书中自有黄金屋

也许到了该复古的时候了。每年投资和个人理财方面出版的新书可谓是汗牛充栋。当我看到新书书评,找到原著来读,每本只须看一两分钟,一般就可断言,那些造纸印书的树真是白砍了。     

Accounting for the social economy: the socioeconomic impact statement

Abstract ** :  Organizations within the social economy have unique characteristics, yet their accounting procedures do not reflect this uniqueness, and rather are designed for private‐sector organizations that exchange their goods and services in the market. We argue that conventional accounting creates a perception that social economy organizations are users of resources and separate from the private and public sectors, rather than creators of value and an integral part of our society (Quarter, Mook, and Richmond, 2003a). This paper addresses the accounting needs of social economy organizations by presenting a model of social accounting—the Socioeconomic Impact Statement—that may help bring out the impact of such organizations. The paper presents a demonstration project of the potential utility of the Socioeconomic Impact Statement .     

Are Women Held to a Higher Moral Standard Than Men? Gender Bias Among University Students

This study examines gender bias in ethical decision-making, defined as a difference in the evaluation of the morality of an action depending on the gender of the person performing the action. Results indicate that college student respondents exhibited some degree of gender bias, and that it was especially noticeable among the male respondents. Bias was somewhat more pronounced among liberal arts majors than other business majors, and non- existent among accounting majors. Implications for early-career professional training and business ethics research are discussed.     

Why do firms switch underwriters?

In the mid-1990s, 30% of firms completing an SEO within three years of their IPO switched lead underwriter. This article provides evidence on why they switched. Contrary to predictions of prior research, there is little evidence that firms switch due to dissatisfaction with underwriter performance at the time of the IPO. A surprising result is that switchers’ IPOs were significantly less underpriced than non-switchers’ IPOs. However, switchers raised fewer proceeds than expected, compared to the mid-point of the filing range, while non-switchers raised significantly more proceeds. There are two main reasons for switching. Firms graduate to higher reputation underwriters, and they strategically buy additional and influential analyst coverage from the new lead underwriter. Survey results support these conclusions.     

OUTSIDE UPSIDE: FINDINGS FOCUS THROUGH FINANCE OUTSOURCING

More and more companies are outsourcing aspects of the finance and accounting function to cut costs and increase process efficiency. This article draws on survey results and numerous real-world examples to make the case for outsourcing finance and accounting functions, either outright or through shared service centers. As expected, cost and efficiency gains can be dramatic. But there are also important strategic benefits, including the freedom to focus on core businesses, greater access to specialist knowledge, standardization of processes across business units, and the ability to launch operations quickly without staffing back offices.
Maximizing the benefits of outsourcing requires careful planning and execution. Executives who have successfully navigated the process recommend allowing adequate time to ensure buy-in and consensus building, incorporating the appropriate performance-based incentives, taking steps to build morale during the transition, ensuring proper oversight, and building a strong partnership with the provider. When properly implemented, outsourcing is a powerful ally in the corporate struggle to cut costs—and it can be a vital complement to strategy as well.     

On the Timing and Execution of Open Market Repurchases

Little is known about the timing and execution of open marketrepurchases. U.S. firms are under no obligation to disclosewhen they are trading, and generally report only quarterly changesin shares outstanding. We use 64 firms' supplementally disclosedrepurchase trading data to provide the first examination ofrepurchase timing and execution. Across the days reported inour sample, firms adopted a variety of execution styles rangingfrom immediate intense repurchasing to delayed and smoothedrepurchasing. We find no clear evidence that repurchases aretimed to coincide with, precede, or follow, days on which informationis released. We benchmark the costs and value of a given repurchaseprogram against naive accumulation strategies achieving thesame terminal portfolio. While there is considerable variationacross the firms, NYSE firms on average beat their benchmarks,whereas NASDAQ firms do not. Finally, we document the liquidityimpact of open market repurchases. We find that repurchasingcontributes to market liquidity by narrowing bid-ask spreadsand attenuating the price impact of order imbalances on dayswhen repurchase trades are completed.     

The growing role of informal controls: does organization learning empower or subjugate workers?

Several management theorists have called for organizations to incorporate organization learning, empowerment, open-book management, and similar initiatives to generate better value from an important strategic resource: employees. What does this mean for the controlled? Do extensions of the management control system’s ability to implement the strategy of the firm offer workers a more central role in creating their future? Or is this “progress" just another means to extract extra effort from workers for the benefit of owners? This paper is developed in two parts. The first argues that seeking better value from workers is here to stay, and that the implications for management control system bear consideration. In particular, the five disciplines of Senge’s (1990) Organization Learning are introduced to illustrate growing ways informal controls enhance workers’ knowledge contributions. The second half of the paper examines implications of this increasing control. Some argue that it is naive to expect organization learning will lead managers to willingly realign existing lopsided rewards. However, as a natural response to change, these controls are themselves dynamic and evolutionary. This paper suggests that the growing dependence on employee’s superior knowledge recalibrates power arrangements. Further there is a growing awareness that many managers’ self-interest is mitigated by their sense of fairness. Consequently, an increasingly shared authority combined with the self-reflection and transparency of organization learning raises the possibility of an environment where those who perform the work share more equally in its rewards.     

The Economic Competitiveness of Jerusalem Artichoke (Helianthus tuberosus) as an Agricultural Feedstock for Ethanol Production for Transportation Fuels

Environmental concerns such as air pollution and soil degradation have led to increased interest in altrnate technologies and production practices. Alternate transportation fuel are being investigated along with their feedstock sources. This paper presents results of work carried out on Jerusalem Artichoke as a feedstock for fuel ethanol production.