Business Commons^™

Accounting Education And Research As Infrastructure For A Modernizing Economy, Shyam Sunder

Shyam Sunder

No abstract provided.

Fast Track To Direct Cash Flow Reporting, Paul Miller, Paul Bahnson

Paul R. Bahnson

Even though good reasons abound for using the direct method of reporting operating cash flow, almost all managers choose the indirect method. We, and others whose opinions we respect, consider the direct method to be far superior to the indirect because it generates information that's more useful to the capital markets for assessing the amounts, timing, and uncertainty of a company's future cash flows. Contrary to today's conventional wisdom, the direct method isn't hard to apply. In fact, with the system modifications described in this article, it will be easy to provide the information financial statement users want. After applying …

Perfect Storm Prompts Changes In Pension Accounting, Paul Miller, Paul Bahnson

Paul R. Bahnson

Over the first half of the decade, pension and other postretirement benefit plans were hit hard by a perfect storm of economic forces. Investment returns were irregular and often less than expected. Falling interest rates caused employers' obligations to soar. And many old-line industries experienced a cash crunch that encouraged management to offer increased pension benefits in lieu of higher wages. A shift in demographics has resulted in far fewer younger workers and many more who have retired or are about to do so.

Noncontrolling Interest: Much More Than A Name Change, Paul Bahnson, Brian Mcallister, Paul Miller

Paul R. Bahnson

In December 2007, FASB adopted two new business combination standards: Statement no. 141(R), Business Combinations, and Statement no. 160, Noncontrolling Interests in Consolidated Financial Statements. Both culminated years of work directed at improving reporting for consolidated entities. This article summarizes the most important changes created by Statement no. 160, which is effective for fiscal years beginning after Dec 15, 2008. The most visible innovation in Statement no. 160 is the name change from "minority interest" to "noncontrolling interest." A major change affecting income reporting concerns the treatment of the earnings related to midyear acquisitions. Statement no. 160 will require new …

Quality Financial Reporting: Why You Need It And How To Implement It, Paul Miller, Paul Bahnson

Paul R. Bahnson

Many of today's corporate managers use a financial reporting strategy that is irrational, charge the authors of this article. Instead, they offer a new strategy—along with a useful evaluation checklist, and advice for implementation.

Refining Fair Value Measurement, Paul Miller, Paul Bahnson

Paul R. Bahnson

Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) issued a standard in fall 2006 with the understated title Fair Value Measurements. On one hand, FASB Statement no. 157 appears to shake the foundation of historical cost measurement. On the other, it appears innocuous because it does not compel greater use of fair values. CPA's should quickly acquaint themselves with the new rule, since it becomes effective for annual statements for fiscal years beginning after Nov 15, 2007, and for interim reports prepared in that initial fiscal year.

The Top 10 Reasons To Fix The Fasb’S Conceptual Framework, Paul Miller, Paul Bahnson

Paul R. Bahnson

The Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) produced most of its Conceptual Framework (CFW) more than 20 years ago in a project that began in the 1970s. It achieved notable positive results, yet it isn't without flaws. These blemishes originate from several sources, including political pressures. But time has yielded a new environment that enables the FASB to fix the shortcomings.

When "Aha Moments" Make All The Difference, Nancy Napier, Paul Bahnson, Roy Glen, Cheryl Maille, Kirk Smith, Harry White

Paul R. Bahnson

What makes a seasoned group of faculty members sit up straight and learn something remarkable? It happens when the members go through a process to develop a new product and realize that what (should) happen is not what does happen and that the difference comes from the "aha moments" along the way. In this article, the authors track the development of a new venture start up—of a young entrepreneurial business school, lacking regional or national image, and the process faculty members experienced in creating a highly differentiated potentially brand-creating new executive MBA program. Specifically, they reflect on the design and …

A Penny For Your Thoughts: Sizing Up Manipulative Eps Rounding, Paul Miller, Greg Martin, Paul Bahnson

Paul R. Bahnson

For as long as public companies have been required to report earnings per share (EPS), there probably have been misguided managers who try to nudge it higher.

We’ve written this article to unveil a method of manipulating EPS that, near as we can tell, hasn’t yet been described in print. Because any attempt to manipulate EPS creates uncertainty and uncomfortable risk for investors—which, in turn, could create capital market inefficiencies and produce discounted stock prices—we want to expose this inappropriate and unproductive gamesmanship and then help eliminate it.

Our specific concern is that a troubling number of managers, and perhaps …

Continuing The Normative Dialog: Illuminating The Asset/Liability Theory, Paul Miller, Paul Bahnson

Paul R. Bahnson

This paper responds to the call in Dichev (2008) for rekindling the public discussion of normative accounting theories and analyses. Our goal is to enable and encourage members of the accounting academy to participate productively in dialogs with policy makers and to bring normative theory and analysis into their classrooms to help prepare students for more productive careers as practitioners or educators. Toward that end, we begin by explaining our position on the functional role for normativism. Next we offer up five guidelines to be applied in constructing and analyzing normative accounting theories. The guidelines are then used to frame …

Banking Standards - Submission From Professor Stella Fearnley (Bournemouth University) And Professor Shyam Sunder (Yale School Of Management) (S037), Shyam Sunder, Stella Fearnley

Shyam Sunder

Riding The Accounting Train: From Crisis To Crisis In Eighty Years, Shyam Sunder

Shyam Sunder

No abstract provided.

Voluntary Employee Disclosures In Australian Annual Reports Applying Ullmann’S Stakeholder Theory, Pamela Kent, Carolyn Windsor, Tamara Zunker

Tamara Zunker

Extract:Many companies state in their reports that their employees are the company’s most valuable resource (Flamholtz, 1999; Gröjer and Johanson, 1999; Guthrie, Petty and Johanson, 2001; Mouritsen, 1998; Petty and Guthrie, 2000). The purpose of this paper is to examine voluntarily employee 1 disclosures in Australian corporate annual reports by applying Ullmann’s (1985) three dimensional stakeholder framework comprising stakeholder power, strategic posture and economic performance. This study first investigates the propensity of companies to disclose voluntary employee information in relation to stakeholder employee power which is represented by employee share ownership and union membership. Second, strategic posture denoted by corporate …

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

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 …

Voluntary Employee Disclosures In Australian Annual Reports Applying Ullmann’S Stakeholder Theory, Pamela Kent, Carolyn Windsor, Tamara Zunker

Pamela Kent

Extract:Many companies state in their reports that their employees are the company’s most valuable resource (Flamholtz, 1999; Gröjer and Johanson, 1999; Guthrie, Petty and Johanson, 2001; Mouritsen, 1998; Petty and Guthrie, 2000). The purpose of this paper is to examine voluntarily employee 1 disclosures in Australian corporate annual reports by applying Ullmann’s (1985) three dimensional stakeholder framework comprising stakeholder power, strategic posture and economic performance. This study first investigates the propensity of companies to disclose voluntary employee information in relation to stakeholder employee power which is represented by employee share ownership and union membership. Second, strategic posture denoted by corporate …

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

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

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 …

Empires Of The Mind: Cross Cultural Cooperative Business Education, Keith Duncan, Simone Kelly, Raymond Mcnamara

Keith Duncan

This paper explores current trends in knowledge growth and decay, globalization, technology and education. Business education in the new millennium is shaped by these trends. This contextual backdrop raises both educational and business issues which are explored with exemplars from a successful cross-cultural blended MBA program. The educational issues considered include educational relevance, lifelong learning objectives, education vs. training, needs of the target audience, what is the language of instruction, as well as issues of assessment and outcome measurement. The business issues include a fair return to all parties, responsibilities, management and communication systems and dispute resolution. In a globalized, …

Micro And Macro Determinants Of Financial Distress, Ray Mcnamara, Keith Duncan, Simone Kelly

Keith Duncan

One criticism of failure prediction models is the bias resulting from pooling failure data over years when economic conditions might influence the failure of a firm. This research incorporates both macroeconomic variables and firm specific variables in explaining corporate failure. The results suggest that including economic variables improve the explanation of failure by ten percent. The economic variables included in the analysis were one-year lag in change in GDP, a two-year lag in interest rates, a one-year lag in the share price index, and a one-year lag in corporate profits. Economic variables were identified using a principal component analysis of …

Empires Of The Mind: Cross Cultural Cooperative Business Education, Keith Duncan, Simone Kelly, Raymond Mcnamara

Ray McNamara

This paper explores current trends in knowledge growth and decay, globalization, technology and education. Business education in the new millennium is shaped by these trends. This contextual backdrop raises both educational and business issues which are explored with exemplars from a successful cross-cultural blended MBA program. The educational issues considered include educational relevance, lifelong learning objectives, education vs. training, needs of the target audience, what is the language of instruction, as well as issues of assessment and outcome measurement. The business issues include a fair return to all parties, responsibilities, management and communication systems and dispute resolution. In a globalized, …

Empires Of The Mind: Cross Cultural Cooperative Business Education, Keith Duncan, Simone Kelly, Raymond Mcnamara

Simone Kelly

This paper explores current trends in knowledge growth and decay, globalization, technology and education. Business education in the new millennium is shaped by these trends. This contextual backdrop raises both educational and business issues which are explored with exemplars from a successful cross-cultural blended MBA program. The educational issues considered include educational relevance, lifelong learning objectives, education vs. training, needs of the target audience, what is the language of instruction, as well as issues of assessment and outcome measurement. The business issues include a fair return to all parties, responsibilities, management and communication systems and dispute resolution. In a globalized, …

Micro And Macro Determinants Of Financial Distress, Ray Mcnamara, Keith Duncan, Simone Kelly

Simone Kelly

One criticism of failure prediction models is the bias resulting from pooling failure data over years when economic conditions might influence the failure of a firm. This research incorporates both macroeconomic variables and firm specific variables in explaining corporate failure. The results suggest that including economic variables improve the explanation of failure by ten percent. The economic variables included in the analysis were one-year lag in change in GDP, a two-year lag in interest rates, a one-year lag in the share price index, and a one-year lag in corporate profits. Economic variables were identified using a principal component analysis of …

Inventory Valuation, Company Value, And The Uncertainty Principle, Catherine Whelan, Simone Kelly, Ray Mcnamara, Jasper Verkleij

Ray McNamara

Extract:One of the key elements to the operation of capital markets is information efficiency (Ball and Brown 1968). Both the IASB and the FASB frameworks emphasize decision usefulness, particularly to investors in capital markets, as the primary focus of general purpose financial statements. While theoretically, market values are determined by estimating discounted cash flows (Copeland, Weston et al. 2005; Brealey 2007), practical observations suggest a role for accounting information in the valuation process. Market information suggests that practitioners use the accounting performance measure “earnings” for firm valuation and determination of share prices.

Inventory Valuation, Company Value, And The Uncertainty Principle, Catherine Whelan, Simone Kelly, Ray Mcnamara, Jasper Verkleij

Simone Kelly

Extract:One of the key elements to the operation of capital markets is information efficiency (Ball and Brown 1968). Both the IASB and the FASB frameworks emphasize decision usefulness, particularly to investors in capital markets, as the primary focus of general purpose financial statements. While theoretically, market values are determined by estimating discounted cash flows (Copeland, Weston et al. 2005; Brealey 2007), practical observations suggest a role for accounting information in the valuation process. Market information suggests that practitioners use the accounting performance measure “earnings” for firm valuation and determination of share prices.

Family Ownership And The Value-Relevance Of Earnings And Book Value, Tim Hasso, Keith Duncan

Keith Duncan

This study investigates the relation between family ownership and the value-relevance of two primary accounting measures, earnings and book value. We provide theories of the effect of family ownership on the value-relevance of earnings and book value. We contend that current accounting technology does not fully recognise the family firm factors in the earnings or book value of the firm. We find that the value-relevance of earnings and is higher for family firms. We attribute this to the long-term orientation and the higher quality earnings of these firms. In contrast, the value-relevance of book value is lower. We believe this …

Multinational Oil Companies Operating In Nigeria: An Assessment Of Sustainability Disclosure Performance, Bukar Zanna Waziri Mr

Bukar Zanna Waziri Mr

The operations of multinational oil companies (MNOCs) in Nigeria over the years have translated into perpetual economic upsurge with compromised social and environmental tendencies. To this end, the study assesses the sustainability disclosure performance of MNOCs operating in Nigeria by making comparison between the actual practical performance and their reported disclosures regarding sustainability. The study used secondary data inform of discrete (sustainability, corporate social responsibility, safety, environmental, corporate citizenship reports via content analysis to generate variables for statistical analysis. Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), Three Dimensions (3D) sustainability disclosure performance indicators are then used as a standard gauge of MNOCs sustainability …

Individual Behavior And Social Structures, Shyam Sunder

Shyam Sunder

No abstract provided.

Istanbul’S Current Status And Potential For Becoming An International Financial Centre, Hasmet Sarigul

Hasmet Sarigul

The Turkish government has been pursuing a goal to turn Istanbul into a regional centre for finance and then, an international one. However, creating an international financial centre where international demand and supply of funds meet is not an easy process. In this context, we aimed to examine the current status and the potential of Istanbul to become an international financial centre. In order to reach the aim of the study, firstly, the characteristics of an international financial centre have been explained and a brief overview of the Turkish government’s official plans of development of the international financial centre have …