The importance of intellectual capital disclosure for financial decisions : an exploration of some key elements

There has been little research on intellectual capital (IC) reporting practices of UK firms or on the incentives/disincentives that motivate them to disclose information about their value drivers. Therefore, this study explores annual report disclosures and seeks to explain why managers choose to disclose. The sample consists of 100 London Stock Exchange firms from nine knowledge-based sectors. Whilst adopting a primarily positive accounting theory explanation of disclosure, a new combination of theories (capital market transactions theory, proprietary costs theory and corporate governance theory) is used to generate explanatory variables. The results show that there is a skewing toward relational capital. However, there were large differences in the amount of information disclosed, both across sectors and, in many cases, inside sectors, suggesting that different sectors, or even different companies, may have quite different value drivers. Initial analysis of possible motives was conducted using an OLS regression including all possible explanatory independent variables. However, neither corporate governance nor proprietary costs are well-theorised, and several different variables were used to proxy each of these. Therefore, reduced regression models were also employed. Principal component analysis was used to generate one composite measure of corporate governance and proprietary costs. The results showed that reporting IC is negatively associated with the extent of external financing, while firms with high market-to-book values also disclose less IC information. However, contrary to expectations, the acquisition variable was insignificant although as expected, the relation between human capital disclosure and foreign operations was found to be positive and significant. For proprietary costs variables, there was a significantly positive relation between entry barriers and IC disclosure, and a negative relationship between IC and the intensity of industry competition. Finally, there was a significant, positive relationship between corporate governance and the disclosure of all types of IC.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo

Goal programming model for management accounting and auditing: a new typology

In practice, generally the accountants are facing complex decision-making situations where they aggregate simultaneously several conflicting and incommensurable factors (dimensions). They look for the decision of the best compromise. The goal programming (GP) is one of the multi-criteria decision aid models that have been applied to the field of accounting. The aim of this paper is to provide an exhaustive literature review of the GP application within the field of accounting and to propose a new typology which serves as a guideline for the accountants to identify the most appropriate variant of GP to deal with specific accounting related decision making situation.Scopu

Factors affecting the integration of the SAP-financial accounting module into an accounting curriculum: evidence from a gulf-based university

The present research investigates the underlying factors that affect the implementation of the systems, applications and productions in financial accounting (SAP FI) module in an accounting curriculum. The study was carried out by using a survey questionnaire regarding six factors, namely, knowledge, complexity, usability, usefulness, satisfaction and future career, that affect the implementation of the SAP FI module. Business students (who have a major or minor in accounting) studying at the College of Business and Economics at Qatar University participated in this study. The results of the study found that the students were satisfied; they perceived that learning SAP FI was useful and that it had a strong impact on their future careers. All factors were found to be statistically significant in affecting the implementation of SAP FI. While the implantation efforts so far have been satisfying, various challenges persist. The study concluded that a first time SAP FI implementation is quite challenging from human, logistic and administrative perspectives, leaving room for more future improvements in terms of increasing the level of awareness and knowledge among the faculty and students. The study also recommends considering incorporating other SAP modules in other college curricula (e.g., management, operations, marketing, human resources, finances)

Towards an integrative view of AIS: Using integrated business processes approach to framework the paradigm shift of AIS

The establishment of the inter-organisational paradigm across business has led to a new wave of process and information systems to stimulate the emerging trends. Analysis of the related literature often results in a large number of misconceptions. This paper attempts to give a coherent picture on how integrated business processes have transformed AIS from being information into knowledge system. In particular, the aim of our research is to introduce integrated businesses processes as a new approach for defining AIS. This paper empirically measures and analyses the determinants of IOAIS, as well as providing empirical evidence on how integrated business processes have technically supported new roles and contributions of such systems. Our empirical analysis leads to three main findings. First, our findings suggest that use of inter-organisational technologies has significant association with dynamic extension of AIS. Second, the inter-organisational technologies have transformed AIS through increasing interactivity and connectivity. Finally, these technologies also have led to real shift in the reliability and uses of accounting information, which in turn established knowledge contributions of AIS.Scopu

Risk governance: exploring the role of organisational culture

Purpose: This study aims to investigate the association between organisational culture (OC) and the extent to which risk governance (RG) practices are implemented in Qatar. Design/methodology/approach: It relies on the institutional theory and OC perspectives to generate testable hypotheses and explain the empirical findings, using data from 85 Qatari firms collected based on questionnaires. It also applies ordinary least squares regression to examine the associations between five OCs (innovation, outcome orientation, attention to detail, team orientation and tight versus loose control) and the level of implementing RG practices, whilst controlling for the presence of internal audit (IA), firm size, listing status, type (private/government) and sector (financial/non-financial). Findings: An OC of “tight control”, the presence of an IA and being a private firm are significantly associated with implementing RG practices. An OC of teamwork is negatively associated with RG practices. Practical implications: Policymakers and corporate managers are encouraged to set guidelines governing the formation of cohesive cooperative teams within organisations. They must develop strategies that promote the “risk culture” as a major component of OC. Policymakers should also monitor the culture and institutional forces behind the successful implementation of RG that involves the collaboration of employees at different organisational levels. Originality/value: To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is novel because it empirically examines the OC–RG relationship in an emerging market economy (Qatar)

Exploring the role of innovation in the level of readiness to adopt IPSAS

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to investigate the level of readiness of the public sector in Qatar to adopt International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS), based on the innovation diffusion theory. The responses of accountants (preparers) and auditors employed in the public sector are explored in this regard, and challenges faced in IPSAS implementation are highlighted. Design/methodology/approach: A primary research approach was adopted using a questionnaire that yielded 101 responses. Five dimensions are focused on: relative advantage, top management support, satisfaction with the current accounting system, barriers to adopting IPSAS, and attitudes towards innovation. Findings: Relative advantage, barriers to adopting IPSAS and satisfaction with the current system were found to be the most significant. The influence of these variables appears to promote or hinder the implementation of IPSAS in the public sector of Qatar and, perhaps, the wider region. Practical implications: Even if professionals understand the potential benefits of adopting IPSAS, they are unlikely to advance such adoption without upper echelon-sanctioned cost-benefit analyses and approval. Hence, policymakers should consider the need for a top-down shift in the way IPSASs are viewed and promoted to enable their successful implementation in the public sector. Social implications: The positive association between satisfaction with current systems and the level of IPSAS implementation suggests that respondents view the usefulness and ease of use of their current systems as a primary reason to adopt IPSAS as an ‘upgrade’. Originality/value: This study advances the understanding of the pre-transition process by drawing on innovation theory, which reveals determinants of IPSAS implementation in the case of Qatar. This study adds to prior studies on government accounting in developing nations