Gary Spraakman, Gajindra Maharaj, Emily Hoang Nguyen
{"title":"Sanders Foods: Planning for Success—An Instructional Case*","authors":"Gary Spraakman, Gajindra Maharaj, Emily Hoang Nguyen","doi":"10.1111/1911-3838.12327","DOIUrl":"10.1111/1911-3838.12327","url":null,"abstract":"<p>This case describes the second-generation importer Sanders Foods, which requires improved profitability. A new CFO has been hired to improve profits and thereby increase the market value of the firm for a possible future sale. The firm's strategy, although still completely valid, has not been carried out as intended. The board of directors has reaffirmed the firm's strategy. The CFO and CEO have developed a five-year plan to implement the strategy; the plan has been approved by the board. The task for the CFO is to develop a bottom-up budget for next year that accomplishes the first year of the plan. The operational improvements to achieve the existing strategy with the next year's budget will be demanding, which means it will likely need to be frequently updated with forecasts. Students will be tested on their knowledge and skills in implementing a committed budget, complete with a process for forecasts.</p>","PeriodicalId":43435,"journal":{"name":"Accounting Perspectives","volume":"22 2","pages":"167-177"},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2022-12-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"49210454","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Shelagh Campbell, Yingqi Li, Zhou Zhang, Paul Sinclair
{"title":"Public Accounting in China: The Role of Occupational Community within a Globalized Profession*","authors":"Shelagh Campbell, Yingqi Li, Zhou Zhang, Paul Sinclair","doi":"10.1111/1911-3838.12328","DOIUrl":"10.1111/1911-3838.12328","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 <p>The globalization of the world economy has brought drastic changes to institutions of work and the structures that support them. This paper analyzes the evolving public accounting profession in China. We constructed a unique qualitative data set by conducting two rounds of on-site interviews with public practice accountants in Chinese domestic and international firms in 2015 and 2016. Through narrative analysis of accountants' careers, we find that domestic accountants form a distinct group based on their role in supporting the Chinese accounting profession and the pressures, challenges, and opportunities they face in career choice and work conditions. Our study reveals how the well-known distinctions of language, training, and international experience are further entwined with strong ties to state policy and the “transmission belt” of information flowing between regulatory bodies and workplace institutions. The accounting profession in China shares much in common with the “Western” form of the profession, evidence of the institutional isomorphism documented in the literature on Big 4 firms. Our study highlights additional nuances surrounding regulation and control of the accounting field, notable in domestic firms, which distinguish the Chinese profession within the global field.</p>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":43435,"journal":{"name":"Accounting Perspectives","volume":"23 2","pages":"205-233"},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2022-12-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47081036","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Markus Isack, Stéphanie Mittelbach-Hörmanseder, Ewald Aschauer
{"title":"The Structure of Social and Environmental Accounting Research: A Citation-Based Social Network Analysis*","authors":"Markus Isack, Stéphanie Mittelbach-Hörmanseder, Ewald Aschauer","doi":"10.1111/1911-3838.12322","DOIUrl":"10.1111/1911-3838.12322","url":null,"abstract":"<p>We investigate the structure and progress of the emergent field of social and environmental accounting (SEA) research by combining social network analysis (SNA) with a systematic literature review based on 461 papers containing 26,872 citations in total. Our approach, which to the best of our knowledge this study is the first to apply, enables us to use research metrics to identify the knowledge database of SEA research and examine how the field has been evolving. We analyze the connections and structure of foundational SEA research spanning the period 1973–2015. In line with previous research, our results reveal network characteristics typical of an emerging field—that is, subgroups without distinguishing content characteristics and low network density. Our additional analyses show that the results remain unchanged until 2021. The state-of-the-art SNA we apply, the knowledge database we identify, and the insights into the SEA field's structure that we provide support the growth of the field.</p>","PeriodicalId":43435,"journal":{"name":"Accounting Perspectives","volume":"21 4","pages":"581-641"},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2022-09-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/1911-3838.12322","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43051447","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Accrual-Based Earnings Management and Regulation: A Literature Review*","authors":"Olivier Greusard","doi":"10.1111/1911-3838.12319","DOIUrl":"10.1111/1911-3838.12319","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 <p>This paper reviews how the accounting literature has investigated accrual-based earnings management (AEM) in relation to regulation. After describing the development of accrual-based models to measure earnings management, I provide evidence that the accounting literature has investigated AEM and regulation to answer six types of research questions. First, researchers investigate whether firms manage earnings before a regulatory event to benefit from it or to avoid its negative consequences. Second, they look at whether firms engage in AEM after the implementation of a new regulation to avoid the regulatory costs associated with lack of compliance or to respect regulatory industry ratios. Third, researchers use accruals quality metrics to investigate the change in quality of accounting after a change in regulation. Fourth, they use accruals quality metrics to analyze the impact of differences between regulatory environments. Fifth, researchers exploit Accounting and Auditing Enforcement Releases to clearly identify samples of low-quality firms in order to develop new earnings management models, test the specifications of existing models, or identify new patterns linked to earnings management. Sixth, the accounting literature employs regulation to investigate potential complementarity or substitution effects between accrual-based and real earnings management. I also discuss how the emergence of new technologies such as machine learning, the ongoing debate between single-accrual and aggregate models, regulatory events other than laws, and recent regulations create opportunities for future research into AEM in relation to regulation.</p>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":43435,"journal":{"name":"Accounting Perspectives","volume":"21 4","pages":"539-580"},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2022-08-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46211654","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Corporate Governance in the #MeToo Era: A Compact, In-Class Case*","authors":"Norman T. Sheehan, Lynne Charbonneau","doi":"10.1111/1911-3838.12316","DOIUrl":"10.1111/1911-3838.12316","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 <p>With the rise of the #MeToo movement, workplace harassment has become an important board issue. Despite this, little has been written on the role that boards, and governance in general, should play in reducing the potential for employee harassment in the workplace. This compact, in-class teaching case, which is based on an actual employee lawsuit in Canada, fills this gap by reviewing the role of the board in addressing employee workplace harassment. The case takeaways focus on the steps boards should take once they receive an employee harassment complaint, the policies and procedures boards must ensure are in place to protect their employees from workplace harassment, and the options available for students if they encounter workplace harassment in their future careers. The case concludes by reviewing best practices for recruiting board members as well as deciding on the future of the organization's president.</p>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":43435,"journal":{"name":"Accounting Perspectives","volume":"21 3","pages":"507-509"},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2022-07-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42342374","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Political/Policy Uncertainty, Corporate Disclosure, and Information Asymmetry*","authors":"Lijun (Gillian) Lei, Yan Luo","doi":"10.1111/1911-3838.12317","DOIUrl":"10.1111/1911-3838.12317","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Political/policy uncertainty causes significant disruption to capital markets around the world. This review synthesizes recent studies on this topic and provides suggestions for future research in this fast-growing area. Specifically, this review focuses on three areas of research: (i) the measurement of political/policy uncertainty, (ii) the impact of political/policy uncertainty on financial analysts' forecasts, and (iii) the impact of political/policy uncertainty on corporate disclosure. We find that political/policy uncertainty affects both corporate disclosures and financial analysts' forecasts and that these effects interact with information asymmetry in capital markets. Furthermore, we find that companies strategically change their disclosure practices during periods of heightened political/policy uncertainty.</p>","PeriodicalId":43435,"journal":{"name":"Accounting Perspectives","volume":"22 1","pages":"87-110"},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2022-07-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/1911-3838.12317","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47928083","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Making Disciplinary Information about Professional Accountants Available to the Public in Ontario*","authors":"Felix Odartey-Wellington, Leslie Wardley","doi":"10.1111/1911-3838.12315","DOIUrl":"10.1111/1911-3838.12315","url":null,"abstract":"<p>The literature notes popular perceptions that accounting scandals are on the rise and that the accounting profession has a trust deficit. Following the unification of accounting designations in Canada in 2014, this paper draws on legitimacy theory and the practices of other professional bodies to examine how the accounting profession in Ontario communicates its accountability regime to build public trust and protect the interests of lay clients. It has been suggested that previous accounting disciplinary regimes lacked transparency to communicate member offenses to the public and thus protected members from public scrutiny. This study reveals that the Chartered Professional Accountants of Ontario has evolved its public awareness regime to create easier public access to member disciplinary details, thus engaging both pragmatic and moral legitimacy. However, more needs to be done to ensure consistency with the public interest objectives of maintaining public trust, transparency, and public awareness.</p>","PeriodicalId":43435,"journal":{"name":"Accounting Perspectives","volume":"21 4","pages":"643-662"},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2022-06-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41586705","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Introduction to the Special Issue of Literature Reviews","authors":"","doi":"10.1111/1911-3838.12307","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/1911-3838.12307","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":43435,"journal":{"name":"Accounting Perspectives","volume":"21 2","pages":"175-176"},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2022-06-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"137780553","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}