THE STRUCTURE AND CONTENT OF EXECUTIVE AGENCY FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

This paper reports the results of a survey of the published financial statements of executive agencies entering the Price Waterhouse Best Agency Report and Accounts Competition. The survey illustrates the application of GAAP designed for one environment in a different context and the difficulties that result under these circumstances from the absence of direct analogies for some classes of event. Some suggestions for improvements in reporting are made, includ- ing: the publication of standardised, sector-wide, guidance; standardisation of formats and terminology; the use of the 'expenditure less income' format for the operating statement in appropriate cases; and the clarification of insur- ance arrangements.     

Outsourcing HR: The Impact of Organizational Characteristics

This study investigates the relationship between a number of organizational characteristics and the decision to outsource HR. Determinants of the outsourcing of four categories of HR are examined: HR generalists activities (e.g., performance appraisal), transactional activities (e.g., payroll), human capital activities (e.g., training), and recruiting and selection. HR executives in 432 organizations provided data on outsourcing levels and organizational characteristics. Reliance on HR outsourcing was associated with idiosyncratic HR practices, strategic HR involvement, positive HR outcomes, promotional opportunities, demand uncertainty, and pay level. As predicted, however, the impact of organizational characteristics varied among the different types of HR activities outsourced. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Top Executive Remuneration: A View from Europe*

abstract We argue that the dominance of principal‐agent theory as an approach to investigating executive pay has led to an overly narrow focus which may be unhelpful when considering cross‐country differences and probably also hinders within‐country analysis. The paper discusses the interlinked nature of three available theoretical lenses, namely principal‐agent, executive power, and stewardship/stakeholder theories. It argues that institutional theory can provide a useful overarching framework within which appropriate variants of these approaches can be deployed to better comprehend developments in executive pay. We illustrate our approach with a discussion of executive pay in the UK and in Germany.     

Defining the proposed factors for small business online banking: Interviewing the IT professionals

Small business customers that use electronic services are potentially more profitable than those who do not. ¹ For banking and financial institutions, understanding small business customers' online behaviours and preferences will be one of the key drivers to successfully reach this segment efficiently and economically. Following a proven construct development methodology, this preliminary study completes the first steps by conducting interviews with information technology professionals. These information technology professionals were directly involved in the support of websites operated by several large banking organisations located in the southeastern United States. The information gathered from the subject group provides a foundation for the discussions as to how those organisations support, or fail to support, the delivery of electronic banking to small businesses, factors are proposed to define the construct of what constitutes successful small business online banking relationships.     

GDP Per Capita Versus Median Household Income: What Gives Rise to the Divergence Over Time and how does this Vary Across OECD Countries?

Divergence between the evolution of GDP per capita and the income of a “typical” household as measured in household surveys is giving rise to a range of serious concerns, especially in the USA. This paper investigates the extent of that divergence and the factors that contribute to it across 27 OECD countries, using data from OECD National Accounts and the Luxembourg Income Study. While GDP per capita has risen faster than median household income in most of these countries over the period these data cover, the size of that divergence varied very substantially, with the USA a clear outlier. The paper distinguishes a number of factors contributing to such a divergence, and finds wide variation across countries in the impact of the various factors. Further, both the extent of that divergence and the role of the various contributory factors vary widely over time for most of the countries studied. These findings have serious implications for the monitoring and assessment of changes in household incomes and living standards over time.     

Sexual Harassment in the Public Accounting Profession?

Federal discrimination laws have defined two distinct types of activity that constitute sexual harassment – "hostile environment" and "quid pro quo." The Civil Rights Act of 1991 and more recent Supreme Court rulings make it easier for workers to win lawsuits claiming they were sexually harassed in the work environment.While the public accounting profession continues to address gender-related problems, it remains vulnerable to claims of sexual harassment. In an attempt to better understand the underlying risk the public accounting profession faces, this study focuses on identifying (1) the extent of sexual harassment in the public accounting profession, (2) the type of harassing behavior that is most common, and (3) where the harassment occurs.The research questions are addressed through a survey of female public accounting professionals who are members of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA). Their responses provide evidence that public accounting firms are exposed to significant internal risk. Sexual harassment and a sense of frustration in coping with this issue is evident in the data.Public accounting firms and their respective clients must pause and evaluate their working environment. The responsibility to design and establish a business atmosphere that will encourage and maintain professional relationships between colleagues lies with these firms.     

An Empirical Investigation of the Growth Cycle Theory of Small Firm Financing

This paper empirically tests the financial growth cycle model for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), which postulates that as firms become larger, older, and more informationally transparent, their financing options become more attractive. We add to the literature by providing one of the first empirical tests of the model using a large, cross-sectional data set. Our results partially support the financial growth cycle model. Specifically, our results show larger firms, as measured by total number of employees, are more likely to use public equity funding or long-term debt as opposed to insider funding.     

What can we learn from the historic road safety performance of high-income countries?

Abstract

Road traffic deaths in high-income countries (HICs) have been steadily declining for five decades, but are rising or stable in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). We use time-series cross-sectional methods to assess how age- and sex- specific death rates evolved in 20 HICs during 1955–2015, controlling for income, population density and urbanization. Past work has attributed improvements in safety in HICs to income growth, suggesting that countries intervene when they become richer (Kuznets hypothesis). In contrast, we show that HICs had statistically significant declines in road traffic injuries starting in the late 1960s that persist after controlling for income effects, and inclusion of a lagged dependent variable. These findings are consistent for all age-sex groups but the effects are strongest for the elderly and young children. We argue that the reversal in the traffic injury trend did not occur because HICs reached an income threshold. Instead, the 1960s were a period of paradigmatic change in thinking about road safety. Subsequent, safety improvements occurred because countries at different income levels established regulatory institutions that had a legislative mandate and financial resources to conduct large-scale safety interventions.     

All for Nothing? Accounting for Land under Roads by Australian Local Governments

Accounting for land under roads by local governments has been one of the most controversial and protracted episodes in the setting of Australian accounting standards. However, after more than two decades of exposure drafts, regulation, transitional provisions and re‐regulation, most land under roads has not been recognised in local government balance sheets. Australian Accounting Standard AAS 27 Financial Reporting by Local Governments was first issued in 1991 and, among other significant reforms, proposed that local governments report land under roads as an asset in their financial reports. However, persistent opposition to this requirement and practical difficulties associated with its implementation gave rise to a succession of transitional provisions deferring its mandatory application. Finally, in 2007 – 16 years after AAS 27 was first promulgated – the Australian Accounting Standards Board (AASB) sought to bring closure to this issue with the release of AASB 1051 Land Under Roads. However, in the interim some state governments had pursued their own resolutions, forbidding the recognition of land under roads. This research reports the results of a survey of the impact of land under roads on local government financial reports. After two decades of debate and regulation, diversity is found to persist in the extent and manner of recognition of this ‘asset’. However, recognition remains the exception rather than the norm and is typically confined to recent acquisitions that comprise only a very small portion of total assets. These circumstances are suggestive of an episode of regulatory failure.