Reflections on the supervision of postgraduate research in Accounting Departments

The need to enhance the research profile of accounting departments and schools of accounting at South African universities and to increase the number of students engaging in postgraduate studies mirrors the challenges faced by universities in Australia and the United Kingdom two decades ago. Coupled with these imperatives is the recognition of the need for supervisor training in accounting departments and schools of accounting and the lack of opportunities for gaining experience in postgraduate research supervision due to the small number of students in the accounting field wishing to undertake research-based studies. This article reviews relevant literature on training for the supervisors of postgraduate research students, documents the personal experience and observations of the writer and, drawing on these sources, makes recommendations for the training of supervisors. The recommendations include a model for the training of supervisors reflecting two perspectives: “on-the-job” training and the introduction of a departmental supervision guide setting out aspects of best practice. Issues to be addressed in the training of supervisors include training in research methodology, technical expertise, managing the supervision relationship, quality control, providing constructive criticism and feedback, and ethical concerns

The relationship between double taxation agreements and the provisions of the South African Income Tax Act

This article investigates the legal status of Double Taxation Agreements, and the relationship between Double Taxation Agreements, which are concluded in terms of section 108 of the Income Tax Act, and the provisions of the Income Tax Act (taking into account the provisions of the Constitution, and the national and international rules for the interpretation of statutes). An important conclusion reached was that as the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties represents customary international law and as such forms part of South African law, the principles contained in the treaty should be taken into account when interpreting South African legislation (including Double Taxation Agreements).The final conclusion of the research was that Double Taxation Agreements have a dual nature – forming part of domestic legislation and being classified as international agreements. The provisions of the Double Taxation Agreement should be taken as overriding any conflicting legislation in the Income Tax Act

Identifying the tautomeric form of a deoxyguanosine-estrogen quinone intermediate

Mechanistic insights into the reaction of an estrogen o-quinone with deoxyguanosine has been further investigated using high level density functional calculations in addition to the use of 4-hyroxycatecholestrone (4-OHE1) regioselectivity labeled with deuterium at the C1-position. Calculations using the M06-2X functional with large basis sets indicate the tautomeric form of an estrogen-DNA adduct present when glycosidic bonds cleavage occurs is comprised of an aromatic A ring structure. This tautomeric form was further verified by use of deuterium labelling of the catechol precursor use to form the estrogen o-quinone. Regioselective deuterium labelling at the C1-position of the estrogen A ring allows discrimination between two tautomeric forms of a reaction intermediate either of which could be present during glycosidic bond cleavage. HPLC-MS analysis indicates a reactive intermediate with a m/z of 552.22 consistent with a tautomeric form containing no deuterium. This intermediate is consistent with a reaction mechanism that involves: (1) proton assisted Michael addition; (2) re-aromatization of the estrogen A ring; and (3) glycosidic bond cleavage to form the known estrogen-DNA adduct, 4-OHE1-1-N7Gua

Architecture in prints: Piranesi, Meryon, and Hopper

1997 Spring.Includes bibliographic references (page 17)

An investigation into the time-saving benefits of using a computerised taxation program

Software programs designed to calculate the tax liability of individuals and other types of tax entity are being designed and used with increasing frequency. Research done in the United States of America appears to indicate that these programs do not achieve any saving in time and, in fact, may take longer to use than to complete a tax return by hand. As the South African revenue collection system appears to be moving closer to a self-assessment system, where the calculation of tax owing will be the responsibility of the taxpayer, the research essay sets out to determine whether there is a saving in time when calculating a tax liability using a tax software program, instead of calculating it by hand. In addition, the research aims to determine how much time, on average, is saved or lost, using such a program, and whether there is any correlation between the time taken to perform a calculation by hand and that using the software program. It does so by comparing the average estimated time it would take to complete tax calculations for individuals by hand with the average time taken to complete the same tax calculations using a tax software program. The average time taken to do the calculations by hand is based on the time allocation given for questions by the authors of a published question bank for university students. The time taken using software is determined by using a stop-watch to time each question being processed. The results, subject to assumptions made in carrying out the research, show that there is a substantial saving in time using the software program. Based on the data, however, the results indicate a weak correlation between the estimated time taken to do a calculation by hand and the estimated time using the software program. Possible reasons for the weak correlation are discussed. A recommendation is also made for the standardization and certification of existing tax calculation software

The deductibility of interest

The deduction of interest expenditure, for the purpose of calculating the South African taxable income on which normal tax is levied, must satisfy the requirements of the preamble to section 11 and section 11(a) of the Income Tax Act 58 of 1962, read with section 23(g), unless a particular section makes specific provision for its deduction. There appears to be a presumption that if interest expenditure is incurred in the production of income derived from carrying on a trade, it is deductible and we need look no further. This presumption may underlie the 2005 amendment of sub-section (2) of section 24J, which provides that interest is deductible provided it has been incurred “in the production of income” and “for the purposes of trade” (sections 11(a) and 23(g)). This paper discusses the deductibility of interest and, in particular, whether there are circumstances in which interest paid on a loan used to acquire a capital asset could be of a capital nature. The provisions of the Income Tax Act and court decisions relating to the deductibility of interest, as well as opinions expressed by authoritative writers on tax, are subjected to critical analysis. The paper first distinguishes the tests for determining whether an expense has been incurred “in the production of income” and whether the expense is “of a capital nature”. Specific court decisions relating to the deductibility of interest are then analysed. The research considers section 24J of the Act, to determine whether its provisions have settled the debate, and refers briefly to the provisions of section 11(bB), in the context of the research question. The conclusion reached in the research is that there are occasions where the courts appear to have confused the tests for determining whether interest expenditure was incurred “in the production of income” and whether it is “of a capital nature”, in certain instances have also failed to address the question of the capital or revenue nature of the interest expenditure under scrutiny, and that the matter does not appear to be settled that interest incurred on funds used to acquire a capital asset used to produce trade income is automatically deductible

The presence of foreign firms in Ghana: the role of physical, financial, and governance infrastructure. Final report

Using a new wave of firm-level data from the World Bank’s Enterprise Surveys this study examines the linkages between foreign firm participation and the investment climate in Ghana. The analysis of the binding constraints of direct investment is split between objective and subjective measures of the investment climate. While the subjective measures indicate accessing finance is the main constraint to doing business, the objective measures suggest foreign firm participation is affected by a multiplicity of institutional, physical and finance related infrastructures, namely the administration of financial statements, power outages and the judicial system. A breakdown of the effects of the binding constraints by ownership, firm size, industry and region is also provided

Micro-abrasion resistance of thermochemically treated steels in aqueous solutions: Mechanisms, maps, materials selection

The area of micro-abrasion is an interesting and relatively recent area in tribo-testing methodologies, where small particles of less than 10 μm are employed between interacting surfaces. It is topical for a number of reasons; its direct relation to the mechanisms of the wear process in bio-tribological applications, ease in conducting tests and the good repeatability of the test results. It has widespread applications in conditions used in the space and offshore industries to bio-engineering for artificial joints and implants. There have been many recent studies on the micro-abrasion performance of materials, ranging from work basic metals to nano-structured coatings. However, no significant work is reported on the micro-abrasion resistance of thermochemically treated steels. Hence, this paper looks at the performance of two thermochemically treated steels, Tenifer bath nitride stainless steel (T-SS) and vanadized carbon steel (V-CS) in such conditions with reference to the stainless steel (SS) by varying the applied load and sliding distance. The results indicated that T-SS demonstrates exceptionally poor resistance to micro-abrasion. It was observed that the heat treatment process and properties of the hardened layer (hardness and thickness) are extremely important in determining the micro-abrasion resistance of such steels. Finally, the results were used to develop micro-abrasion mechanism and wastage maps, which can be used to optimize the surface treated materials for micro-abrasion resistance

Taxation and electronic commerce

Transactions conducted using the Internet have expanded dramatically in the past few years and countries and their governments have become concerned about the consequences that electronic commerce may have on their tax revenues. Because of this many organisations and inter-governmental agencies have met to try to design a solution that will be compatible with the systems of the various countries and achieve tax neutrality. A number of proposals were made and discussed to try to design a fair and efficient e-tax system. The proposed system that is ultimately adopted must consider different tax bases and systems in order to achieve this. In this research the impact of e-commerce on the imposition of income tax was briefly referred to and four different proposals for levying value-added tax or sales tax were analysed in order to compare the advantages and disadvantages of each and to determine which system would most adequately address the needs of e-commerce. Certain modifications and additions to the proposed systems have been suggested in order to satisfy the specific needs of the South African tax system, while still taking other countries’ tax systems into account. Using Amazon.com Inc. and Skype Technologies South Africa Limited as examples, it is demonstrated how the new amended system will work. It was found that the proposed systems and the system adapted to meet the South African needs would, with a few relatively minor changes to the Value-Added Tax legislation, be suitable for the purposes of imposing value-added tax on e-commerce transactions