Corporate social responsibility and the teaching of management accounting

Throughout most of the 20th century Management Accounting was developed on the premise that it should help managers to decide how best to maximise the short-term financial profits of their businesses. In the emergent Corporate Social Responsibility CSR business environment Post, Preston and Sachs' ask, `To whom and for what is the corporation responsible?' In response to this quest-ion we examine publications describing recent changes in the corporate environment, and provide evidence of business decisions being made on the bases of environmental, societal and other criteria, besides those relating to financial profitability. We question whether such changes in the corporate environment are being reflected in the way that Management Accounting is being taught in business schools today We provide details of a final year course that we have developed at our university

The Companies Act 1993 and Directors’ Duties: Small and medium entities are not well catered for

In 1993 New Zealand passed into law the Companies Act. The Act was a combination of work done by the New Zealand Law Commission and the Justice Department. It was anticipated that the Act would provide all the information necessary to enable a prospective director to understand what was required in incorporating and winding up a company, as well as the requirements to be met whilst doing business using that form. This paper contends that the Act does not contain the Law Commission’s original intentions in terms of directors’ duties, compliance with which is argued to be the quid pro quo of the right to incorporate, where the company is a small or medium entity. The paper further contends that amendments to the Act are necessary to take account of the needs of small and medium entities and suggests possible amendments, in light of case law emphasising the need for directors to maintain a company’s solvency, where failure to do so can trigger personal liability for directors

Whistleblowing: The advantages of self-regulation

Although whistleblowers are often portrayed as courageous individuals worthy of respect, the act of whistleblowing can be viewed as a disloyal act which may bring much harm to the whistleblower’s colleagues. We argue that although some whistleblowers have provided a great service to society, the world would be best served if the need for external whistleblowing were to be obviated by appropriate management practices

The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board: national and international implications

Purpose – To investigate some unanswered questions and issues relating to the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) and to consider the implications of this rule making model that was created in an environment of corporate financial collapses for a jurisdiction without such an environment. Methodology – This paper uses text analysis by the authors as a basis for commentary and opinion on the need for and reaction to The Sarbanes-Oxley Act 2002 (SOX). It is a pragmatic approach to issues which the authors feel has not been sufficiently considered. Findings – It is clear to the authors that significant questions arise with the creation of a regulatory framework designed with public perception in mind. The issues have been in existence long before the passage of SOX. There are more questions than answers at this stage, particularly in light of the international implications of SOX. Practical implications – Changes in the practice of auditing and reporting issues for all companies that sell shares in US markets will be affected. New Zealand is provided as an example of the implications for international convergence of PCAOB like regulation boards that may be created as an alternative framework to the current self-regulation of auditors. Much consideration should be given to the implications of the new regulatory framework before its imposition on jurisdictions where the environment does not call for such “drastic” change. Originality/value – Much has been written on the PCAOB, but without consideration necessarily of the international implications. In particular, the tensions facing small countries such as New Zealand have not been discussed, which seek to be part of the international community of capital markets. This paper seeks to fill some of these gaps

The practice of sustainable business: A New Zealand perspective

The paper outlines the business decision making paradigm that prevailed in the 20th century and how the resultant business decisions revealed deficiencies in that paradigm. However, it recognises that some powerful forces in society wish to retain the 20th century model; there is much available evidence to demonstrate the dangers inherent in such a strategy. Those engaged in business decision making today must recognise the urgent need for a paradigm shift away from the 20th century business decision making model, if our fragile planet is to survive in a form able to sustain human life