The impact of events on annual reporting disclosures

Burchell, Club and Hopwood (1985) considered that “little is known of how...wider social forces can impinge upon and change accounting” (p.382). This study identifies six political forces that may have instigated changes in accounting practice and annual reporting of a New Zealand electricity entity. Based on the literature (Hopwood, 1983, 1990; Napier, 1989; Gray and Haslam, 1990; Thomson, 1993) it is expected that significant changes in the environment in which the entity operates will effect changes in reporting. The study compares the annual report disclosures of an Electricity Supply Authority on a yearly basis from 1970 to 2001 - a 18 year period with little significant environmental impact in the electricity industry with a period of intense activity in the following 14 years. The study found considerable evidence that the change from a local body accountable to electors/consumers to a public company accountable to shareholders, led to a greater emphasis on profits and earnings per share as a means of measuring performance. It identifies specific changes in accounting practice that support this view as well as a period of “big bath” accounting, decreasing disclosure of commercially sensitive information, and the increasing use of dramatic presentation in the annual report

Charities’ new non-financial reporting requirements: preparers’ insights

The purpose of this paper is to obtain insights from preparers on the new Performance Report requirements for New Zealand charities, in particular the non-financial information included in the ‘Entity Information’ section and the ‘Statement of Service Performance’ for Tier 3 and 4 charities. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 11 interviewees, each involved with governance and reporting of one or more Tier 3 or Tier 4 charities. These interviews were analysed in terms of accountability and legitimacy objectives, which motivated the regulators to introduce the new reporting regime. Key findings are summarised under three themes. Manageability relates to perceptions and suggestions regarding implementation of the new requirements. Scepticism concerns some doubts raised by interviewees regarding the motivations for performance reports and the extent to which they will be used. Effects include concerns about potentially losing good charities and volunteers due to new requirements making their work ‘too hard’, although increased focus on outcomes creates the potential for continuous improvement. The subjectivity that is inherent in thematic analysis is acknowledged and also that multiple themes may sometimes be present in the sentences and paragraphs analysed. We acknowledge too that early viewpoints may change over time. Themes identified may assist regulators, professional bodies and support groups to respond to the views of preparers. Findings will also be of interest to parties in other jurisdictions who are considering the implementation of similar initiatives. This paper provides early insights on new reporting requirements entailing significant changes for New Zealand charities for financial periods beginning on or after April 2015. The focus is on small charities (97% of all New Zealand charities) and key aspects of the Performance Report: Entity information and the Statement of Service Performance.fals

The corporatisation of local body entities: A study of financial performance

The New Zealand electricity industry provides us with a unique opportunity to examine how entities responded to major restructuring of the industry. This research studies the financial performance of three entities, each with a different ownership structure, over a 15 year period from 1988 to 2002. The aim is to examine the possible influence of ownership type and corporatisation on the development and financial performance of the entities by examining the changes that took place from the pre-corporatisation period to the post-corporatisation period and comparing and contrasting the performance and funding of the three entities over that time. In this way an assessment is made of the possible influence of ownership type on financial performance. This research can be framed to some extent by agency theory aspects of positive accounting theory. In addition legitimacy theory has been used to explain the behaviour of managers and the process of organizations adapting to a changing environment. Both theories acknowledge the interaction of organizations and their environment. The comparison shows that at the end of the study period the council owned company was the smallest, in terms of total assets, of the three companies examined (although it was similar in size to the biggest one at the outset). The council owned company also returned most capital to its shareholders and is the most conservatively financed one of the three with only 10% debt at the end of 2002 compared to 28% for the trust-held company and 87% for the listed company. The listed company ended up being the biggest and the one with the highest gearing, the highest ROA and the highest profit margin. The study concludes that ownership structure did have an influence on financial performance and level of debt funding

Moral hazard and Texas banking in the 1920s.

Using recently collected examination data from a sample of Texas state-chartered banks over the period 1919-26, the role of moral hazard in increasing ex-ante asset risk is analyzed. During this period, a state-run deposit insurance system was in place that was mandatory for all state-chartered banks in Texas. Nationally chartered banks were not allowed to participate in the insurance program. Analyzing individual bank-level data, we find evidence that declines in capitalization were positively correlated with increases in loan concentrations at insured banks. We argue that this is consistent with a moral-hazard effect at work. No such relationship is found between capitalization and risk at uninsured banks.Banks and banking - Texas

Production of Industrial Hemp in Kentucky

Hemp, or Cannabis sativa, is a plant that can be used for many products, such as textiles, oils, and seeds. Currently, the four most important textiles in the United States’ manufacturing industry are cotton, wood, silk, and linen. In the 1950s, the United States Government banned the production of hemp, as it was legislated into the marijuana policy of this industry. Because of this, the hemp crop was pushed out of the textile industry and replaced by cloth, linens, and textiles. Section 7606 of the Agriculture Act of 2014 declares the State Department of Agriculture’s legalization of industrial hemp research in institutions and universities, regulated by the state government. With a rise in hemp production in Kentucky, many universities became involved to create change in state research. The focus of this study was on the production of industrial hemp at Murray State University. This study aimed to gain a better knowledge of the production rate and viability of four varieties of industrial hemp. These four varieties were Futura 75, Santhica, Canda, and Delores. This research studied the yield, soil content, weather, and THC and CBD content so that farmers can develop a more tactical approach to grow this crop in the future. The study contained analysis on weather, soil, and THC and CBD levels for the hemp crops grown in 2014-2017 at Murray State University

Moving Margins: Using Marginalia as a Tool for Critical Reflection

Marginalia is the practice of writing notes in the margins of texts as a way to capture ones\u27 thoughts and feelings about the text during reading. It is giving in to the impulse, based on what was read, to stop and record a comment. In this manuscript, we make the connection between marginalia and the visceral responses to text felt by one doctoral student (the second author) taking a course examining language as a place of struggle (hooks, 2004, p. 153). We also demonstrate how marginalia can be used as a qualitative method to document and investigate the way textual interaction facilitates learning. A found poem developed from the marginalia compiled throughout the semester is shared exemplifying the way a critical analysis of personal marginalia can facilitate awareness of transformative processes and highlighting the margins as a transformative space

Kentucky Rural Development

The main objective of this study is to examine the development of rural areas to more urbanized ones within Kentucky. Landsat images were used to show the urban land cover change over a 10 year span, from 2001 to 2011. The study shows specifically how the city of Louisville has expanded because it was one of the most changed cities in Kentucky during the period of the study. Maps were created from these Landsat images. Studying these developments can help to predict the amount of change that might happen in certain areas in the future. Using geographic information systems (GIS) technology the change of areas in the past can be studied to better plan for future changes. Better planning for the future means better infrastructure and an overall better layout for populations in Kentucky. It will also help us to protect important crop lands from the expansion of urbanization. As a whole, Western Kentucky has developed much more over the past ten years than Eastern Kentucky or Central Kentucky have. Looking at individual cities, the most growth over ten years was seen in Louisville

Adverse selection and competing deposit insurance systems in pre-depression Texas

In 1910, Texas instituted a highly unique deposit insurance program for its state chartered banks consisting of two separate plans: the depositors guaranty fund, similar in operation to the deposit insurance schemes adopted in several other states; and the depositors bond security system, which required the procurement of a privately issued insurance policy. We hypothesize that the provision of a choice in funds led to risk-sorting among the banks, with the relatively conservative institutions opting for the comparatively rigorous bond security system. Employing a probit model with heteroskedasticity, the evidence we obtain from balance sheet data recorded at the time the banks were required to enlist in an insurance plan indicates that such was the case, as the alternative plan relying on privately issued insurance was widely unpopular except among relatively conservative and well-managed institutions.Deposit insurance

The Real Mother-Issues in Adoption

Our society has deemed adoption a desirable alternative method of creating a family. It satisifies the need of a child for parents, it gratifies the desire of adults who yearn to provide a home and love for a child, and it gracefully solves the dilemma for the one who cannot or will not raise the child. In addition to the usual developmental conflicts, families involved in adoption will encounter a variety of fears, fantasies, resentments, and misconceptions which may adversely affect identity formation in the child. Here I will attempt to explore some of the psychodynamic issues which will be of help to beginning therapists in their work with adoptive families

Kiwi talent flow : a study of chartered accountants and business professionals overseas

New Zealanders have always had a propensity to travel overseas. The globalisation of the world has seen an increase in the number of people who, having completed their education and gained some work experience, set off on their overseas experience. Concern has been expressed as to the potential “brain drain” that would result should these well-educated and talented citizens remain overseas permanently. This research considers the propensity to return of over 1,500 expatriate Kiwis working in the areas of accounting and finance. It examines their demographics, attitudes, values, motivations, factors of attraction to, and repulsion from, New Zealand and their concerns for change in New Zealand. It therefore provides insights into the nature and purpose of this significant group of professionals resident mainly in the United Kingdom and Australia. We find that less than half are likely to return to New Zealand. This is because of the lack of career and business opportunities despite the “pull” of family and relations in New Zealand