When is Goodwill not Goodwill? The Accounting and Taxation Implications

Courts have encountered perplexing questions about the definition and valuation of goodwill which have significant tax implications. This paper compares the treatment of goodwill from accounting and taxation perspectives. It examines two recent Australian court decisions concerned with the concept of goodwill and finds there are still several areas of contention that both cases failed to settle.     

The role of the tour operator in South America: Argentina,Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay

The role of the tour operator in the supply chain has focused traditionally on the dominant position of companies situated in the generating countries of Europe and North America; despite recognition of the tour operator located in emergent receiving countries, the area has not been discussed extensively. This paper investigates the opinions of 37 tour operators in four emerging countries in South America, with a view to evaluating the nature and level of contact with foreign tour operators and suppliers. It assesses the degree of internationalisation that occurs, and the extent to which tour operators are involved in the process of tourism development. The paper confirms the role of the receiving tour operator within the distribution chain, but concludes that in terms of stimulating tourism development there is a need for more research into the relationships between government and the wide range of organisations involved in the process. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Narratives in managers’ corporate finance decisions

This article uses the extended case method to explore senior executives’ corporate finance decisions. We quantified firm’s finance practices using a mail survey, and then – to resolve puzzles in managers’ decision processes – conducted face‐to‐face interviews with chief finance officers of large listed firms. The interviews identified six themes as consistent influences on finance decisions: pressures imposed by clienteles; constraints on resources; risk management; heuristics; real options; and sustainability. We conclude that managers are logical and rational in their decisions, but employ a wider range of criteria than assumed in conventional finance theories.     

Segmenting the contours: Australian economic growth 1828–1913

The statistical properties of Australian GDP estimates are used to investigate discontinuities in economic growth between 1828 and 1913. Australian GDP appears to follow a segmented trend stationary process, with discontinuities around 1851 and 1891. The results are used to shed light on the impact of the 1851 gold discoveries and the 1890s depression on Australian economic development.     

Biotechnology regulation as symbolic normalization

In the “risk” controversy around agricultural biotechnology, at stake is the legitimay of this innovation, particularly the release of genetically modified organisms (GMOs). It has faced potential obstacles to R&D and an eventual market for products. In response, risk management institutions have been designed to anticipate hypothetical hazards; to overcome the perceived abnonnalip of GMOs; to avoid political protest; and to standardize safety criteria. In the UK and its EC framework, process-based legislation has had a precautionay content, designed to consider a broad range of ecological uncertainties which could be translated into technical evidence of safety. Given that all stages of risk management entail environmental value judgements, its procedures bear some potential for greater public involvement. Since process-based replation was enacted in 1990, industy has attacked it for hindering the commercial competitiveness of the European biotechnology industy. This attack more likely aims to limit the precautionay content, to normalize GMOs, and to preclude democratizing risk assessrnen—though at the risk ofjeopardizing its public credibilip. These dilemmas o f risk management arise from its implicit role in legitimizing a contentious form of techno-scientific progress.