Honesty presents a challenge in performance reporting

__Abstract__ New research into the honesty of business unit managers when reporting performance shows that they have a tendency to overstate results when financial rewards are at stake

How can auditors avoid the perils of aggressive accounting?

How do you solve a problem like aggressive accounting? With some difficulty, some management teams and their external auditors might argue. Especially if they cannot agree on: (a) just what constitutes aggressive accounting; (b) whether or not aggressive accounting is inherently a bad thing, and (c) whether it manifests itself more in one kind of management/auditor relationship than it does in another

Utilizing Incentives and Accountability: In Control in Control?

Objectivity and transparency are often considered to be desirable attributes of a performance measurement and incentive system. Subjectivity, on the other hand, is typically equated with bias and has a negative connotation. But accounting research shows us that a degree of subjectivity, in other words, allowing leeway for supervisors’ judgments in evaluations, is usually optimal. I argue that we should switch to the term ‘discretion’, to be better able to communicate its benefits. Moreover, I discuss the benefits and costs of discretion and of transparency. I surmise that a balance between objectivity and discretion is required, and that transparency is definitely not always desirable. Furthermore, I discuss how discretion relates to the way in which managers are held accountable. Holding managers accountable for outcomes is not always optimal, yet pervasive. Finally, I outline future research opportunities on discretion and accountability, apply the insights about performance measurement to the academic working environment, and promote the use of new research methods

Performance Measurement and Managerial Time Orientation

De accounting literatuur besteedt aanzienlijke aandacht aan de effecten van accounting prestatiemaatstaven op korte-termijn gedrag. Recentelijk is ook de aandacht voor het gebruik van niet-financiële maatstaven, om korte-termijn gedrag onder managers te voorkomen, toegenomen (Balanced Scorecard). Zowel theorie als empirisch bewijs hierover zijn echter beperkt. De bestaande literatuur heeft korte-termijn gedrag veelal gelijkgesteld aan dysfunctioneel gedrag, terwijl de optimale tijdsoriëntatie afhangt van de omstandigheden. Verder lijdt de bestaande literatuur aan een gebrek aan theorie over welke karakteristieken van prestatiemaatstaven van invloed zijn op de tijdsoriëntatie van managers. Dit uit zich bijvoorbeeld in het gebruik van brede categoriëen prestatiemaatstaven, zoals financieel en niet-financieel, zonder een nadere specificatie van het proces waardoor deze categoriëen het gedrag van het management beïnvloeden. Dit proefschrift bouwt voort op de psychologische, economische en accounting literatuur, en analyseert de effecten van karakteristieken van het prestatiemeetsysteem, alsmede variabelen op individueel niveau, op de tijdsoriëntatie van managers. De ontwikkelde hypothesen zijn eerst empirisch getoetst door middel van een vragenlijst, gedistribueerd onder een representatieve groep financieel managers. Daarnaast is een drietal geselecteerde hypothesen, aangaande de gecombineerde effecten van ‘leading indicators’ en de lengte van de evaluatieperiode, aan een aanvullende test middels een experiment onderworpen. De resultaten tonen aan dat zowel variabelen op individueel niveau als karakteristieken van het prestatiemeetsysteem belangrijke voorspellers van de tijdsoriëntatie van managers zijn.The accounting literature has devoted a considerable amount of attention to the effects of accounting performance measures on short-term behaviour. Recently, the attention for the use of non-financial measures, as an instrument to prevent managers from making short-term oriented decisions, has also increased (Balanced Scorecard). Theory and empirical evidence, however, are limited. Prior literature has often equated a short-term orientation with dysfunctional behaviour, whereas the optimal time orientation depends on the circumstances. Moreover, the literature to date suffers from a lack of theory about which properties of the performance measurement system affect managerial time orientation. This is apparent for example by the use of broad categories of performance measures, such as financial versus non-financial, without further specification of the process through which this categorization influences managerial behaviour. This dissertation builds on the psychological, economic and accounting literatures, and examines how properties of the performance measurement system, as well as individual level variables, influence managerial time orientation. The hypotheses developed are first empirically tested using the data obtained by means of a survey from a representative sample of financial managers. Second, an additional experimental investigation into three selected hypotheses, regarding the effects of leading indicators and evaluation period length, is conducted. Results indicate that both individual level variables and properties of the performance measurement system are important predictors for managerial time orientation

Informed discretion in performance evaluations

A study into managerial behaviour relative to compensation decisions for individual performances reveals that most managers are driven by powerful, non-selfish motives that include a strong preference for fairness

Attracting non-executive directors to the board

Companies that are performing poorly from a commercial perspective and are struggling to tap into the advice and guidance of well-qualified non-executive directors need to consider new board members’ intrinsic motivations and the potential for enhancing their reputation if they are to improve the effectiveness of their board

The coaching on lifestyle (CooL) intervention for obesity, a study protocol for an action-oriented mixed-methods study

Background: Combined lifestyle interventions (CLIs) have proved to be effective in changing and maintaining behavioural lifestyle changes and reducing overweight and obesity, in clinical and real-world settings. In this CLI, lifestyle coaches are expected to promote lifestyle changes of participants regarding physical activity and diet. In the Coaching on Lifestyle (CooL) intervention, which takes a period of 8 to 10 months, lifestyle coaches counsel adults and children aged 4 years and older (and their parents) who are obese or are overweight with an increased risk of developing cardiovascular diseases or type II diabetes. In group and individual sessions, themes such as physical activity, dietary behaviours, sleep and stress are addressed. The aim of the present study is to monitor the implementation process of the CooL intervention and to examine how the lifestyle coaches contribute to a healthier lifestyle of the participants. Methods: This action-oriented study involves monitoring the implementation process of the CooL intervention and examining the lifestyle changes achieved by participants over time, in a one-group pre-post design using mixed methods. Methods include semi-structured interviews, observations, document analysis, biomedical parameters and questionnaires. Discussion: The added value of the CooL study lies in its action-oriented approach and the use of mixed methods, including both qualitative and quantitative research methods. The long-term coaching used in the CooL intervention is expected to have beneficial effects on sustained lifestyle changes

Lifestyle coaches as a central professional in the health care network?:Dynamic changes over time using a network analysis

BackgroundOverweight and obesity are problems that are increasing globally in both children as well as adults, and may be prevented by adopting a healthier lifestyle. Lifestyle coaches counsel overweight and obese children (and their parents) as well as adults in initiating and maintaining healthier lifestyle behaviours. It is currently unclear whether this novel professional in the Dutch health care system functions as a linchpin in networks that evolve around lifestyle-related health problems. The aim of the present study is to investigate the formation and development of networks of lifestyle coaches and their positions within these networks.MethodsIn this longitudinal study, key professionals and professionals within relevant organisations in the Coaching on Lifestyle (CooL) care networks were asked to fill in three online questionnaires. Respondents were asked to indicate whether they collaborated with each of the specified professionals in the context of CooL. The overall network structures and the central role of the lifestyle coaches were examined by using network analysis.ResultsThe results showed that the networks in three out of four regions were relatively centralised, but that none of the networks were dense, and that the professionals seemed to collaborate less with others over time. Half of the lifestyle coaches had a high number of collaborations and a central position within their networks, which also increased over time. In half of the regions, the lifestyle coaches had increased their role as consultants, while their role as gatekeeper and liaison decreased over time. In most regions, the sector of lifestyle coaches had a central position in their networks in just one measurement. Other central sectors were the local sports organisation, public health services, youth health care and the municipal government.ConclusionsOverall, we cannot conclude that more central and denser networks were formed during the study period. In addition, the lifestyle coaches were not often positioned as a central sector within these networks. Entrepreneurial, network and brokering competences are required for lifestyle coaches to build up denser networks.Trial registrationNTR6208; date registered: 13-01-2017; retrospectively registered; Netherlands Trial Register

Regulation of genomic and biobanking research in Africa: a content analysis of ethics guidelines, policies and procedures from 22 African countries

Background: The introduction of genomics and biobanking methodologies to the African research context has also introduced novel ways of doing science, based on values of sharing and reuse of data and samples. This shift raises ethical challenges that need to be considered when research is reviewed by ethics committees, relating for instance to broad consent, the feedback of individual genetic findings, and regulation of secondary sample access and use. Yet existing ethics guidelines and regulations in Africa do not successfully regulate research based on sharing, causing confusion about what is allowed, where and when. Methods: In order to understand better the ethics regulatory landscape around genomic research and biobanking, we conducted a comprehensive analysis of existing ethics guidelines, policies and other similar sources. We sourced 30 ethics regulatory documents from 22 African countries. We used software that assists with qualitative data analysis to conduct a thematic analysis of these documents. Results: Surprisingly considering how contentious broad consent is in Africa, we found that most countries allow the use of this consent model, with its use banned in only three of the countries we investigated. In a likely response to fears about exploitation, the export of samples outside of the continent is strictly regulated, sometimes in conjunction with regulations around international collaboration. We also found that whilst an essential and critical component of ensuring ethical best practice in genomics research relates to the governance framework that accompanies sample and data sharing, this was most sparingly covered in the guidelines. Conclusions: There is a need for ethics guidelines in African countries to be adapted to the changing science policy landscape, which increasingly supports principles of openness, storage, sharing and secondary use. Current guidelines are not pertinent to the ethical challenges that such a new orientation raises, and therefore fail to provide accurate guidance to ethics committees and researchers