Contingencies influencing the management accounting practices of Estonian manufacturing companies

Having regained independence in 1991, Estonia has undergone fundamental political and structural changes over the last decade, which have also affected the operation of its companies. This paper examines the management accounting practices of Estonian manufacturing companies, exploring the main impacts on them within a contingency theory framework. The methodology comprises an analysis of 62 responses to a postal questionnaire survey carried out among the largest Estonian manufacturing companies. It is comparatively infrequently that Estonian manufacturing companies have made improvements in their cost accounting methods, although the majority of respondents appear to acknowledge the importance of these practices in finding and lowering real product costs and modernizing the cost accounting systems. The effectiveness of an accounting systems’ design depends on its ability to adapt to changes both in external circumstances and internal factors. We have found some evidence that changes in cost and management accounting practices are associated with shifts in the business and accounting environment as external contingencies, and with those in technology and organizational aspects as internal contingencies. This research aims on the one hand to confirm earlier findings related to the ‘contingent factors’ that influence management accounting and on the other, to identify possible new factors, such as, for example, the legal accounting environment and shortage of properly qualified accountants.     

Disclosure of Private Information and Reduction of Uncertainty: Environmental Liabilities in the Chemical Industry

We investigate the potential uncertainty-reducing role of accounting information in the context of contingent Superfund liability valuation. We first develop theoretical arguments for the way reduction of uncertainty regarding these contingent liabilities is expected to affect security prices. Empirical proxies are developed for two types of uncertainty surrounding contingent Superfund liabilities: site uncertainty and allocation uncertainty. In a valuation framework, we then investigate whether financial statement disclosures and accruals reduce uncertainty and thereby affect security valuation. Specifically, we analyze the interaction of private information contained in firm disclosures and accruals with inherent uncertainty surrounding contingent Superfund liabilities. Results suggest that in a regulatory environment allowing substantial reporting discretion, firm-provided financial statement information affects valuation of contingent Superfund liabilities by reducing uncertainty. Further, we find that information revealed through accruals versus disclosures is differentially effective at reducing site and allocation uncertainty.     

外汇高顺差形势下外汇统计监测应对策略探讨

在当前外汇收支统计监测中，资本项目和经常项目外汇收支相互融合，离岸外汇收支混入在岸外汇收支，个人跨境外汇收支流动增势迅猛。要加强外汇统计监测，就要加快设计和构建外汇信息统计监测体系，加强统计监测，建立各类监测分析的快捷反应机制。     

上市公司会计稳健性的时序演进与行业特征研究

会计稳健性（accounting conservatism）是财务报告的一个重要特征和惯例。稳健原则的贯彻实施是我国会计改革与国际接轨的突出特征。为分析中国的会计稳健性在实证上的特征，本文采用中国上市公司1993～2003年的数据，运用basu（1997）模型，计算了上市公司分年度的会计稳健性以及行业特征。实证研究发现，随着中国会计制度的改革，证券市场监管和处罚力度的强化，注册会计师的脱钩改制，会计稳健性在1998年后逐渐增强，2001年以后上市公司的会计具有稳健性，会计稳健性具有行业特征，在制造业尤其明显。     

或有表外项目的分类和计量研究

2001～2002年，大量的重大会计丑闻曝光，这些问题暴露了公司治理、审计实务和财务报告中的薄弱环节，其中两个主要问题是表外项目的范围（包括特殊目的实体的使用）和股票发行者的财务报告是否透明地反映了表外项目的经济实质。本文主要对或有表外项目中投资的分娄和计量进行兮析，并提供了美国上市公司投资于其他实体的经验研究与发现，以期对今后的衍生金融工具的会计处理提供借鉴。     

International lease-accounting reform and economic consequences: The views of U.K. users and preparers

In response to perceived difficulties with extant lease-accounting standards in operation worldwide, the G4+1 issued a discussion paper which proposes that all leases should be recognized on the balance sheet [ASB (1999). Leases: Implementation of a new approach, discussion paper. London: Accounting Standards Board]. Leasing is now on the active agenda of the IASB. A major difficulty faced by standard setters lies in overcoming the preparer/user lobbying imbalance and obtaining ex ante evidence on the likely impact of regulatory reform. This paper contributes to the ongoing international debate by conducting a questionnaire survey of U.K. users and preparers to assess their views on proposals for lease-accounting reform and on the potential economic consequences of their adoption. The results, based on 132 responses, indicate that both groups accept that there are deficiencies in the current rules, but they do not agree on the way forward and believe that the proposals would lead to significant economic consequences for key parties. The impact on respondents' views of familiarity with the proposals, level of lease usage, and company size, is also examined.     

A study of earnings-management motives in the Anglo-American and Euro-Continental accounting models: The Canadian and French cases

The purpose of this paper is to investigate factors that potentially influence earnings-management policy with reference to the Anglo-American and Euro-Continental accounting models. Canada and France, respectively, belong to those different socio-economic environments. Earnings-management practices detected in those countries are expected to be affected by specific socio-economic features of the Anglo-American and the Euro-Continental environments. We explain earnings-management practices by incentives suggested in the literature to reveal which motives are prominent within each environment.We tested our earnings-management motives (EMM) model using appropriate panel-estimation techniques over 1674 Canadian and 1470 French firm-year observations. Our results provide evidence that incentives for earnings management for French firms are specifically linked to contractual debt costs and effective tax rate. However, Canadian firms show specific incentives matched with a dynamic capital market. Issuing equity is a strong motive for earnings management in Canadian firms.     

Management accounting and corporate governance: An institutional interpretation of the agency problem

Challenging the dominant economic agency theory of corporate governance with a new discourse drawn from institutional theory, the paper analyses how management accounting is implicated in corporate governance. The proposed institutional theory of agency links the micro-institutions of the organization that are informed by the practices of management accounting with external institutional players and stakeholders. The paper identifies emerging narratives in which the management accounting profession has recognised a distinctive, post-Enron set of sensibilities. Although techniques drawn from strategic management accounting can be adapted to embed better corporate governance practices, the institutional theory of agency identifies tensions between the heroic CEO narrative and the routinization of strategy implicit in strategic management accounting.     

美国高校会计的特征及其启示

传统上美国高校会计制度采用"双轨制"方法,私立大学遵从财务会计准则委员会的准则,公立大学采用政府会计准则委员会的准则,二者一般都采用"基金"会计核算方法.近年来,财务会计准则委员会和政府会计准则委员会制定的有关高校会计信息披露法规出现了融合的趋势,两类高校会计信息披露的内容开始向企业会计靠拢.我国高校会计改革应吸收美国已有的成果,应尽量缩小与企业会计的差别.     

人力资源会计模式评价及建议

尽管劳动者权益会计模式具有独特的优势,但其成本较高。如果我们通过新的制度安排降低劳动者权益会计模式的成本,则该模式将是最佳选择。