Towards an understanding of accounting and society : some episodes in the formulation and development of the going concern concept.

Accounting is a social process, yet little is known about the manner in which its various meanings and interpretations are shaped. Within a sociopolitical framework, this thesis examines the complicated relationship between accounting and society by focusing upon the changing meanings and interpretations of the going concern concept from the late nineteenth century to 1985. It is found that the changing meanings of the concept are shaped by a residue of historical influences and a variety of events and interests. In view of the conflict, tension and unequal distribution of power in a society, various developments enabled and constrained some to play a particular part in shaping the meanings of the concept. The changing meanings and interpretations of the concept are particularly shaped by auditing elites, the State, interests of finance capital and the material interests of practitioners themselves. The evidence suggests that the meanings of the concept preferred by the profession and auditing firms are particularly shaped by the economic interests of practitioners

Targeting PPARy signaling cascade for the prevention and treatment of prostate cancer

The peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-gamma (PPARγ) is a member of the hormone-activated nuclear receptor superfamily. PPARγ can be activated by a diverse group of agents, such as endogenous polyunsaturated fatty acids, 15-deoxy- Δ 12,14-prostaglandin J2 (15d-PGJ2), and thiazolidinedione (TZD) drugs. PPARγ induces antiproliferative, antiangiogenic, and prodifferentiation pathways in several tissue types, thus making it a highly useful target for downregulation of carcinogenesis. These TZD-derived novel therapeutic agents, alone or in combination with other anticancer drugs, have translational relevance in fostering effective strategies for cancer treatment. TZDs have been proven for antitumor activity in a wide variety of experimental cancer models, both in vitro and in vivo, by affecting the cell cycle, inducing cell differentiation and apoptosis, as well as by inhibiting tumor angiogenesis. Angiogenesis inhibition mechanisms of TZDs include direct inhibition of endothelial cell proliferation and migration, as well as reduction in tumor cell vascular endothelial growth factor production. In prostate cancer, PPARγ ligands such as troglitazone and 15d-PGJ2 have also shown to inhibit tumor growth. This paper will focus on current discoveries in PPARγ activation, targeting prostate carcinogenesis as well as the role of PPARγ as a possible anticancer therapeutic option. Here, we review PPARγ as an antitumor agent and summarize the antineoplastic effects of PPARγ agonists in prostate cancer

Reforming HMRC : Making it Fit for the Twenty-First Century - First Stage Report

Her Majesty’s Revenue & Customs (HMRC) performs a vital task in collecting taxes, enforcing lax laws and delivering services to taxpayers. Against a background of reductions in resources, it has experienced considerable difficulties in meeting the service expectation of taxpayers and challenging organised tax avoidance. This policy paper investigates the difficulties and makes recommendations to strengthen HMRC and its public accountability

The supply-side of corruption and limits to preventing corruption within government procurement and constructing ethical subjects

Corruption in government procurement programs is a perennial problem. The paper by Dean Neu, Jeff Everett and Abu Shiraz Rahaman emphasises the value of internal controls in government departments in constraining individuals and promoting ethical conduct. In response, this paper argues that good internal controls in government departments, though highly desirable, are unlikely to make a significant dent in corrupt practices to secure government contracts. A major reason for this is the supply of corruption by corporations keen to secure lucrative contracts. Within the spirit of contemporary capitalism, they have an insatiable appetite for profits and have shown willingness to engage in corrupt practices to secure government departments. The issues are illustrated with the aid of two case studies. It is argued that the supply-side of corruption severely limits the possibilities of preventing corruption in government procurement

Income Tax Avoidance and Evasion: A Narrow Bracketing Approach

We characterize optimal individual tax evasion and avoidance when taxpayers ìnarrow bracketî the joint avoidance/evasion decision by exhausting all gainful methods for legal avoidance before choosing whether or not also to evade illegally. We Önd that (i) evasion is an increasing function of the audit probability when the latter is low enough, yet tax avoidance is always decreasing in the probability of audit; (ii) an analogous Önding to the so-called Yitzhaki puzzle for evasion also holds for tax avoidance ñan increase in the tax rate decreases the level of avoided income and the level of avoided tax; and (iii) that, holding constant the expected return to evasion, it is not always the case that the combined loss of reported income due to avoidance and evasion can be stemmed by increasing the Öne rate and decreasing the audit probability

The Dark Side of Transfer Pricing: Its Role in Tax Avoidance and Wealth Retentiveness

In conventional accounting literature, ?transfer pricing? is portrayed as a technique for optimal allocation of costs and revenues amongst divisions, subsidiaries and joint ventures within a group of related entities. Such representations of transfer pricing simultaneously acknowledge and occlude how it is deeply implicated in processes of wealth retentiveness that enable companies to avoid taxes and facilitate the flight of capital. A purely technical conception of transfer pricing calculations abstracts them from the politico-economic contexts of their development and use. The context is the modern corporation in an era of globalized trade and its relationship to state tax authorities, shareholders and other possible stakeholders. Transfer pricing practices are responsive to opportunities for determining values in ways that are consequential for enhancing private gains, and thereby contributing to relative social impoverishment, by avoiding the payment of public taxes. Evidence is provided by examining some of the transfer prices practices used by corporations to avoid taxes in developing and developed economies

The hand of accounting and accountancy firms in deepening income and wealth inequalities and the economic crisis: Some evidence

This paper looks at the economic crisis in the UK. It argues that everyday accounting practices are deeply implicated in the inequitable distribution of income and wealth, a major cause of the economic crisis engulfing the neoliberal economies. Without adequate purchasing power middle and low income households cannot make the purchases necessary for a sustained revival of the economic activity. Accounting calculations and discourses play a major role in the determination of wages and taxes. They prioritise the interests of capital over labour and the state and have systematically eroded labour's share of the gross domestic product. At the same time, despite a massive growth in corporate profitability, the UK state's share of the national wealth in the form of tax revenues has also declined. It is argued that accounting practices which label payment of wages to labour and payment of taxes to the state as ?costs? amplify capitalist concerns about private appropriation of surpluses and have played a major role in assigning such payments to negative spaces. Through the sale of tax avoidance schemes to corporations and wealthy elites, accountancy firms have facilitated a skewed distribution of income of wealth and further constrained the state's capacity to reflate the economy. Consequently, the tax burdens on the less well-off have increased and further eroded their purchasing power and possibilities of building a sustainable economy

Debunking the myth of shareholder ownership of companies: Some implications for corporate governance and financial reporting

The shareholder primacy model is dominant in Anglo-Saxon corporate governance and financial reporting even though it is considered to be dysfunctional and a source of crisis. The possibilities of reforms are routinely stymied with the claims that shareholders are the owners of large corporations and management should promote their interests. This paper seeks to debunk such claims. It shows that a corporation is a distinct legal person and cannot be owned by its shareholders. It argues that shareholders in contemporary corporations are owners of ?fictitious? capital which is very distinct from ?real? capital. The systemic pressures require the holders of fictitious capital to constantly buy/sell shares in pursuit of short-term gains. The paper further shows that in a globalised economy, the shareholding duration in major UK companies has shrunk and shareholders are more dispersed than ever before. They are not in any position to control or direct corporations for the benefit of other stakeholders and society generally. The paper calls for abandonment of the shareholder model of governance and calls for empowerment of stakeholders with a long-term interest in the wellbeing of corporations