Development of accounting in Europe in the era of scientific management: The Italian engineering conglomerate, Ansaldo, 1918-1940

Utilizing archival materials, this paper examines the case of the Genoa-based firm, Ansaldo, which, by the early decades of the 20th century, had emerged as a major force in the inter-related fields of engineering, shipbuilding, and metal and steel manufacture in italy. following financial problems immediately after World War i and during the 1920s, the company was subsequently taken under the umbrella of the italian state\u27s financial holding unit, the institute for industrial reconstruction (iri), in the 1930s. utilizing lewin\u27s theory of change as a framework for investigating change in management accounting, the paper examines the internal and external factors influencing the development of cost/management accounting at the company. these are also examined against the background of the development of scientific management, both in italy and elsewhere

Accounting and performance monitoring in Tuscany: Larderello, 1836–1858

This study examines the use of accounting for performance monitoring in a new industrial environment, the manufacture of boric acid in Tuscany during the middle decades of the nineteenth century. We provide a background context showing the growing significance of Tuscan boric acid as a source of borax for use in the industrialisation of Britain and France, and how the supply of this product came into the hands of François-Jacques Larderel. However, given the method of financing employed, Larderel was forced into fixed-price supply agreements with his financial backers, which influenced the nature of the accounting system and its use as a means of performance monitoring. We also reflect on possible sources of inspiration for the system utilised from 1836

The effect of audit committee characteristics on intellectual capital disclosure

This paper, using data from 100 UK listed firms, investigates the relationship between audit committee characteristics and intellectual capital (IC) disclosure. We find that IC disclosure is positively associated with audit committee characteristics of size and frequency of meetings, and negatively associated with audit committee directors’ shareholding. We find no significant relationship between IC disclosure and audit committee independence and financial expertise. We also observe variations in the association between audit committee characteristics and IC disclosure at its component level, which suggest that the underlying factors that drive various forms of IC disclosure, i.e. human capital, structural capital and relational capital, are different. These results have important implications for policy-makers who have a responsibility to ensure that shareholders are protected by prescribing appropriate corporate governance structures and accounting regulations/guidelines

Intellectual capital disclosures and corporate governance:an empirical examination

Empirical examinations of the links between corporate governance and intellectual capital are underresearched, particularly from the context of emerging economies where corporate governance mechanisms tend to be largely ceremonial due to family dominance. This study aims to address this gap in the intellectual capital disclosure (ICD) literature by undertaking an empirical examination of the relationship between corporate governance and the extent of ICD of Bangladeshi companies. Inter alia, the key findings of this study suggest that there is a non-linear relationship between family ownership and the extent of ICD. This research also found that foreign ownership, board independence, and the presence of audit committees are positively associated with the extent of ICD. Conversely, family duality (i.e., where the positions of CEO and chairperson are occupied by two individuals from the same family) is negatively associated with the extent of ICD

The effect of DEFRA guidance on greenhouse gas disclosure

This paper investigates the effect of the 2009 guidance of the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs on greenhouse gas (GHG) disclosure. The sample comprises 215 companies from a population of London Stock Exchange FTSE 350 companies over four years (2008e 2011). To quantify GHG disclosure, a research index methodology is employed, with information derived from several GHG reporting frameworks. The econometric model is estimated using panel fixed effects. Our findings suggest that the publication of the 2009 guidance has had a significant effect on the level of GHG disclosure, and that corporate governance mechanisms (board size, director ownership, and ownership concentration) also affect the extent of GHG information disclosure. The results also indicate that companies increased their disclosures prior to the 2009 guidance in anticipation of its publication. These results have important implications for the government, suggesting that non-mandatory guidance could increase disclosure as much as do mandatory requirements