Book reviews

Valid measures of how people view risks due to combinations of hazards are needed. 320 adult smokers responded to four vignettes in which hypothetical men were described as having high or low levels of (1) smoking and (2) either (a) blood cholesterol or (b) family history of CHD (coronary heart disease). Ratings of the risk of a heart attack were made using one of three different rating scales: (a) nine‐point, (b) 101‐point, and (c) unbounded. The nine‐point scale yielded a strong sub‐additive interaction, the 101‐point scale yielded a weak sub‐additive interaction, and the unbounded scale yielded a weak synergistic interaction. Although respondents preferred the nine‐point scale, evidence from this and other studies suggest that scales with nine points or fewer should not be used to assess perceptions of risks due to multiple hazards.     

Exchange-rate regimes for emerging markets: moral hazard and international overborrowing

This paper investigates the role of the exchange-rate regimein a simple Fisherian model of the overborrowing syndrome. Wheredomestic banks are subject to moral hazard, the choice of exchange-rateregime may have important implications for the macroeconomicstability of the economy. Banks that enjoy government guaranteeshave an incentive to increase foreign borrowing and incur foreign-exchangerisks that are underwritten by the deposit insurance system.In the absence of capital controls, this increases the magnitudeof overborrowing and leaves the economy both more vulnerableto speculative attack and more exposed to the real economicconsequences of such an attack. While 'bad' exchange-rate pegswill tend to exacerbate the problem of overborrowing in emergingmarkets, it is unclear that flexible exchange rate always dominatesfixed exchange rates. A 'good fix' - one that is credible andclose to purchasing power parity - may reduce the 'super riskpremium' in domestic interest rates and thereby narrow the marginof temptation for banks to overborrow internationally. Contraryto the current consensus regarding the lessons that should bedrawn from the Asian crisis, a good fix may better stabilizethe domestic economy while limiting moral hazard in the bankingsystem.     

The Purpose of Financial Reporting: The Case for Coherence in the Conceptual Framework and Standards

This paper proposes a basis for progress in the development of the conceptual framework (CF) as a foundation for developing accounting standards. This topic has gained increased prominence following the IASB's (2013) release of its Review of the Conceptual Framework for Financial Reporting (RCFFR) proposing changes to the CF. In this paper the broad socio‐economic environment is seen as determining the primary purpose of General Purpose Financial Reporting (GPFR), which, in turn, establishes the high‐level properties of a CF suitable to meet that primary purpose. This is to support market stability and efficiency through the provision of an account of the financial position and performance of an entity that accords with economic reality. The case is made that the primary purpose of a CF is to provide the principles for the development of accounting standards that will result in GPFR that is useful. This requires theoretical coherence. The CF should drive the standards and if standards depart from the CF principles, such departures should be justified. This proposal is consistent with the position adopted in the RCFFR. However, in contrast to the RCFFR, this paper accents the purposive approach and links the formation of standards directly to the CF. This approach implies that standards are subordinate to CF principles; therefore compliance with standards should not provide a basis for compromising the faithful representation of economic reality. From the purpose identified for GPFR, the paper argues for a default presumption in favour of Fair Value Accounting, a retreat from the asset/liability approach, and a re‐casting of the income statement to focus on operational flows.     

Corruption and valuation of multinational corporations

This paper examines the relationship between U.S. MNCs' valuation and corruption in countries where the MNCs' foreign subsidiaries are located. We uncover that country-level corruption has a multi-dimensional impact on MNCs' valuation. We find that the impact of intangibles is less pronounced for MNCs operating primarily in corrupt countries, consistent with the view that the lack of property rights protection and information asymmetry problems are more prevalent in corrupt environments. We also find that the expansion of a MNC network dominated by corrupt countries negatively affects MNCs' valuation, suggesting that investors may recognize it as an additional risk. However, more importantly, we find that geographic diversification in corrupt countries significantly increases firm value if the MNC has high levels of intangibles such as technological know-how and marketing expertise. Assuming that transactions costs in corrupt countries are higher, our findings are consistent with the notion that the advantages from internalizing the cross-border transfer of intangibles are greater in the presence of corruption. Our findings remain unchanged when we account for endogeneity at the country-and firm-level, when we use alternative corruption measures, and when we re-estimate models by omitting MNCs with operations in locations with big “negative” shocks during the sample period. Moreover, we show that firms with expertise in dealing with corruption enjoy greater benefits from internalization.     

Food miles and food choices: the case of an upscale urban hotel in Hong Kong

The nature of food production and consumption has changed dramatically in recent decades. Food sources for hotels and resorts have been an increasingly important sustainability topic in recent years. Where food is sourced has important implications for the economic, environmental and socio-cultural sustainability of tourist destinations. Based on where food is sourced and the mode of transportation, food miles is calculated for an upscale urban hotel in Hong Kong over a 12-month period. Greenhouse gas emissions associated with these food miles are computed. Over three-quarters of the food and beverages procured travelled via sea, the most energy efficient mode of transportation. Follow-up interviews with the hotel's procurement and executive chefs reveal the motivation behind these purchase decisions. While quality of food is the main driver for chefs, the procurement department take quality and cost into consideration. These different motivations provide potential conflict in sourcing food sustainably. Another issue raised is that food being procured from nearby countries may have questionable health and safety standards. Just because food can be procured closer to the destination does not necessarily mean it is the most sustainable option.     

INCASE: SIMULATING EXPERIENCE TO ACCELERATE EXPERTISE DEVELOPMENT BY KNOWLEDGE WORKERS

INCASE, a web‐based electronic learning (e‐learning) environment, has been built to enable rapid expertise development in novice‐level professional knowledge workers. This paper describes the theoretical underpinnings (constructivist epistemology) behind INCASE and uses a design science methodology to describe its design, construction, instantiation, and validation. The INCASE system addresses a fundamental problem in knowledge worker domains where experience is a necessary component of expertise development and a barrier to the rapid development of domain experts. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

An Analysis of Potential Legal Liability Incurred Through Audit Expert Systems

The introduction of expert systems technology into the audit environment has opened a new avenue of auditor legal liability. This paper examines the potential impact expert systems will have on auditor liability. The presentation of this new avenue of auditors' legal liability explores both the potential for litigation under failure of auditor/expert system collaboration to yield prudent decisions and the failure to use an available expert system. The risks evolving from failure to use an available expert system include the possibility that the system could be used against the auditor in the courtroom. While case law will ultimately determine the bounds of this liability, this paper acquaints the reader with the important legal issues involved and the varied outcomes that could emerge. It should also be noted that while the specific example presented in this paper relates to the audit profession, the legal concepts are of equivalent concern to other professions enduring broad implementation of expert systems.