The evolution of corporate no net loss and net positive impact biodiversity commitments: Understanding appetite and addressing challenges

The World Economic Forum has identified biodiversity loss as an increasingly significant and impactful risk facing business. However, businesses themselves can negatively impact on biodiversity. Recognizing this, a number of companies have developed their own biodiversity commitments, including those to achieve a no net loss (NNL) or net positive impact (NPI) on biodiversity by balancing or outweighing any negative impacts through mitigation activities. We reviewed corporate‐level NNL and NPI commitments over the last two decades to establish the extent of their adoption, retraction, and scientific foundation. Between 2001 and 2016, 66 companies had made NNL/NPI environmental commitments. Thirty three of these 66 companies made specific biodiversity commitments. The numbers of companies making commitments increased in that period. However, some commitments were retracted, or their status became unclear, leaving only 18 companies with active NNL/NPI biodiversity commitments in 2016. Added to this, many of the commitments are lacking science‐based criteria that would allow more transparent and systematic assessment of corporate activities. Thus, although commitments are being made, they may not be delivering as intended. To secure real biodiversity gains, we recommend advancing methods to assess biodiversity risks to businesses, and using science‐based criteria to deepen corporate commitments and actions. Concerted effort from all sectors is needed to halt and reverse biodiversity loss, and the “biodiversity policy super‐year” of 2020 is the perfect moment for business to deliver through well‐framed and implemented commitments to biodiversity NPI.     

Australian Financial Graphs: An Empirical Study

The use of graphs to disclose financial information in corporate annual reports represents a significant dimension of financial disclosure management. This study replicates and extends previous research into financial graphs by documenting the nature and extent of graph use and departures from representational neutrality among the 1991 corporate annual reports of the top one hundred companies listed on the Australian Stock Exchange. Eighty-nine per cent of companies use graphs; the mean number is 9.4, with diversified companies using the most graphs. The most commonly graphed financial variables are sales, profit, EPS and DPS. Evidence is found that graph use is contingent upon favourable performance. In addition, material measurement distortion is found in 34 per cent of all key financial graphs. Eighty-six per cent of companies have slope parameters which depart more than 10° from the optimum, thus impairing communicative effectiveness. A range of design strategies are employed which are consistent with the adoption of an impression management schema. No persistent systematic differences between forms of distortion and industry group are found. Comparison with prior single-country studies reveals that graphs are used more extensively in Australia than in the U.S.A., the U.K. or Canada, but that there is less evidence of impression management. This latter finding is consistent with the view that there are fewer short-term and capital-market pressures in Australia.     

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.     

Theoretical studies of the historical development of the accounting discipline: A review and evidence

Many existing studies of the development of accounting thought have either been atheoretical or have adopted Kuhn's model of scientific growth. The limitations of this 35-year-old model are discussed. Four different general neo-Kuhnian models of scholarly knowledge development are reviewed and compared with reference to an analytical matrix. The models are found to be mutually consistent, with each focusing on a different aspect of development. A composite model is proposed. Based on a hand-crafted database, author co-citation analysis is used to map empirically the entire literature structure of the accounting discipline during two consecutive time periods, 1972-81 and 1982-90. The changing structure of the accounting literature is interpreted using the proposed composite model of scholarly knowledge development.     

CALL FOR PAPERS

This study investigates publication profiles of 137 accounting and finance faculty promoted to professor at UK universities during 1992–2007. On average, nine papers in established academic journals, with 5 at the highest 3*/4* quality levels in a portfolio of 20 outputs are required for promotion. Based on various theoretical perspectives, multivariate models of key performance benchmarks (quality and quantity measures) are constructed and have good explanatory power (R 2 Tenure was effectively abolished in the UK via the 1988 Education Reform Act on the insistence of the government. The only real protection that academic employees now have is that of employment law relating to open-ended contracts and to fixed-term contracts longer than 2 years duration. Also, many universities recruit lecturers/assistant professors on probationary contracts and the award of a permanent contract is not guaranteed. We are grateful to the editor and a reviewer for these two corrective comments. ?≥?0.7). Publication requirements seem to have increased over time, argued to be mainly attributable to government-initiated Research Assessment Exercises. For internal promotions, there is some evidence of higher hurdles but no evidence that quality requirements differ based on gender; sub-discipline; research intensity of institution peer group; or government-initiated research ranking of unit. Similarly, the quality benchmark is not reduced for those having an increased recent publication history, a high number of non-ABS outputs or sole-authored papers. Comparison with the US suggests underlying geographically-based paradigm differences. UK promotion benchmarks are argued to have evolved through a dynamic and complex interaction between university managers, the government and the accounting and finance academic community.     

EXTRAORDINARY ITEMS AND INCOME SMOOTHING: A POSITIVE ACCOUNTING APPROACH

This is an empirical study of single-period income smoothing which uses an incentives-based model to explain classificatory choices. An index is constructed to measure the smoothing effect of these choices. Weighted least squares regression results indicate that classificatory choices consistent with smoothing are more likely to be observed in firms with high earnings variability, high dividend payout, substantial managerial holdings of share options and diffuse share ownership. The existence of material scope for smoothing strengthens these findings. The model as a whole is statistically significant and, although the proportion of variability in smoothing explained is modest, it compares very favourably with other accounting choice studies. The relationship between smoothing and alternative earnings management strategies, including big bath accounting, is explored.     

The determinants of audit fees—evidence from the voluntary sector

Given the growing demand for accountability in the public sector, there is a need to begin to investigate audit pricing issues in this sector. This study makes three contributions. First, it develops and estimates, for the first time, a model of audit fee determinants for the charity sector. As in previous private sector company studies, size, organisational complexity and audit firm location are the major determinants. A positive association between audit fees and fees for non-audit services is also observed. Charity sector factors of empirical significance include the nature of the charity (i.e., grant-making or fund-raising), its area of activity and the importance of trading income. Separate models for grant-making and fund-raising charities reflect the relative complexity of the audit of fund-raising charities. Second, the lower auditor concentration in the charity sector market, compared to the private sector market, permits a more powerful test of whether large firms and/or auditor expertise are rewarded with a fee premium. In the more complex audit environment of fund-raising charities, the results show that Big Six audit firms receive higher audit fees (18.5%, on average) than non-Big Six firms. Also, non-Big Six audit firms with charity expertise are rewarded with a fee premium over other non-Big Six firms. Finally, the study demonstrates that the charity audit fee rate is significantly lower than that of private sector companies; in fact it is approximately half. A change in the reporting of charity audit fees is proposed to reflect any element of ‘charitable giving’ by the audit firm.     

Exploring employee engagement in Scottish nursing at a time of multi-faceted change: developing a research agenda

Given the unprecedented levels and pace of change being experienced in the UK's National Health Service, it is critical to maximize the engagement of key staff. This paper identifies the most important issues that need to be addressed for nurses (the largest group of NHS employees). The case study for this paper on Scottish nurses in a new hospital focused on the interaction between feeling valued, involved and having a voice; and line management support. Themes and challenges for future empirical research are identified. Lessons from the case study will find application internationally.