Business Commons^™

New Technology And Desired Skills Of Early Career Accountants, Denise Jackson, Grant Michelson, Rahat Munir

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Purpose:

Technological advances have led to accounting roles shifting from transaction focussed tasks to using data generated by technology to inform stakeholder strategies, resulting in changing skill requirements. This study aims to investigate how early career accountants (ECAs) and organisations value different skills among ECAs, how technology is impacting on these skills and the preparedness of ECAs for future technological work in different organisational settings.

Design/methodology/approach:

The research adopted a multi-stakeholder, mixed-method approach, surveying 315 ECAs and 175 managers/recruiters and interviewing 10 from each group. The sample drew from different industry sectors and organisation types in Australia, with all states …

Engaging First Year Students In Assessment Rubrics: Three Personal Experiences, Katherine Ashman, Kristina Turner, Dona Martin

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

In a direct effort to build a greater understanding of higher education teaching and learning opportunities, this study shares the journey of three university lecturers working to ensure best practice outcomes from criterion-referenced assessment [CRA]. The work was built on a belief that our respective higher education undergraduate students did not fully value the design structure or feedback outcomes inherent in CRA. Using a collaborative autoethnographic lens we pooled experiences, outcomes, challenges, assumptions, and accounts of unconscious biases from across our different tertiary education schools and subjects. Our examination enriched our understanding, our teaching, and our student outcomes. In sharing …

Does Corporate Eco-Innovation Affect Stock Price Crash Risk?, Rashid Zaman, Nader Atawnah, Muhammad Haseeb, Muhammad Nadeem, Saadia Irfan

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

We examine the effect of corporate environmental innovation (hereafter eco-innovation) on stock price crash risk and document a significant negative association. Utilising a large sample of publicly listed U.S. firms for the period 2003 to 2017, we find that an increase in eco-innovation from the 25th to the 75th percentile is associated with 17.62% reduction in stock price crash risk. This outcome remains robust to a variety of sensitivity tests and after accounting for potential endogeneity concerns. Eco-innovative firms attract more institutional investors and equity analyst following and disclose more information leading to lower stock price crash risk. Additional tests …

Beyond ‘Know-What’ And ‘Know-How’ To ‘Know-Who’: Enhancing Human Capital With Social Capital In An Australian Start-Up Accelerator, Pi-Shen Seet, Janice T. Jones, Lloyd Oppelaar, Graciela Corral De Zubielqui

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

This study investigates the enhancement of human capital with social capital in a start-up accelerator and how this integration affects the entrepreneurial learning experience. In particular, it examines the relative importance of the three components ‘know-what’, ‘know-how’ and ‘know-who’. The study involved thematic analysis of semi-structured interviews with participants in an Australian start-up accelerator that is delivered using ideas such as Design Thinking, the Business Model Canvas and Lean Start-up methodology. We find that although the programme emphasised ‘know-what’ and ‘know-how’, ‘know-who’ was most significant for participant learning. The results indicate that mentors and experts were especially helpful in shaping …

How Does Destination Social Responsibility Contribute To Environmentally Responsible Behaviour? A Destination Resident Perspective, Lujun Su, Songshan (Sam) Huang, Joanna Pearce

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Based on stakeholder theory and social exchange theory, this study developed an integrated model to demonstrate that destination social responsibility (DSR) influences tourism impacts (both positive and negative impacts), overall community satisfaction, and both directly and indirectly influences resident environmentally responsible behaviour (ERB). The model was examined using a sample of 453 residents living on the Gulangyu Island, a famous island tourism destination of Xiamen, China. Results show that DSR enhances residents’ perception of positive tourism impacts, improves overall community satisfaction and contributes to resident ERB. However, the effect of DSR on negative tourism impacts was not significant. Thus, positive …

Towards An Improved Typology Approach To Segmenting Cultural Tourists, Ganghua Chen, Songshan (Sam) Huang

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

This study aims to improve the cultural tourist typology methodology that uses cultural centrality and depth of cultural experience in its framework. Using a sample of Chinese tourists in Macau (n = 595) collected via questionnaire surveys, the study confirmed the determination effect of cultural centrality on depth of cultural experience. Subsequently, the study demonstrated an improved approach that eliminates such a determination effect in typology identification. Compared to McKercher's () approach, the improved typology presents a balanced segmentation of cultural tourists and distinguishes the segments more clearly in their sociodemographic characteristics. The improved typology generated more meaningful practical implications.

Chinese Outbound Travel: Understanding The Socioeconomic Drivers, Songshan (Sam) Huang, Xiang Wei

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

This study used a national sample (N = 36,490) of Chinese urban residents to examine the relationship between outbound travel intention and some key demographic, economic, and geographic variables. Findings indicate that education, income, and paid vacation days significantly predicted outbound travel intention. Compared to residents in Tier-4 cities in China, those in Tier-1, -2, and -3 cities had higher probability of choosing outbound travel by 13.1%, 30.9%, and 15.3%, respectively. This study draws meaningful connections between Chinese outbound tourism and the social and economic realities in China and offers an alternative approach to understanding Chinese outbound tourism.

Collaboration And The Emerging Craft Brewing Industry: An Exploratory Study, Alonso Duarte, Nevil Alexander, Seamus O'Brien

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

In adopting various elements associated with the theory of collaboration, this exploratory study investigates collaboration in the context of predominantly micro- and small craft breweries. The findings revealed that collaboration within other brewers helped increase product quality, gain basic knowledge of new recipes, and enhance strategic knowledge about the industry. The applicability of the elements related to the theory of collaboration was confirmed. For instance, the element of stakeholders of a problem domain was aligned with the notion that craft brewery operators’ actions, including collaboration, can have significant impacts on the problem domain that brought them together

Entrepreneurial Csr, Managerial Role And Firm Resources: A Case Study Approach, Alonso Duarte, Ian P. Austin

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to contribute to the extant body of the entrepreneurship and business management literature, investigating corporate social responsibility (CSR) and its implications for firms’ competitiveness. The cases of four different firms are examined through the lens of the resource-based view of the firm and role theory. Design/methodology/approach: Face-to-face and telephone interviews were conducted with the owners and managers of four model firms identified in Western Australia. Findings: While financial outcomes clearly stand out as the end goal for engaging in CSR-related practices, the importance of firm managers’ entrepreneurial role emerges in using existing resources …

Quality, Determinants And Consequences Of Integrated Reporting In South Africa, Kwadjo Appiagyei

ECU Posters

Integrated reporting (IR) is expected to be the next corporate reporting norm which combines the relevant financial and sustainability information in one report to meet the needs of capital providers. IR application all over the world has been largely voluntary while South Africa has introduced a mandatory apply or explain basis for firms on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange. Although numerous benefits have been attributed to IR, empirical evidence to support these assertions and establish a business case for the adoption of IR is desirable. The research examines the mandatory South African context for the quality of IR since its application …

Risk Perception And Psychological Behavior Of Investors In Emerging Market: Indonesian Stock Exchange, Y. Yuliani, I. Isnurhadi, Ferry Jie

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Capital market functions as a mediator between parties who have excess funds that is, investors and those who need the funds that is, emitents. Decision to sell and buy shares of a financial asset is very strategic decision for investors because it is associated with the chances of return to be earned in the future. The objective of this paper is to investigate the investor's psychology on buying and selling common stock in the stock exchange in emerging market. The specific purpose of this research is to provide the simultaneous empirical evidence about the perception of risk, psychology aspects towards …

Users’ Perceptions Of The Drivers For Corporate Sustainability Disclosures Made By Chinese Listed Companies, Junru Zhang

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

China’s economy and development over decades has achieved not only its national prosperity, but also a significant degree of concern about corporate sustainability. As a vehicle of communication to society, corporate sustainability disclosures (CSD) are considered the most effective and efficient, facilitating the empowerment and acknowledgement of stakeholders in the quest for, and understanding of, sustainability. Much research has investigated the influential factors of CSD based on theories developed from Western standards and economy; however, very limited research considers the driving forces created by cultural and political influences based on the understanding of the perceptions of corporate sustainability among stakeholders …

Nonlinear Time Series And Neural-Network Models Of Exchange Rates Between The Us Dollar And Major Currencies, David E. Allen, Michael Mcaleer, Shelton Peiris, Abhay Kumar Singh

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

This paper features an analysis of major currency exchange rate movements in relation to the US dollar, as constituted in US dollar terms. Euro, British pound, Chinese yuan, and Japanese yen are modelled using a variety of non-linear models, including smooth transition regression models, logistic smooth transition regressions models, threshold autoregressive models, nonlinear autoregressive models, and additive nonlinear autoregressive models, plus Neural Network models. The models are evaluated on the basis of error metrics for twenty day out-of-sample forecasts using the mean average percentage errors (MAPE). The results suggest that there is no dominating class of time series models, and …

Prediction Models For Corporate Financial Distress In Southeast Asia, Viet Dung Dinh

ECU Posters

Building prediction models of corporate financial distress plays a critical part of evaluating and managing credit risk. There is a combination of financial statements and volatility in market values of firm assets to measure distance to default as well as discriminate between distressed and non-distressed firms

Improving Forensic Software Tool Performance In Detecting Fraud For Financial Statements, Brian Cusack, Tau’Aho Ahokov

Australian Digital Forensics Conference

The use of computer forensics is important for forensic accounting practice because most accounting information is in digital forms today. The access to evidence is increasingly more complex and in far greater volumes than in previous decades. The effective and efficient means of detecting fraud are required for the public to maintain their confidence in the reliability of accounting audit and the reputation of accounting firms. The software tools used by forensic accounting can be called into question. Many appear inadequate when faced with the complexity of fraud and there needs to be the development of automated and specialist problem-solving …

Corporate Governance And Environmental Disclosure In The Indonesian Mining Industry, Terri Trireksani, Hadrian Geri Djajadikerta

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Sustainability and corporate governance issues are now considered to be important and integral aspects of company performance. Both have established themselves as well-studied topics in the organisational and accountability areas. While there has been a growing interest to study the relationship between these two areas, research publication in this topic is still mainly focused on the Western societies. This study focuses on the corporate governance and sustainability disclosure practices in one of the emerging economies, Indonesia, and assesses the relationships between corporate governance variables and the extent of environmental disclosures made by the mining companies listed in the Indonesia Stock …

Factors Affecting Csr Disclosure In Nepalese Banks: A Global Reporting Initiative Perspective, Gopi Bidari

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

This thesis examines the extent of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) disclosures made by Nepalese banks in their annual reports based on GRI G4 guidelines. Also, this thesis accentuates the relationships between the influencing factors (i.e. bank size, bank age, bank profitability and ownership structure) and the CSR disclosure levels (i.e., economic, social, environmental and the overall CSR disclosures).

A sample of 82 banks was selected from the Nepal Stock Exchange for the year 2014. CSR related information was collected from the annual reports of the sample banks. Content analysis and multiple regression analysis tools were used to test the developed …

The Effect Of Hypothesis Framing, Prior Expectation And Professional Trait Scepticism On Experts’ And Novices’ Evidence Selected In A Complex Task, Abhijit Das

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

This study examines evidence selection strategy among external auditors (i.e. professionals) and accounting students (i.e. novices) in a going concern assessment task considering three factors; hypothesis framing, prior expectation and professional “trait” scepticism as measured by Hurtt (2010) scale. Within this context, the study sets out to accomplish three goals: (1) to re-examine evidence selection strategy based on hypothesis framing and prior expectation, (2) to validate the Hurtt (2010) scale using expert reviews and confirmatory factor analysis and (3) to investigate whether professional trait scepticism influences selection strategy.

Owing to the incidence of high-profile accounting and auditing scandals worldwide, the …

Measuring The Quality And Identifying Influencing Factors Of Sustainability Reporting: Evidence From The Resources Industry In Australia, Siew Hoon Ong

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

The lack of a standardised reporting framework in sustainability reporting has resulted in companies producing unaudited generic sustainability information that are not reflective of companies’ actual sustainability performance. The disclosures also differ in quality and hinder comparison. This study addresses these problems with the development of a new scoring index that integrates the hard and soft principles in Clarkson, Li, Richardson and Vasvari’s (2008) environmental index with performance indicators of the Global Reporting Initiatives (GRI) framework. The newly developed index comprises all three aspects of sustainability (economic, environmental and social) and adopts a standardised scoring scale that is reflective of …

An Analysis Of Insider Dysfunctional Behavours In An Accounting Information System Environment, Mohd Saiyidi Mat Roni

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Insider deviant behaviour in Accounting Information Systems (AIS) has long been recognised as a threat to organisational AIS assets. The literature abounds with a plethora of perspectives in attempts to better understand the phenomenon, however, practitioners and researchers have traditionally focussed on technical approaches, which, although they form part of the solution, are insufficient to address the problem holistically. Managing insider threats requires an understanding of the interconnectedness between the human and contextual factors in which individuals operate, since technical methodologies in isolation have the potential to increase rather than reduce insider threats. This dilemma led many scholars to examine …

Australian Charity Organisations: A Study Of Audit Fee Determinants, Andrew Priest

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Accounting, and more specifically auditing, plays an important role in charity organisations’ accountability processes. This has been highlighted with the commencement of the Australian Charities and Not-for-Profit Commission in 2012 heralding a new era of accountability and regulation. It is in this context that this study used a stratified sample of 101 Australian charities’ 2011-2012 annual reports to study five aspects of the charity audit market, which formed its objectives. These were: a) to estimate and develop a model of Australian charity fee audit determinants; b) to determine if there was evidence of Big Four audit firm fee premiums in …

How System Complexity And Organizational Culture Affect Ais Misuse, Mohd Saiyidi Mokhtar Mat Roni, Mohamad Azmi Nias Ahmad, Hadrian Djajadikerta

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

The demands for more studies on precarious practices in the AIS environment indicate that employees pose greater threats than outsiders. Addressing internally-bred security pandemonium with external-threat-oriented solutions further complicates the matter. The real issue is obscured rather than solved. Based on theory of planned behaviour (TPB), organisational culture and complexity of an accounting information system (AIS) were introduced to see how these factors affect employees’ mal-intention when working with an organisation AIS. Using partial-least-square structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) approach, it was found that culture and complexity acting as pure moderating variables affecting certain forms of predictor-criterion relationship in TPB model. …

Redefining Internal Audit Performance: Impact On Corporate Governance, Razimah Binti Abdullah

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

One of the preventive measures to situations akin to world financial crises increasingly forwarded is effective internal audit function (IAF) (e.g., Imhoff, 2003; Mohamad & Muhamad Sori, 2011). Internal audit, a component of corporate governance, continues to evolve due to changes in business strategies and requirements placed on it by legislators. The roles of internal auditors and audit committees (ACs), the key personnel in IAFs, are changing to a more value-added approach as business strategies move towards corporate sustainability and organisational excellence. Suggestions forwarded to improve the performance or determining the quality of IAF include effective involvement of ACs in …

Internal Auditor And Internal Whistleblowing Intentions : A Study Of Organisational, Individual, Situational And Demographic Factors, Syahrul A. Ahmad

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Whistleblowing is a type of ethical decision-making behaviour, and it has been one of
the positive outcome behaviours investigated in the ethical decision-making literature.
The issue has garnered widespread attention since the collapse of global multinational
companies which lead to the passage of the renowned Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.
Since then a vast amount of research has been conducted in the whistleblowing stream,
though it is still predominantly taking place largely in western countries. Such studies
as have been undertaken in Asian countries neglect to consider how Malaysian
respondents might play their roles in undertaking this type of ethical decision-making …

Auditor Stress: Antecedents And Relationships To Audit Quality, Mohd Nazli Mohd Nor

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Research on Reduced Audit Quality Practices (RAQP) has consistently shown serious negative consequences in the auditing profession. It has found that under certain pressure levels, auditors tend to engage in RAQP. However, most of the previous studies that had investigated RAQP failed to examine RAQP from a stress model perspective which incorporates stressors, stress measures and stress consequences into the model and to measure the interactions among these constructs. Previous research has mainly focused on the direct effect of stressors (e.g., time budget pressure, leadership styles, individual personality etc.) on RAQP; there is no single investigation that has simultaneously examined …

The Effect Of Ownership Concentration, Board Of Directors, Audit Committee And Ethnicity On Conservative Accounting : Malaysian Evidence, Rahimah Mohamed Yunos

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

This thesis examines whether ownership concentration, board of directors, audit
committee and ethnicity of directors affect conservative accounting. Additionally,
this thesis examines whether the impact of firms’ governance on conservatism is
moderated by ownership concentration. Previous evidence has suggested that
conservative accounting controls the agency problem, but so far, there is no
evidence that it is applicable in Malaysian firms, as firms are closely held by the
controlling shareholders.

This thesis employs panel data on Malaysian listed companies observed over
seven years from 2001 to 2007. Malaysian firms are chosen as the sample
because they provide a useful setting for …

Dysfunctional Audit Behaviour: An Exploratory Study In Malaysia, Halil Paino, Zubaidah Ismail, Malcolm Smith

Research outputs pre 2011

The quality of the opinion provided by audit firms is an important determinant of their long-term survival, but audit quality is difficult to gauge, which makes it particularly sensitive to the behaviour of the individuals who carry on audit work. This paper seeks to identify the incidence of dysfunctional audit behaviours and audit quality reduction behaviours, actions taken by an auditor during engagement that reduce evidence-gathering effectiveness. The paper is based on a survey of 244 auditors working in small/medium and big audit firms in Malaysia. The paper identifies key variables leading to dysfunctional audit behaviour. The paper is subject …

The Predictive Ability Of Corporate Financial Disclosures : Australian Evidence, Yun Ren

Theses : Honours

This thesis examines the predictive ability of corporate financial disclosures. Factor Analysis and Discriminant Analysis are used to differentiate between good companies and poor companies in Australian manufacturing industry. Good and poor companies are identified based on their 2009 financial data and the prediction models are constructed based on their 2008 data. 64 companies are selected finally, with 29 good companies and 35 poor companies. Financial ratios, company size, corporate governance and conservatism are employed in this study to examine whether they can predict corporate perforn1ance. Because only 3 7 companies disclosed research and development (R&D) expenses, which are used …

A Design Science Approach To Developing And Determining Web Site Quality Dimensions For The Public Accounting Profession, Casty K. Nyaga

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Public Accounting (PA) firms play an important role in both the local and the international business environment. Their accounting and business services functions cut across organisations, sectors and industries. Like other professional service firms, PA firms are becoming concerned about the World Wide Web (web) since the services they offer can be delivered via the web more efficiently (eg. at a lower cost) and effectively (24/7). Thus there is a need to assess the quality of their web site. This study developed an instrument for measuring PA web site quality based on an extensive literature review which identified the previously …

Sustainability And Company Annual Financial Reporting, Mirela Filipovic

Theses : Honours

This study had two mam objectives. Firstly to measure the level and type of sustainability reporting in companies using the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Index. Secondly, to investigate the key characteristics of Australian listed companies that explain the extent of voluntary sustainability information within their annual reports. Based on the positive accounting theory framework and the review of literature six testable hypotheses were developed. The six directional hypothesis developed were related to two aspects of agency and political costs and included ownership diffusion, leverage, audit by big four audit firm, size, profitability and industry type. A stratified sample of 450 …