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Articles 1 - 30 of 59
Full-Text Articles in Accounting
Value For Money? Neoliberalism And New South Wales Prisons, J. Andrew, D. Cahill
Value For Money? Neoliberalism And New South Wales Prisons, J. Andrew, D. Cahill
Faculty of Business - Accounting & Finance Working Papers
The NSW prison sector has undergone considerable reform over the last ten years. The NSW government now oversee the operation of publicly managed prisons, one privately managed prison and a number of new public prisons operating under the new ‘Way Forward’ management model. In order to establish which approach to prison management offered the best value for money, the NSW government undertook a ‘value for money’ assessment in 2005. In this paper, we argue the cost accounting information used in the assessment process was limited and partial, and provided a poor basis on which to form policy. Even so, the …
Accounting By Women: Fear, Favour And The Path To Professional Recognition For Australian Women Accountants, K. Cooper
Faculty of Business - Accounting & Finance Working Papers
This paper traces the campaign by women in Australia to gain admission to accounting bodies. The opposition to female membership of accounting bodies is set within the context of views of the abilities and place of women at the time. In general, women had neither the nature nor the intelligence for the commercial world. Even if women were mentally equipped for commercial work, this was contrary to nature because women should be companions to men not competitors. However, two crises saw the beginning of the acceptance of women as members of accounting bodies. One such crisis was the monetary impact …
Mary Addison Hamilton, Australia’S First Lady Of Numbers, K. Cooper, A Kurtovic
Mary Addison Hamilton, Australia’S First Lady Of Numbers, K. Cooper, A Kurtovic
Faculty of Business - Accounting & Finance Working Papers
In the early 20th century, the restriction of women entering the accounting as well as other professions was common, yet Australia’s first lady of numbers, Mary Addison Hamilton (Addie) has also been Australia’s forgotten pioneer. Addie became the first woman admitted to membership of a recognised professional accounting body in the British Commonwealth during a time when women’s admission to the accounting arena was strongly discouraged. This paper will attempt to explain why it is that Addie’s outstanding achievement has gone unnoticed by the modern day accounting profession rating no mention in Australian accounting history literature. Was it a case …
The Critique Of Accounting Theory, M. Gaffikin
The Critique Of Accounting Theory, M. Gaffikin
Faculty of Business - Accounting & Finance Working Papers
In previous papers (Gaffikin 2005a, 2005b, 2005c, 2006) the discussion has examined accounting as a science, with attempts to employ a scientific methodology; as a purely technical expression of economic theory, heavily dominated by research in finance; and as part of “law”, albeit law (regulation) heavily influenced by dominant economic and political ideology. That discussion revealed that all these perspectives have suffered from severe shortcomings. Fortunately, there are other perspectives on accounting which may prove more fruitful and some of these will be discussed in this paper. A common element in many of these alternatives approaches is to view accounting …
Regulation: Standardising Accounting Practice, M. Gaffikin
Regulation: Standardising Accounting Practice, M. Gaffikin
Faculty of Business - Accounting & Finance Working Papers
This is the practical extension of a previous paper (Gaffikin, 2005) in which the actual attempts to regulate accounting are described and discussed. A most important element of this is the attempts to establish a conceptual framework by the professional bodies. In Australia much of the thrust for regulation has been captured by the law – CLERP. To date there has been an attempt to integrate professional and legal regulation of the discipline with considerable cooperation between those involved.
A Social Account Of Accounting Student Experience And Its Implications For Social Justice, K. Rudkin, A. De Zoysa
A Social Account Of Accounting Student Experience And Its Implications For Social Justice, K. Rudkin, A. De Zoysa
Faculty of Business - Accounting & Finance Working Papers
This paper responds to concern over the financial circumstances of tertiary students in Australia. A pilot study is undertaken of second year accounting students at an Australian regional university. Survey data and reflexive written comments combine to give a social report of student circumstances, contributing to the sparse accounting literature of social reports. It is concluded that many students are exploited in their employment, being paid below minimum wage rates, while many work two or more jobs to support their studies. The paper calls for a rethink on the societal view of education as a private good, and argues that …
Implications For Accounting Educators Of Student Socio-Economic Circumstances, A. De Zoysa, K. Rudkin
Implications For Accounting Educators Of Student Socio-Economic Circumstances, A. De Zoysa, K. Rudkin
Faculty of Business - Accounting & Finance Working Papers
This study investigates the relationship between students’ socio-economic circumstances and students’ academic performance in an undergraduate accounting degree at a regional Australian university. The employment patterns and course participation preferences of accounting students are documented to understand actions needed to better attract future quality accounting students. The pilot study encompassed a survey of one hundred third year accounting students. It found no direct significant relationship between students’ paid work and their academic performance. Significantly the study revealed a positive relationship between student shift work and academic performance. Other findings were that students displayed a preference for online materials as opposed …
Regulation As Accounting Theory, M. Gaffikin
Regulation As Accounting Theory, M. Gaffikin
Faculty of Business - Accounting & Finance Working Papers
Over the years there have been many arguments and debates over the necessity for regulation. Those who believe in the efficacy of markets argue that regulation is not necessary as market forces will operate to best serve society and optimise the allocation of resources. However, there are many who point out that markets do not always operate in the best interests of societies so some form of intervention in the form of regulation is necessary. This is obvious in many aspects of society. For example, if there were no road rules for drivers chaos would result on the roads. If …
Accounting Research And Theory: The Age Of Neo-Empiricism, M. Gaffikin
Accounting Research And Theory: The Age Of Neo-Empiricism, M. Gaffikin
Faculty of Business - Accounting & Finance Working Papers
The theorising in accounting prior to 1970 was rejected as not providing sufficiently general theories. Informed by theories in economics and finance (and other disciplines such as psychology) and with the aid of computers, attempts to theorise accounting took a new direction. Large data collection and analysis emphasized a purportedly more systematic empirical approach to developing theory.
Creating A Science Of Accounting: Accounting Theory To 1970, M. Gaffikin
Creating A Science Of Accounting: Accounting Theory To 1970, M. Gaffikin
Faculty of Business - Accounting & Finance Working Papers
This paper describes the development of what has been regarded as accounting theory concentrating largely on that in the first 70 years of the 20th century. It demonstrates that a major motivation for this theory was the generally accepted belief in the need for greater conceptual rigour in accounting theory and research. A major part of this theorising was designed to solve a major accounting problem, viz accounting in periods of changing prices, notably inflation. In examining this early theorizing the paper describes the elements of theories and their use by academic theorists, practitioner theories and theories from various committees.
In The Search For Accounting Knowledge - Everything Old Is New Again, A. Kurtovic, K. Cooper
In The Search For Accounting Knowledge - Everything Old Is New Again, A. Kurtovic, K. Cooper
Faculty of Business - Accounting & Finance Working Papers
The following paper will attempt to substantiate claims that the accounting profession, has in over a hundred years, failed to adequately develop. Claims that the accounting profession has done little more than recycle financial accounting issues are not new, with such allegations having vocally surfaced in the past two decades. In order to achieve its aim, this paper will focus on Statement of Accounting Concepts number two [SAC 2], The Objective of General Purpose Financial Reporting. In gaining an understanding of today' s position of SAC 2 and how it has been arrived at, legislation dating over a hundred years …
Colonialism Of Accounting Education In Developing Countries: The Experiences Of Singapore And Sri Lanka, H. Wijewardena, S. Yapa
Colonialism Of Accounting Education In Developing Countries: The Experiences Of Singapore And Sri Lanka, H. Wijewardena, S. Yapa
Faculty of Business - Accounting & Finance Working Papers
This paper provides a comparative analysis of the nature of accounting education in Singapore and Sri Lanka. Both these countries were British colonies for nearly one hundred and fifty years and inherited their accounting education from the British. Consequently, even after nearly fifty years of independence, Sri Lanka is still following the colonial system for producing its accountants. Singapore, however, has successfully moved away from it within four years of independence. More importantly, the paper indicates that if a developing country continues to depend so heavily on foreign accounting bodies or produces accountants locally through education programmes based on the …
Undergraduate Accounting Curriculum: The Unique Case Of Iran, H. Wijewardena, J. Roudaki
Undergraduate Accounting Curriculum: The Unique Case Of Iran, H. Wijewardena, J. Roudaki
Faculty of Business - Accounting & Finance Working Papers
After the Islamic Revolution of 1979, the entire education system in Iran was drastically changed to make it more relevant to the Islamic principles. Accordingly, a single undergraduate accounting curriculum designed by the government was imposed on all universities in Iran in 1982. Since then, undergraduate accounting programmes of all universities have been conducted on the basis of this common curriculum. However, there has been criticism that several features of this curriculum are not appropriate in terms ofeducational objectives and economic conditions of the country. This study examined the nature and content of the above curriculum with the purpose of …
Can Negative Expected Value Gambling Be Rational? An Analysis Of A Doubling Scheme For Roulette, D. Edelman
Can Negative Expected Value Gambling Be Rational? An Analysis Of A Doubling Scheme For Roulette, D. Edelman
Faculty of Business - Accounting & Finance Working Papers
It is well-known (e.g., Wald (1947)) that complicated betting strategies and stopping times cannot turn unfavourable games into favourable ones. While economists tend to attribute individuals' willingness to play such games to irrationality (as might be modeled by increasing marginal utility, for example) the present paper presents an example which suggests an alternative model, one which suggests that negative expected-value (EV) gamblers may in some instances be behaving rationally after all.
International Convergence Of Accounting Standards: The Case Of The Australian Foreign Currency Standard, K. Cooper
Faculty of Business - Accounting & Finance Working Papers
For some time, there has been a push towards the harmonisation of accounting standards throughout the world. Given international trade in corporate securities and the growth of multinational companies, the harmonisation of accounting standards is clearly desirable. However, as this paper shows, full harmonisation is unlikely to be achieved. The reason for this is that accounting standards are not merely technical rules. They have economic consequences and, thereby, have political implications for both the preparers and users of financial statements. The fact that economic conditions vary from country to country, means that accounting methods that are acceptable in one country …
The Lecture A Teaching Strategy For Large Groups: A Reprise, G. K. Laing
The Lecture A Teaching Strategy For Large Groups: A Reprise, G. K. Laing
Faculty of Business - Accounting & Finance Working Papers
This paper presents a summary of the issues concerning the viability of the "lecture" as a teaching strategy for large groups. A review of the accounting literature suggests that research and debate regarding the role of the lecture in the learning process has been minimal. Historically, the changes that have occurred in the lecture were the result of new technologies applied to the presentation process. It is suggested that one result of technological advancements in society has been the creation of a discerning/sophisticated audience (students). The implication drawn is that the lecture needs to adapt to match such changes in …
In The Beginning Was The Word...: The Sanctification Of An Accounting Language, K. M. Mccombie, K. Cooper
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.
Accountancy As An Autopoietic System: An Explanation Of Recurring Regulatory Failure, K. Cooper
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 …
A Negotiation Approach To Financial Decisions Involving Accounting Information Use, M. Mccrae
A Negotiation Approach To Financial Decisions Involving Accounting Information Use, M. Mccrae
Faculty of Business - Accounting & Finance Working Papers
The issue of how parties with diverse preferences make decisions under information asymmetry has been at the core of contemporary accounting research (Murnighan and Bazerman 1990). But surprisingly little research addresses the actual process by which such decisions are made. The process of choice negotiation for alternative accounting methods in both financial and management accounting has been explored in several areas of accounting information application such as transfer pricing (see Grabski 1985 for a review), management negotiation (Kolb 1983, Kolb and Sheppard 1983, collective bargaining (Cascio 1982, Foley and Maunders 1979, Amernic 1985, Elias 1990, Liberty and Zimmerman 1986).
Management Accounting Practice And Price Calculation: Soho Foundry, R. Williams
Management Accounting Practice And Price Calculation: Soho Foundry, R. Williams
Faculty of Business - Accounting & Finance Working Papers
When deciding upon the price to charge for one of their products the managers of the Soho Foundry in Birmingham placed great reliance upon the data stored in their accounting system. By the last decade of the eighteenth century the nature of the steam engine business was changing rapidly and reputation alone was insufficient to attract customers. Also as more industrialists decided upon steam as a source of power and competition to supply their needs more attention had to be paid to price structures. As well, increasing standardisation of product meant that a price list could be determined. This paper …
The Cost Of Power: Costing Procedures At The Soho Foundry, R. Williams
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.
Some Professionalisation Strategies Of Australian Accountancy, K. Cooper
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 Engendering Of A Chimera: Sources Of Independence For Australian Commonwealth State Audit, W. N. Funnell
The Engendering Of A Chimera: Sources Of Independence For Australian Commonwealth State Audit, W. N. Funnell
Faculty of Business - Accounting & Finance Working Papers
Through a well managed discourse of independence successive Commonwealth Governments have been able to have very extensive Executive intrusions in state audit accepted as benign and untainted by political interests, thereby maintaining an illusion of an unfettered, autonomous state audit function. This discourse of state audit independence has been successful in embedding an interpretation of independence at odds with the operational reality. A conditional form of independence has been promoted as substantive independence and has thereby created multiple and often conflicting beliefs about what is and what ought to be the nature of independence in state audit. The discourse has …
Preserving History In Accounting: Seeking Common Ground Between ‘New’ And ‘Old’ History, W. N. Funnell
Preserving History In Accounting: Seeking Common Ground Between ‘New’ And ‘Old’ History, W. N. Funnell
Faculty of Business - Accounting & Finance Working Papers
Traditional conceptions of accounting history and its achievements are being challenged by new accounting historians who are informed by radical philosophies and approaches to history. This is a belated reflection of movements within the wider discipline of history which can be traced to the Annalists in the 1930's and more recently to the influence of postmodernism. At issue between the traditional and new history are the importance of facts and the pursuit of truth by traditional historians. New accounting historians have decried the reactionary effects of traditional history, which they propose to overcome by substituting accounting as an interested discourse …
A Processual Analysis Of The Responses Of The Australian Commonwealth Audit Office To The Dilemmas Of Efficiency Auditing 1978-84, W. N. Funnell
A Processual Analysis Of The Responses Of The Australian Commonwealth Audit Office To The Dilemmas Of Efficiency Auditing 1978-84, W. N. Funnell
Faculty of Business - Accounting & Finance Working Papers
There had been little essential change in Australia's form of governance and accompanying conventions of accountability by the 1970's from the form inherited from 19th century Britain. As a consequence, Australian Commonwealth state audit experienced few major difficulties and was largely immune from challenge. This changed when the attention of state audit turned to the management performance of public service administrators. State audit came to experience a level of stress and threat never previously encountered. Using insights from processual analysis as developed by Turner, to demonstrate the pressures on state audit, the paper focuses on the principal events constituting the …
Accounting For Steam: The Accounts Of The Soho Factory, R. Williams
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.
Ethics Of Teaching Critical: A Feminist Perspective, M. M. Day
Ethics Of Teaching Critical: A Feminist Perspective, M. M. Day
Faculty of Business - Accounting & Finance Working Papers
In this brief paper, I identify 'alternative' researchers' apparent indifference to the transformatory needs / wants / desires of accounting students. After expressing my lack of understanding and curiosity about this phenomenon to some said researchers, I received a variety of answers / reasons / excuses. In this paper, I reconstruct some of these, as well as possible subtexts, to tease out my feminist ethical perspective. I believe that this perspective is useful in exposing some of the silences I inconsistencies / contradictions we need to address in accounting education and research. One explanation for accounting researchers' reticence in transferring …
Statistically Incoherent Hypothesis Tests In Auditing, D. J. Johnstone
Statistically Incoherent Hypothesis Tests In Auditing, D. J. Johnstone
Faculty of Business - Accounting & Finance Working Papers
A classical, Neyman-Pearson hypothesis test results in a decision (choice of action) justified not by any assessment of sample evidence, but by the pre-specified frequencies with which that procedure generates errors of the two possible types. By applying such a test in auditing, the hypothesis tested is accepted or rejected without the auditor having to consider whether the data observed confirms (in any degree), or disconfirms, that hypothesis. In contrast with the classical framework, the Bayesian approach is to evaluate the probability of the hypothesis tested conditional on the data observed, and then to make a decision on the basis …
The Immunization Of Capital Projects And Other Cash Flow Streams, M. Mccrae
The Immunization Of Capital Projects And Other Cash Flow Streams, M. Mccrae
Faculty of Business - Accounting & Finance Working Papers
Firms are continually investing resources in projects that are risky in the sense of uncertain outcomes. The need for firms to protect the net asset backing of their project portfolios and to immunise against unacceptable cash flow streams is evident in a number of contemporary practices such as factoring, sub-leasing and joint ventures. But the ad hoc farming out of projects does not provide a means of systemically deriving strategies that are optimal in terms of providing adequate protection at minimum cost. The model presented in this paper does provide such a framework. It illustrates why firms use joint-ventures and …
Audit Risk In Terms Of Probabilities: The Aup24 Model, D. J. Johnstone
Audit Risk In Terms Of Probabilities: The Aup24 Model, D. J. Johnstone
Faculty of Business - Accounting & Finance Working Papers
The AUP24 audit risk model defines audit risk implicitly as the joint probability of three independent events: (i) a material error occurring in an account balance, (ii) that error not being corrected by internal control procedures, and (iii) the uncorrected balance being accepted by the auditor. A more apposite risk measure, relating to these same possible events, is the conditional probability of a material-error given that the stated balance has been subject to internal control procedures and accepted by the auditor. The two risk measures so defined are related by the laws of probability, through Bayes' theorem specifically, but are …