A Review of Big Data Research in Accounting

The impending fourth industrial revolution has enhanced the role of big data analytics in today’s business practice. Consequently, many now consider big data as the most strategic resource in business to the extent that organizations that fail to utilize it may become competitively disadvantaged. Following these developments, questions have been raised about the future of the accounting discipline, especially in terms of how it can continue to add value to organizations. While some scholars have attempted to address this question, it remains an abstract concept requiring further investigation. Therefore, this study conducts a systematic literature review to determine the status of accounting research on big data analytics and provides avenues for further studies. By conducting co-occurrence network analysis on 52 peer-reviewed articles published from 2010 to 2020, three broad themes emerged, entailing big data implications for accounting practice, education, and research design. A further examination of the themes revealed few empirical studies on the phenomenon, as conceptual research dominates the field. Although external audit implications of big data are widely discussed, other accounting domains (e.g., managerial accounting and taxation) are underexplored. Therefore, future studies may focus on the implications of big data on variables such as performance measurement, information governance, tax behavior, curriculum design, and pedagogy.     

The Primacy of “Present Fairly” in the Auditor's Report*

In this paper, the author examines the historical evolution in the United States of the use of the term “present fairly” in the auditor's report, as well as the experience and arguments in the United States and Canada regarding the use of a “two‐part” opinion in the report. He then develops an argument for the adoption of a “two‐part” opinion, decoupling “present fairly” from conformity with generally accepted accounting principles, which would place primary emphasis on “present fairly".     

Deciphering big data in consumer credit evaluation

This paper examines the impact of large-scale alternative data on predicting consumer delinquency. Using a proprietary double-blinded test from a traditional lender, we find that the big data credit score predicts an individual’s likelihood of defaulting on a loan with 18.4% greater accuracy than the lender’s internal score. Moreover, the impact of the big data credit score is more significant when evaluating borrowers without public credit records. We also provide evidence that big data have the potential to correct financial misreporting.     

Local governance in the new information ecology: the challenge of building interpretative communities

A key aspect of the ‘big society’ discourse in England is an enhanced role for voluntary organizations in the delivery of public services. However , Conservative philosophy draws upon the contradictory positions of market liberals favouring the free market and a small state, and those favouring community self-help and local distinctiveness. This article explores how these tensions were played out in parliamentary debate over the second reading of the Public Services (Social V alue) Bill. The authors argue that these tensions reflect unresolved issues within the UK Conservative party, and that market liberals will have the upper hand.     

大数据监控措施的法律规制研究——以隐私权为中心的探讨

大数据监控措施即通过大规模、系统化地收集、存储、处理和控制数据而对社会进行的监控,目前已经在侦查中被运用。因此有必要在研究大数据监控对公民权利的影响的基础上,研究如何规制大数据监控的运用。大数据监控可能会侵害公民的隐私权、个人数据权、通信自由权、表达自由权、财产权等权利,其中最有可能被侵害的是隐私权,所以也是我国刑事诉讼中最需要关注的一项权利。大数据监控虽然针对不特定对象,且通常仅监控非内容性信息,但由于对不特定公民的个人信息数据构成现实的威胁,所以仍可能会侵害隐私权。在现代社会,公民将个人信息数据提交给第三方不意味着就放弃了对个人信息数据的权利,要根据侦查机关获取公民个人信息数据的不同情形而判断是否构成对隐私权的侵害。即便公民身处公共场所,或在网络公共领域进行表达、交流,也仍对其中部分信息享有隐私权;而且对于公民在公共场所或网络公共领域所从事的那些不具有合理隐私期待的活动,如果进行长期、密集的监控,也可能会侵害公民隐私权。大数据监控具有侵权的长期性、秘密性、技术性、面广但度轻等特征。对大数据监控进行规制应以《刑事诉讼法》为主体,并辅以其他法律的规制;应当对目前《刑事诉讼法》中的技术侦查制度和立案制度进行改革;对各类大数据监控的法律规制应遵循比例原则,根据其在侦查中的具体作用、监控的对象、内容而进行宽严有别的规制。     

New development: Leveraging ‘big data’ analytics in the public sector

This article examines the opportunities presented by effectively harnessing big data in the public sector context. The article is exploratory and reviews both academic- and practitioner–oriented literature related to big data developments. The findings suggest that big data will have an impact on the future role of public sector organizations in functional areas. However, the author also reveals that there are challenges to be addressed by governments in adopting big data applications. To realize the benefits of big data, policy-makers need to: invest in research; create incentives for private and public sector entities to share data; and set up programmes to develop appropriate skills.     

从100款银行APP测评结果看金融消费者信息的保护和利用——写在《个人信息保护法(草案)》征求意见之际

大数据时代背景下,大数据产业对信息立法影响深远.通过对100款银行APP测评,发现每款APP都存在越界收集和过度收集金融消费者信息的情况,同时,还存在收集信息时未提示信息主体、变相强制转让金融消费者的信息使用权等问题.《中华人民共和国个人信息保护法(草案)》从法学和经济学层面对金融消费者信息进行保护,同时也兼顾到大数据...     

Explaining the (non-) adoption of advanced data analytics in auditing: A process theory

Audit firms are increasingly engaging with advanced data analytics to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of external audits through the automation of audit work and obtaining a better understanding of the client’s business risk and thus their own audit risk. This paper examines the process by which audit firms adopt advanced data analytics, which has been left unaddressed by previous research. We derive a process theory from expert interviews which describes the activities within the process and the organizational units involved. It further describes how the adoption process is affected by technological, organizational and environmental contextual factors. Our work contributes to the extent body of research on technology adoption in auditing by using a previously unused theoretical perspective, and contextualizing known factors of technology adoption. The findings presented in this paper emphasize the importance of technological capabilities of audit firms for the adoption of advanced data analytics; technological capabilities within audit teams can be leveraged to support both the ideation of possible use cases for advanced data analytics, as well as the diffusion of solutions into practice.     

The acceptance and adoption of continuous auditing by internal auditors: A micro analysis

The umbrella of “advanced technology” covers a range of techniques widely used in the U.S. to provide strategic advantage in a very competitive business environment. There is an enormous amount of information contained within current-generation information systems, some of which is processed on a real-time basis. More importantly, the same holds true for actual business transactions. Having accurate and reliable information is vital and advantageous to businesses, especially in the wake of the recent recession. Therefore, the need for ongoing, timely assurance of information utilizing continuous auditing (CA) and continuous control monitoring (CM) methodologies is becoming more apparent. To that end, we have conducted interviews with 22 internal audit managers and 16 internal audit staff members at 9 leading internal audit organizations to examine the status of technology adoption, to evaluate the development of continuous auditing, and to assess the use of continuous control monitoring. We found that several companies in our study were already involved in some form of continuous auditing or control monitoring while others are attempting to adopt more advanced audit technologies. We also made a large number of surprising observations on managerial, technology training and absorption, and other issues. According to our audit maturity model, all of the companies were classified between the “traditional audit” stage and the “emerging stage,” not having yet reached the “continuous audit” stage. This paper,¹ to our knowledge, is the first to study CA technology adoption in a micro level by an interview approach.     

Antecedents and Consequences of Eco‐Control Deployment: Evidence from Canadian Manufacturing Firms

Environmental issues have become an important consideration for a growing number of organizations. Eco‐control may represent a valuable tool to help organizations address such issues. The aim of this study is to provide an overview of the eco‐control practices adopted by Canadian organizations and to understand the antecedents and consequences of their adoption. More specifically, this study examines (i) the extent to which eco‐control practices are deployed within organizations, (ii) the factors and motivations that lead organizations to implement eco‐control practices, and (iii) the impact of adoption on firms’ managerial and operational environmental actions as well as on environmental and economic performance. Using survey data from a sample of 249 Canadian manufacturing firms, this article shows that environmental missions, environmental policies, environmental strategic planning, environmental budgets and environmental performance indicators are the most frequently adopted eco‐control practices among the investigated firms, while environmental incentives seem to be less frequently adopted. The results of this study also suggest that competitive and ethical motivations as well as size, environmental exposure and stakeholder pressure are all important factors in explaining eco‐control practice adoption by Canadian manufacturing firms. Moreover, the results of this study show that organizations that have undertaken more intensive managerial and operational environmental actions have also adopted more intensive eco‐control practices. Organizations adopting more intensive eco‐control practices perform better both environmentally and economically performance than firms adopting less intensive eco‐control practices.     

The lender of last resort

This paper develops a model of the lender of last resort (LOLR) from a Central Bank (CB) viewpoint. The model in a static setting suggests that the CB would only rescue banks which are above a threshold size, consistent with the insight of “too big to fail”. In a dynamic setting, CB’s optimal policy in liquidity support depends on the trade off between contagion and moral hazard effects. Our results show that contagion is the key factor affecting CB’s incentives in providing LOLR and they also provide a rationalization for “constructive ambiguity”.     

The Purpose of the Firm,Valuation, and the Management of Intangibles

This article provides a different way of thinking about, and responding to, four important issues that confront most public companies. First, in articulating the overarching corporate purpose, the author suggests a middle ground between shareholder value maximization and stakeholder theory that aims to achieve the end result of value maximization while taking a “holistic” view that meets most of the demands of stakeholder advocates. As described by the author, there are four critical steps for management and boards in creating such companies: (1) communicating a vision of the company and its purpose to employees as well as investors (and other key outsiders); (2) organizing to survive and prosper through efficiency and innovation; (3) working continuously to develop win‐win relationships with stakeholders and other companies; and (4) taking care of the environment and future generations. Second, in thinking about the corporate purpose and how to evaluate success in achieving it, managements and boards need a valuation model that provides a clear and insightful connection between long‐term corporate performance and market valuation, and how both might be expected to change as the firm matures. A strong case is presented for the life‐cycle valuation model, widely used by money management organizations, in which a company's projected cash flows reflect an expected “fade” in both economic returns on capital and reinvestment rates. The potential uses of this model are illustrated using lifecycle corporate performance data for 3M during the past 50 years. Third, in an effort to capture the value of innovation and investment in intangible assets, the author presents an alternative to the accounting approach of capitalizing and amortizing such assets that attempts to capture their expected future benefits by using more favorable forecasts of long‐term fade rates. Fourth, the author shows how incorporating Life‐cycle Reviews for each of a company's business units as part of its Integrated Reporting could improve management's resource allocation decisions, help build a shareholder base of long‐term investors, and provide management with the support and confidence to resist Wall Street's excessive emphasis on quarterly earnings.     

偿付能力、生命周期与养老金动态调整策略

本文从生命周期的角度,把养老保险基金的偿付能力作为内生变量,直接引入到养老金调整模型,使之能够自我反馈信息和修正预测偏差,并能根据偿付能力的变化对养老金进行动态调整,最终使养老保障能力与偿付能力实现了内在统一。情景分析表明:(1)在人口出生率和经济增速持续放缓的趋势下,如果不优化当前的养老金调整模式,偿付能力不足的程度将持续加剧;(2)与现行政策和现有模型相比,基于偿付能力构建的调整模型,能有效缓解偿付能力不足的程度,而且降低了养老金大幅波动的风险;(3)结合生命周期理论来调整养老金,不仅偿付能力的提升效果优于其它模式,而且延长了参保人员应对风险的时间,更加符合风险承受能力变化的生命周期特征,提高了抵抗风险的能力;(4)在制定延迟退休年龄等政策时,要综合考虑调整模式、养老金增长率和人口出生率等多方面因素,养老保险基金才可能持久地保持充足的偿付能力。     

Adopting a Label: Heterogeneity in the Economic Consequences Around IAS/IFRS Adoptions

This study examines liquidity and cost of capital effects around voluntary and mandatory IAS/IFRS adoptions. In contrast to prior work, we focus on the firm‐level heterogeneity in the economic consequences, recognizing that firms have considerable discretion in how they implement the new standards. Some firms may make very few changes and adopt IAS/IFRS more in name, while for others the change in standards could be part of a strategy to increase their commitment to transparency. To test these predictions, we classify firms into “label” and “serious” adopters using firm‐level changes in reporting incentives, actual reporting behavior, and the external reporting environment around the switch to IAS/IFRS. We analyze whether capital‐market effects are different across “serious” and “label” firms. While on average liquidity and cost of capital often do not change around voluntary IAS/IFRS adoptions, we find considerable heterogeneity: “Serious” adoptions are associated with an increase in liquidity and a decline in cost of capital, whereas “label” adoptions are not. We obtain similar results when classifying firms around mandatory IFRS adoption. Our findings imply that we have to exercise caution when interpreting capital‐market effects around IAS/IFRS adoption as they also reflect changes in reporting incentives or in firms’ broader reporting strategies, and not just the standards.     

产品生命周期成本理论应用研究综述

首先论述了产品生命周期成本理论的产生与发展,然后,综合分析了国内外产品生命周期成本理论在不同领域的应用推广;归纳梳理了支持产品生命周期成本控制理念得以实现的技术,总结了多视角理论拓展研究现状及发展动态,最后提出了加速LCC推广应用需要重点研究的问题。     

The adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards in a non-colonized developing country: The case of Nepal

The purpose of this paper is to provide a systematic and rigorous analysis of the accounting environment in Nepal. Based on the accounting ecology framework developed by Gernon and Wallace (1995) and interviewing selected key stakeholders, it critically examines issues related to the adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) in Nepal. It contributes to the literature by examining issues associated with the adoption of IFRS in a non-colonized developing country. This study finds that the decision to adopt IFRS in Nepal is not driven by the needs of local organizations and is rather imposed by donor organizations such as the Asian Development Bank, International Monetary Fund and World Bank. The findings of this study provide evidence that the adoption of IFRS is likely to be problematic due to the country's contextual environment. Specifically, there is a severe lack of qualified accountants in Nepal and the accounting profession is not ready to adopt IFRS. The study also finds that social problems such as widespread corruption and fraud are likely to cause problems for the adoption of IFRS.     

The Economics of Organizational Architecture

Drawing on the work of Michael Jensen and William Meckling, the co‐formulators of “agency cost theory,” the authors argue that there are two main challenges in designing the structure of organizations: (1) the “rights assignment” problem—that is, ensuring that decision‐making authority is vested in managers and employees with the “specific knowledge” necessary to make the best decisions; and (2) the “control” or “agency” problem—designing performance‐evaluation and reward systems that give decision‐makers strong incentives to exercise their decision rights in ways that increase the long‐run value of the organization. The authors provide a number of instructive applications and extensions of the Jensen‐Meckling organizational framework. Using a series of short case studies that range from the Barings Brothers' debacle in the early 1990s and the decade‐long restructuring of ITT to the cases of McDonald's and Century 21, the authors demonstrate the importance of designing performance‐measurement and reward systems that are consistent with the assignment of decision rights. In so doing, the authors also work to dispel the widespread notion, popular among advocates of Total Quality Management, that the widespread use of performance measures and incentives undermines efforts to promote teamwork within large organizations. A number of brief case histories of companies like Xerox and Mary Kay Cosmetics are used to show the critical role of performance measurement and individual rewards in reinforcing a quality‐centered corporate culture. As the authors conclude, “It is a mistake to think of the ‘soft’ and ‘hard’ aspects of organizations as mutually exclusive or even as competing.”     

Policy models in accounting: A critical commentary

The accounting profession, through its rule-making apparatus, employs a particular choice model for identifying and resolving policy issues. This model is referred to in this article as the “constitional” approach. It is of interest to inquire why accountants have adopted this paradigm and eschewed other policy models, such as the “legal” or “scientific” approaches, even though the latter have generated considerable advocacy within the recent history of the profession. This paper examines the interesting hypothesis that the choice of the “constitutional” approach is consistent with the Group Self-Interest Hypothesis. By forming an associative group the major accounting firms have a primary interest in achieving higher prices for the industry's products. These higher prices can be achieved in three ways: (1) restricting entry, (2) restraining supply and (3) increasing demand. The “constitutional” approach is more efficacious in achieving these results than are the proposed alternative policy models.     

Defining groups of companies under the European Insolvency Regulation (recast): On the scope of EU group insolvency law

This article examines the general scope of application of the provisions on insolvency regarding members of a “group of companies”, as included in Chapter V of the European Insolvency Regulation (recast) (“Recast EIR”), in order to review whether that scope is appropriate to deal with the different group structures in which business may be conducted. With the definition for a “group of companies” playing a paramount role in determining the scope of these provisions, the article includes a thorough analysis of the current definition for a “group of companies” as included in the Recast EIR. Based upon a teleological approach, the article argues in favour of an independent, broad and flexible interpretation of “group of companies”, in order to include a large number of groups within the scope of the Recast EIR's provisions regarding group insolvencies.     

Earnings baths by CEOs during turnovers: empirical evidence from German savings banks

Existing research documents that incoming CEOs in non-financial firms tend to take an “earnings bath”. They reduce their first year’s profits through discretionary expenses, blame the “bad outcome” on their predecessors, lower the performance benchmark, and save income for subsequent accounting periods. Identifying such an earnings bath for incoming CEOs in banks requires us to disentangle under-provisioning, which may have triggered the turnover event, and the earnings bath. For a sample of German savings banks over the period 1993–2012, we find that incoming CEOs increase discretionary expenses and that this increase is stronger for incoming CEOs from outside the bank than for insiders. We further show that CEOs coming from outside increase discretionary expenses during their first year in charge even if the default risk of the bank is low and the stock of risk provisions relative to risk exposure is high. Therefore, we conclude that the effects are only partially driven by incoming CEOs who rectify discretionary expenses by insufficient existing risk provisions, and that big bath accounting plays an important role in explaining discretionary expenses during CEO turnovers.