Дисертації з теми "Accounting in use"

Accounting information can be instrumental to agents who strategize. Pluralistic settings are conducive to strategizing. Although the dynamics between accounting systems and strategic decision-making are well studied in the private sector, little is known about the relationship between accounting and strategizing in the pluralistic setting of healthcare. Hence, this study investigates medical managers' strategizing practices with accounting information (e.g. building cases for investment and taking on new business). Medical managers require, at least, some expertise with accounting to employ it effectively in strategizing. In consequence, the study also explores variation in medical managers' technical knowledge of costs and level of engagement with accounting information. Thus, this research answers the question of how medical managers strategize with accounting information. The study draws upon accounting and strategizing literature, which interrogates actors' strategizing practices (e.g. Paroutis & Pettigrew, 2007), the artefacts and tools that they mobilise while strategizing (e.g. Jarzabkowski et al., 2013) and how accounting and strategizing helps actors contextualize strategic objectives and accounting concepts (e.g. Jørgensen & Messner, 2010). In doing so, accounting and strategizing studies shift away from viewing strategy as a black box (Chua, 2007; Johnson et al., 2003). This study focuses on Clinical and Medical Directors; clinicians who have both medical and managerial responsibilities. This hybrid profession is increasingly important for health care organizations, however, in the past, clinicians' competence and engagement with accounting information has not been widespread (Llewellyn, 2001; Kurunmäki, 2004).The research uses a mixed methods approach to gather and analyse empirical data. Interviews were held with Clinical and Medical Directors at four selected Trusts that demonstrated a high level of engagement between finance professionals and clinicians at different organizational levels and across all clinical specialties (Department of Health, 2013). Documentary analysis examined the use of accounting information in business cases for investment, annual strategy plans and specialty reports. A survey explored the financial training, engagement and use of accounting information for the whole population of Clinical and Medical Directors of all NHS Trusts in England. The study finds that medical managers strategize via controlling, contesting and competing (C-C-C) practices. Specifically, they strategize with accounting information to control activity and expenditure, contest imposed costs, and compete, against others, for resources. In doing so, they embed accounting in business cases, bubble charts and performance reports, using these as artefacts and tools, to display the practical and general understandings of accounting which inform their strategizing practices. Thus, for pluralistic settings like healthcare, the study introduces a theoretical 'C-C-C' typology to the notion of strategizing and makes an empirical contribution to how actors strategize with accounting information.

The objective of this dissertation is to analyse some important aspects of the issue of the usefulness of accounting to trade unions. This issue raises fundamental questions as to whether trade unions must plan for or simply represent the interests of employees in the modern business enterprise. The analysis presented suggests that trade union use of accounting information, within the business enterprise will be restricted so long as they pursue re-active, oppositional policies within a context established by management strategic planning practices and consequently will have little influence on events. Both a theoretical review of the principles of strategic planning and an examination of recent economic history shows that management do not plan to promote the interests of employees, and that managerial control of the strategic planning process is of vital importance. In consequence, I argue that the power latent in trade unions can only be harnessed if they reconceptualise their central 'organizing principles' around challenging management strategic planning prerogatives by developing an independent ability to plan. Previous research into the usefulness of information to trade unions has not recognized this planning requirement and has, in consequence, been highly restricted in perspective and has under estimated the usefulness of information to trade unions. The methodology of this thesis is qualitative. By collecting unstructured, in-depth data from a major case study, it has been possible not only to assess the usefulness of accounting information to trade unions, but also, crucially, to analyse it within the context of problems which trade unions confront in developing a constructive response to economic change.

Following Roberts (1990) and Dent (1990). this study investigates the importance of complexifying the relationship between strategy and accounting. The genealogical approach of Hoskin et al (1997) provides inspiration as to the ways in which strategic discourse (itself promoted as a subject of study by Knights and Morgan (1990,1991,1995)) is historically contingent upon practices of accounting. I take up this task of inaugurating the study of accounting practice and strategy discourse, from strategy to accounting, to develop a new perspective of how their interaction takes place. This gives birth to a re-reading of the strategy (and accounting) literatures, from the direction of a constitutive notion of accounting practices. In particular, the processual and critical schools of strategy are found to promote conventional notions of accounting as mirror, as secondary and passive practice, which circulate beneath the usual level of visibility. Building on this emergent approach, a post- Foucauldian theory of practices is outlined from a methodological viewpoint. This approach does not begin from such general categories as 'the individual', 'the social' or 'the economic', and thereby does not follow conventional understandings of 'doing ethnography'. The inquiry is empirically situated within the context of a longitudinal investigation (1997-2000) into the U. K. based part of a global telecommunications company, Teleco. I discover complex interactions between accounting practices and the workings of strategy, both as presence and absence. There is a partial presence of strategy even within the most 'strategic' parts of Teleco, in conjunction with a growing absence within those parts most distant from 'the strategy'. Despite this, or perhaps because of this, the spread of accounting and accounting based-practices rolls on, albeit in a non-uniform way. This brings forth the possibility of a strategic accounting, one whose practices are perhaps most visibly internalised and effected on my very self, thus adding weight to the rejection within this thesis of the metaphysical categories of either 'strategy' or 'accounting.

Business Administration/Accounting
Ph.D.
This dissertation contains three studies relating to executive equity compensation. In the first study (Chapter 2), I investigate whether firms adjust CEO’s equity incentives in response to the firms’ prior earnings management. I find that the risk-taking incentives from new equity grants are lower for firms with higher prior real earnings management (REM), but not for firms with higher accruals-based earnings management (AEM). My finding suggests that boards perceive the consequences of REM are more value-reducing than AEM and that they take stronger actions against REM by reducing the CEO’s risk-taking incentives arising from equity incentives. In addition, I this result is driven by firms with higher institutional ownership, suggesting that institutional investors play an important monitoring role in structuring executive compensation contracts to limit the CEOs’ value-reducing behaviors. In the second study (Chapter 3), I investigate how the firm’s downside risk and upside potential differentially affect the choice between cash and equity compensation and the choice between stock options and restricted stock compensation. First, I find that, as downside risk (upside potential) increases, boards grant more cash compensation (more equity compensation) and less equity compensation (less cash compensation). This is consistent with the idea that, when downside risk increases, a CEO requires a higher risk premium for equity compensation and, thus, the board shifts compensation away from equity compensation to cash compensation. The reverse is true for the increased upside potential. When upside potential increases, the observed compensation contract will contain less cash and more equity compensation. Second, I find that the proportion of CEO option compensation increases with downside risk and decreases with upside potential. This is because, when downside risk increases, the probability of a stock option finishing out of the money (i.e., zero intrinsic value) increases but restricted stock has positive value as long as the stock price is positive. In contrast, when upside potential increases, because of stock options’ leverage effect, a CEO will prefer stock options to restricted stock. In the third study (Chapter 4), I study how executive stock options differentially affect the firm’s systematic and idiosyncratic risk by exploiting the passage of Financial Accounting Standard (FAS) 123R as an exogenous shock to CEO option compensation. I find that option-based compensation and the proportion of idiosyncratic risk in total risk is negatively associated. This is consistent with the idea that since, unlike risk-neutral investors, risk-averse CEOs have limited ability to eliminate firm specific idiosyncratic, idiosyncratic risk is unwanted by under-diversified CEOs. Thus, CEO option compensation creates incentives to increase the firm’s systematic risk relative to the firm’s idiosyncratic risk.
Temple University--Theses

There have been the recent calls for additional research in order to enhance the understanding of the adoption of management accounting practices (MAPs) in small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs). This, allied to an increasing importance of SMEs around the world especially in developing countries, is the motivation for this research. This research explores the uptake of a broad range of MAPs in Malaysian SMEs; identifies the roles of MAPs in the management of SMEs; determines factors that affect the extent of use of MAPs in SMEs and lastly examines the relationship between the use of MAPs and organizational performance of SMEs. A postal questionnaire was conducted to 1,000 Malaysian SMEs in manufacturing sector which elicited 160 useable responses. The results show that the majority of respondents have used the five management accounting areas identified. Use of the costing system, budgeting system and performance evaluation system are significantly higher than for the decision support system and strategic management accounting, which indicates that the uptake of traditional MAPs is greater than for sophisticated MAPs. The results indicate that medium sized firms make greater use of all MAPs as opposed to small sized enterprises. The most significant differences relate to the use of decision support system and strategic management accounting. The increased uptake of sophisticated MAPs by larger firms is in line with size being a contingent variable explaining the use of such practices. The results also suggest that MAPs were perceived as playing very important roles in the management of Malaysian SMEs. Performance evaluation and controlling activities were the major roles of MAPs in the management of SMEs. Overall the study suggests that MAPs are perceived by SMEs as relevant and useful in their management processes. Further, the study found that four out of five contingent factors; size of the firm, intensity of market competition; participation of the owner/manager in the development of MAPs in firm and advanced manufacturing technology have a positive and statistically significant relationship with the use of certain MAPs. The research however found weak support for the positive relationship between the use of MAPs and organizational performance of SMEs. This study enriches the existing body of knowledge of management accounting by providing information as to the use of MAPs in SMEs in Malaysia. The findings can be specifically informative for policy makers intent on developing management accounting skills among Malaysian SMEs. This research will provide valuable insights into the nature of MAPs in SMEs in a developing country and will promote interest among Malaysian researchers as well as researchers of other countries to make the SME sector a focus of interest in management accounting research.

Approved for public release, distribution unlimited
One area not identified by the Defense Management Review currently in progress is accountability for the commercial use of the Government Furnished Property located in Defense contractors' facilities. This study focused on this issue to determine if the Department of Defense should strengthen its accounting for contractors' use of Government Furnished Property on commercial work. The results of interviews with 50 Government and contractor Property Administrators at headquarters, field level activities, and contractors' facilities are reported. It was concluded that the current accounting procedures utilized by Defense agencies involved with contractors using Government Furnished Property for commercial work are inadequate and 15 recommendations are presented to correct these accounting deficiencies.

This thesis presents a new methodology based on directly measuring user behavior and making decisions based on experimental results. I have built and tested a tool which will enable researchers to use the methodology to determine whether particular financial statement presentations are more beneficial than others. The tool records user movement on a computer screen with mouse tracking, which allows researchers to track user behavior in greater detail than ever before. The methodology was tested on a subject pool of non-professional financial analysts and junior professionals, who were presented with a company’s financial data in the current GAAP and a new proposed FASB presentation format. The results show that this methodology could be useful in differentiating between present GAAP and proposed alternatives.

There is a need to learn more about how managers use accounting information. This thesis investigates how managers make use of business reports; as they are one of the ways managers receive information. Previous research was found to broadly correspond to four important aspects affecting how managers make use of business reports; aggregation, timeliness, flexibility and dimensions. A case study was conducted at NCC Construction. The main findings from this study are that managers have the possibility to view information in the reports at their desired level of specificity and they are not concerned about the issue of timeliness. Furthermore they are satisfied with flexibility in reports, but wish for more capabilities and do not desire non-financial information in reports. Therefore the four aspects are found to no longer be a hindrance to managers in their use of business reports as much as could be expected from previous studies. Technological developments and business practices are found to have changed managerial work. Reporting has become faster and is more accurately reflecting the real world operations, making business reports more useful to managers.

The purpose of the thesis is to explore the usefulness of information from deferred tax disclosures in detecting earnings management. A deferred tax disclosure is seen as a dashboard that informs users of accounts influenced the most by managerial judgement. This study contributes to the literature in the several ways. Firstly, unlike the vast majority of previous research, it provides empirical evidence outside of the USA. Finland was chosen as a country with a high quality of the institutional environment and comparably low levels of earnings management among public firms. My empirical analysis covers a decade (2007–2016), which is almost the entire period since the adoption of IFRS by the country in 2005. Data on the composition of deferred taxes used in the analysis were not available via any of the databases and thus were hand-collected from firms’ annual reports. To mitigate potential bias resulting from mergers, acquisitions, divestitures, or discontinued operations, only the changes in deferred taxes that flow through the income statement are considered. Besides, the new classification of deferred tax components is developed and applied. I formulate hypotheses in relation to earnings management around two earnings targets: reaching positive earnings (avoidance of a loss) and exceeding the prior year’s earnings (avoidance of an earnings decline). Each of the two sets of hypotheses consists of three sub-hypotheses that focus on the usefulness of total net deferred tax liability, deferred tax component related to provisions and reserves, and deferred tax component related to “other” temporary differences. I doubt the usefulness of total net deferred tax liability in detecting earnings management because of its heterogeneous composition. The study extends previous research on the use of deferred tax component related to provisions and reserves in detecting earnings management. Deferred tax disclosures are not fully transparent in terms of sources of temporary differences, and a considerable part of deferred taxes is hidden behind the label of “other”. The testing of this category of deferred taxes is conducted for the first time. The obtained results show that only change in deferred tax component related to provisions and reserves provides important information on earnings management to avoid an earnings decline. Thus, a significant change in this component of deferred taxes can be used as a complementary indicator of possible earnings management for users of financial information. Although, given the relatively small number of observations, the significance of the obtained results is rather moderate. Another limitation of such types of studies is an assumption that tax accounts are free from manipulation, so changes in deferred taxes properly highlight managerial discretion over book accounts.

Initial public offerings (IPOs) are primarily valued using the comparable firms approach, whereby underwriters rely heavily on multiples based on the accounting information of peer firms. Effective use of the comparable firms approach depends significantly on the underwriter's ability to estimate the expected future growth and profitability of the IPO firm and its peers and make appropriate adjustments to the multiples to arrive at a final offer price for the IPO shares. I find evidence that, in general, IPO valuations are decreasing relative to peers in the similarity of the peer group to the IPO firm, but this effect is moderated by the peer group's accruals quality. These findings suggest that when peers are similar to the IPO firm, underwriters make less adjustments to the final offer price, however, higher peer accruals quality may ease the assessment of differences in growth and profitability, facilitating further adjustments.

Bibliography: leaves 66-70.
Hyperinflation, as defined in IAS 29, was identified in Zimbabwe in November 1999. Accordingly, the standard, and its General Price Level adjustments, was adopted for financial years beginning on 1st January 2000. However, there has been much resistance to the implementation of the standard, which is considered to require the provision of costly, meaningless information that is not used by anyone in the investment process. This study attempts to determine the use and perceived usefulness of IAS 29 in Zimbabwe and to identify the significant problems and weaknesses in the restatement process that have caused this. The study found both the use and perceived usefulness of IAS 29 General Price Level information to be extremely low. The major reason cited for this was the lack of user understanding. The other major problems related to the perception of inconsistent methods and assumptions in the restatement process, as well as the use of the CIP, accused of being manipulated by government, as the basis of restatement. These issues need to be addressed by the Institute of Chartered Accountants, in consultation with the other accounting regulatory bodies, before the use and perceived usefulness of the IAS 29 General Price Level information can improve. Further, the study indicates that, whilst the preparers of financial information are extremely undecided as to the manner in which the accounting regulatory bodies in Zimbabwe should proceed, the analysts using such information are very much in favour of retaining the disclosure of inflation adjusted figures in some form, until such time as the inherent usefulness of the information is either proved or disproved.

The study was conducted to examine the effect of accounting environment on use of discretionary accruals by constrained firms in order to raise finance by debt and equity. For the purpose of the study Germany was chosen as code law country and United Kingdom was chosen as common law country. The data included firms listed on Deutsche Börse Stock Exchange and London Stock Exchange. Data was collected for years 1990 to 2015. Regression analysis was done on 7827 firm year observations. Modified Jones model was used to determine discretionary accruals and lagged year return on assets was added to Modified Jones model to adjust for performance. Performance adjusted accruals were called abnormal accruals in the study. Net leverage, free cash flow and KZ index methods were used as constraint measures and capital expenditure has been used as investment opportunity. Pooled regression controlled for year effect was performed to capture the influence of time series trends. All the models have insignificant results, but when pooled regressions controlled for year effect were run significant results were obtained. For first hypothesis pooled regression controlled for years by net leverage constraint has significant results revealing that common law countries have lower accruals for constrained firm with investment opportunity. This can be because in common law countries firms signal growth to investors by income decreasing accounting choices as it is taken as positive signal. On the other hand, in code law countries firms can use discretionary accruals to get waivers and debt at low cost. Furthermore, for second hypothesis only pooled regression accounting for year on debt financing using net leverage have significant results revealing that when discretionary accruals are used more debt financing is raised by financially constrained firm with investment opportunity in common law countries as compared to code law countries. This can be because in common law countries firms are not closely monitored by banks as financial disclosure is considered high in such countries. Results were insignificant for pooled regression controlled for year effect for raising equity. However, for all pooled regression controlled for year effect for debt and equity raised significant results were obtained for result that more equity and debt is raised by financially constrained firm when they have positive projects. The study results will help investors in respective accounting environments to make financing decisions. Moreover, it will assist managers to make corporate and financing decisions using accruals. The study also adds to literature of signaling and opportunistic hypothesis. However, future research is needed to examine the motivation of accrual use in different accounting environments.

This dissertation is based on the Kida-Smith (1995) model of "The encoding and retrievability of numerical data." It is concerned with the variable conditions under which a positive affective response (i.e., a decision or opinion that results in a positive valence) on previously viewed accounting information may and may not influence current decision-making. An affective response to accounting numbers may adversely influence decisions made based on those numbers. Prior research has found that individuals recall information that is consistent with prior decisions more readily than they recall inconsistent information. Research has also shown that current judgements are biased toward prior decisions or judgements. These biases may cause current decisions to be suboptimal or dysfunctional. Two 2x2 experiments were conducted to examine four hypotheses. These hypotheses concerned (1) the influence of an affective response on an investment decision when the differences between two sets of accounting numbers are small and when the differences are large, (2) the influence of an affective response on the recall of numerical data, (3) the influence of time on the recall of numerical data given an affective response, and (4) the influence of an affective response on an investment decision when the level of cognitive processing at the time the affective response is produced is low and when the level of processing is high. The first experiment used graduate students in an accounting course to investigate the influence of differences between numerical amounts on decision making. It also investigated the influence of time between the encoding and retrieval on recall of numerical amounts. The second experiment used accounting practitioners to investigate the influence of differences between numerical amounts on decision making, and to examine the influence of different levels of cognitive processing at the time of encoding on decision making. Results indicate that an affective response does produce suboptimal decisions. In the case of accounting practitioners, however, the influence of the affective response is mitigated when the magnitude of the difference between the accounting numbers previously viewed and those undergoing current examination is large rather than small. The affective response did not significantly influence the recall of numerical amounts. There was no significant change in the influence of the affective response on recalled amounts with increased time between encoding and retrieval. Also, there were no significant changes in decision-making with increased processing at the time of encoding.
Ph. D.

Today there are shortcomings in monitoring, control, analyses, learning and reporting of the results of activities and operations in the road management processes. There are also shortcomings in transparency and verifiability, in knowledge of road management’s costs and life cycle costs, of the road capital’s standard and condition and in measures of quality deficiency costs, productivity and maintenance backlog. The starting points for different applications of the model are taken from experience of the subprocesses in practical road management, independent analyses of activities, operations and results, presence at directors’ meetings (in an independent co-opted capacity) and literature reviews. It is my belief that the problems can largely be solved with transparent, verifiable information that is relevant to the sub-processes. A model has been designed with the transport policy’s requirements at the focus for all sub-processes’ applications without repeating errors as regards internal control, use of standard values and index adjustments. For each component, the model provides quality-related information about its current condition and condition value, acquisition value, replacement value and standard target value with the effects of measures carried out. Changes in standard and condition of new construction, improvements, maintenance and consumption can be shown in the model. Information can also be found on a component’s consumption cost, index adjustment and successively accumulated life cycle costs. Quality deficiency costs, inefficiencies, maintenance backlog, cost drivers, productivity and, for example, expected funding needs can be calculated by computer. The model has been tested and this document also describes the model’s implementation project at the SNRA. Most of the road network’s components have been registered for a long time in the SNRA’s road and traffic data bank as compulsory or optional phenomena. The remaining components will to a large extent be entered automatically. Some will require inventorying. In theory, the quality-related accounting will thus have access to information about every individual component in the entire state-administered road network. For at least 75% (80% in the implementation project) of the total value o fthe road capital, current condition information will exist for each individual component in the road network. The information, that constitutes “best available knowledge” of the components’ current functional condition, is administered in dedicated administration systems and comes from different kinds of inventories. The values of the remaining components can be appraised systematically on the basis of individually assessed technical length of life and, for example, planned maintenance. The model shows that decisions to carry out measures can also be based on “best available knowledge” of socioeconomic effectiveness, consideration of the environment, climate and energy in a life cycle perspective, customers’ (society’s and road-users’) expectations and political demands for fairness. These requirements are systematically worked into the limit values for “as constructed” and “worst acceptable condition”. The condition interval between the limit values shows the component’s functional consumption margin provided that the transport policy’s requirements are taken into consideration. The information makes it possible to consider and stipulate requirements regarding the development of components’ accumulated life cycle costs in procurements. Contractors will have a natural focus on increased productivity and cost increases in projects should be smaller. The model makes the long term planning process more efficient and shortens lead times. Prices, costs, accumulated life cycle costs and various types of deviations can be analysed continuously to achieve systematic learning from good examples and failures. In the project follow-up, deviations are automatically divided within the system into causes dependent on time, quantity, and unit price. Control and monitoring with analyses and learning can be made more effective through automatic monitoring against control limits. The concept of quality-related accounting of road capital should be a part of the international discussion around models for Transportation Asset Management (TAM).
QC201007723

The financial crisis of 2007-2009 was one in which many financial services firms participated in shortsighted and unethical behavior. About $11 trillion in household wealth were lost, 26 million Americans lost their jobs, and 4.5 million could not afford their mortgages These events and statistics show the prevalent lack of ethical leadership in the financial services sector. The problem addressed in this study is the lack of leadership ethics and its relationship to organizational success within the financial services industry. The purpose of this quantitative correlational study was to determine the relationship and test the predictive strength between corporate supervisors' use of key ethical variables and organizational success. Responsibility, respect, fairness, and honesty were the predictor variables and organizational success was the criterion variable. One hundred and thirty six corporate supervisors from financial services sector in New York and Washington, D.C completed the survey questionnaires. The results of the study indicated that the four predictor variables have a significant and positive relationship with the criterion variable. The strongest relationship among the predictors and criterion variables were found between corporate supervisors' use of respect (r = 0.676, p< .001), corporate supervisors' use of honesty (r = 0.653, P<.001), followed by corporate supervisors' use of fairness (r = 0.589, P<.001), and corporate supervisors' use of responsibility (r = 0.577, p<.001). Additionally, the multiple linear regression analysis showed that that the variables were significant predictors of organizational success (R2 =0.525, F (4, 131) = 36.24, p< .001). The findings of the study concluded that ethical leadership is significantly related to organizational success. It contributed to the theoretical and operational knowledge within the fields of ethical leadership ,advancing the empirical and theoretical insight of the LMX theory, as well as providing new and pragmatic knowledge of the context of ethical leadership in the financial services industry Future research recommendations included (a) quantitative, study with a meta-analysis design,(b) an expansion of the target population beyond the financial services industry and (c) a phenomenology to explore lived experience of the variables in the study.

The objective of this dissertation is to explore the usefulness of accounting information to trade unions. Evidence from this and previous research supports the view that, at best, trade unions believe financial information to be of little use and, at worst, as largely irrelevant. By contrast, financial analysts use the same information in conjunction with other published economic and industrial statistics, to assist investors to monitor and, in effect, control the economy. This suggests there is an incentive for the unions to acquire the necessary skills to analyse financial information, so that they too can monitor management policy, and thus be in a better position to further the interests of their members. And yet they do not, and show few signs of wanting to. To understand this apparent paradox, this thesis argues that the trade unions use of accounting information has to be understood in the context of their methods, objectives and role in capitalist society. This thesis concludes that for the trade unions to realise the potential of accounting information, they would need to organise on the basis of "strategic unionism". The arguments presented are illustrated and developed through a detailed analysis of closures at Dunlop during the late 1970s and early 1980s. The case-study shows (a) that the trade unions could have foreseen Dunlop's closure programme by utilising the information potentially available to then, and (b) that they failed to do so because of the constraints imposed upon their strategic uses by organisational and institutional weaknesses.

There has been much discussion in the literature concerning the potential conflict over transfer pricing techniques used by MNCs to shift profits outside the borders of a host country. This happens whereby MNCs artificially lower their profits by manipulating transfer prices with their subsidiaries. They can achieve substantial benefits by adopting effective pricing policies. Careful planning of intra-company prices can take full advantages of differences among such things as corporation tax rates, tax incentives and reliefs and customs duties. The decade of the 1970s produced important economic changes in the Egyptian economy as a result of the economic open door policy. Since then Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) grew rapidly which reflects confidence in the Egyptian economy. Despite initiatives undertaken by the Egyptian government to attract greater inflows of FDI, greater efforts should be devoted to streamline and simplify the relevant administrative procedures of the government. Governmental policies and regulations could encourage multinationals to engage in transfer pricing manipulation more often in developing countries than in more developed countries. This is rarely due to the ignorance of the governments of developing countries to transfer pricing issues at the international level. Also, authorities concerned with the the issue are poorly equipped. The purpose of this study has been to investigate transfer pricing and profit shifting practices by MNCs doing business in Egypt. The case study approach has been used in the empirical work, including eleven companies. The investigation involved governmental authorities and an accounting firm that has an interest in the transfer pricing issue. The empirical study focused on factors influencing transfer pricing strategies which represent a motive to shift more profits from Egypt.

The number of multi-million dollar divorce settlements has been increasing rapidly in the last decade. Although Donald Trump's divorce from his first wife, Ivana, wherein $25 million was awarded to the former spouse, may have seemed like a significant sum in 1992, this amount appears quite minuscule today.1 In December of 2011, Mel Gibson's soon to be ex-wife Robyn Moore received $425 million in the couples' divorce settlement.2 In March of 2012, Frank McCourt was forced to sell his professional franchise, the Los Angeles Dodgers, in bankruptcy during his divorce proceedings with Jamie McCourt.3 It seems as if every month we hear details of another celebrity divorce settlement involving hundreds of millions of dollars, begging the obvious question: do athletes and celebrities who stand to make fortunes during a contemplated marriage, need to be more aware of the consequences of divorce and how to better protect themselves in such a case, before repeating the words "I do"? 1 Joanne Kaufman, "The Art of the Divorce," People,http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,20105577,00.html (accessed April 19, 2012). 2 Ken Lee, "Mel Gibson's Ex Wife Takes Half His Estimated $850 Million in Divorce Settlement," People, http://www.people.com/people/article/0,20556666,00.html (accessed April 19, 2012). 3 Stephen Dunn, "Why the McCourt Marital Agreement Failed," Forbes,http://www.forbes.com/sites/stephendunn/2011/12/14/why-the-mccourt-marital-agreement-failed/ (accessed April 19, 2012).

This paper investigates by analyzing the Middle East, whether culture, with the significant influence of Islam, hinders the use of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). Doctrines within the Islamic faith creates irreconcilable accounting practices that do not comply with IFRS. The two primary features of Islam that distinguishes Islamic accounting from conventional accounting, are the tenets of zakat and riba. Ultimately this paper discusses how these principles cause hindrance in the use of IFRS.

L'objectiu d'aquesta tesi és examinar la mesura en que l'ús i l'estil d'ús dels sistemes de comptabilitat i control de gestió (MACS) per l'alta direcció contribueixen a la consecució dels resultats desitjables de l'organització. En aquesta investigació, el concepte de resultats d'organització s’explica en termes d'innovació de productes i del rendiment financer. Sobre la base de la teoria de contingència, aquesta recerca està organitzada en un compendi de quatre articles. Un treball teòric i tres estudis d'investigació empírica que es desenvolupen a partir de dues enquestes preexistents i una enquesta original creada exclusivament per a aquesta tesi serveixen de base per a les proves d'hipòtesis. L'objectiu de cadascun dels quatre treballs de recerca d'aquesta tesi és el de contribuir a avançar en el coneixement sobre els efectes i mecanismes mitjançant els quals l'ús dels MACS és capaç de facilitar i donar suport a l'èxit de l'organització. Dos treballs de recerca examinaran els resultats d'organització en termes de ‘resultats de la innovació’, mentre que altres dos articles es focalitzen en els resultats organitzatius en termes de ‘rendiment de l'organització’. El primer article en aquesta tesi pretén contribuir a la literatura sobre les palanques de control (levers of control, LOC) (Simons, 1995), investigant les relacions entre la innovació i MACS, posant l'accent en la importància de l'elecció per la qual les MACS es seleccionen pel seu ús interactiu. Utilitzant dades d'enquestes de 57 empreses espanyoles (catalanes) mitjanes, trobem evidència que recolza (1) l'elecció de MACS per a l'ús interactiu s'associa amb la manera d'una empresa de gestió de la innovació (IMM), i (2) el nivell de la innovació de productes està influenciada per si o MACS seleccionat per ús interactiu i IMM comparteix similars models cognitius i si la sofisticació dels continguts d'informació proporcionada pel MACS interactiu respon a la prioritat de les necessitats percebudes en la IMM. Els nostres resultats indiquen, a més, que la similitud en els patrons d'entre IMM i MACS no dóna lloc a un impacte beneficiós en el nivell dels resultats de la innovació, el que suggereix en canvi que pot induir la replicació de les actuals tendències disfuncionals causades pel ‘innovation momentum’. El segon article analitza la influència dels MACS en el desenvolupament d'algunes capacitats clau d'organització relacionades amb els processos d'innovació. Més específicament, aquesta investigació examina l'associació entre diferents formes de control (controls culturals, controls interactius, i controls de diagnòstic) i les capacitats necessàries en la creativitat i les etapes de conversió del procés d'innovació. Examinem aquestes associacions per separat per les empreses emprenedores i conservadores. Utilitzant dades d'enquestes de 120 empreses espanyoles (catalanes) mitjanes i grans, trobem evidència que cada forma de control dins del paquet de control té influències diferents en les diverses etapes del procés d'innovació i que la rellevància i la direcció d'aquestes influències varia entre empreses emprenedores i empreses conservadores. Mitjançant l'associació de formes específiques de control en el paquet de control amb determinats components o etapes del procés d'innovació, els nostres resultats posen de manifest la simultània complementarietat i suplementàries entre les formes específiques de control. El tercer document té com a objectiu revisar com la variable rendiment (‘performance’) ha estat avaluada en l'àrea de la comptabilitat de gestió en recerca basat en la teoria de la contingència i en enquestes, analitzant els diferents criteris que s'han adoptat en la literatura, i proporcionant algunes idees per millorar la mesura de aquesta variable en futures investigacions empíriques basades en enquestes. En primer lloc, el treball identifica un total de 82 articles basats en enquestes, aquestes treballs es van publicar en revistes de comptabilitat més importants del període 1982-2008. En concret, aquest estudi examina a) els problemes de conceptualització que es reflecteixen en les amenaces a la validesa de constructe i b) mesurament. L'article posa de relleu les qüestions que podrien ajudar els investigadors en la selecció entre les opcions disponibles de mesurament de la variable perfomance considerant les seves debilitats i fortaleses. Finalment, un quart treball examina el grau en què l'ús de sistemes estratègics de mesura del rendiment (SPMS) influeix en el desenvolupament organitzatiu a través de la conformació de les agendes estratègiques i les matrius de decisions estratègiques que es deriven dels processos de (re) formulació de l'estratègia. En aquesta recerca hem definit SPMS com a eines de gestió que es caracteritzen per una combinació d'alts nivells de quatre dimensions constitutives (és a dir, la integració de l'estratègia a llarg termini i les metes operacionals, la presència d'indicadors des d'una perspectiva múltiple, la inclusió dels vincles de causa-efecte, i la presència d'una seqüència d'objectius / metes / plans d'acció). S'argumenta que les organitzacions que utilitzen SPMS aconsegueixen un millor rendiment (en comparació amb les empreses que utilitzen altres sistemes de mesurament de l'acompliment, no qualificats com SPMS) i que aquesta millora s'associa no només amb una millor aplicació de les estratègies destinades com s'ha suposat en anteriors empírica investigació, sinó també amb la integralitat dels programes estratègics i les matrius de decisions estratègiques obtingudes en els processos de (re) formulació d'estratègies. Els resultats de les proves d'un model estructural utilitzant regressions de mínims quadrats parcials (PLS) en dades d'arxiu i enquesta recollits de directors generals de 279 empreses espanyoles (catalanes) mitjanes i grans donen suport a favor de la hipòtesi que suggereix que a) l'efecte positiu de l'ús de SPMS en l’èxit de l'organització està mediada per l'amplitud de la matriu de decisions estratègiques (és a dir, varietat i el nombre de decisions) que resulten dels processos de (re) formulació de l'estratègia, i que (b) més gran és el dinamisme del medi ambient, més positiu l'efecte de l'amplitud de la matriu de decisió estratègica sobre el rendiment organitzatiu.
The purpose of this thesis is to examine the extent to which the usage and style-of-use of management accounting and control systems (MACS) by senior management contribute to the achievement of desirable organisational outcomes. In this research, organizational outcome is conceptualised in terms of product innovation and financial performance. Based on contingency theory, this research is organised in a compendium of four articles. A theoretical paper and three empirical research studies that rely on two pre-existent surveys and an original survey exclusively developed for this dissertation are bases for hypotheses testing. The aim of each of the four research pieces of this thesis is the one of contributing to advance our knowledge on the effects and means by which the use of MACS is capable of enabling and supporting organisational success. Two research papers examine organizational outcome in terms of ‘innovation outputs’, whereas other two articles concentrate on the organisational outcome in terms of ‘organisational performance’. The first paper in this dissertation aims to contribute to the recent levers of control (LOC) (Simons, 1995) literature on the relationships between innovation and MACS by emphasizing the importance of the choice by which individual MACS are selected for interactive use. Using a pre-existing survey collected from 57 medium-sized Spanish firms, we find evidence supporting (1) the choice of individual MACS selected for interactive use is associated with a firm’s innovation management mode (IMM), and (2) the level of product innovation output is influenced by whether or not IMM and interactive MACS feature similar cognitive models and whether the sophistication of the information contents provided by the interactive MACS responds to the priority needs perceived in the IMM. Our findings further indicate that similarity in patterns between IMM and MACS does not lead to a beneficial impact on the level of innovation outcomes, suggesting instead that it may induce the replication of existing dysfunctional trends caused by innovation momentum. The second paper examines the influence of MACS on the development of some key organisational capabilities related to innovation processes. More specifically, this research examines the associations between different forms of control (cultural controls, interactive controls, diagnostic controls) and the capabilities required in the creativity and conversion ability stages of the innovation process. We examine these associations separately for entrepreneurial and conservative firms. Using survey data collected from 120 medium and large Spanish companies, we find evidence supporting that each form of control within the control package has diverse influences on the different stages of the innovation process and that the significance and direction of these influences varies between entrepreneurial and conservative firms. By associating specific forms of control within the control package with specific components or stages of the innovation process, our results highlight the simultaneous complementarities and supplementarities between specific forms of control. The third paper aims to review how the construct ‘performance’ has been assessed in prior contingency-grounded, survey-based management accounting and control systems research, to analyse the alternative approaches that have been adopted in the literature, and to provide some insights for enhancing the assessment of performance in future survey-based empirical research. First, the paper identifies a total of 82 survey-based, contingency-grounded papers published in top accounting journals in the period 1982-2008 where performance was used as a variable of analysis. Specifically, this study examines the problems of a) conceptualization that are reflected on threats to construct validity and b) measurement. The article emphasizes issues that could assist researchers in selecting between the various available choices of performance measurement by considering their respective weaknesses and strengths. Finally, a fourth paper examines the extent to which the use of Strategic Performance Measurement Systems (SPMS) influences organisational performance through the shaping of the strategic agendas and the strategic decision arrays that result from strategy (re)formulation processes. In this research we defined SPMS as management tools that are characterised by a combination of high levels of four constitutive dimensions (i.e. the integration of long-term strategy and operational goals, the presence of multi-perspective metrics, the inclusion of cause-effect linkages, and the presence of a sequence goals/targets/action plans). We argue that organisations that use SPMS achieve enhanced performance (in comparison with those firms that use other performance measurement systems not qualified as SPMS) and that this enhancement is associated not only with a better implementation of intended strategies as it has been assumed in previous empirical research, but also with the comprehensiveness of the strategic agendas and strategic decision arrays obtained in the processes of (re)formulation of intended strategies. Results from tests of a structural model using Partial Least Squares (PLS) regressions on archival and survey data collected from Chief Executive Officers of 279 medium and large Spanish companies provide support in favour of hypotheses suggesting that a) the positive effect of the use of SPMS on organisational performance is mediated by the comprehensiveness of the strategic decision array (i.e. variety and number of decisions) that result from strategy (re)formulation processes; and that (b) the greater the environmental dynamism, the more positive the effect of the comprehensiveness of the strategic decision array on organisational performance.
El objetivo de esta tesis es examinar en qué medida la utilización y el estilo de uso de los sistemas de contabilidad y control de gestión (MACS) por la alta dirección contribuyen a la consecución de resultados deseados por la organización. En esta investigación, los resultados de la organización se conceptualizan en términos de innovación de productos y rendimiento financiero. Esta investigación está organizada en un compendio de cuatro artículos sobre la base de la teoría de la contingencia. Un trabajo teórico y tres estudios de investigación empírica, que se apoyan en dos encuestas pre-existentes y una encuesta original desarrollada exclusivamente para esta tesis, son las bases para las pruebas de hipótesis. El objetivo de cada uno de los cuatro trabajos de investigación de la tesis es el de contribuir al avance del conocimiento sobre los efectos y mecanismos mediante los cuales el uso de los MACS es capaz de facilitar y apoyar el éxito de la organización. Dos trabajos de investigación examinan los resultados de la organización en términos de ‘resultados de la innovación’, mientras que otros dos artículos se concentran en los resultados organizativos en términos de ‘rendimientos financieros’. El primer artículo en esta tesis pretende contribuir a la literatura sobre las palancas de control (levers of control, LOC) (Simons, 1995), investigando las relaciones entre la innovación y MACS, con especial atención a la importancia de la elección por la cual específicos MACS se seleccionan para un uso interactivo. Utilizando una encuesta pre-existente recogida entre 57 empresas españolas de tamaño mediano, encontramos evidencia que (1) la elección de un MACS específico para el uso interactivo está relacionada con el modo de gestión de la innovación (IMM) de una empresa, y (2) el nivel de innovación en productos está influenciada por si el uso interactivo del MACS comparte característica y modelos cognitivos similares y si la sofisticación de los contenidos de información proporcionada por el MACS interactivo responde a la prioridad de las necesidades percibidas por el IMM. Nuestros resultados indican además que la similitud en los patrones entre IMM y MACS no da lugar a un impacto beneficioso en los resultados de la innovación, lo que sugiere en cambio que esta similitud en los patrones puede inducir a la replicación de las actuales tendencias disfuncionales causadas por el ‘innovation momentum’. El segundo artículo analiza la influencia de los MACS en el desarrollo de algunas capacidades claves de la organización relacionadas con los procesos de innovación. Más específicamente, esta investigación examina la asociación entre diferentes formas de control (controles culturales, controles interactivos, y controles diagnósticos) y las capacidades necesarias en la creatividad y conversión en el proceso de innovación. Examinamos estas asociaciones por separado para las empresas emprendedoras y conservadoras. Utilizando datos de encuesta realizada entre 120 empresas españolas medianas y grandes, encontramos evidencia de que cada forma de control dentro del paquete de control tiene influencias diversas en las diferentes etapas del proceso de innovación y que la importancia y la dirección de estas influencias varía entre empresas emprendedoras y conservadoras. Mediante la asociación de formas específicas de control en el paquete de control con determinados componentes o etapas del proceso de innovación, nuestros resultados ponen de manifiesto la simultánea complementariedad y suplementariedad entre las formas específicas de control. El tercer artículo pretende revisar cómo el constructo performance ha sido utilizado por estudios previos en el área de la contabilidad de gestión basados en la teoría de la contingencia y en encuestas, analizando los distintos criterios que se han adoptado en la literatura, y proponiendo algunas ideas para mejorar la calidad de futuras investigaciones empíricas basadas en encuestas y que utilizan la variable performance. En primer lugar, el trabajo identifica un total de 82 artículos basados en encuestas, publicados en las revistas de contabilidad más importantes en el periodo comprendido entre 1982-2008 cuyo constructo performance se utiliza como una variable de análisis. En concreto, este estudio examina a) los problemas de conceptualización que se reflejan en las amenazas a la validez del constructo y b) problemas de medición. El artículo pone en relieve las cuestiones que podrían ayudar a los investigadores en la selección entre las opciones disponibles de medición de la variable performance considerando sus debilidades y fortalezas. Por último, un cuarto estudio en esta tesis examina el grado en que el uso de los Sistemas Estratégico de Medición de Desempeño (SPMS) influye en el rendimiento organizacional a través de la ordenación de las agendas y decisiones estratégicas que se derivan de los procesos de (re)formulación de la estrategia organizacional. En esta investigación hemos definido SPMS como herramientas de gestión que se caracterizan por una combinación de altos niveles de cuatro dimensiones constitutivas (es decir, la integración de la estrategia a largo plazo y las metas operacionales, la presencia de indicadores desde una perspectiva múltiple, la inclusión de los vínculos de causa-efecto, y la presencia de una secuencia de objetivos / metas / planes de acción). En este trabalho se argumenta que las organizaciones que utilizan SPMS logran un mejor rendimiento (en comparación con las empresas que utilizan otros sistemas de medición del desempeño no calificados como SPMS) y que esta mejora se asocia no sólo con una mejor aplicación de las estrategias destinadas como se ha supuesto en investigaciones empíricas anteriores, sino también con la ordenación de las agendas estratégicas y las decisiones estratégicas obtenidas en los procesos de (re) formulación de estrategias. Los resultados de las pruebas de un modelo estructural utilizando regresiones mediante mínimos cuadrados parciales (PLS) en datos de encuesta recogidos entre directores generales de 279 empresas españolas medianas y grandes apoyan la hipótesis que sugiere que a) el efecto positivo del uso de SPMS en el rendimiento de la organización está mediada por la amplitud de la matriz de decisiones estratégicas (es decir, variedad y el número de decisiones) que resultan de los procesos de (re) formulación de la estrategia, y que b) cuanto mayor es el dinamismo del ambiente, más positivo el efecto de la amplitud de la matriz de decisión estratégica sobre el rendimiento organizacional.

The literature which identifies national differences in accounting and addresses the problems of harmonisation is reviewed and consideration given to how this interacts with theories of accounting change. It is suggested that harmonisation attempts will be modified by the interplay of competing interests in each jurisdiction. The nature of the true and fair view in its British context is also reviewed and found to be a flexible notion whose use may serve a number of interests. Its adoption process of the European Community Fourth Company Law Directive is considered. French accounting since 1945 is analysed and consideration given to the influences which were active in accounting during the period of adaptation of French accounting in compliance with the Fourth Directive. The changes brought about in French accounting are considered as well as the French understanding of the true and fair view. Two empirical studies address the evidence of change after adoption. A study of recognition of excess tax depreciation in a sample of 50 published annual reports shows that a majority of companies changed their measurement approach. A second study sets out to observe whether the true and fair view as operationalised in the preparation of accounting statements from artificial data would be similar as between France and Britain. The study suggests that there are differences but these are as great between accountants within each national group as between the groups. It is concluded that the revision to French accounting provided an opportunity for the accounting profession and large enterprises to move towards an approach which served their interests. This involved freeing accounting from the domination of tax-driven measurement, and was only partly successful. The outcome is a compromise which provides accounts superficially similar to British ones but with substantial measurement issues still to be addressed. The French experience suggests that the process of harmonisation is a political one where external intervention simply provides an occasion for established interests to assert themselves.

I conduct an examination of the deferred revenue account. I provide descriptive evidence of deferred revenue both at an industry-level and a macro-level, and I examine whether managers use discretion in deferred revenue around earnings benchmarks. I develop a model to measure the normal change in short-term deferred revenue, and examine how the abnormal change varies across the pre-managed distribution of three common earnings benchmarks. My results show that managers delay recognition of revenue using deferred revenue when pre-managed earnings exceed benchmarks by a large margin, and accelerate the recognition of revenue using deferred revenue when premanaged earnings just miss or miss benchmarks by a large amount. I document the prevalence of accelerated revenue recognition, and show that meeting or just beating the annual consensus analyst forecast is where the most cases of suspected accelerated revenue recognition occur. The results are next strongest for the avoidance of earnings decrease benchmark and weakest for the avoidance of loss benchmark. I examine whether conventional abnormal accrual models reflect discretion in deferred revenue, and whether discretion in deferred revenue is associated with lower earnings quality. I show that deferred revenue changes are a leading indicator of future earnings. My results indicate that discretion in revenue can lower the predictability of sales regardless of whether it is of an aggressive or conservative nature.

The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between the use and sophistication of accounting information systems (AISs) and the success of small businesses in South Carolina. Additionally, this study explored the variables that influence South Carolinian small business owners/managers in the extent of adoption (sophistication) of AISs. This study applied the contingency theory of management accounting information systems as the theoretical foundation of the study. The study sought to fill the gap in the literature related to the use of accounting information systems in small businesses. Previous empirical studies of owner/manager behavior have resulted in conflicting findings with respect to accounting and business processes and systems utilized in small businesses. The research question central to this study was whether or not the sophistication of accounting information systems improved the success of South Carolina small businesses. The researcher expected to find that businesses owned by individuals with business-related education and previous business experience would be using more sophisticated AISs, and therefore be more successful. The results of the study did show a positive relationship between the sophistication of the AIS and higher levels of sales in small businesses. Also, the study found a significant positive relationship between the importance the owner/manager placed on AISs and the sophistication of the AIS. The findings indicated no positive significantly related differences in the sophistication of accounting information systems and owner/manager education, experience, ethnicity, or gender.

The purpose of the study was to investigate a modification of a managerial accounting technique, Activity-Based Costing (ABC), as a tool for addressing Information Resource Management (IRM) concerns within business processes. To indicate that ABC has been adapted for the IRM context, this study called the tool "Activity-Based Analysis" (ABA). ABA includes ABC's costing methodology as well as additional methods to address broader issues. The research method was a single-site case study at a property and casualty insurance company. The unit of analysis was a business process consisting of activities needed to provide claims handling services for workers' compensation insurance. Four questions guided the study: 1. Did ABA identify management information required to monitor process effectiveness and efficiency? 2. Did ABA support outsourcing decision making by identifying IRM cost components within business processes? 3. Did ABA identify information resources; that are sharable? 4. Did ABA identify differences between Company organizational characteristics andIRM department organizational characteristics?

The United States has a long history of doing things differently than other countries. Its accounting standards are no different; to date, it continues to use its own Generally Accepted Accounting Principles and have yet to converge to the International Financial Reporting Standards ("IFRS") as set by the International Accounting Standards Board. In 2008, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") Chairman Christopher Cox published a press release in which the SEC published for public comment a roadmap towards convergence by 2014. However, in subsequent years, Memorandum of Understandings published by the IASB and the United States' Financial Accounting Standards Boards ("FASB") pushed back the date of implementation at each publication. As a result, the convergence efforts have been stalling greatly. It is very unlikely that the U.S. will ever completely converge to IFRS as the financial costs and obstacles to convergence are not insignificant. Not only will the costs of implication be great, but also the costs of training and education of auditors and accountants. It is not feasible for the U.S. to converge with IFRS in the near future, as the benefits most countries obtain through convergence such as increased quality of financial statements will not be realized. As such, this paper seeks to prove why IFRS convergence will not be realized in the United States.

Most companies listed on the S&P 500 index have reported smoothed earnings since the 1990s inspiring questions from regulators about the accuracy of financial statements. In 1998, the Financial Accounting Standards Board issued SFAS No. 133 (Accounting for Derivative Instruments and Hedging Activities) to establish accounting and reporting standards for derivative instruments. In 2002, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) was issued to eradicate earnings management activities and improve transparency in financial reporting. Although many studies have been conducted to evaluate changes in reporting requirements, much less is known about the effectiveness of these regulations on earning smoothing with discretionary accruals (DA) and derivative hedge reporting (DHR). Accordingly, this study was an investigation of the effectiveness of SOX and SFAS No. 133 on DA, and DHR. The research questions were used to examine DA, and to evaluate the transparency of DHR for the years 1997 through 2007. This study is a quasi-experimental research design where 30 companies from the high technology industry segment were randomly drawn to form 330 observations. The modified Jones model was used to separate DA and repeated measures analyses of variance were used to assess differences in levels before and after the issuance of SOX. A Quality Disclosure Index (QDI) was used to assess the transparency of DHR and repeated measures of variance were used to evaluate the QDI scores before and after the issuance of SFAS No. 133. The findings suggest DA activities are decreasing but represent over 50% of total net accruals for all years and the QDI for DHR is decreasing. Improved financial regulation is needed. The study contributes to positive social change by providing regulators and investors with new information about accruals for income conservative firms by segmenting DA and investigating the level of transparency in DHR that could be used to formulate appropriate financial regulation and improve the quality of our financial reporting system.

As technology and capital markets complexity increases, so does the amount of accounting information disclosed by companies in their financial reports. Nowadays, we reached an impasse, where it is questionable if more information will in fact reduce information asymmetry. Previous authors strongly criticize the length of financial statements and annual reports, arguing that they should communicate more rather than just be voluminous as the current volume of information can be counterproductive to the average individual to acquire, retain and process all available information. Based on evidence of previous accounting literature on presentation format and the psychology theories of attribution theory and cognitive load theory, we hypothesize that, by manipulating accounting information using a more general accessible format such as the narrative one, individual investors are able to better understand accounting information and, thereafter, make a more effective use of it versus the concurrent non-fundamental information available in a standard investment decision making setting. To achieve our research goal, we use a mixed method research strategy with an Exploratory Sequential Design: the qualitative method act as a preparation for the quantitative one. Concerning the qualitative method, we interview- using the Q methodology approach - 31 subjects, being 13 analysts/professional investors and 18 individual investors. Our objective in this phase is to identify patterns in the usage of accounting/non-accounting information by analysts/professional investors, in contrast to individual investors\' information choices. By doing so, we can use the obtained results to base our experimental information choices regarding (a) which accounting information pieces were most preferable to professional investors and (b) the information presentation sequence to be followed in the experimental setting. Next, we develop a 2 X 2 between-subjects experimental design in which we manipulate the presentation format of a hypothetical company between the traditional \'tabular and footnotes\' design versus the narrative content-only design. We also vary the financial performance between \'good\' and \'bad\' to check if the variables of interest would impact (a) investment propensity on the company\'s shares and (b) the amount of information retrieved from memory. As our main results, we find that the narrative format per se does not impact investment propensity and that the alternative presentation format is beneficial for participants with less than 5 years of investment experience in capital markets in the poor financial performance condition, adjusting their investment propensity to the same investment propensity level of more experienced investors.
A medida que a complexidade da tecnologia e dos mercados de capitais aumentou, o montante da informação contábil divulgada pelas empresas em seus relatórios financeiros também aumentou. Atualmente, chegamos a um impasse, onde é questionável se mais informações reduzem a assimetria de informações. Autores anteriores criticam fortemente o tamanho das demonstrações financeiras e relatórios anuais, argumentando que eles devem comunicar mais ao invés de apenas serem volumosos, já que o atual volume de informações pode ser contraproducente para o indivíduo médio adquirir, reter e processar todas as informações disponíveis. Com base na evidência de literatura contábil anterior sobre o formato de apresentação e as teorias de psicologia, teoria da atribuição e teoria da carga cognitiva, temos a hipótese de que, ao manipular informações contábeis através de um formato amplamente mais acessível, como a narrativa, os investidores individuais serão capazes de compreender melhor as informações contábeis e, posteriormente, ter um uso mais proeminente delas em relação às atuais informações não fundamentais disponíveis para uma avaliação de decisão de investimento. Para alcançar nosso objetivo de pesquisa, utiliza-se uma estratégia de pesquisa de método misto com um Desenho Sequencial Exploratório, o método qualitativo atua como uma preparação para o quantitativo. Como método qualitativo, entrevistou-se - usando a abordagem da Metodologia Q - 31 sujeitos, sendo 13 analistas/investidores profissionais e 18 investidores individuais. O objetivo nesta fase foi entender o padrão de comportamento de uso de informações contábeis/não-contábeis por analistas/investidores profissionais, em comparação com as escolhas de informações de investidores individuais. Ao fazê-lo, puderam-se usar os resultados obtidos das entrevistas para basear as escolhas de informações experimentais em relação a (a) quais peças de informação contábil eram mais preferíveis aos investidores profissionais e (b) a sequência de apresentação de informações a seguir na configuração experimental. Em seguida, desenvolve-se um design experimental 2 x 2 entre os sujeitos em que manipulamos o formato de apresentação de uma empresa hipotética entre o design tradicional \'tabular e notas explicativas\' versus o design narrativo apenas de conteúdo. Foi alterado também o desempenho financeiro entre \'bom\' e \'ruim\' para verificar se as variáveis de interesse impactam (a) propensão de investimento nas ações da empresa e (b) a quantidade de informações recuperadas da memória. Como nossos principais resultados, identificamos que o formato narrativo individualmente não afeta a propensão de investimento e que o formato de apresentação alternativa beneficiou os participantes com menos de 5 anos de experiência de investimento nos mercados de capitais na condição de má performance financeira, ajustando sua propensão ao mesmo nível de investimento de investidores mais experientes.

The management accounting literature (e.g., Cooper and Kaplan 1988b; Shillinglaw 1982) argues that cost information is beneficial for marketing management in order to improve the business profitability. Accounting for strategic management also proposes the use of accounting information on cost drivers, business strategy, market and competitors (e.g., Shank and Govindarajan 1993). In the accounting and control literature it is also suggested that a company gains if it includes interactive control systems, with the participation of the various functional areas, including marketing, in addition to the traditional diagnostic systems (Simons 1995b). Moreover, the marketing literature states that there is a loss of influence and stature of the marketing department (Webster Jr et al. 2005) and relates this in part to the lack of performance measures (see Ambler 2003b; McGovern et al. 2004; Nath and Mahajan 2008), particularly the financial ones (e.g., Schultz and Gronstedt 1997). The marketing literature also recognises the usefulness of cost accounting information (e.g., Dunne and Wolk 1977; Kirpalani and Shapiro 1973; Winter 1979), in particular the information from the activity-based costing systems for marketing management (e.g., Goebel et al. 1998; Lere 2001). Although the literature in both accounting and marketing note benefits from using accounting information, the interaction, communication and the exchange of information between marketing and accounting departments is poor (Phillips and Halliday 2008; Srivastava et al. 1998) and little researched (De Ruyter and Wetzels 2000; McManus and Guilding 2008). The purpose of this research is to understand what influences the ability of the accounting system to meet the managers’ demand of accounting information, as well as why and how marketing managers are demanding accounting information. In keeping with the exploratory and explanatory research nature of the research an interpretative case study was conducted (see Lukka and Modell 2010; Mason 2002; Yin 2009). Two companies were selected from the Portuguese fashion retail sector (cf. Perloff and Salop 1985; Snyder 1989; Swartz 1983). The data was collected through semi-structured interviews, observation, and documents. The analysis and comparison of these two cases revealed that the use of accounting information was influenced by both structural and functional factors. From the structural point of view, it was important for the two companies to have very detailed accounting information in the system and have the financial and non-financial databases integrated. The mentality of the management control staff – oriented towards the real needs of the managers – was also a key factor. From the functional point of view, it was observed that two complementary forms of transmission of accounting information contributed to the effectiveness of its use. The self-service access to updated information and both automated and customised reports, contributed the accounting information being frequently accessed and interpreted by all managers – particularly commercial and sales managers. The face-to-face presentation and discussion of management accounting reports positively influenced the collective use of accounting information – in order to diagnose problems, find solutions and align the various managers in the implementation of plans. As a result, these interactions were still opportunities for mutual learning. Managers learned the potential of the accounting system and accountants perceived the specific needs of each manager. Therefore, it enabled both financial and management accountants to create and to maintain the management accounting system adapted to the managers' demand. Managers in both companies seek information to analyse sales, control costs and manage profitability. In one of the companies the information was also used strategically – the cost drivers, the market situation and the competitors’ accounting information were analysed. In one company, the accounting information was also used to protect the marketing department, i.e., the accounting information was used to maintain or increase the funds allocated to the marketing budget. In this particular case of marketing performance measurement, the unit of analysis was the marketing project and the metric was the contribution to profits. In conclusion, the marketing managers in these companies do seek management accounting information. Regular face-to-face, multi-functional and multi-hierarchical interaction is a key factor for the use of the accounting system; this is where managers learn the potential of the accounting system and accountants understand the real managers’ needs of accounting information.

This study investigates how a private, voluntary North American-based sustainability certification, Rainforest Alliance, is implemented in the Sri Lankan tea industry. A case study is developed from an extensive six month period of fieldwork in Sri Lanka. The analysis is guided by Actor-Network Theory to understand the effects of the Rainforest Alliance certification as it is enacted and co-produced in the local context. The initial adoption of Rainforest Alliance by leading multinationals alters local tea market dynamics and creates market pressure that leads to the adoption of the certification by some local supply chain actors. Rainforest Alliance is inscribed in a local accountability standard that leads to changes in the management, accounting and agricultural practices of certified tea producers. Rainforest Alliance is translated locally primarily as a means for differentiating tea quality and ensuring commercial sustainability, rather than as an indicator of agricultural or environmental sustainability. Whilst investigating the local adoption of Rainforest Alliance, the study uncovers some unexpected consequences. Despite being the purported beneficiaries of sustainability certifications, tea smallholders are explicitly disadvantaged due to their inability to control growing conditions even though they are responsible for approximately three quarters of tea production. The study illustrates how local conditions and circumstances are often ignored as certifications are pushed onto local producers and local supply chains.