Search results

This edition of Research on Professional Responsibility and Ethics in Accounting includes articles from a distinguished group of authors. The topics cover many aspects of professional responsibility and ethics in accounting, including whistleblowing, professional skepticism, earnings management, cognitive style and ethics.

1. Making Crime Pay: Timing of External Whistleblowing; Andrea M. Scheetz and Joseph Wall 2. Factors that Affect CPA's Personal Applications of Ethical Tax Standards to Ambiguous Positions; Laura Clifford, Amanda M. Grossman, Leigh R. Johnson, and Wayne A. Tervo 3. Sustainability Reporting in U.S. Government and Not for Profit Organizations: A Descriptive Study; Fatima Alali, Zhou Chen, and Yue Liu 4. The Need for New Psychological Contracts in the Auditing Profession; Cecily Raiborn and Michael Stern 5. Survey Research on Earnings Quality: Evidence from Japan; Masumi Nakashima 6. External Auditors, Client Ethics, and the Continuance Decision; Carolyn Conn, Linda Campbell, and Cecily Raiborn.

Abstract
Eduard Braun's paper entitled "The Ecological Rationality of Historical Costs and Conservatism" has many elements which recommend it. Professor Braun has done an excellent job of summarizing several key topics in accounting theory, in particular those related to the issue of the revenue-expense versus the asset-liability approach to income determination and the historical cost versus fair value debate. In his paper, Braun argues that the revenue-expense approach to accounting cannot be traced to a distinct event. He also maintains that the revenue-expense approach is ecologically rational; that is, it results from "social evolution", not human design. He goes on to argue that this ecological rationality is the reason why the efforts to impose the asset-liability approach favored by accounting standard-setters has encountered difficulties. He further argues that a solid basis for explaining the ecological rationality of the revenue-expense approach can be found in behavioral economics especially in Prospect Theory. He concludes that the revenue-expense approach is ecological rational and that it provides a basis for the organization of a market economy. The author supports his arguments with citations to well-respected accounting research which provides arguments against abandoning the revenue-expense approach (Waymire & Basu, 2007, Accounting is an evolved economic institution. Foundations and Trends in Accounting, 2(1–2), 1–173; Dickhaut, Basu, McCabe, & Waymire, 2009, Neuroaccounting II: Consilience between accounting principles and the primate brain. Retrieved January 30, 2009 from http://ssrn.com/abstract=1336517 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1336517; Dickhaut, 2009, The brain as the original accounting institution. The Accounting Review, 84(6), 1703–1712). This commentary will focus on two themes in Braun's paper. First, the question of ecological rationality and whether this concept implies evolutionary progress. Second, the historical evolution of the revenue-expense approach, and why this approach can traced to several distinct events.

ABSTRACT
During the first half of the 20th century, "accounting theory" developed primarily by accounting scholars and academics provided the primary basis for the practice and teaching of financial accounting in the United States. Since the creation of the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) in the early 1970s, the FASB Conceptual Framework has provided the primary basis for accounting standards-setting, as well as for the practice and teaching of financial accounting. While the purpose of creating a Conceptual Framework has been to develop an agreed-upon set of concepts and principles to guide accounting standards-setting, a related goal has been to reduce diversity in accounting practice and to move toward greater uniformity. This paper traces the influence of accounting theory on the Conceptual Framework and explores some of the consequences of this influence.

International audience ; While it is now evident that a global accounting profession has evolved in response to the growth of global capitalism, an historical survey of the evolution of the accounting profession suggests that the evolution of the accounting profession has not been smooth or constant, and that the State has played a significant role in this evolution. The legal requirement for external audits of company financial statements, which found its inception in the mid-19th century, provided an opportunity for the growth of a global accounting profession, but economic competition among nation states and frequent military conflict during the 19th and 20th centuries inhibited the creation of a truly global profession. Moreover, the ways in which the profession emerged and evolved through time have differed in different countries, and it is only during recent periods that there have been significant efforts to harmonize the regulatory structures for the profession in different countries. A comparative historical survey of the evolution of the accounting profession in several major countries constitutes the primary focus of this paper. ; Tandis qu'il est maintenant évident qu'une profession comptable globale évoluait en réponse à la croissance du capitalisme global, une étude historique de l'évolution de la profession comptable suggèrerait que l'évolution de la profession n'était pas lisse ou constante, et que l'état jouait un rôle significatif dans cette évolution. Si le statut légal en ce qui concerne les audits externe des comptes annuels, qui ont trouvé son début au mi 19ème siècle, a présenté une occasion pour la croissance d'une profession globale, la concurrence économique parmi les nations et les conflits militaires pendant le 19ème et les 20èmes siècles empêchaient la création d'une profession comptable véritablement globale. D'ailleurs, les façons dont la profession émergeait et évoluait par le temps ont différé dans différents pays, et c'est seulement pendant des ...

While the topic of globalisation has been widely discussed in both the academic and popular literatures, there has also been a growing body of work in the accounting literature which has analyzed the challenges and problems posed by globalisation. Many of these articles have been critical of the neo-liberal policies that have resulted in adverse consequences for people living in less developed countries; in particular, the policies and practices of transnational organizations like the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and the World Trade Organization. This paper addresses the topic of globalisation from a somewhat different perspective. We employ a theoretical and methodological framework adapted from Jürgen Habermas to formulate certain constative statements about the topic of globalisation. This effort is seen as a first step towards developing a better understanding about globalisation.

Although the overall investment in information technology (IT) decreased during the first few years of the 21st century, B2B e-commerce continued to expand at a rapid rate (Lim & Wen, 2002). The expansion of B2B e-commerce has been based to a large extent on accounting and enterprise-wide information systems (EISs) that permit electronic data transmission and execution of transactions in an effective and efficient manner. Since B2B e-commerce is Internet based, the EISs required to support B2B e-commerce must be Internet capable. The primary language of the Internet, Hyper-text Mark-up Language (HTML), is not well-suited for transmitting data and executing transactions. Consequently, Extensible Mark-up Language (XML) was developed to facilitate a wide range of electronic information exchange applications, including many applications related to B2B e-commerce. XML also allows legacy data to be accessed through the Internet. As initially conceived, XML had a number of constraints, particularly in the area of data integrity and security; however, these constraints are being overcome. This article discusses the objectives of using XML in B2B e-commerce, reviews the technical structure of XML, and discusses ways that data integrity can be maintained and security enhanced while engaging in B2B e-commerce.

The concern of this inquiry is with management strategy in a large, international public accounting firm. The large accounting firm must deal with a variety of difficult problems in its efforts to grow and remain successful. Borrowing from the terminology of Emery and Trist, the interrelatedness of many of these problems tends to suggest a "turbulent field environment. " In this paper, an observation approach is used to discover the strategy which the large accounting firm employs in its attempt to deal with a complex and changing environment. Results indicate that there is a three pronged strategy consisting of providing clients with a tangible product (Doing), marketing the image of the firm to the business community (Representing), and marketing the image of competence and integrity of the firm to the government and society (Being). Indications are that the firm is successful in dealing with its environment on a piecemeal and short-run basis. Implications for the long run are less clear.

International audience ; This article seeks to explain whether the application of IAS/IFRS is a method of corporate governance or whether it is a method of governance at a global level. In the first part of our article, the results of a questionnaire conducted with the financial directors of companies from the CAC 40, Euronext 100 and Next 150 demonstrate that the application of IAS/IFRS was not made in response to corporate governance. In the second part of the article, an interpretative analysis of the economic, financial and political factors which influence companies, as well as an examination of the organizations involved in the application of international accounting standards, allows as to create an inductive model which demonstrates the weigh of global governance in the application of IAS/IFRS in the European Union. ; Cette recherche tente de répondre à la question de savoir si l'application des normes IAS/IFRS répond à un impératif de gouvernance d'entreprise ou aux objectifs d'une gouvernance mondiale. Dans la première partie de notre article, les résultats d'un questionnaire mené auprès des directeurs financiers des entreprises du CAC 40, d'Euronext 100 et du Next 150 montrent que l'application n'est pas une réponse à une demande de gouvernance d'entreprise. Dans la deuxième partie, l'analyse interprétative des facteurs économiques, financiers et politiques qui influencent les entreprises, ainsi que l'étude des organismes impliqués dans cette application, nous permettent de construire un modèle inductif qui met en évidence le poids de la gouvernance mondiale dans l'application des IAS/IFRS dans l'Union Européenne.

International audience ; This article seeks to explain whether the application of IAS/IFRS is a method of corporate governance or whether it is a method of governance at a global level. In the first part of our article, the results of a questionnaire conducted with the financial directors of companies from the CAC 40, Euronext 100 and Next 150 demonstrate that the application of IAS/IFRS was not made in response to corporate governance. In the second part of the article, an interpretative analysis of the economic, financial and political factors which influence companies, as well as an examination of the organizations involved in the application of international accounting standards, allows as to create an inductive model which demonstrates the weigh of global governance in the application of IAS/IFRS in the European Union. ; Cette recherche tente de répondre à la question de savoir si l'application des normes IAS/IFRS répond à un impératif de gouvernance d'entreprise ou aux objectifs d'une gouvernance mondiale. Dans la première partie de notre article, les résultats d'un questionnaire mené auprès des directeurs financiers des entreprises du CAC 40, d'Euronext 100 et du Next 150 montrent que l'application n'est pas une réponse à une demande de gouvernance d'entreprise. Dans la deuxième partie, l'analyse interprétative des facteurs économiques, financiers et politiques qui influencent les entreprises, ainsi que l'étude des organismes impliqués dans cette application, nous permettent de construire un modèle inductif qui met en évidence le poids de la gouvernance mondiale dans l'application des IAS/IFRS dans l'Union Européenne.

Compares auditors' legal liability to third parties in several major countries, with principal emphasis on comparisons between the USA and the UK. Public accountants claim that they are being adversely affected by lawsuits brought by shareholders, creditors and other third parties. It has been asserted, without any specific evidence, that increased exposure to legal liability has caused public accounting firms to cease the practice of auditing or go out of business entirely. Details auditors' legal liability to third parties in the USA and Europe and, in particular, the UK. Concludes by reviewing certain positions taken by the Fédération des Experts Comptables Européens with respect to auditors' legal liability in the face of European economic and political union.

Historical Developments in the Accountancy Profession, Financial Reporting, and Accounting Theorycontains ten manuscripts authored by C. Richard Baker during an academic career that spans four decades, picking up on various understudied threads of academic and professional initiatives over the past several hundred years.