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Full-Text Articles in Business

Accounting In The Global Environment, M. Gaffikin Jan 2007

Accounting In The Global Environment, M. Gaffikin

Faculty of Business - Accounting & Finance Working Papers

Internationalisation has been an important consideration for business practice for some time. Accounting has attempted to facilitate this through the creation of an international regulatory framework. Notions of internationalization have now been superseded by that of globalisation. However, there have been resistances and their impact on accounting are discussed


Corporate Regulation In Australia: Fact Or Fiction, K. Cooper Jan 1997

Corporate Regulation In Australia: Fact Or Fiction, K. Cooper

Faculty of Business - Accounting & Finance Working Papers

This paper recognises and takes as given there is a recurring cycle of regulatory failure, regulatory reform. It also accepts the arguments of a small number of authors that there are flaws within the regulatory mechanism which contribute to the perpetuation of the regulatory failure, regulatory reform cycle. However, this paper argues that these flaws are but a symptom of more deeply seated problems. The regulatory framework is weak in very fundamental and strategic areas including the nature of legislation and accounting standards, enforcement and overall administration. The fact that these weaknesses are not adequately addressed or rectified suggests that …


In The Beginning Was The Word...: The Sanctification Of An Accounting Language, K. M. Mccombie, K. Cooper Jan 1996

In The Beginning Was The Word...: The Sanctification Of An Accounting Language, K. M. Mccombie, K. Cooper

Faculty of Business - Accounting & Finance Working Papers

Traditional theories of language fail to recognise the social/political/historical influences on an accounting language. It is with a "critical" perspective that our paper addresses a problematic formation of accounting language. Specifically, we are concerned with the fact that some have the ability to be heard in accounting situations, while others are ignored, or reinterpreted. Our explanation of this is that accounting has experienced linguistic unification, which has resulted in the accounting profession imposing an "official" accounting language and maintaining control over it's use. This "official" accounting language is (re)produced continually, and our hope is that this cycle will be broken.


Accounting For Steam: The Accounts Of The Soho Factory, R. Williams Jan 1995

Accounting For Steam: The Accounts Of The Soho Factory, R. Williams

Faculty of Business - Accounting & Finance Working Papers

The accounting records of the Soho Foundry, an organisation set up in the late eighteenth century display a close similarity to modem accounting processes. This paper discusses the organisation of the foundry and its ledger, as a reflection of that organisation, during the early years of operation. The Soho Foundry was unique in as much as it was the first factory built to solely manufacture steam engines and as may be expected the organisation of the foundry reflected the innovation of the design of its product. The accounting system employed also reflected a high degree of sophistication.


Accountancy As An Autopoietic System: An Explanation Of Recurring Regulatory Failure, K. Cooper Jan 1995

Accountancy As An Autopoietic System: An Explanation Of Recurring Regulatory Failure, K. Cooper

Faculty of Business - Accounting & Finance Working Papers

A recurring feature of the Australian corporate scene has been a cycle of booms and collapses. This, in turn, has been accompanied by a recurring cycle of regulatory failure, regulatory reform. In the wake of regulatory failure, it has not been uncommon for criticism to be directed towards accounting and the accountancy profession for the unexpectedness of some corporate failures. This criticism, in general, arises because the audited financial statements of the companies concerned have indicated the companies were profitable and well-managed. Subsequent investigation invariably has shown that the companies were, in fact, incurring losses and often faced severe liquidity …


Some Professionalisation Strategies Of Australian Accountancy, K. Cooper Jan 1995

Some Professionalisation Strategies Of Australian Accountancy, K. Cooper

Faculty of Business - Accounting & Finance Working Papers

It is one thing for an occupational group to designate itself a profession but quite another to attain public recognition of this status. Accomplishing publicly recognised professional status was a prime task of Australian accountancy during the course of this century. This task was, perhaps, more difficult for Australian accountancy than, for example, their United Kingdom counterparts. One factor contributing to the difficulty of the task was that many of the unexpected corporate failures in the wake of the Victorian land boom of the late eighteenth century cast many members of the early Australian accountancy associations in the role of …


The Cost Of Power: Costing Procedures At The Soho Foundry, R. Williams Jan 1995

The Cost Of Power: Costing Procedures At The Soho Foundry, R. Williams

Faculty of Business - Accounting & Finance Working Papers

The Soho Foundry, managed by James Watt jnr was an innovative manufacturer of steam engines, in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. This paper discusses the establishment of the foundry and the costs accumulated and recorded to assist in the management of the organisation. The costing records were very comprehensive and served to set prices as well as to determine profit on each order.


Students' Understanding Of Accounting Concepts And The Effects Of A Computerised Accounting Package: Preliminary Results Of An International Study, M. A. Kaidonis Jan 1993

Students' Understanding Of Accounting Concepts And The Effects Of A Computerised Accounting Package: Preliminary Results Of An International Study, M. A. Kaidonis

Faculty of Business - Accounting & Finance Working Papers

This paper focuses on the use of a PC-based accounting package (Sybiz Plus rev L), to help teach accounting information systems concepts. Australian and Hong Kong students were used to investigate whether the use of computerised accounting information systems actually helped the students' understanding of accounting concepts. The students' identification numbers were used to match each students' performance before and after the Sybiz section. Accounting concepts were tested using true/false and multiple choice tests divided into five parts to identify different concepts. A questionnaire seeking demographic detail was given to the students to identify contributing variables.


Power And Knowledge In Accounting: Some Analysis And Thoughts On Social, Political, And Economic Forces In Accounting And Profession In Indonesia (1800-1950s), E. G. Sukoharsono, M. J. Gaffikin Jan 1993

Power And Knowledge In Accounting: Some Analysis And Thoughts On Social, Political, And Economic Forces In Accounting And Profession In Indonesia (1800-1950s), E. G. Sukoharsono, M. J. Gaffikin

Faculty of Business - Accounting & Finance Working Papers

The paper provides some preliminary analyses and thoughts on long-term qualitative research project investigating the power-knowledge relations of the emergence, existence, and penetration of accounting in the social context. This first analysis is to explicate accounting and its relation to the Foucauldian power-knowledge concept. The second analysis is that the historical understanding of the development - up to 1950s condition of accounting practice and profession in Indonesia has been moulded heavily by the issues of colonialism's legacy. It was the fact that the Dutch accounting practices have dominated even after the independence of Indonesia. The third and fourth analyses has …


Accounting, Sexual Repression, And Pacioli, E. Rigby Jan 1993

Accounting, Sexual Repression, And Pacioli, E. Rigby

Faculty of Business - Accounting & Finance Working Papers

In "No Accounting For Sexuality", Gibson Burrell claimed that by seeking evidence "in other fields of knowledge", using" little historical documentation" and engaging in "speculative" discussion he was able "undoubtedly" and "clearly" to paint a picture of a monastery and a Church which suppressed sexuality and influenced the life of the monk responsible for the development of double-entry bookkeeping. This paper critically evaluates Burrell's historical method and presents evidence which conflicts with his sources. It argues for a feminist critique of accounting using historiography, rather than the uncritical use of secondary sources when writing feminists' accounts of accounting.


Computer Based Accounting Education Techniques: A Response To A Dynamic Information Technology Environment, K. Cooper, V. Coomb Jan 1992

Computer Based Accounting Education Techniques: A Response To A Dynamic Information Technology Environment, K. Cooper, V. Coomb

Faculty of Business - Accounting & Finance Working Papers

The dynamic environment created by increasingly sophisticated digital technology has provided a means to improve the quality of accounting graduates and the potential to reduce the amount of time required to assess student achievement. This paper outlines the approach adopted in the Department of Accountancy at the University of Wollongong to maximise the use of this technology with a view to providing our future graduates with a competitive advantage and academic staff with more research time.


Accounting For Identifiable Intangible Assets: No One Right Way, M. M. Greenwell, G. E. Tibbits Jan 1992

Accounting For Identifiable Intangible Assets: No One Right Way, M. M. Greenwell, G. E. Tibbits

Faculty of Business - Accounting & Finance Working Papers

This paper considers the conceptual basis for various arguments as to the most appropriate method of accounting for identifiable intangible assets. The conceptual framework propounds the view that information needs of users have primacy. One consequence of this is that shareholders' views should be considered. Partial results of a major survey of the shareholders of Pacific-Dunlop Ltd, undertaken by the authors, are drawn on. These results indicate that shareholders have a variety of views regarding the accounting for identifiable intangible assets. A conclusion is drawn that in order to meet the information needs of the users, no single method should …


The Sacred And The Secular: The Variable Significance Of Accounting In A Religious Organization, P. Booth Jan 1992

The Sacred And The Secular: The Variable Significance Of Accounting In A Religious Organization, P. Booth

Faculty of Business - Accounting & Finance Working Papers

There is a growing body of accounting literature that argues for the need to understand accounting as embedded in the social contexts within which it was developed and is used (for example, Berry et al, 1985; Burchell et al, 1980; Chua, 1988; Hopwood, 1978, 1983; Nahapiet, 1988; Preston, 1986). Instead of seeing accounting practices as functionally or dysfunctionally fitted to the organization, this literature tends to view them as reflexive constructions of the everyday activities of the members within their organizational and social context; as the result of specific organizational and social historical patterns. This focus replaces a concern with …


Habermas & Learning & Teaching, M. M. Greenwell Jan 1992

Habermas & Learning & Teaching, M. M. Greenwell

Faculty of Business - Accounting & Finance Working Papers

This paper presents an illustration of the use of some of the insights from the work of Jurgen Habermas within a learning and teaching situation. The empirical work is reported and informed in tandem with various aspects of the theory of communicative action (Habermas 1981), and the style of this paper is process-oriented. The illustration is sited within the course AC304 Auditing in the Department of Accounting & Financial Management at the University of the South Pacific during second semester in 1991. Four groups of people as students (a total of 17 people) took up the offer of a project …


Ethical Issues And Practising Accountants' Perceptions Of The Code Of Ethics: Some Malaysian Evidence, L. C. Choo Jan 1992

Ethical Issues And Practising Accountants' Perceptions Of The Code Of Ethics: Some Malaysian Evidence, L. C. Choo

Faculty of Business - Accounting & Finance Working Papers

This study attempted to provide some empirical evidence of the ethical issues and conflicts faced by practitioners and to gauge their perceptions on the relevance and usefulness of the Malaysian Institute of Accountants (MIA) Code of Ethics as a guide to ethical behaviour. The results showed that a majority of respondents agreed that the Code helped them to be more aware of ethical concerns in their work and decisions, and that it also enhanced public confidence and professional image besides improving intraprofessional relationships. No significant relationship was seen by respondents between the Code and a firm's competitive position. Rules on …


Accounting For Goodwill: A Case Study Of Sophisticated Users, M. M. Greenwell, G. E. Tibbits Jan 1991

Accounting For Goodwill: A Case Study Of Sophisticated Users, M. M. Greenwell, G. E. Tibbits

Faculty of Business - Accounting & Finance Working Papers

This paper reports a case study of sophisticated users of financial statements in which the central question elicited the views of UK and Australian respondents regarding the preferred method of accounting for goodwill. Conclusions drawn from the study are that the one option allowed by the Australian legally-enforceable standard is not the preferred option. Secondary issues addressed include accounting for other intangibles and attitudes to various components of the annual report.