accounting Research: A Modern-Day Bo-Peep?

This paper comments on the lack of communication between Australian accounting academics and policymakers about research into accounting policy choice. Five perceived inhibitors of the dissemination of research results are discussed: (i) weighting of positive and normative considerations; (ii) the dominant research school lacks explanatory breadth; (iii) a perception that published research papers focus on statistical methods rather than theory development and testing; (iv) an unwillingness to entertain other research viewpoints; and (v) a breakdown in the lines of communication. Methods of increasing the interaction between Australian academics and professionals are suggested.