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1
Everett, Jeffery Stephen. "Accounting, auditing and accountability in Canada's national parks." Thesis, National Library of Canada = Bibliothèque nationale du Canada, 2001. http://www.collectionscanada.ca/obj/s4/f2/dsk3/ftp05/NQ64860.pdf.
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Bradbury, M. E. "Characteristics of firms and voluntary interim earnings disclosures." Thesis, University of Auckland, 1988. http://hdl.handle.net/2292/1992.
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This thesis reviews the evolution of interim reporting in New Zealand. The attempts to regulate interim reporting by the stock Exchange Association of New Zealand and the lobbying behaviour of affected parties are documented. The regulation of interim reporting is interpreted as a series of self-interest actions by the affected parties. In 1973 semiannual reports were mandated for all firms listed on the New Zealand stock Exchange. However, the content of these reports, was not specified until 1976. The extent of voluntary reporting practice prior to 1973 is recorded. The major empirical analysis of the thesis examines the association between corporate characteristics and the voluntary disclosure of semiannual earnings during the period 1973 to 1976. The analysis shows that firms with high semiannual earnings disclosures have more shares issued, have paid an interim dividend, carry relatively less inventory, are in a more seasonal industry and have a greater earnings forecast error. Assets in place, political costs of disclosure and competitive costs of disclosure are not found to be associated with the level of semiannual earnings disclosure. Sensitivity analysis indicates that the significance of the explanatory variables depends on firm size and upon the threshold level of disclosure.
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Teixeira, Alan. "Disclosure Rules, Manager Discretion and the Relative Informativeness of Earnings Components." Thesis, University of Auckland, 2001. http://hdl.handle.net/2292/2401.
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This is a study of earnings quality, examining whether components of earnings based on New Zealand (N.Z.) accounting classification systems have different information parameters. The N.Z. environment provides a unique opportunity to examine a period with no legislative backing of accounting standards and a flexible accounting standard. Combined, this gave mangers the ability to clearly identify earnings components they considered to be differentially informative. Informativeness is assessed by the ability of current period earnings to predict next period earnings and the contemporaneous relation between returns and earnings. The results indicate that disaggregated reported earnings are more informative than aggregated earnings in a non-trivial way. In one of the sample periods disaggregated earnings explained 29% of the variance in returns, more than twice the explanatory power of aggregated earnings. N.Z. accounting standard setters replaced SSAP7 with FRS7 in 1994 contending that the discretion available to mangers reduced the informativeness of earnings. Not only do the results not support that contention but earnings informativeness has fallen since FRS7 came into effect, suggesting that standard setters should revisit that decision. The results also have implications for the content and form of the N.Z. Stock Exchange (NZSE) preliminary announcement. "Unusual earnings" reported to the NZSE by companies are shown to be differentially informative to investors yet the NZSE does not always identify these components when the preliminary announcement is summarised and disseminated to market participants. To summarise, the effective codification of earnings brought about by FRS7 has reduced the informativeness of earnings – locking differences between components into total earnings. The N.Z. results beg the question as to whether similar economic events are locked into the COMPUSTAT summary earnings variables for U.S. data.
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Goodwin, J. D. "Audit judgments of revalued non-current assets." Lincoln University, 1994. http://hdl.handle.net/10182/1770.
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The revaluation of non-current assets has become an accepted accounting practice in many countries including the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand. This practice has implications for the external auditor who must decide whether to accept a valuation as reasonable and how much evidence to collect to support the decision. This thesis represents the first study to examine audit decision making in this area. Because of the absence of prior research, a series of structured interviews was undertaken with audit partners to identify the main audit issues. The results of these interviews, together with the relevant literature, were used to identify some of the factors that may impact on audit judgments concerning revalued assets. Hypotheses were developed and two complementary experiments were designed to test them. These were based on the premise that client management may be motivated to revalue in order to improve the appearance of the balance sheet, thereby increasing the inherent risk of misstatement. A 2 x 2 between-subjects design was used for both experiments, and the dependent variables measured were estimates of the planned audit hours to be spent on the revalued assets and likelihood judgments that the valuations would be accepted as reasonable. Experiment One considered the situation where auditors are faced with two conflicting risks which are likely to exist simultaneously in the audit environment. These were the threat of litigation arising from the client's breach of a debt covenant and the risk of losing the client. The study examined auditors' responses to high and low levels of these risks on the audit of revalued owner-occupied property and an investment property. For the planned audit hours, results indicated a strong interaction effect between the two factors, with auditors planning to spend significantly more time on the audit of revalued assets when both the risk of breaching a debt covenant was high and the risk of losing the client was low. Similar results were found for the likelihood judgment that the valuations would be accepted as reasonable, except that for the investment property the results were only marginally significant. Experiment Two examined the impact of a proposal to issue shares to the public and the competence of the independent valuer on the audit of four classes of non-current assets. Results indicated that auditors would plan to spend longer on the audit of revalued assets when the client proposed to make a share issue and also when the competence of the valuer was lower. They were also less likely to accept the valuations as reasonable in these cases. However, an interaction effect between class of asset and competence of the valuer indicated that concern with some aspects of the evidence could override subjects' sensitivity to the competence of the valuer. An additional finding was a significant experience effect for the likelihood judgments, based on the number of audits, in which subjects had been involved, that had included asset revaluations. More experienced subjects were more likely than less experienced subjects to accept the valuations as reasonable.
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Zhai, Y. H. "Asset revaluation and future firm operating performance : evidence from New Zealand : a thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Commerce and Management at Lincoln University /." Diss., Lincoln University, 2007. http://hdl.handle.net/10182/219.
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The regulatory framework of many countries allows the upward revaluation of assets. Previous studies on the association of asset revaluation and future performance in Australia (Barth and Clinch, 1998), U.K. (Aboody, Barth and Kasznik, 1999) and Hong Kong (Jaggi and Tsui, 2001) have shown that upward asset revaluations are positively associated with the firm’s operating performance, suggesting that asset revaluations are value relevant. This study extends the previous research by focusing on the New Zealand environment with recent data to examine the association of upward asset revaluation and future operating performance. There is no obvious evidence indicating that upward revaluations are associated with operating performance in New Zealand. Our market assessments show that current year asset revaluations are related to share prices and returns, but are not statistically significant.
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De, Silva T.-A. "Voluntary environmental reporting: the why, what and how." Lincoln University, 2008. http://hdl.handle.net/10182/928.
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Society is increasingly calling for organisations to demonstrate corporate social responsibility (CSR). To fulfil this demand, organisations need to be accountable, democratic and transparent to their stakeholders. This can be achieved using a number of tools including communication about the environmental, social and economic impacts of an organisation’s actions and activities. Yet despite the importance of communicating environmental information, and society’s heightened environmental awareness, organisations are still demonstrating an insufficient commitment to environmental reporting, continuing their reluctance to be open and accountable about their environmental impacts. This suggests organisations currently have little understanding of why they should report, what they should report and/or how they should report. For environmental reporting progress to be achieved it is important that we have knowledge of how various factors influence voluntary environmental reporting engagement. This research, in contributing to and extending the body of environmental reporting knowledge, aims to provide an understanding of the Why, What and How of voluntary environmental reporting by specifically examining: why organisations should, and why organisations do, voluntarily report environmental information; what environmental information organisations should, and what environmental information organisations do, voluntarily report; and how organisations should, and how organisations do, voluntarily report environmental information. In using a combination of research methodologies this research extends prior CSR reporting studies – closing the gap between voluntary environmental reporting practice and theory, providing better insights into the underlying reasons and motivations for voluntary environmental reporting, and providing improved knowledge of the considerations made by companies as part of the voluntary environmental reporting process. In doing so, this research presents a more recent examination of voluntary environmental reporting in the annual reports of New Zealand and Australian publicly listed companies. Aspects of voluntary environmental reporting that have not been extensively examined before, particularly in Australasia, are examined. These include a focus on content-quality (as opposed to reporting quantity), an investigation of the effect of public pressure (using a combination of three proxy measures), and, through the use of qualitative research, an expansion of the insights obtained from quantitative data. This research finds that New Zealand and Australian publicly listed companies continue to have an insufficient and incorrect understanding of why they should report, what they should report and/or how they should voluntarily report environmental information. This deficient understanding results in voluntary environmental reporting in their annual reports which is inadequate – the reporting lacks meaning and purpose (i.e. has form but little or no substance), and reflects managers’ incorrect perceptions about the environmental impact of their company’s actions and activities. As a result voluntary environmental reporting in the annual reports of New Zealand and Australian publicly listed companies fails to “… give an understanding, which is not misleading, …” of the environmental consequences of an organisation’s actions and activities (adapted from Alexander & Jermakowicz, 2006, p. 132), providing little accountability to stakeholders, and serving neither external stakeholders nor those reporting well. As the demand for organisations to demonstrate accountability to stakeholders continues to increase over time it is important to develop informed environmental reporting guidance and undertake further examinations of the Why, What and How of environmental reporting.
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Alharasis, Esraa Esam. "The Impact of Fair Value Disclosure on Audit Fees of Jordanian Listed firms." Thesis, 2021. https://vuir.vu.edu.au/42513/.
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The ever-increasing use of Fair Value Accounting (FVA) is preferable in promoting such benefits as relevant financial information and improving transparency of financial reporting compared to traditional accounting methods (McDonough et al. 2020). At the same time, the passage of FVA introduces substantial difficulties from the audit perspective in obtaining and confirming fair value inputs (Bradley & Sun 2021; Griffith 2020). Given the rising use of complex estimates of FVA, the problem of management bias can lead to demands for high-quality audit services. Consequently, more audit effort and time are required from auditors to provide assurance in financial reporting which eventually leads to higher audit fees (Sangchan et al. 2020). This study’s primary motivation is driven by the limited and inconclusive research on the monitoring costs resulting from Fair Value Disclosure (FVD) (Miah 2019). Therefore, it aims to examine the relationship between FVD and audit fees paid by Jordanian firms from 2005 through to 2018. It explores the relationship between the presence of FVD and audit fees and looks closely at the relationship between the proportion of fair-valued assets and audit fees.
Due to the uniqueness of this study’s institutional environment characteristics, the impact of a number of ownership structure factors (including family, government and financial institutional ownership) on the association between the proportion of fair-valued assets and audit fees is examined. The moderating role of the major two auditor industry expertise attributes: market share (MS) and portfolio share (PS) on the link between the proportion fair-valued assets and audit fees is also investigated. This study, moreover, considers further factors of the auditees’ industry type, such as whether the entity is in the financial or non-financial sector. An analysis is also conducted to produce new empirical evidence on the effect of the Global Financial Crisis (GFC) on the association between the proportion of fair-valued assets and audit pricing.
This study is based on the publicly available secondary data from a sample of annual reports published by Jordanian firms listed on the Amman Stock Exchange (ASE). This analysis employs an Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) regression to test the developed hypotheses. A number of additional analyses and sensitivity tests are also conducted to ensure that the main regression results are robust to different measurements and estimators. The regression analysis finds that a greater level of FVD (and proportion of fair-valued assets) is the major driver of higher audit fees. The results are more pronounced for firms with larger ratios of the subjective FVDs (Level 3 assets). Further, a significant and positive difference in the association between the proportion of fair-valued assets and audit fees is evident for finance industry vs. non-finance industry. Specifically, the moderating impact of industry type is significantly positive (negative) in relation to Level 2 (Level 1) assets but not significant for Level 3 assets. A significantly negative (positive) impact of the pre-crisis (post-crisis) period on the association between the proportion of fair-valued assets and audit fees is confirmed. The regression findings, moreover, confirm a negative impact of the moderating pre-crisis over fair value inputs, whereas a positive impact of post-crisis is documented only for Level 1 assets. These findings are in line with the agency and stakeholder theories as the conjunction between the different types of users and the likelihood of material misstatements, and managers’ fraud following the application of FVA have led to abuse of power. Shareholders have potentially been misled simply to serve managements personal interests.
The current study’s results are consistent with agency and stakeholder theories, and indicate that family ownership leads to a weaker relationship between the proportion of fair-valued assets and audit fees. Conversely, the analysis confirms the opposite for both governmental and financial institutional ownership factors. This is also consistent with signalling theory. The regression, moreover, confirms that the nature of the impact of moderating family ownership on the association between Level 1 assets and audit fees is significantly negative (not for Level 2 and Level 3 assets). The analysis confirms that state ownership in the case of the subjective fair values (Level 3 assets) leads to expensive audit fees being charged. The regression, moreover, confirms that the association between the highly uncertain fair values (Level 3 assets) and audit fees is strengthened when financial institution ownership exists. In line with the signalling theory, the analysis suggests that the association between the proportion of fair-valued assets and audit fees is strengthened when the client hires industry specialist auditors identified by MS. Conversely, industry specialists identified by the PS approach are not significantly moderating the relationship between the proportion of fair-valued assets and audit fees. With respect to fair value hierarchy level inputs, Level 1 was the only level found to be moderated by both scenarios with positive (negative) sign under the product differentiation scenario (shared efficiency scenario). The results furthermore support the agency and stakeholder theories.
This study pioneers the topic by examining post-FVA transformation consequences in a developing country, Jordan (Abdullatif 2016). It is the first attempt of its kind to examine the integration of the agency, signalling and stakeholder theories with fair value proxies to establish and evaluate the nature of the relationship between FVD and audit fees (Samaha & Khlif 2016). Results of this study provide policymakers and standard setters with updated empirical evidence originating from a non-Western setting about the post-implementation costs of IFRS/FVA. The findings also benefit regulatory authorities on monitoring and governing the audit profession, which could lead to considering the challenges of auditing the less verifiable fair values. This research assists Jordan’s government in providing more specific guidelines and recommendations that simplify and guarantee best practices of FVA. This contribution makes the findings of the study more relevant to wider settings. Arguably, the findings from Jordan as a study site can reasonably be generalised to other countries in the ME, especially to those that have not yet applied or recently have applied fair value model.
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Viana, Luís Filipe Cracel. "Accounting, Reporting, Auditing and Public Accountability of Public-Private Partnerships: The Portuguese Experience." Doctoral thesis, 2022. https://hdl.handle.net/10216/139579.
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Kusuma, Hadri. "The information content of the cash flow statement : an empirical investigation." Thesis, 1999. https://vuir.vu.edu.au/15295/.
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The general objective of the present study is to investigate and assess the information content of cash flow disclosures as required by the AASB 1026 "Statement of Cash Flows". The information content is measured in terms of the degree of the relationship between cash flow variables and security returns. In examining the information content of cash flows, two objectives are then developed: to investigate the ability of the cash flow component in predicting future cash flows, and to compare the ability of cash flows and earnings in predicting future cash flows.
10
Varghese, Scaria. "The just-in-time philosophy and the accounting implications." Thesis, 1993. https://vuir.vu.edu.au/15719/.
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This minor thesis looks at the accounting practices of the Just In Case philosophy and the changes JIT has brought to the traditional accounting. It further explains the JIT philosophy; human resource accounting and its
implications; financial accounting and its implications; the pitfalls of present cost accounting; management accounting and its implications; JIT cost accounting of the future; and finally sheds some lights on the Australian experiences of JIT manufacturing.
11
Evans, Heather Ann. "Bucking the bottom line: exploring social accounting and auditing as a tool to develop organizations' social responsibility and accountability." Thesis, 1999. http://hdl.handle.net/2429/10228.
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Society's strategy for achieving well being is incompatible with long term global development.
The consequences of economic growth and expansion are manifested in severe ecological and
social crisis. Structural changes are needed throughout society's institutions to shift the
dominant concept and pursuit of progress toward a concept of progress that is based on the
development of balanced social, ecological and economic well being. This involves changing
roles, responsibilities and accountability of many global institutions and organizations including
government, corporations and civil society.
Reviews of both dominant theory's (classical theory) and current corporate-led practices'
perceptions about corporate social responsibility and accountability elucidate their limitations to
motivate or support structural changes, thus prompting the need to explore alternative theories
and practices for structural change. Social institution theories and structural change theories are
examined as alternatives, as well as alternative practices that build corporate social
responsibility. The main objective of the thesis is to explore social accounting as tool for
corporations and other organizations to build social responsibility and accountability in society.
This objective is explored by studying and analyzing the current practices and theoretical
perspectives on social accounting and auditing. Social accounting and auditing principles are
applied and further examined by developing a multiple bottom line framework for VanCity
Credit Union's Alternative Lending Program.
Social accounting and auditing has limited applicability to large corporations since their profit
motive prevents their transparency and accountability. The contribution of social accounting
and auditing in society is to increase the accountability of some organizations: it allows some
corporations with unique social goals to substantiate their claims for social responsibility.
Social accounting and auditing is also key in assessing the performance of organizations in the
social economy since their social contributions to society are undermined by mainstream bottom
line assessment. The role of civil society in advancing social accounting practices is essential.
It is concluded that social accounting and auditing should be developed in conjuntion with
practices that resist negative outcomes of the growing global economy, as well as in co-ordination with local strategies that strive to develop an economy focused on meeting local
needs.
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Aldukhil, Yousef. "Developing and testing a model of successful adoption of activity-based costing." Thesis, 2012. https://vuir.vu.edu.au/19425/.
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This study aims to develop and test a model for successful adoption of activitybased
costing (ABC). The model has been constructed to explore the relationship
between organisational and technological factors and management evaluation of
overall ABC success and suggest a pathway. Another objective of this study is the
examination of the relationship between ABC and business unit performance. The
study also aims to investigate why some business units have not adopted ABC and
why some business units have discontinued their use of ABC.
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Hayes, Nyuk S. "Outsourcing of typical accounting functions: impact on the accounting services industry." Thesis, 1999. https://vuir.vu.edu.au/18170/.
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Since the Australian recession which began in the 1990s, outsourcing has
received considerable attention. Amongst the many benefits that outsourcing is
believed to offer, a key benefit is that it allows organisations to focus on their
competitive strengths while contracting out non-core activities.
While there is currently a considerable amount of studies and evidence on the
costs and benefits of outsourcing, much of this is centred on Information
Technology. There are predictions and some anecdotal evidence indicating
that the outsourcing of typical accounting functions will increase as we
approach the second millennium. The questions left unanswered are many:
• are the trends in the outsourcing of typical accounting functions really on the
increase?
• what are the rationales and perceived benefits associated with the
outsourcing of typical accounting functions?
• does the outsourcing of typical accounting functions raise any concerns?
• what impact will outsourcing have on the service providers in the accounting
services industry?
This study has been designed to answer the above questions. The methodology
undertaken necessitated two separate surveys which were conducted over a
period of 6 months within 1997 and 1998. Both surveys were based on mailed
questionnaires which were forwarded to 300 service-user organisations and 300
service-provider organisations.
Several key findings have emerged from this study:
• the increasing trend to outsource in between 1992 and the period beyond
1997 had only applied to two out of nine accounting functions.
• the outsourcing of typical accounting functions were not undertaken by at
least 75% of responding firms in 1997.
• there were differences between service-buyers' and service-providers'
perception of outsourcing benefits.
• the outstanding number of concerns associated with the management and
control of outsourced functions as well as humans resource, technological
and financial issues was a factor which appear to have deterred firms from
outsourcing typical accounting functions.
The recommendations arising from this study are summarised, as follows:
First, in order to minimise undesired outcomes as a result of outsourcing,
service-user firms need to consider several issues before the decision to
outsource is made. These issues include the strategic importance of, and
existing problems associated with their accounting functions, as well as the risks
and benefits of outsourcing those functions.
Second, service providers' ability to deliver services at pre-determined levels are
more likely to be successful if they are prepared to specialise in the types of
client industries where risks can be measured.
Third, the identification of human resource problems warrants some research
into how organisations can achieve a win-win situation with in-house staff
whose positions are jeopardised as a result of outsourcing arrangements.
Fourth, service-provider firms need to be aware and perhaps become familiar
with the capabilities of commercially available software for the processing of
basic accounting functions.
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Wise, Victoria Jane. "Consolidation accounting issues in the Australian public sector." Thesis, 2004. https://vuir.vu.edu.au/15283/.
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The aim in this study was to examine issues surrounding the cross-sector transfer of a private sector financial reporting practice, known as consolidated financial reporting, to the Australian public sector. The study was conducted using the theoretical frameworks of commandership, accountability and usefulness of financial information. Commander theory was chosen as it is ideally suited to the hierarchical system of control over resources that exists within the public sector; accountability
because it is a fundamental requirement where public resources are involved; and usefullness because it is a rational basis for the production of financial information.
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Dancevic, V. Joseph. "Factoring of accounts receivable : analysis, international perspectives and the Australian market." Thesis, 1993. https://vuir.vu.edu.au/15588/.
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Factoring is the purchase of a company's accounts receivable by a financier (factor). Australian factoring volume reached an estimated US$1.6 billion in 1992. Despite the volume it is not a favoured means of finance in Australia. This may be partly due to the misunderstanding of its benefits, its reputation as a finance of "last resort" and, perhaps, the perceived lack of professionalism among the Australian factors. The purpose of this thesis is to provide an in-depth analysis of factoring; a means of raising funds, and thus promoting economic activity, through the sale of a firm's accounts receivable. This is achieved by taking an international perspective in the literature review and considering the history, nature and worldwide growth of factoring. A further aim of the thesis is to examine the nature of, and practices in, the Australian factoring market. This is achieved through research by way of questionnaires and personal interview of both Australian factors and some of their clients.
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Brooks, Albie. "Management accounting innovation and organizational learning." Thesis, 2002. https://vuir.vu.edu.au/15444/.
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Innovation in management accounting has been significant over the last 15 years. Since the publication of Johnson and Kaplan's (1987) Relevance Lost: The Rise and Fall of
Management Accounting, innovations such as activity-based costing/management, the balanced scorecard, value-chain analysis and economic value-added systems have been
introduced by organizations to improve the quality of information and management within those organizations. At the same time there has been a growing interest in the
concept of organizational learning. While the literature in this area is dispersed across a range of disciplines, there has been a growing interest in the concept in the business and management literature, and, to a lesser extent, the accounting-related literature.
The purpose of this study is to explore the potential links between these two broad concepts, namely, management accounting innovation and organizational learning. It is
believed that the thesis will contribute to the further development of theory in the areas of management accounting innovation and organizational learning.
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Eghliaow, Salem Mohamed. "An empirical examination of the determinants of audit report delay in Libya." Thesis, 2013. https://vuir.vu.edu.au/26136/.
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Financial statements communicate crucial information about the financial health of a company. Financial statements must be made available to stakeholders in time so that they can use the information to make important decisions. However, the timely release of a financial report can be impeded by a range of factors. This study is concerned with audit delay or the delay caused in financial reporting due to the time taken by auditors to review and approve financial statements submitted by companies in Libya.
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Siddique, Salina. "Analysis of the quality of environmental disclosures made by Australian resources sector companies." Thesis, 2015. https://vuir.vu.edu.au/31021/.
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Despite its contribution to the economy, the resources sector faces growing pressure from stakeholders, including investors and regulators, for managing the environmental impacts of its operations. Being an environmentally sensitive sector, resource sector companies should provide disclosures of their environmental footprint in their annual and/or sustainability reports. However, it is claimed that, given that environmental disclosures in annual and sustainability reports are largely voluntary, the quality of those disclosures are questionable with respect to their relevance and faithful representation. Therefore, the overall objective of this thesis was to explore the quality of environmental disclosures by Australian resources sector companies. This was undertaken through an assessment of quality based on existing reporting frameworks and assessment of investors’ perspectives on the quality of disclosures. Thus, the aim of the project was twofold: first, to identify the extent to which corporate environmental disclosures align with the quality attributes suggested in established regulatory guidelines and frameworks; and second, to obtain investors’ perspectives regarding corporate environmental initiatives and environmental disclosures.
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Botica, Redmayne Nives. "The production of audit services in the New Zealand public sector : an investigation into the effects of political risk and corporate governance on audit effort : a thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the School of Accountancy, College of Business, Massey University." 2004. http://hdl.handle.net/10179/1737.
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This study examine the effects of political risk and corporate governance on the production of audit services in the New Zealand public sector. It represents one of several studies that are classified as recent extensions of the research in the economics of auditing. While the economics of auditing literature is extensive, most studies have focussed on audit fees as a means of explaining audit markets and audit services rather than audit production Early audit production studies, however, found that audit fees are a noisy proxy for audit production as they are used by audit firms as a strategic tool for achieving a competitive position in an audit market. This study extends the existing body of knowledge on audit production in two way Firstly, this study examines the determinants of audit effect for public sector corporate entities audits in New Zealand over a period of three year (1998-2000) Therefore, it follows the recommendation of previous audit production studies for research in audit production across auditors. additional industries, different auditing settings and time periods. Secondly, this study extends the existing body of knowledge in audit production by using two previously unused determinants of audit effort It considers the effect of political risk and corporate governance on audit production/effort. Whether political risks and political costs will affect the audit production in any setting has not been examined yet In this Study, it is expected that auditors will expend more audit effort in auditing public sector entities that have high levels of political risk. The effect of corporate governance mechanisms (such as boards of directors) on audit effort has also received very little attention in professional standard or in the academic literature. The strength of corporate governance is expected to effect the audit risk of a current or potential audit client and to influence the auditors' risk assessments and audit production/effort To test the hypotheses in this study, I use a sample of 275 entity/year observations related to public sector companies in New Zealand for the years 1998-2000. After controlling for other factors affecting audit effort, this study finds strong evidence supporting the political risk hypothesis as applied to the audit environment This finding supports evidence from the empirical financial accounting research of political risk/cost and suggests that the implications of the political cost hypothesis are more widespread than previously believed. This study also provides evidence that board effectiveness when measured by board size can have an impact on audit effort. However, there is no evidence of a consistent, relationship between other measures of board effectiveness -specifically, the presence of busy directors, the presence of the CEO on the board and the existence of an audit committee - and audit production While the evidence related to board effectiveness it mixed, this study is the first to link the corporate governance literature and the audit production research. This type of research is particularly important given that some recently enacted law and regulatory requirement (e.g.. the Sarbanes-Oxley Act in the US and new NZX listing requirement regarding audit committees in New Zealand are based on the assumption that a more rigorous audit function is needed in the post-Enron environment.
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Jaswadi, Jaswadi. "Corporate governance and accounting irregularities: evidence from the two-tier board structure in Indonesia." Thesis, 2013. https://vuir.vu.edu.au/22352/.
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There have been, and continue to be, serious financial scandals involving accounting
irregularities in leading companies. While responses to these occurrences include the
introduction of tougher regulations such as the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (SOX),
further serious instances have occurred, notably the 2008 subprime mortgage and
financial institution meltdown. The existence and persistence of such cases of
financial scandals have led many investors, regulators, companies and academics to
try to reduce such incidence by improving the effectiveness of corporate governance
and increasing awareness of the red flags which could cause accounting scandals.
The relationship between individual corporate governance dimensions and corporate
governance as a system orientated toward accounting irregularities has been tested.
However, empirical measurements and tests are limited and largely based in one-tier
board system environments. The outcomes are almost impossible to apply in two-tier
board systems, where relationships between governance mechanisms and accounting
irregularities are not fully understood. Using the agency theory and fraud theories, this
research is undertaken in Indonesia to provide insights that extend the body of
knowledge about the practices of the two-tier board system. This study investigates
the extent to which the Indonesian corporate governance system acts as an effective
tool in protecting financial statement users against accounting irregularities.
21
Haider, Syed. "Exploring the Relationship between Changes in Accounting Policies and Valuation of Australian Banking Firms." Thesis, 2015. https://vuir.vu.edu.au/31006/.
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The Australian Accounting Standards Board (AASB) and the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) state in their objectives that they are committed to producing quality accounting standards in the public interest to enhance the decision usefulness of accounting information. Cooperation between the AASB and IASB began in aid of the development of internationally accepted Australian accounting standards after the issuance of Policy Statement 6, ‘International Harmonisation Policy’, in 1996. The AASB adopted a two-pronged approach to changing Australian accounting standards: it introduced changes in accounting standards for issues not covered in international accounting standards, and also adopted international accounting standards to provide decision-useful information to the users of financial statements.
The introduction of new accounting standards and changes to the existing standards affected the financial statements of firms, including Australian banking firms. Firms that are affected by the introduction of new accounting standards or changes in accounting standards are required to provide complete disclosure of both quantitative and qualitative information to improve the economic decision making of the users. However, the concept of users in the conceptual framework is narrowly focused on the information needs of investors as the users of accounting information. Investors rely on the recommendations of financial analysts for investment decisions, and financial analysts value firms by using accounting information as input for valuation models to generate recommendations to buy, sell or hold decisions for investors. The objective of this research is to investigate the impact of changes in accounting policies on the forecasted values of Australian banking firms for the period 1997–2007. The objective is not to predict forecasted share prices accurately, but rather to use forecasted share prices generated through the use of various valuation models used by financial analysts to identify whether changes in accounting policies due to the changes in accounting standards have resulted in decreases in forecasting error.
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O'Donovan, Gary. "Legitimacy theory as an explanation for corporate environmental disclosures." Thesis, 2000. https://vuir.vu.edu.au/15372/.
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The main aim of this thesis was to refine and develop legitimacy theory as an explanation for voluntary corporate envirormiental disclosures in the armual report. Legitimacy theory posits that for a corporation to continue to exist it must act in congruence with society's values and norms
(Dowling & Pfeffer, 1975). An aspect of legitimacy theory, investigated in this research, is that in order to continue to exist a corporation will act to remain legitimate in the eyes of whom it considers is able to affect its legitimacy. One way corporations act to remain legitimate to these
important' conferring publics', is to voluntarily disclose social and environmental information in the corporate annual report.
Much of this investigation was concerned with exploring new areas and attempting to establish relationships between variables identified as important to the development of legitimacy theory.
It was decided that a field study approach, using mainly interview-based qualitative data, was the optimal research methodology to achieve the objectives of this investigation. A number of senior management personnel from three large Australian-based companies were the primary source of data in relation to corporate environmental disclosure decision processes.
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(6901319), Benjamin W. Angelo. "The Impact of the Verb Tense of Tone Words on Price Discovery in Conference Calls." Thesis, 2019.
Find full textAbstract:
Prior empirical research has shown that forward-looking statements can be particularly informative to investors (Li 2010; Muslu et al. 2014). However, the inherent uncertainty surrounding forward-looking statements may contribute to a delayed price reaction. This paper examines the market reaction to backward-looking statements and to forward-looking statements across a 60 trading-day horizon. I did not find evidence suggesting the inherent uncertainty of forward-looking statements contributes to a delayed price reaction. However, backward-looking statements are associated with a delayed price response. This result is consistent with Bernard and Thomas’s (1990) suggestion that post-earnings announcement drift is caused by investors not fully understanding how current earnings map into future earnings. I also provide evidence that, for the prepared remarks, investors have a stronger price reaction to net backward-looking tone than to net forward-looking tone. However, for the question-and-answer session, the opposite is true. Investors have a stronger price reaction to net forward-looking tone than to net backward-looking tone. This result suggests that managers should focus their prepared remarks on the prior performance of the firm and focus their responses during the question-and-answer session on the future performance of the firm.
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Motubatse, Kgobalale Nebbel. "An evaluation of factors affecting the progression to clean audit outcomes in South African Municipalities." Thesis, 2016. http://hdl.handle.net/10386/1701.
Full textAbstract:
Thesis (Ph. D. (Public Administration)) -- University of Limpopo, 2016.This research examines the effectiveness of the factors that have been introduced to bring about progress to clean audit outcomes in South African municipalities. This research has become increasingly important as the democratic dispensation in South Africa has witnessed a gradual weakening of public financial accountability. As a consequence of this ongoing decline, the National Government initiated the campaign “operation clean audit” as a means to achieve a new level of improved audit outcomes. The Auditor General of South Africa (AGSA) identified three key factors that would drive improved audit outcomes, namely leadership, financial management and governance. Given that “operation clean audit” had seemingly become an elusive dream by 2014, the researcher decided to examine the relative effectiveness of the causative variables identified by the AGSA as key to achieving improved audit outcomes. This research therefore was intended to make a contribution to the body of academic knowledge by pursuing the following objectives: to examine the effect of leadership on the achievement of clean audit outcomes in the South African public service; to analyse the effectiveness of financial management in the South African public service; to evaluate the effect of governance on the achievement of clean audit outcomes in the South African public service, and to propose a framework for understanding the factors that affect clean audit outcomes in the South African public service. To achieve the research objectives, the research applied a positivist paradigm and a quantitative approach. Data were collected from the AGSA’s consolidated municipal reports from the nine provinces of the Republic. Hence, the study was limited to the use of municipal audit reports, consolidated into single reports for all the municipalities in each of the provinces over a period of years. Thus, the study examines a total of nine consolidated reports for each of the five years between 2009/2010 – 2013/2014. Using the panel data approach, this produced a set of nine cross sectional units and 5 periods which thus produced 45 time series observations. Subsequently, a panel data multiple regression analysis was conducted to analyse the data. After correcting the model for heteroskedaskicity, the results from the regression analysis revealed important relationships in only two dimensions. On the one hand, the three independent variables – leadership, financial management and governance – jointly vi have a significant relationship with clean audit outcomes, with a P value P<0.000, which is substantially below the 5% alpha level anticipated for this research. The independent variables were each examined for their individual effects on clean audit results. Results show that only governance has a significant and direct effect on the achievement of a clean audit. Given that governance has a substantially stronger impact on the achievement of clean audits (far more than do the other variables), further analysis was conducted to determine the variables that influence the efficiency of governance. The results reveal that the effectiveness of the audit committee has an overriding influence on the ability of an entity to achieve clean audits. The findings thus appear to confirm the Auditor General’s broad claim that leadership, financial management and governance are the key drivers to improved audit outcomes: but further analysis reveals that this happens only when the three variables are analysed as a single unit, to examine whether they significanly enhance clean audit outcomes. As single variables, only governance proved to affect clean audit outcomes significantly. The findings from the analysis thus corroborates the literature, thus achieving the first three research objectives. Arising from this analysis, the researcher was able to propose a framework for understanding the factors that affect an entity’s progression to clean audit. This constituted the achievement of research objective 4, and makes a contribution to the current body of knowledge on the topic. Thus, this research contributes to knowledge in that it develops a framework for understanding the factors that affect the achievement of a clean audit, and proposes two key approaches to further research and improve public sector auditing: a model to research the variables that affect audit committee effectiveness; and a practical approach that includes additional variables (drawn from the framework) during the public sector audit. Key words Accountability, accounting, audit committee, audit quality, clean audit, financial management, governance, leadership, public administration, public policy, public sector, supreme audit institution.
Faculty of Economics and of Finance at the Tshwane University of Technology, and the Faculty of Management and Law at the University of Limpopo
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Khanyile, Manqoba Wiseman. "Evaluation of financial accountability, financial control and financial reporting at Umtshezi Municipality : a case study." Thesis, 2016. http://hdl.handle.net/10321/1601.
Full textAbstract:
Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements of the Master of Accounting degree, Faculty of Accounting and Informatics, Durban University of Technology, Durban, South Africa, 2016.Financial accountability, financial control and financial reporting are the three main elements that determine the performance of the municipality. An analysis had to be made on each of these elements to find any limitations and gaps that negatively impact on the performance of the organisation. The aim of the study was to evaluate financial accountability, financial control and financial reporting of Umtshezi Municipality. The study was a census study and it was quantitative, descriptive and cross sectional in nature. The target population comprised of 45 employees from the finance department which was divided into five units, namely, Supply Chain Management, Expenditure, Asset/Fleet, Revenue and Budget. The IBM Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 22.0 was used to determine statistical results. The findings of the study discovered that officials lack educational qualifications and adequate understanding of the MFMA. The respondents also indicated that there was political influence affecting administration within the municipality. The study recommended that the municipality should provide funds to train employees. National Treasury should conduct consistent reviews on the implementation of the MFMA. The Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA) should intervene to protect the administration from political threats.
M
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Schröder, Laura Babett. "The materiality and volatility of comprehensive income : a thesis presented partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Business Studies in Accountancy at Massey University, Auckland, New Zealand." 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/10179/1278.
Full textAbstract:
The objective of this research is to investigate the materiality and volatility of comprehensive income for non financial firms in a non US environment. As the FASB and IASB are planning to require the reporting of comprehensive income in a single performance statement, it is important to resolve the issues surrounding the materiality and the volatility of comprehensive income. This study investigates the materiality of comprehensive income and its components in relation to total comprehensive income and closing equity for 37 non financial companies listed on the NZX from 2003 to 2008. Moreover, the cumulative impact of comprehensive income on equity over time is investigated. Further the volatility of comprehensive income is compared to the volatility of net income. This study also investigates the impact of the change to NZ IFRS on comprehensive income The results show that other comprehensive income is material in relation to total comprehensive income, but not in relation to closing equity. Moreover, some components of comprehensive income have a cumulative effect over time on closing equity. Comprehensive income is more volatile than net income. However, these findings are due to asset revaluations, which is the most dominant component of other comprehensive income. Though, all components of comprehensive income are significant for some firm year observations. Further, the move to NZ IFRS affects the materiality of some components of other comprehensive income and reduces the volatility of comprehensive income compared to net income. This study provides evidence that other comprehensive income is material for non financial firms in a non US environment. This suggests that it should be displayed clearly in the financial statement in order to be taken into consideration by financial statement users. Further, this study provides evidence that the difference in volatility between comprehensive income and net income in New Zealand can be avoided by choosing the cost method when measuring assets after recognition.
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Wong, Geoffrey. "An analysis of the role and performance of audit committees in the Victorian government public sector in providing assurance and governance." Thesis, 2012. https://vuir.vu.edu.au/21330/.
Full textAbstract:
The purpose of this thesis has been to identify and analyse: the role of audit committees, the attributes of audit committee members, and the functions and activities that they perform in government-funded public sector organisations, focusing on Victorian government organisations. This research determined how audit committees interact with their major stakeholder partners, namely management, internal audit and external audit. The research also identified the characteristics of audit committees that contribute to their successful performance and their sustainability within a governance and assurance framework.
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Abell, David I. "A review of directors' and officers' liability insurance policy wordings in light of the Statewide Tobacco, National Safety Council, AWA & East End court decisions." Thesis, 1993. https://vuir.vu.edu.au/15554/.
Full textAbstract:
The Statewide Tobacco, National Safety Council & AWA decisions have generated a good deal of comment in business circles and in the media. References have been made in legal and business journals as to the importance of Directors' and Officers' Liability (D & O) insurance when
discussing these court decisions. Unfortunately, for the purchasers of this class of insurance there is very little written material as to how to adequately evaluate the different D & 0 insurance policies offered by underwriters.
This paper examines the background of this class of insurance and suggests a way of comparing the various policies offered by the insurance market and a number of risk minimisation strategies.
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Mawelle, Withanawasam Indrani. "The Role of Management Accounting in Responding to Environmental Management Issues in Listed Companies: a Survey in the Sri Lankan Context." Thesis, 2016. https://vuir.vu.edu.au/32398/.
Full textAbstract:
Decades ago environmental costs were not identified or accounted for by businesses, and businesses assumed that environmental costs were very low. However, in recent times, due to environmental concerns, there has been a steep rise in environmental costs, which has raised many environmental issues along with related costs, revenues and benefits that are now of an increasing concern to many countries around the world. Although environmental costs lead to societal and economic issues, this study focuses only on economic issues. There remains a lack of research, particularly in developing countries, focusing on management accounting (MA) and its contribution to managing environmental costs. The main purpose of this study is to investigate the nature and extent of MA practices and their contribution in addressing environmental management (EM) issues in listed companies in Sri Lanka.
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Purcell, Aquinas John. "Audit committee effectiveness in Victorian local government." Thesis, 2012. https://vuir.vu.edu.au/21442/.
Full textAbstract:
The tenets of local government are based on strong financial probity, adherence to independence principles to avoid conflict of interest and conformance to ethical principles.
This thesis addresses the issue of possible corruption and misconduct in local government, with particular reference to the role of the audit committee. The primary research question is: ‘Do audit committees in Victorian local government function effectively?’ The secondary research question is: ‘Do the investigations into local government maladministration and malfeasance enhance governance and the audit committee’s effectiveness?’ Qualitative and quantitative data were collected to develop a model of audit committee effectiveness through a pilot survey, research questionnaire and interviews.
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Albader, Mohammed. "Transition to IFRS and its Implications for Accounting Education in Saudi Arabia." Thesis, 2015. https://vuir.vu.edu.au/29787/.
Full textAbstract:
The adoption of a unified set of accounting standards has implications for the accounting profession and accounting education. Identifying these implications is important for the efficient and effective transition to International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). Yet, there is limited research into adopting IFRS in countries with developing economies that have differing legal, economic and social structures. Saudi Arabia’s decision to transition to IFRS in 2012, as announced by the Saudi Organisation for Certified Public Accountants (SOCPA), has resulted in a need to examine the effect of this transition on accounting education in Saudi Arabia, specifically on the way higher education institutions will incorporate IFRS into the curriculum as a principles-based approach to adopting accounting standards.
This study is underpinned by an educational theoretical framework of curriculum implementation. The framework was employed to answer the research questions that address the influences on the adoption of IFRS for accounting educators in Saudi Arabia. The results of the research are intended to inform professional bodies in Saudi Arabia, and more generally in developing countries, of the factors affecting curriculum development in accounting that incorporates IFRS. This study also examines the educational transition to IFRS from an Islamic perspective.
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Nyamori, Robert Ochoki. "Governing the local : a case study of the use of markets and strategic performance measurement systems in a local authority in New Zealand : a thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Accountancy, Massey University." 2004. http://hdl.handle.net/10179/1623.
Full textAbstract:
This study seeks to illuminate how markets and private sector managerial practices, especially strategic performance measurement systems (SPMS) have come to be a central part of the government of the local domain and with what effects, following far-reaching reforms to the New Zealand public sector commencing in the mid 1980s. The study uses Michel Foucault's concept of governmentality to interpret the way people are governed through regimes of practice that present certain ways of being as true and others as false, utilising traditional devices of sovereignty and discipline, as well as technologies of the self. Parliamentary bills to reform New Zealand local government were analysed as was the literature on local government reform. These illuminated the rationalities and technologies underpinning the reforms. Literature on strategic planning and management in the public sector were analysed to provide insights into the discursive formation of SPMS as a technology of government. The researcher also interviewed the city manager, managers of all the units, some non-managerial staff, The Mayor and one councillor of Future City Council The pseudonym has been adopted for purposes of confidentiality.(FCC), a New Zealand local authority. He also collected and analysed numerous internal documents from the case study. The analysis involved a transcription of all interviews and then identification of common themes from among the interviewees. The individual interviewee's response to a theme were analysed against that of other interviewees and the internal documents so as compare their interpretation of the introduction and effects of markets and SPMS. The results of this analysis were then interpreted employing the concept of governmentality. The aim was to establish the extent to which this concept could explain the changes to local government and their effects. The reforms to local government in New Zealand were driven by the same rationalities as those of the larger New Zealand public sector, namely, efficiency, effectiveness and accountability. The study found that these rationalities were associated with regimes of practice that sought to constitute citizen and staff as autonomous entities that could govern themselves, while at the same time gazing over each other. These practices included the separation of policy making from management, commercial operations from non-commercial ones, business from non-business departments and the introduction of competition through internal markets. These changes were associated with discourses that promoted citizens as active participants in their communities but who were at the same time autonomous individuals who could take care of themselves and who had the rights of consumers. These dividing practices sought to change the nature of the relationship between staff and citizens, supplanting trust with technologies of mistrust, enabling government without obvious intrusion hence overcoming the dialectic between control and freedom that is the hallmark of advanced liberal societies. These rationalities were also associated with SPMS programmes and technologies that sought to reconfigure local spaces into communities bounded by local authorities. Since annual planning and the long-term financial strategy required consultation with their communities, citizens were interpellated into their own government. Consultation and citizen participation enabled the needs and aspirations of these communities to be known to staff of the FCC who would be expected to work towards their fulfilment. These needs and aspirations in turn became the basis for programmes of governing the conduct of the staff and elected representatives of the FCC. SPMS incited citizens to evaluate the FCC and various facets of their lives on the basis of the logic of the economic, which became the vehicle and basis for far- reaching changes to the FCC. These practices enabled FCC individual staff's work to be delineated into objectives, to which they were assigned. This in turn enabled the individual performance of staff to be calculable, measurable and visible hence tying their daily working lives with the rationalities of government. The dreams of reformers however, do not always accord with practice, as was evident at the FCC. The changes while embraced by some were resisted by others, who though subsequently defining the organisation in terms of strategy and markets, do not appear to have been overwhelmed by it. This study hopefully contributes to accounting research in a number of ways. While the bulk of Foucaultian studies are historical, this study combines both historical and contemporary analysis of the evolution and instantiation of a discourse of markets and private sector managerialism. The study is able to show how the subject constitutes and is constituted by a discourse of community, customer and enterprise, contrary to previous studies that have relied on the study of discourse as an intermediary to the subject. The study extended previous by show how the subject is not a mere pawn of discourse, but is able to appropriate and resist discourses that contradict his or her prior identities. The study also shows the potentially rich insights, which can be gleaned from looking at accounting as part of the larger modalities for governing organisational and social life. It shows how accounting data and personnel are appropriated by staff in various units to develop and interpret strategy and measure its progress within the organisation. Importantly, accounting logic is used to link individual work with the political rationalities of strategic planning. The researcher hopes that a healthy debate would ensue regarding the reasons, means and effects of neo-liberal modes of government in the local sphere.
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Adi, Priyo Hari. "Rent-Seeking Behaviour in Local Government Budget in Indonesia." Thesis, 2018. https://vuir.vu.edu.au/37844/.
Full textAbstract:
Prior studies on government budget expenditure and its impact on government performance have demonstrated mixed results. Improper or inappropriate budget allocations can lead to opportunistic attempts to utilize these resources; this type of opportunism is known as rent-seeking behaviour. The objective of the study is to examine the determinants of rent-seeking, including such factors as grants from central government, local original revenue, natural resources revenue, population size, political factors and audit of government financial statement.
While the majority of existing literature in this field surveys agency problems in the central government or at a national level, the current study contributes to the literature by investigating the agency problem in local government. In a decentralized government, where the authority is delegated to a local leader and local members of parliament, rent-seeking behaviour potentially arises as both of these parties have a conflict of interest. There is often a political motive when these parties run for election.
Rent-seeking may potentially have an adverse impact on local government performance, and auditing has been shown to be an effective tool in reducing the agency problem and minimising rent-seeking. The current study addresses this issue by examining the role of auditing in minimising rent-seeking.
This study employs the approach used by Park (2008), which is a revised model of the Katz and Rosenberg (1989) method, to measure potential rent-seeking. The data used in this study are the regional budget data (Anggaran Pendapatan dan Belanja Daerah/APBD) for the years 2007 to 2012 and also the reports of local financial audits for the years 2006 to 2011.
The results of the study show there were some budget sectors that may have been regularly optimized for rent-seeking. In association with the determinants of the behaviour, there were some factors that influenced the potential rent-seeking significantly. The increase of local original revenue, natural resources and the election of legislative members are found to have a substantial impact on potential rent-seeking. However, the other result of this study shows that audit had an adverse effect on rent-seeking; this finding demonstrates the critical role of the audit to prevent the rent-seeking behaviour.
From the perspective of agency theory, the results of the study provide an indication that rent-seeking behaviour does exist in local governments, since the leader of the government and the members of parliament have particular interests in utilizing the budget. In line with this theory, one of the ways to limit agency costs is by conducting an intensive audit. It is essential for local governments to strengthen their auditing activity in order to prevent high levels of dissipation of local budgets.
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Almahuzi, Ahmed Salman. "Factors Impacting the Effectiveness of Internal Audit in the Saudi Arabian Public Sector." Thesis, 2020. https://vuir.vu.edu.au/42261/.
Full textAbstract:
This study investigates the effectiveness of internal audits in the Saudi Arabian public sector. The resource-based theory is used to explore external and internal factors that impact internal audit effectiveness. External factors are those outside the control of an internal audit department while internal factors are those within its control. The study examines the relationships between three external factors: top management support, organisational culture and independence of internal audits. It also examines the relationships between four internal factors: motivation of internal audit staff, size of the internal audit team, utilisation of information technology (IT) and competence of internal auditors. Lastly, the study considers the reasons for the non-implementation of internal audit units in some government organisations.
Data were gathered using a mixed methods approach consisting of semi-structured interviews and a questionnaire. A total of 36 semi-structured interviews was conducted to gain the participants’ views on the nature of internal audits in the Saudi public sector and of the issues affecting the effectiveness of the audits. Further, 300 questionnaires were distributed to the managers of internal audit units and internal audit staff in the Saudi Arabian public sector, of which 290 were returned completed.
The data were analysed thematically and statistically. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the interviews. The interview data were unanimous that top management support impacted not only internal audit effectiveness but also the other external factors. The interview findings also revealed a direct association between the three external factors. Multiple regression was used to analyse the collected data. The findings showed that the key external factors affecting internal audit effectiveness were top management support, organisational culture and independence of the internal audit. The first ordinary least squares (OLS) regression model indicated that, of these external factors, top management support was the most significant impacting internal audit effectiveness. In contrast, the interview data suggested that the competence of internal auditors was the most significant factor, affecting not only internal audit effectiveness but the other internal factors as well. The interview data also indicated a direct association between the four internal factors. The second OLS regression model suggested that, of the internal factors, the competence of internal auditors was the primary driver of internal audit effectiveness. As a standalone construct, the competence of internal auditors significantly impacted internal audit effectiveness; however, the same could be said of the links between internal audit effectiveness and the motivation of internal audit staff, the size of internal audit team and the utilisation of IT.
In line with the resource-based theory, it is suggested that the Saudi public sector should capitalise on an effective internal audit as a valuable resource to promote organisational activities. The findings also revealed that although Saudi public organisations are legally required to have established internal audit departments, this function was lacking in a substantial number of organisations.
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Yang, Hong (helen). "Changing institutional environment, Chinese company characteristics, and climate-change reporting." Thesis, 2014. https://vuir.vu.edu.au/24839/.
Full textAbstract:
The objective of this thesis is to investigate how China’s country-specific context influences climate-change reporting by Chinese companies. Specifically, the thesis theoretically and empirically examines factors that influence climate-change reporting in China’s changing political and economic institutional environment. The thesis addresses how the political ideology of the ruling Communist Party of China (CPC) has driven the changing institutions in the field of climate-change reporting, and the impact on Chinese company characteristics and reporting practice. The thesis includes Chinese literature in evaluating the adaptability of theories originating in the West to the Chinese context. It identifies institutional theory as the preferred basis for developing an extended model to explain the homogeneity and heterogeneity of climate-change reporting by Chinese companies. The model developed, which incorporates multiple levels of institutional analysis, was then tested empirically. From 100 leading listed Chinese companies, 471 reports (Annual Reports and Corporate Sustainability Reports) were examined across three key reporting years between 2006 and 2010, using content analysis. Multivariate regression and logit analyses were then used for further analysis.
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Ghani, Erlane K. "Digital reporting formats and users of financial reports : decision quality, perceptions and cognitive information processing in the context of recognition versus disclosure : a thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Accountancy, Massey University." 2008. http://hdl.handle.net/10179/1381.
Full textAbstract:
The evolvement of digital reporting has changed the way financial information is prepared and disseminated (Debreceny and Gray, 200 1 ). Previous research has shown that digital reporting has increased, particularly in the last five years, and this usage is characterised by greater volumes of business and financial information over that traditionally provided in print-based mode (Smith, 2003). The new opportunities and benefits offered by digital reporting are matched by challenges and implications not only for the preparers and auditors but also for users. It is expected that in the near future, financial reporting will move entirely from the primarily print-based mode to digital-based mode as the primary information dissemination channel (Oyelere et aI., 2003; Fisher et aI., 2004). Research in the area of digital reporting has been conducted in the past decade. Within this research, a considerable number of issues have been raised. These issues relate to various parties, such as policy makers, preparers, auditors, system designers and users. While several research questions and hypotheses concerning these parties have been posed and investigated, most of the research questions and hypotheses have been formed from a preparers' perspective, leaving the examination of issues from a users' perspective largely unexplored. This study focuses on users. It examines the effect of presentation formats on decision makers' performance in relation to decision quality, perceptions and cognitive information processing in the digital reporting environment. It aims to extend the digital reporting literature. This study extends the existing body of knowledge on digital reporting environment in several ways. First, this study examines the effect of presentation formats on the quality of users' decision making. This study follows Kleinmuntz and Schkade (1993) who described 'decision quality' in the context of two cost-benefit dimensions in relation to decision makers' cognitive processes, namely decision accuracy and cognitive effort. Decision accuracy reflects the ability of a strategy to produce an accurate outcome while cognitive effort reflects the total cognitive expenditure incurred in completing a task. Second, this study examines users' perceptions of three digital presentation formats: PDF, HTML and XBRL. This study compares subjects' perceptions of usefulness and ease of use of the three presentation formats with their actual outcome. It also includes examining whether perceptions are an important factor in influencing preferred presentation format. Finally, this study examines whether digital presentation formats address the concern over functional fixation in the accounting context of 'recognition versus disclosure' in the reporting of financial information. This study used public accounting practitioners in New Zealand as participants. Sixty two subjects participated in the experiment, which involves an experiment exercise and a post experiment questionnaire. The results indicate that presentation formats impact on decision accuracy. This finding is consistent with previous studies conducted using non-digital presentation formats such as tabular and graphical in the psychology and information systems literature (Stock and Watson, 1984; Dickson et aI., 1986; Iselin, 1988; DeSanctis and Jarvenpaa, 1989; Mackay and Villareal, 1987; Hard and Vanacek, 1991; Stone and Schkade, 1991; Anderson and Kaplan, 1992; Bricker and Nehmer, 1995; Ramarapu et aI., 1997; Frownfelter-Lohrke, 1998; Almer et aI., 2003). The results, however, indicate that presentation formats do not impact decision makers' cognitive effort. These findings suggest that preparers, standardsetters and regulatory bodies should recognise that presentation format impacts on users' decision making processes and select appropriate formats that lead to improvement in decision making. Additionally, the results indicate that users' perceptions of the usefulness and ease of use of the reporting technologies are similar across the three presentation formats. The results also show that users' perceptions do not necessary correspond to actual performance. Users' perceptions are found to influence their preferred presentation format. The findings of this study provide useful insights on users' perceptions, performances and preferences of the digital presentation formats. Such results provide a holistic and comprehensive view of the importance of perceptions and the effect of presentation formats on decision makers' performance. This is particularly relevant since if more advanced forms of digital reporting are to be encouraged, then there is also the need for users to be made more aware of the benefits to be gained from the different forms of presentation. Finally, the results show that of the four recognised stages of information processing (i.e. acquisition, evaluation, weighting and judging information), functional fixation is found to only exist at the judgment stage. However, the effect of presentation format is only significant at information evaluation stage. The results indicate that the interaction between presentation formats and placement of information does not affect decision makers' information processing. This suggests that presentation formats do not solve the concern about recognition versus disclosure (functional fixation) in information processing stages. These fmdings are not consistent with Hodge et al. (2004) but are consistent with Luft and Shields (2001) who suggest functional fixation could not be alleviated because the accounting itself would affect the allocation of people's attention. This study extends the literature on presentation format by examining the quality of decision making arising from the use of different presentation formats in a digital reporting environment. It provides evidence that users' perceptions of ease of use of a presentation format do not necessarily correspond to their actual performance (cognitive effort) once a particular task has been performed. This study also provides evidence that the acceptance of a technology is highly dependent on the perceptions of that technology. Therefore, limited knowledge and appreciation of the capabilities of a technology may have the undesired effect of deterring use of the technology although it may improve performance.
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Malane, Francis. "The standard of care and responsibility required of auditors in the detection of fraudulent or illegal activity: the AWA case." Thesis, 2005. https://vuir.vu.edu.au/15636/.
Full textAbstract:
The auditor's role in the detection of fraudulent or illegal activities has posed a continuing dilemma. In the 1980's, a lengthy period of large profits made by Bond,
Skase and others, was followed by corporate collapses and subsequent findings of significant losses. Recently, the large corporate collapses of HIH, Enron and Worldcom
have again posed the question 'where were the auditors'?
The auditor's failure to detect major weaknesses, fraud or illegal activities in the failed corporations has led to a widening of the audit expectation gap. This is the gap that exists between what auditors see as their role and what the financial commumity expects. Damaging publicity arising from subsequent litigation where auditors are found negligent focuses further attention on this problem. This research examines the AWA case. In AWA, the audit firm of Deloittes was faced with a combination of factors.
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Bergami, Roberto. "Risk management in Australian manufacturing exports : the case of letters of credit to ASEAN." Thesis, 2011. https://vuir.vu.edu.au/16043/.
Full textAbstract:
One of the fundamental considerations for exporters in international trade transactions is the aspect of payment. In the context of financial risk management, Letters of Credit enable the exporter to substitute the credit risk of the buyer with that of his bank. The Letter of Credit is a conditional payment guarantee, relying on one hundred per cent documentary accuracy to trigger the payment. Less than one hundred per cent compliance means the loss of the payment guarantee. Non-compliance is a significant problem as, according to the International Chamber of Commerce, worldwide documentary discrepancy rates against Letter of Credit transactions have been estimated to be between sixty to seventy per cent. The mechanics of Letter of Credit
transactions comprise a complex web of interactions between banks, traders and their service providers, providing a fertile ground for discrepancies and existing literature
acknowledges this world-wide problem. In the UK, in 2000, losses were estimated to be AUD 305 million (£ 113) through non-compliant documents being presented under Letters of Credit – this amount did not include lost opportunities and cash flow problems. In the same year, a separate USA study of Letter of Credit transactions confirmed the high discrepancy rate, but also claimed that as long as buyers want the goods discrepancies did not translate into financial losses. The findings were refuted by others.
It is the potential loss of revenue caused by the mismanagement of risk that is foremost in this research. It is estimated that the annual value of Letter of Credit
business for manufacturing exports to ASEAN is approximately AUD 3.5 billion, with losses estimated to be upwards of AUD 920 million. This research aims to assist in
greater understanding of the usage of Letters of Credit and the dynamics that underpin these transactions leading to a greater understanding of the interactions between
Australian exporters and ASEAN importers.
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Vesty, Gillian M. "A case study of the balanced scorecard in public hospitals." Thesis, 2004. https://vuir.vu.edu.au/17897/.
Full textAbstract:
The Balanced Scorecard (BSC) is an innovative management accounting tool, designed by
Kaplan and Norton in 1992, now used in both public and private sectors. The BSC takes a
multi-dimensional approach to performance management providing a link between
organisational strategy and operational performance. Australian public sector reforms have
lead to corporatisation of many government-owned entities, which now have the autonomy to
decide their own strategic objectives. This last decade of change has required the
implementation of new performance management systems to cope with tightening funding
arrangements and increasing costs. The BSC has been considered the appropriate tool to
provide both financial and non-financial information for the diverse set of public sector
stakeholders.
This study will examine the issues of BSC implementation in two public hospitals. The
purpose of this study is to contribute to the knowledge of the BSC and the changing public
sector management accounting function. The influence management accounting has in multidimensional
performance measurement system adoption is investigated. The study was
conducted using the case study method. The main form of data collection was via semistructured
interviews, a non-participant observer role and archival data.
Despite a proliferation of non-financial performance measures in both hospitals, performance
measurement centred on external funding requirements. Management accounting in hospitals
has predominately been focused on output control, through budgeting and financial target
monitoring. More recently there has been a move to integrate the management accounting
role as clinical support agent and business analyst. Despite these moves, traditional
performance measurement and management control is still dominated by the financial and
financially related activity measures for public hospital funding. The BSC adoption at one
hospital lapsed, whilst at the other hospital, after two years, the BSC was incomplete. These
results have implications for hospital management, further research and management
accounting education.
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Saringat, Siti Masnah. "Corporate Environmental Disclosure in Malaysia." Thesis, 2019. https://vuir.vu.edu.au/40536/.
Full textAbstract:
The objective of this thesis is to theoretically and empirically investigate how the changing political and economic institutional environment in Malaysia influences the quantity (CEDQty) and quality (CEDQ) of corporate environmental disclosure in both annual and sustainability reports (ARs and SRs) of Malaysian publicly-listed companies in environmentally-sensitive industries (ESI). It also examines how the explanatory variables modify the relationship between the institutional environment factors and reporting practices.
This thesis developed a research instrument (i.e., Corporate Environmental Disclosure Index) based on the international and Malaysian guidelines to analyse the CEDQty and CEDQ of 411 reports by 135 companies in Malaysia for the reporting years of 2006, 2008 and 2014, an important period when substantial institutional changes occurred at both the international and the national levels. Based on institutional theory, and supported by Islamic accountability and resource-based theories, the theoretical framework developed in this thesis conceptually explained factors that drive companies’ responses to institutional pressures resulting from institutional changes, and how those institutional changes have influenced the CEDQty and CEDQ practices by Malaysian companies over time.
The theoretical framework of this thesis was then empirically tested using a mixed qualitative and quantitative method. The empirical models applied the Generalised Estimating Equation (GEE) approach in recognition that panel data is used. Depending upon whether it was CEDQty or CEDQ and whether it was aggregated or individual reporting items analysed, a multivariate linear regression, binary or ordinal logistic regressions technique was used. The model developed incorporated multi-levels of institutional analysis comprising the international and Malaysian environment, along with company-specific characteristics of Islamic influence, corporate governance, financial performance and other control variables. The findings reveal that institutional changes, the non-government institutional ownership and women on boards are strong drivers for CEDQty, whereas institutional changes, female Chairperson, the non- government institutional ownership and women on boards are strong drivers for CEDQ in the Malaysian context.
This thesis has multiple implications. Firstly, it offers insights into CEDQty and CEDQ practices over time in both ARs and SRs in a developing economy by focusing on Malaysia using panel data analysis. Secondly, it adds support to an application of institutional and resource-based theories, and limited support for Islamic accountability as a valid theoretical framework for the Malaysian context. Thirdly, this thesis introduces new variables of Islamic influence and corporate governance within the CED research. Finally, the findings of this thesis should be useful to the Malaysian ESI companies, regulators, accounting professions and other institutions in understanding current CEDQty and CEDQ practices so as to further increase these practices in the future.
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Alidarous, Manal. "The Capital Market Effect of the IFRS Mandate on IPO Underpricing and Long-term Performance: Evidence from Saudi Arabia." Thesis, 2020. https://vuir.vu.edu.au/42193/.
Full textAbstract:
Current accounting disclosure literature documents economic benefits for mandating International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) for European Union (EU) and developed non-EU countries. The critical question is whether there are economic benefits from mandating IFRS on accounting quality in emerging non-EU countries. From an emerging market perspective, this question has not yet been investigated. This thesis examines the economic benefits that IFRS mandating brings to the underpricing and long-term performance of Initial Public Offerings (IPO) firms in one of the largest emerging non-EU countries, Saudi Arabia, and provides the first empirical evidence of its effect. This is attained by investigating the singular effects of the IFRS mandate and intertemporal changes in transparency, and the joint impact of these two elements. This empirical investigation provides answers to four research questions:
1) What is the effect of the IFRS mandate on the underpricing of IPO firms in Saudi Arabia?
2) What is the effect of the IFRS mandate on the long-term performance of IPO firms in Saudi Arabia?
3) Is there a joint effect of the IFRS mandate and intertemporal changes in transparency on IPO underpricing in Saudi Arabia?
4) Is there a joint effect of the IFRS mandate and intertemporal changes in transparency on the long-term performance of IPO firms in Saudi Arabia?
Data from January 2003 to December 2017 for 102 IPOs, covering 15 industries, is acquired from secondary sources. The quantitative techniques inherent in the Difference-in- Differences (DiD) research design are used to test the 9 research hypotheses, employing 174 balanced cross-sectional regression models and a battery of robustness tests. Findings show that while IFRS reduces the underpricing of IPO firms, it provides no benefits in relation to the aftermarket performance for those companies. Furthermore, although a significant joint effect on IPO underpricing in Saudi Arabia is seen from both IFRS mandating and intertemporal changes in transparency, this concurrent effect vanishes in the long-term. Intertemporal improvements in formal institutional quality are only relevant for IPO firms in the long-term and do not have any effect on underpricing.
Collectively, the findings reveal that IFRS mandating has only a short-lived effect and has no lasting influence on information asymmetry for IPO firms. A number of empirical contributions for researchers, policymakers, and local and international investors in emerging non-EU countries, especially Saudi Arabia, are provided.
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Rahmawati, Evi. "Information content and determinants of timeliness of financial reporting of manufacturing firms in Indonesia." Thesis, 2013. https://vuir.vu.edu.au/24830/.
Full textAbstract:
One of the essential elements of adequate financial reporting is the provision of financial information that is relevant to its users in their decision-making. This financial information should be made available to users within a regulated short period after the end of the financial year. Agency theory suggests that shareholders require protection because management may not always act in the best interests of shareholders. Therefore, timely reporting is important in reducing information asymmetry between management and shareholders, and it may reduce leaks of financial information in an emerging market, such as in Indonesia‘s capital market.
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Alshelfan, Ayman Ibrahim. "Maslaha: a New Approach for Islamic Bonds." Thesis, 2014. https://vuir.vu.edu.au/25079/.
Full textAbstract:
Islamic finance is inextricably linked to Islamic law, or sharia, which is richly detailed
and difficult to distil into simple rules. In particular, it invokes the concept of maslaha to
prohibit or permit actions and choices on the basis of whether or not it serves the best interest
of the community at large. This aspect of Islamic finance has not been addressed and the
purpose of this thesis is to fill this gap in knowledge.
This thesis conducts a comprehensive investigation of application of the concept of
maslaha as a new approach for Islamic bonds in theory and practice. Integrated into this is a
comprehensive analysis of sharia auditing where knowledge in the areas of Islamic
economics, finance, and law are brought together to articulate a holistic framework for
Islamic finance. The thesis argues that the concept of maslaha must be applied in its entirety
in determining sharia compliance of financial contracts in order to avoid increasing the level
of risk faced by the participants in the Islamic finance sector. Impaired contracts, apart from
increasing the level of risk, increase the probability of costly litigations and diminish the
degree of market competitiveness of Islamic financial products.
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Anton, Arun V. "Choice of discount rate and agency cost minimisation in capital budgeting: analytical review and modelling approaches." Thesis, 2019. https://vuir.vu.edu.au/40447/.
Full textAbstract:
Capital budgeting is a crucial business function and most large firms use Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) methods, particularly the Net Present Value (NPV) method which takes into account the time value of money, for evaluating investment projects. Hence, the discount rate plays a major role in the choice of capital investments, and both the selection and appropriate use of a suitable discount rate are critical to sound capital budgeting.
Extensive evidence from the literature indicates that agency problems exist in capital budgeting decisions, both when choosing and when using a discount rate for this process. Managers as agents can manipulate the choice of the discount rate to maximise their own benefits. This creates an agency problem that has impacts on efficient capital investment decisions. Most firms believe that using project-specific discount rates may open up incentives for managerial opportunistic behaviour and hence they prefer firm-wide single discount rates that might moderate the managerial bias. In other words, most firms use their company-wide Weighted Average Cost of Capital (WACC) to evaluate all of their capital projects. However, company-wide WACC is not a correct approach, in that it may lead to the selection of high-risk, unprofitable projects and hence to inefficient allocation of resources.
This creates a need for a systematic and verifiable method to establish project- specific discount rates. If possible, the determination of these project-specific discount rates should be tied to outside market forces that are not under the control of the manager. But the selection of suitable project-specific discount rates alone may not completely minimise agency costs, as managers’ can manipulate capital budgeting decisions to maximise their benefits. Hence, an appropriate capital budgeting framework that can further minimise agency costs and maximise company value is required.
The main aims of the study are to develop a process to select appropriate project- specific discount rates that minimise agency costs and to develop a better capital budgeting framework to further minimise agency costs in capital budgeting. Such a framework should provide management incentives to achieve efficient capital budgeting outcomes leading to enhanced company value
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Lopes, Marcello de Souza. "O controle interno no poder executivo federal brasileiro." Master's thesis, 2013. http://hdl.handle.net/1822/26002.
Full textAbstract:
Dissertação de mestrado em ContabilidadeA presente dissertação tem por objetivo analisar a adequabilidade da regulamentação do Sistema de Controle Interno do Poder Executivo Federal do Brasil e qual a sua influência sobre os sistemas de controle interno atualmente implementados pelas entidades públicas federais existentes em sua estrutura organizacional. Para fazer frente a este desafio é analisada a evolução da regulamentação do controle interno no setor público federal brasileiro, possibilitando observar-se a mudança de filosofia que ocorreu sob a influência das ideologias que imperavam no cenário mundial das últimas décadas do século XX, especialmente as relativas às Teorias do Principal-Agente e da Escolha Pública, e da própria Carta Magna Brasileira promulgada em 1988. É também examinado o alinhamento do Poder Executivo Federal (PEF) a esta nova tendência do controle interno público, predominantemente, fiscalizatória, quando da concepção de seu atual Sistema de Controle Interno, cujos resultados apontaram para sua parcial adequação aos conceitos e pressupostos, internacionalmente, já consagrados. Com o intuito de analisar se as normas e os mecanismos de controle interno implementados pelas macroentidades do PEF estão em conformidade com os modelos de controle interno organizacional geralmente aceitos a nível internacional recorre-se ao estudo do caso do Comando da Aeronáutica (COMAER). Os resultados revelam uma conformidade parcial do sistema de controlo interno instituído no COMAER face às componentes do controle interno relativas ao ambiente de controle, avaliação de risco e atividades de monitoramento. Estendendo-se a análise aos sistemas de controle interno em funcionamento nas Unidades Gestoras Executoras do COMAER, é verificado, em termos gerais, que estes são percebidos pelos principais agentes responsáveis pelo seu gerenciamento (os Agentes de Controlo Interno – ACI), como adequados face aos modelos de controle interno mundialmente reconhecidos. No entanto, uma percentagem significativa de ACI perceciona os componentes relativos à avaliação de risco, às atividades de monitoramento, e, em alguns aspectos, ao ambiente de controle, como estando num estágio inicial ou básico, quando analisados segundo os fundamentos preconizados pelos referidos modelos internacionais.
This dissertation intends to analyse the adequacy of regulation of the Internal Control System of Federal Executive Branch of Brazil and what is its influence on the internal control systems currently implemented by the existing federal public entities in their organizational structure. To face this challenge it is analysed the evolution of the regulation of internal control in the brasilian federal public sector, which allowed to observe the change in philosophy that occurred under the influence of ideologies that prevailed in the global scenario of the last decades of the twentieth century, specially those related to the Principal-Agent Theory, the Public Choice Theory, and the Constitution of the Federative Republic of Brazil enacted in 1988. It is also examined the alignment of the Federal Executive Branch (FEB) to this new trend, mainly supervisory, of public internal control when its current Internal Control System was designed, which results showed its partial adaptation to concepts and assumptions already established internationally. In order to determine if the norms and internal control mechanisms implemented by FEB macro-entities are in accordance with the models of organizational internal control internationally accepted it is used the case study of the Aeronautical Command (COMAER). The results indicate a partial compliance of the internal control system established in COMAER to the components of internal control regarding the environment control, risk assessment and monitoring activities. Extending the analysis to the internal control systems in the Executing Management Units of COMAER it is verified, in general, that they are perceived by the main agents (Internal Control Agents - ICA) as appropriate concerning internal control models worldwide recognized. However, a significant percentage of ICA perceives the components relating to risk assessment, monitoring activities, and, in some respects, to the control environment as being at an early stage, when analysed according to the principles advocated by the mentioned international models.
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De, Silva Lokuwaduge Chitra. "Governance and performance: an empirical study of Australian universities." Thesis, 2011. https://vuir.vu.edu.au/19377/.
Full textAbstract:
Governance structures have become one of the most debated aspects of the public sector and during the last decade good corporate governance practices have come to be regarded as important in enhancing the performance of all government- funded institutions. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between governance structures, practices and the performance of the university sector in Australia. During the period investigated in this study, the universities were undergoing significant governance reforms.
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Alsulayhim, Nasser Abdullah. "Corporate Voluntary Disclosure in Saudi Arabia: Determinants and Impact on Stock Price." Thesis, 2020. https://vuir.vu.edu.au/40590/.
Full textAbstract:
In a secretive society, disclosure is an issue. This is true in Saudi Arabia, where the level of corporate voluntary disclosure is low. Saudi Arabia is trying to diversify its resources, move away from dependence on oil exports and increase foreign investment in the country. Doing so will require a higher level of corporate transparency and adequate disclosure. The current study aimed to (i) evaluate the extent of corporate voluntary disclosure before and after the adoption of the International Financial Reporting Standards, (ii) investigate determinants of corporate voluntary disclosure and (iii) investigate the effect of this type of disclosure on a company’s stock price.
By reviewing the literature surrounding corporate voluntary disclosure, the current study identified 14 variables that were expected to wield a significant effect on corporate voluntary disclosure. These variables represent four categories: board of directors composition, ownership structure, accounting standards and corporate characteristics. Further, to explore whether investors in Saudi Arabia are interested in corporate voluntary disclosure, the study examined the association between corporate voluntary disclosure and companies’ stock prices.
Data were collected from 240 annual reports of 120 non-financial companies listed on the Saudi stock exchange between 2015 (before International Financial Reporting Standards [IFRS] adoption) and 2017 (after IFRS adoption). A self-constructed index, covering 72 items, was used to determine the level of corporate voluntary disclosure, through a content analysis of the annual reports. To cover the different interests of various stakeholders, the index included six categories of corporate voluntary disclosure: financial information, strategy and future expectations, governance disclosure, risk disclosure, social responsibility disclosure and human resources disclosure. To examine the association between corporate voluntary disclosure and stock prices, a modified Ohlson valuation model was used. The resulting data were analysed in a panel dataset by applying ordinary least squares regression.
The results show an improvement in the level of corporate voluntary disclosure in Saudi Arabia in 2017 compared with 2015. However, corporate voluntary disclosure in Saudi Arabia remains low compared with developed countries such as Western economies. Additionally, the study results reveal various associations between the tested variables and corporate voluntary disclosure. The study found that government ownership, foreign ownership, company size, company age and profitability are statistically significant and positively associated with corporate voluntary disclosure. Conversely, there is a statistically significant but negative association between non-executive directors, chief executive officer (CEO) duality and directors’ ownership and corporate voluntary disclosure. Finally, no statistically significant association was found between corporate voluntary disclosure and stock prices.
The study found that board composition, ownership structure and corporate characteristics are important determinants of corporate voluntary disclosure in Saudi Arabia. However, these determinants affect corporate voluntary disclosure categories differently. Finally, the lack of an association between corporate voluntary disclosure and stock prices indicates a low interest in corporate voluntary disclosure among investors. The current results suggest that the low level of corporate voluntary disclosure among Saudi companies could be attributed to investors’ lack of interest in corporate voluntary disclosure. The results of this study add to the collective scholarly knowledge about determinants of corporate voluntary disclosure and support the argument that the environment a company operates in, including social rules and investors’ expectations, is an important determinant of corporate voluntary disclosure. The current study makes a number of significant contributions to the topic. These include providing an extensive and holistic approach to the literature on corporate voluntary disclosure, corporate governance, accounting standards and market valuation. In addition, the study provides statistical support for theoretical arguments by empirically testing several theories, which explain corporate voluntary disclosure, its determinants and its effect on stock prices. Significantly, the study also contributes to the field by responding to many calls to differentiate between various types of corporate voluntary disclosure and determine whether they are differently valued by investors in different institutional settings. Further, this study contributes to the theoretical corpus of knowledge by empirically examining the applicability of several theories for explaining corporate voluntary disclosure and how it works in developing countries. Finally, this study is significant because it provides insights into corporate voluntary disclosure, which are useful to various stakeholders, including legislators, policy-makers, managers, investors, auditors, employees and researchers.