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Full-Text Articles in Accounting

Outside Director-Shareholder Agency Conflicts: Evidence From Bank Consolidation, James Tompkins, Robert Hendershott Mar 2015

Outside Director-Shareholder Agency Conflicts: Evidence From Bank Consolidation, James Tompkins, Robert Hendershott

James Tompkins

Purpose – Takeovers create a potential conflict of interest between target shareholders and directors. While mergers generally create value for the target shareholders, their directors will typically lose their board seats and likely face a financial loss or loss of prestige. The purpose of this paper is to examine evidence to support or refute that directors may act in their own best interests at the expense of shareholders. Design/methodology/approach – The authors reason that if directors act in their own best interests, then acquiring firms will seek targets with older board members who are closer to director retirement and are …


Applying Sarbanes-Oxley Principles To Colleges And Universities, Sean Goins, Don Giacomino, Michael D. Akers Jul 2014

Applying Sarbanes-Oxley Principles To Colleges And Universities, Sean Goins, Don Giacomino, Michael D. Akers

Michael D. Akers

In the wake of the financial scandals that have occurred in the corporate sector, the public is demanding more accountability not only from corporations but also from nonprofit organizations such as universities. Institutions can enhance corporate governance by implementing some of the principles and procedures the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (SOX) have mandated for public companies. Because public accounting firms audit universities, the firms can provide a valuable service to such clients by recommending ways in which universities can implement SOX practices that are appropriate and applicable. Although SOX does not currently apply to colleges and universities, it has created …


Whistleblowing And Good Governance, Tim V. Eaton, Michael D. Akers Jul 2014

Whistleblowing And Good Governance, Tim V. Eaton, Michael D. Akers

Michael D. Akers

The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (SOX) has forever changed corporate governance for publicly held corporations. Recent data suggest that the costs of compliance with the provisions of SOX can be very significant. Problems exist in the government and nonprofit sectors just as they do in the corporate sector. Recent alleged problems at the World Bank include kickbacks, payoffs, bribery, embezzlement, and collusive bidding. In 2002, the United Way scandal came to the public's attention. Its aftermath has had a dramatic impact on fundraising. Even universities are not immune from scandals. Organizations of all kinds should better understand what whistleblowing is, …


Corporate Governance, Risk Assessment And Cost Of Debt, Husam Aldamen, Keith Duncan, Ray Mcnamara Jul 2014

Corporate Governance, Risk Assessment And Cost Of Debt, Husam Aldamen, Keith Duncan, Ray Mcnamara

Ray McNamara

This paper examines the impact of corporate governance practices on the reported cost of contracted debt for Australian listed companies. Good governance decreases the variability in cash flows, reduces the probability of default (reduces default risk), increases the quality of value-relevant information disclosed (reduces the information risk) and thereby lowers the cost of debt (Ashbaugh-Skaife, Collins, and LaFond 2006; Sengupta 1998; Bhojraj and Sengupta 2003; Beekes and Brown 2006; Klein 2002; Easley and O'Hara 2004). Similarly our Australian data confirms that cost of debt is positively related to default and information risks. We show that increased corporate governance reduces default …


Audit Committee Characteristics And Firm Performance During The Global Financial Crisis, Husam Aldamen, Keith Duncan, Simone Kelly, Ray Mcnamara, Stephan Nagel Jul 2014

Audit Committee Characteristics And Firm Performance During The Global Financial Crisis, Husam Aldamen, Keith Duncan, Simone Kelly, Ray Mcnamara, Stephan Nagel

Simone Kelly

We address the question ‘do governance enhancing audit committee (AC) characteristics mitigate the firm performance impact of significant-adverse-economic events such as the Global Financial Crisis (GFC)?’ Our analysis reveals that smaller audit committees with more experience and financial expertise are more likely to be associated with positive firm performance in the market. We also find that longer serving chairs of audit committees negatively impacts accounting performance. However, accounting performance is positively impacted where ACs include blockholder representation, the chair of the board, whose members have more external directorships and whose chair has more years of managerial experience. We contribute to …


Corporate Governance, Risk Assessment And Cost Of Debt, Husam Aldamen, Keith Duncan, Ray Mcnamara Jul 2014

Corporate Governance, Risk Assessment And Cost Of Debt, Husam Aldamen, Keith Duncan, Ray Mcnamara

Keith Duncan

This paper examines the impact of corporate governance practices on the reported cost of contracted debt for Australian listed companies. Good governance decreases the variability in cash flows, reduces the probability of default (reduces default risk), increases the quality of value-relevant information disclosed (reduces the information risk) and thereby lowers the cost of debt (Ashbaugh-Skaife, Collins, and LaFond 2006; Sengupta 1998; Bhojraj and Sengupta 2003; Beekes and Brown 2006; Klein 2002; Easley and O'Hara 2004). Similarly our Australian data confirms that cost of debt is positively related to default and information risks. We show that increased corporate governance reduces default …


Insolvency Administration As A Strategic Response To Financial Distress, James Routledge, David Morrison Jul 2014

Insolvency Administration As A Strategic Response To Financial Distress, James Routledge, David Morrison

James Routledge

This study considers whether the strategic decision to enter voluntary administration (VA) rather than to trade the company’s business for a protracted period of declining performance is systematically related to the effective monitoring of management decision-making. Analysis that tests the association between strategic entry into VA and the likelihood that a company will reorganize in VA is also presented. We find about half of the companies in our sample entered VA as a strategic choice. The likelihood of strategic entry to VA increased with the proportion of independent board directors, the existence of an audit committee and a dual CEO/chair …


Financial Reporting In 1920: The Case Of Industrial Companies, Jeffrey Archambault, Marie Archambault Jun 2014

Financial Reporting In 1920: The Case Of Industrial Companies, Jeffrey Archambault, Marie Archambault

Jeffrey Archambault

This study uses the 1920 Moody’s Analysis of Industrial Investments to assess the extent of financial reporting by U.S. indus­trial companies. The reporting of an income statement and a balance sheet, as well as the amount of disclosure in both of these statements, is examined empirically to determine which economic factors influ­ence this reporting. The results show that corporate-governance, op­erating, and financing factors all significantly influence the reporting of financial statements and the extent of disclosure within those state­ments. However, the significant factors vary across the two financial statements and the two decisions considered (reporting a particular statement and the …


Financial Reporting In 1920: The Case Of Industrial Companies, Jeffrey Archambault, Marie E. Archambault Jun 2014

Financial Reporting In 1920: The Case Of Industrial Companies, Jeffrey Archambault, Marie E. Archambault

Marie E. Archambault

This study uses the 1920 Moody’s Analysis of Industrial Investments to assess the extent of financial reporting by U.S. indus­trial companies. The reporting of an income statement and a balance sheet, as well as the amount of disclosure in both of these statements, is examined empirically to determine which economic factors influ­ence this reporting. The results show that corporate-governance, op­erating, and financing factors all significantly influence the reporting of financial statements and the extent of disclosure within those state­ments. However, the significant factors vary across the two financial statements and the two decisions considered (reporting a particular statement and the …


Redefining Internal Audit Performance: Impact On Corporate Governance, Razimah Abdullah Dec 2013

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

Razimah Abdullah

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 …


The Role Of Professional Bodies In Malaysia: Supporting Good Corporate Decision-Making, Razimah Abdullah Dec 2013

The Role Of Professional Bodies In Malaysia: Supporting Good Corporate Decision-Making, Razimah Abdullah

Razimah Abdullah

No abstract provided.


Audit Committee Characteristics And Firm Performance During The Global Financial Crisis, Husam Aldamen, Keith Duncan, Simone Kelly, Ray Mcnamara, Stephan Nagel Jun 2013

Audit Committee Characteristics And Firm Performance During The Global Financial Crisis, Husam Aldamen, Keith Duncan, Simone Kelly, Ray Mcnamara, Stephan Nagel

Keith Duncan

We address the question ‘do governance enhancing audit committee (AC) characteristics mitigate the firm performance impact of significant-adverse-economic events such as the Global Financial Crisis (GFC)?’ Our analysis reveals that smaller audit committees with more experience and financial expertise are more likely to be associated with positive firm performance in the market. We also find that longer serving chairs of audit committees negatively impacts accounting performance. However, accounting performance is positively impacted where ACs include blockholder representation, the chair of the board, whose members have more external directorships and whose chair has more years of managerial experience. We contribute to …


Corporate Governance And The Quality Of Green House Gas Emission Disclosures, Janice Hollindale, Pamela Kent, James Routledge Oct 2012

Corporate Governance And The Quality Of Green House Gas Emission Disclosures, Janice Hollindale, Pamela Kent, James Routledge

James Routledge

The introduction of the National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting Act 2007 (Cth) legislation is evidence of the importance the Australian Government places on the issue of greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) reporting. Australian corporations’ GHG disclosure information in annual reports is currently unknown as most research has focused on environmental voluntary disclosures in general. We used content analysis to produce an index wherein we assessed the quality of GHG disclosures made in the annual reports of Australian public-listed companies in 2007. Our interest was focused on whether good quality corporate governance influences the quality of GHG emission disclosures. We examined the …


Are Corporate Governance Recommendations Relevant For Small Companies?, Jacqueline Christensen, Pamela Kent, James Routledge, Jenny Stewart Oct 2012

Are Corporate Governance Recommendations Relevant For Small Companies?, Jacqueline Christensen, Pamela Kent, James Routledge, Jenny Stewart

James Routledge

This study examines the extent to which small listed companies in Australia comply with the Australian Securities Exchange corporate governance recommendations, and whether applying these recommendations is associated with benefits in terms of performance and accountability. The results indicate that many small listed companies comply with the recommendations, although the benefits to these companies from doing so appear to be low. We do not find evidence of a positive association between small company compliance with recommendations regarding board independence, diligence and formation of an audit committee and performance. However, we find that compliance with the recommendation against having a dual …


Are Corporate Governance Recommendations Relevant For Small Companies?, Jacqueline Christensen, Pamela Kent, James Routledge, Jenny Stewart Oct 2012

Are Corporate Governance Recommendations Relevant For Small Companies?, Jacqueline Christensen, Pamela Kent, James Routledge, Jenny Stewart

Pamela Kent

This study examines the extent to which small listed companies in Australia comply with the Australian Securities Exchange corporate governance recommendations, and whether applying these recommendations is associated with benefits in terms of performance and accountability. The results indicate that many small listed companies comply with the recommendations, although the benefits to these companies from doing so appear to be low. We do not find evidence of a positive association between small company compliance with recommendations regarding board independence, diligence and formation of an audit committee and performance. However, we find that compliance with the recommendation against having a dual …


Corporate Governance And The Quality Of Green House Gas Emission Disclosures, Janice Hollindale, Pamela Kent, James Routledge Oct 2012

Corporate Governance And The Quality Of Green House Gas Emission Disclosures, Janice Hollindale, Pamela Kent, James Routledge

Pamela Kent

The introduction of the National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting Act 2007 (Cth) legislation is evidence of the importance the Australian Government places on the issue of greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) reporting. Australian corporations’ GHG disclosure information in annual reports is currently unknown as most research has focused on environmental voluntary disclosures in general. We used content analysis to produce an index wherein we assessed the quality of GHG disclosures made in the annual reports of Australian public-listed companies in 2007. Our interest was focused on whether good quality corporate governance influences the quality of GHG emission disclosures. We examined the …


The Decision To Outsource Risk Management Activities, Jacqueline Christensen, Pamela Kent Oct 2012

The Decision To Outsource Risk Management Activities, Jacqueline Christensen, Pamela Kent

Pamela Kent

This study uses transaction cost economics (TCE) to identify factors influencing Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) companies’ decision to internally generate or outsource activities required to manage risk. Limited research has been conducted applying TCE in a risk management context with most in the accounting discipline concentrating on internal audit. Increasing our understanding of risk management practices benefits organisations, accounting professionals and regulators concerned with governance practice. Using a unique data set obtained from a survey sample of 271 listed ASX companies in 2009 combined with archival data hypotheses are operationalised and analysed using multivariate and logistic regression. Broadly in line …


Sustainability And Corporate Governance, Shyam Sunder Feb 2012

Sustainability And Corporate Governance, Shyam Sunder

Shyam Sunder

No abstract provided.


Creating Quality Precision Instrument: Vfma_35 For The Conduct Of Value For Money Audit Using The Rasch Model, Razimah Abdullah, Mohd Saidfudin Masodi Dec 2011

Creating Quality Precision Instrument: Vfma_35 For The Conduct Of Value For Money Audit Using The Rasch Model, Razimah Abdullah, Mohd Saidfudin Masodi

Razimah Abdullah

Just like an examination paper, the reliability of a survey questionnaire as a measuring instrument is crucial if we want a good and valid instrument. The length of test and rating scale or distractor operational definition are among the determinants that will affect the validity of the instrument. However, how do we assure that we are measuring what is to be measured? This paper investigates the construct validity of an instrument named, VFMA_35 by applying the Rasch analysis. The precision of the instrument is established from the item measurement standard error (SE). Analysis using Rasch creates a functional precise instrument …


Innate And Discretionary Accruals Quality And Corporate Governance, Pamela Kent, James Routledge, Jenny Stewart Jul 2010

Innate And Discretionary Accruals Quality And Corporate Governance, Pamela Kent, James Routledge, Jenny Stewart

Pamela Kent

This paper extends previous research on the association between corporate governance mechanisms and accruals quality. We derive measures of the discretionary and innate components of accruals quality and regress them against corporate governance characteristics. For discretionary accruals, we find use of a Big 4 audit firm and a larger audit committee as the primary governance mechanisms associated with higher accruals quality. For innate accruals quality, we find that higher quality is associated with an independent board of directors, a larger, more independent and more active audit committee, and use of a Big 4 audit firm. Our findings suggest a stronger …


Corporate Governance And Company Performance In Australia, Jacqueline Christensen, Pamela Kent, Jenny Steward Jul 2010

Corporate Governance And Company Performance In Australia, Jacqueline Christensen, Pamela Kent, Jenny Steward

Pamela Kent

This study tests whether the adoption of Australian best practice corporate governance recommendations have a positive or negative relation with financial performance measured by return on assets (ROA) and Tobin's Q. The governance mechanisms associated with increased ROA and Tobin's Q are the existence of an audit, nomination and remuneration committee in Australia suggesting they are particularly beneficial to companies. We found evidence that a significant negative relation exits between the number of directors and proportion of independent directors on the board and the presence of a dual CEO/Chairperson and ROA. There is a significant positive relation between the number …


La Riforma Del Controllo Contabile Delle Societa’ In Italia: “Schede Di Lettura” Del Decreto Legislativo 39/2010 In Tema Di Svolgimento Della Revisione Legale Dei Conti, Claudio Sottoriva Jun 2010

La Riforma Del Controllo Contabile Delle Societa’ In Italia: “Schede Di Lettura” Del Decreto Legislativo 39/2010 In Tema Di Svolgimento Della Revisione Legale Dei Conti, Claudio Sottoriva

Claudio Sottoriva

Il contributo offre una prima lettura delle novità apportate dal Decreto Legislativo n. 39/2010 attuativo della Direttiva 2006/43/CE, relativa alle revisioni legali dei conti annuali e dei conti consolidati. La disciplina dello svolgimento della attività di revisione legale dei conti trova quindi ora riferimenti normativi nelle norme del Codice Civile e in alcune norme speciali (principalmente nel T.U.F.) nonché per quanto non diversamente disciplinato nel Decreto 39/2010. La disciplina è destinata a trovare completamento con l'emanazione di specifici regolamenti attuativi del Decreto da parte del Ministero dell'Economia e delle finanze nonché da altre Autorità (Consob, Banca d'Italia, etc.). L'analisi consente …


The Company Dividend Restriction: Does It Promote Good Corporate Governance?, James Routledge, Peter Slade Nov 2009

The Company Dividend Restriction: Does It Promote Good Corporate Governance?, James Routledge, Peter Slade

James Routledge

This article considers aspects of the development of the law associated with the dividend payment restriction. The motivation for the article is to assess whether the existing substantive law is effective in promoting sound decision-making by corporate officers who are required to determine the timing and quantum of dividend payments. Our analysis suggests that the existing provision in s 254T of the Corporations Act 2001 is unlikely to have a significant positive effect on dividend decisions. This is due to its failure to provide meaningful guidance to decision-makers; its divergence from contemporary accounting practice; and its imposition of unnecessary complexity …


Innate And Discretionary Accrual Quality And Corporate Governance, Pamela Kent, James Routledge, Jenny Stewart Sep 2009

Innate And Discretionary Accrual Quality And Corporate Governance, Pamela Kent, James Routledge, Jenny Stewart

James Routledge

The empirical analysis presented in this paper provides further insight into the important issue of the association between corporate governance structures and the quality of reported company earnings. The analysis uses the measure of accrual quality developed by Dechow and Dichev (2002) which provides a direct measure of the quality of current accruals. We derive measures of the innate and discretionary components of accrual quality following Francis et al. (2005), and subsequently include these measures in regressions against corporate governance characteristics. The results show that sound governance structures have a positive association between the innate and discretionary components of accrual …


Innate And Discretionary Accrual Quality And Corporate Governance, Pamela Kent, James Routledge, Jenny Stewart Aug 2009

Innate And Discretionary Accrual Quality And Corporate Governance, Pamela Kent, James Routledge, Jenny Stewart

Pamela Kent

The empirical analysis presented in this paper provides further insight into the important issue of the association between corporate governance structures and the quality of reported company earnings. The analysis uses the measure of accrual quality developed by Dechow and Dichev (2002) which provides a direct measure of the quality of current accruals. We derive measures of the innate and discretionary components of accrual quality following Francis et al. (2005), and subsequently include these measures in regressions against corporate governance characteristics. The results show that sound governance structures have a positive association between the innate and discretionary components of accrual …


Innate And Discretionary Accruals Quality And Corporate Governance, Pamela Kent, James Routledge, Jenny Stewart Dec 2008

Innate And Discretionary Accruals Quality And Corporate Governance, Pamela Kent, James Routledge, Jenny Stewart

James Routledge

This paper extends previous research on the association between corporate governance mechanisms and accruals quality. We derive measures of the discretionary and innate components of accruals quality and regress them against corporate governance characteristics. For discretionary accruals, we find use of a Big 4 audit firm and a larger audit committee as the primary governance mechanisms associated with higher accruals quality. For innate accruals quality, we find that higher quality is associated with an independent board of directors, a larger, more independent and more active audit committee, and use of a Big 4 audit firm. Our findings suggest a stronger …


Corporate Governance And Firm Performance: Empirical Evidence From India, Shyam Sunder Nov 2008

Corporate Governance And Firm Performance: Empirical Evidence From India, Shyam Sunder

Shyam Sunder

No abstract provided.


Earnings Quality And Corporate Governance In Ipo Firms, Mary F. Calegari, M. A. Harjoto Jan 2008

Earnings Quality And Corporate Governance In Ipo Firms, Mary F. Calegari, M. A. Harjoto

Mary F. Calegari

No abstract provided.


The Persistence Of Earnings And Corporate Governance In Ipo Firms, Mary F. Calegari, H. A. Maretno Jan 2005

The Persistence Of Earnings And Corporate Governance In Ipo Firms, Mary F. Calegari, H. A. Maretno

Mary F. Calegari

In this study, we investigate the earnings persistence in IPO firms by examining the two components of earnings: accruals and cash flows. We also analyze the impact of corporate governance on earnings and the two earnings components. In our comparison of the top and bottom quartiles based on the firms' earnings at the IPO year, we find that although the top quartile firms have a significantly positive accrual component in the IPO year, they eventually have the same negative accrual component of earnings as the bottom quartile firms in the second year after the IPO. In contrast, we find that …