Choice-based learning : lecture-based or team learning?

This study investigates choice-based learning as a choice between lecture-based or team learning in a large class at a large university in a European country. The study was designed as a between-subjects quasi-experiment where students were allocated their preferred learning approach. Data were collected for eight consecutive years (2008-2016). Based on quantitative and qualitative data, this study investigates the effect of choice-based learning on choice satisfaction, student selection and on student learning outcomes. The results show that team learning has a positive effect on learning outcomes. If students are faced with the choice, the majority select lecture-based learning. Additionally, both student groups are satisfied with their selected learning paths but selected them for specific reasons. Finally, choice-based learning provides job satisfaction for the instructors of both learning paths. These results can re-energize the ongoing discussion on why and how to engage students in learning activities

The Financial Impact of the Proposed Amendments to IAS 17: Evidence from Belgium and the Netherlands

Prior literature examined the financial impact of capitalizing operating leases by using the constructive lease capitalization method of Imhoff et al. (1991). The empirical evidence of these studies results in the perception that operating leases lead to off-balance financing, improvements of financial ratios and earnings enhancement in the U.K. (e.g. Beattie et al., 1998) and in the U.S.(e.g. Ely, 1995). Therefore, the IASB published in 2010 the exposure draft for the new standard on lease accounting (IAS 17). The most striking change is the elimination of the difference between finance and operating lease. Our study investigates the impact of the proposed adaptation for listed companies in Belgium and the Netherlands for 2008. Our results indicate that debt to equity ratio, return on assets and the current ratio are significantly affected by capitalizing operating leases. Furthermore, the results show that the impact on financial ratios differs among industries.International accounting, lease accounting, lease capitalization, financial ratios, listed firms

Intellectual capital disclosure commitment: a myth or reality?

The objective of this empirical research is to assess the information dealing with intellectual capital that firms disclose in their prospectus and the potential influence on their intellectual capital disclosure in the annual report following to the initial public offering. The prospectus of companies that applied for initial listing on Euronext Brussels and Amsterdam between 2005 and 2009 were analyzed, including the first annual report after IPO, by means of a content analysis based on the disclosure index of Bukh et al (2005). First, the prospectus and annual report were compared based on their intellectual capital disclosure. Second, the prospectus and the annual report were studied in order to understand the disclosure practices on IC during a 5 year time period taken the recent financial crisis into account. Third, a model was built in order to explain the impact from IC disclosure in the prospectus on the disclosure in the annual report. Next to the result on the IC index for the prospectus (1), different control variables such as (2) industry, (3) company age, (4) size, (5) auditor and (6) ownership retention were added to the model

The role of the external accountant in business planning for starters : perspective of the self-determination theory

The objective of this study was to gain more insight into the value of business planning for starters and to better understand the role of the external accountant in the planning stage. In particular, survey research was conducted to capture both the quality of the business plan and its effectiveness as perceived by the starter. To unravel the underlying reasons behind the development of a business plan, the framework of the self-determination theory (SDT) was used and adapted to this context. SDT proposes a continuum that distinguishes four types of motivation, ranging from external motivation (i.e., developing a business plan because of a legal obligation) to intrinsic motivation (i.e., developing a business plan because of a personal interest). The results, based on 283 surveys of Belgian starters, showed a relationship between the type of motivation and the quality of the business plan. Entrepreneurs with high introjected or high identified motivation seem to develop a high-quality business plan. This high-quality business plan enables entrepreneurs to increase their effectiveness. Furthermore, entrepreneurs who consulted an accountant during the business planning stage perceived the quality of their business plan as higher than entrepreneurs who did not get advice from an accountant. These findings presuppose an important challenge for external accountants, as their business advice supports entrepreneurs in anticipating “the unexpected”, which subsequently empowers them to monitor their business effectively

CSR website disclosure : the influence of the upper echelons

Purpose Using upper echelons theory (UET), the purpose of this paper is to unravel the influence of a CEO's ethical ideology on the presence of corporate social responsibility (CSR) disclosure on corporate websites. It also considers the CEO's perception of the importance of CSR (i.e. the extent of the CEO's detachment from the stockholder-oriented logic and attachment to the stakeholder-oriented logic). Design/methodology/approach First, a survey was sent to CEOs of large unlisted Belgian companies. Its intention was to assess CEOs' ethical ideology along the idealism and relativism dimensions and their perceptions on the importance of CSR (PRESOR-detachment-from-stockholder view; PRESOR-attachment-to-stakeholder view), and to gather some demographics. Second, a content analysis of corporate websites was conducted so as to classify companies as being either CSR disclosing or non-disclosing. Third, the annual accounts of these corporations were investigated and follow-up phone calls were conducted to obtain data on managerial discretion (MD). Findings CEOs' ethical ideology influences the degree to which they detach from the stockholder-oriented logic and attach to the stakeholder-oriented logic. Moreover, when MD is high, the degree of these CEOs' attachment to the stakeholder-oriented logic is the factor that influences the presence of CSR disclosure on their corporate websites. Finally, CEO's idealism indirectly influences the presence of CSR disclosure through the effect of idealism on the degree to which CEOs attach to the stakeholder-oriented logic. Originality/value This paper shows that, when MD is high, CEOs' values and perceptions influence CSR disclosure decisions. This study thereby enhances our knowledge regarding the internal drivers of CSR disclosure practices and offers UET as a lens through which the importance of CEOs' personal characteristics in the decision-making process might be further explored

La contribution d'une nouvelle méthode à la modélisation des coûts: le Time-Driven ABC Le cas d'une société de négoce

International audienceLe Time-Driven Activity-Based Costing (Time-Driven ABC) a été introduit récemment par Kaplan et Anderson. Cette méthode a été mise au point pour délivrer des informations plus précises sur les coûts et la rentabilité des produits/services. Elle permettrait, selon ses concepteurs, de mieux saisir et avec des frais moins élevés, la complexité des activités des entreprises en utilisant des " équations de temps ". Ce papier présente les résultats d'une étude de cas portant sur la mise en place du Time-Driven ABC, dans une société de négoce. Nos observations mettent en évidence la complexité caractérisant les coûts d'une activité logistique et comment le Time-Driven ABC permet de la prendre en compte, sans augmenter le nombre d'activités et donc en limitant les charges de mise en place et de maintenance de ce système