Ethics education in the Australian accounting curriculum: a longitudinal study examining barriers and enablers

Abstract: The increasing significance of ethics in the accounting profession is evidenced by the seminal events that witnessed the collapse of major corporations (eg. Enron and WorldCom); regulatory interventions (eg. Sarbanes-Oxley Act in the USA and the CLERP 9 Act in Australia); and calls for increased ethics interventions in the accounting curriculum. This project has two objectives: to investigate the nature of ethics education in the Australian accounting curriculum and how it has changed from 2000 to 2012; and to analyse the barriers to enhancing ethics education by soliciting the opinions of Heads of Department/Schools of Australian universities. Compared with early empirical evidence, universities responded to the call for ethics education with increased levels of ethics intervention, but had failed to enhance the extent of ethics education coverage in the intervening period in which the data were collected. He lack of qualified staff and research opportunities represent major obstacles to the enhancement of ethics education.

Effects of exposure to unethical practices on the personal attitudes of accountants in small accounting firms

We investigate how exposure to unethical practices affects the personal attitude of accountants in small accounting firms towards unethical behaviours. This is an important topic for business because accountants in small accounting firms are in a position to influence the behaviour of the large number of businesses they serve. The main independent variable is a measure of exposure to a variety of different types of unethical practices. A regression involving the exposure variable onto personal attitude is carried out using data from owners/managers of small accounting firms in Australia. Findings confirm a negative relationship between the amount of exposure and personal attitude towards questionable practices: increased exposure to questionable ethical behaviour is related to an increase in the level of acceptance of unethical behaviour. While such a finding is not unexpected, it suggests that other strategies need to be pursued to encourage ethical behaviour.

Determinants and economic consequences of voluntary disclosure of internal control weaknesses in China

This paper investigates the determinants and economic consequences of disclosure of internal control weaknesses (ICWs) by Chinese listed firms under the voluntary disclosure regime over 2010-2011. We find that the probability of firms disclosing ICWs is not only associated with firm characteristics such as profitability, age and business complexity, but is also strongly related to the unique attributes of corporate governance and ownership structure in Chinese listed firms, e.g. the independence of the supervisory board, political connections, concentration of the top 3 shareholders' ownership and tradability of shares.Our results show that the severity of the ICWs disclosed is negatively and significantly associated with earnings response coefficients (ERCs), and audit assurance of ICRs has a significant moderating effect on the relationship between ICWs and ERCs. Our research adds further evidence to support the implementation of SOX-type regulations globally.

Does calibration reduce variability in the assessment of accounting learning outcomes?

Reliable, consistent assessment process that produces comparable assessment grades between assessors and institutions is a core activity and an ongoing challenge with which universities have failed to come to terms. In this paper, we report results from an experiment that tests the impact of an intervention designed to reduce grader variability and develop a shared understanding of national threshold learning standards by a cohort of reviewers. The intervention involved consensus moderation of samples of accounting students’ work, with a focus on three research questions. First, what is the quantifiable difference in grader variability on the assessment of learning outcomes in ‘application skills’ and ‘judgement’? Second, does participation in the workshops lead to reduced disparity in the assessment of the students’ learning outcomes in ‘application skills’ and ‘judgement’? Third, does participation in the workshops lead to greater confidence by reviewers in their ability to assess students’ skills in application skills and judgement? Our findings suggest consensus moderation does reduce variability across graders and also builds grader confidence.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People in the accounting profession : an exploratory study

The aim of this article is to explore the role that accounting skills and accounting qualifications may play in entering fields that have been virtually closed to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (ATSI) people. It is acknowledged in the literature that accounting processes and accountants have historically had a domineering and detrimental impact on marginalised groups, such as ATSI peoples. However, we propose an alternative viewpoint using a Bourdieun perspective and theorise that accounting skills and accounting qualifications (capital) can open doors to powerful organisations and institutions (fields). As this is an exploratory study, we have limited our analysis to one key aspect of the Bourdieun framework, namely that of field. To that end, we examine accounting and other organisations that have traditionally closed their doors to marginalised groups in society. Interviews were conducted with ATSI people who have successfully gained entry into the field of the accounting profession, in an effort to understand the experiences and barriers they faced and to investigate the role that accounting skills plays in enabling ATSI people access to fields and decision-making positions that have traditionally been inaccessible to them.

The role of accounting in building financial capacity of Indigenous Australians.

 This study investigated the empowering and/or disempowering role that accounting can play in the building of financial capacity of Indigenous Australians.

Relevance of traditional management accounting in the public sector

 The major reforms that the Australian public sector went through in the early 1980s were characterised by a stress on efficiency and effectiveness. The reforms led to the import of a private sector mangement philosophy to the public sector, including private sector based management accounting techniques. It is this import that motivated the critical theoretical discussion presented in this paper concerning the applicability of traditional private sector management accounting techniques in the public sector. The paper sets out the pros and cons of such application and provides directions for future research.

Chinese students’ perceptions of the teaching in an Australian accounting programme – an exploratory study

This exploratory study is designed to elicit and understand the views of Mainland Chinese students concerning their learning experience in an Australian accounting education programme. The article contributes to the literature by investigating the issues and implications associated with international students’ perceptions of teaching, as little research has been undertaken in this context. Data were obtained from focus group interviews at two Australian universities, comprising students who had no prior experience of Western education. Based on an adaptation of Ramsden's 2003 model [Learning to teach in higher education (2nd ed.). London: Routledge], the data show that the students’ educational experience in China has a direct and negative influence on their perceptions of the teaching and learning experience in Australia. The negativity is particularly strong for entry-level students but dissipates to some extent with time. Issues concerning teachers’ enthusiasm, commitment, delivery skills and students’ expectations also emerged as important factors affecting student perceptions.

Ethical transnational corporate activity at home and abroad: A proposal for reforming continuous disclosure obligations in Australia and the United States

Multinational Corporations establish operations in states with lower legal and ethical standards in areas including the environment, wages, labor standards, human rights, corruption, and company taxation. Corporate law scholars cannot be indifferent to the horrific consequences of these lax standards. From contributing to rapes and violent incidents stemming from trade in conflict minerals in the Congo to the killing of workers due to poor conditions in garment manufacturing units in Bangladesh, multinational corporations exploit conditions in developing countries abroad without disclosing their actions at home. We advance a normative argument to clarify and strengthen the existing model of disclosure-based regulation to hold MNCs accountable. We argue that, since the core expectations held by shareholders of companies are the same whether they are operating within our borders or externally, a harmonization of disclosure obligations imposed by law would be a more flexible and less costly solution. We posit that a broader reading of the disclosure obligations of companies under existing legislation like the Reg. S-K in the United States, the continuous disclosure rules under * Dean and Professor of Law, University of Newcastle Law School. Sandeep Gopalan would like to thank Terrie Troxel, Jack Tatom, Professor Bill Wilhelm, and the Networks Financial Institute at Indiana State University College of Business for their valuable support in conducting research for this article. We are also grateful to Audrey Son, Bassam Khawaja, and the editorial staff of the Columbia Human Rights Law Review for their excellent editorial work. ** Solicitor and doctoral candidate, University of Newcastle Law School. 2 COLUMBIA HUMAN RIGHTS LAW REVIEW [46.2:1 the Australian Corporations Act 2001, and listing rules such as those adopted by the Australian Securities Exchange and the New York Stock Exchange would require the disclosure of material corporate practices outside our national borders.

Accounting for uncertainty in volumes of seabed change measured with repeat multibeam sonar surveys

Seafloors of unconsolidated sediment are highly dynamic features; eroding or accumulating under the action of tides, waves and currents. Assessing which areas of the seafloor experienced change and measuring the corresponding volumes involved provide insights into these important active sedimentation processes. Computing the difference between Digital Elevation Models (DEMs) obtained from repeat Multibeam Echosounders (MBES) surveys has become a common technique to identify these areas, but the uncertainty in these datasets considerably affects the estimation of the volumes displaced. The two main techniques used to take into account uncertainty in volume estimations are the limitation of calculations to areas experiencing a change in depth beyond a chosen threshold, and the computation of volumetric confidence intervals. However, these techniques are still in their infancy and, as a result, are often crude, seldom used or poorly understood. In this article, we explored a number of possible methodological advances to address this issue, including: (1) using the uncertainty information provided by the MBES data processing algorithm CUBE, (2) adapting fluvial geomorphology techniques for volume calculations using spatially variable thresholds and (3) volumetric histograms. The nearshore seabed off Warrnambool harbour - located in the highly energetic southwest Victorian coast, Australia - was used as a test site. Four consecutive MBES surveys were carried out over a four-months period. The difference between consecutive DEMs revealed an area near the beach experiencing large sediment transfers - mostly erosion - and an area of reef experiencing increasing deposition from the advance of a nearby sediment sheet. The volumes of sediment displaced in these two areas were calculated using the techniques described above, both traditionally and using the suggested improvements. We compared the results and discussed the applicability of the new methodological improvements. We found that the spatially variable uncertainty derived from the CUBE algorithm provided the best results (i.e. smaller confidence intervals), but that similar results can be obtained using as a fixed uncertainty value derived from a reference area under a number of operational conditions.

Accounting for habitat and seafloor structure characteristics on southern rock lobster (Jasus edwardsii) assessment in a small marine reserve

Where to place marine protected areas (MPAs) and how much area they should cover are some of the most basic questions when designing MPAs. Based on the theory of island biogeography, larger reserves are likely to protect more species and individuals but smaller reserves have been shown to positively influence populations. In this study, we assess a localised population of the ecologically and economically important southern rock lobster (Jasus edwardsii) inside and outside a small reserve. We used standardised fishery assessment trapping methods to sample J. edwardsii populations inside a reserve and an adjacent area outside the reserve. The population characteristics of the captured individuals were compared inside and outside the reserve using t tests (male size, female size,number of reproductive females, number of individuals and biomass), and we found that there were significantly greater numbers and larger individuals and biomass inside the reserve. However, many assessments of MPA effectiveness are confounded by differences in habitat. To account for possible differences in habitat, we collected multibeam bathymetry data to allow us to characterise seafloor structure and video data to assign each sampling location to a biotope class based on macroalgae assemblages. Then, using generalised linear models (GLMs), we assessed differences in populations while accounting for habitat. The GLMs revealed that there was still a significant difference in populations inside the reserve despite habitat differences inside and outside the reserve. We demonstrate a methodological approach to provide a baseline data set to assess MPA effectiveness through time and measure how habitat may respond to indirect consequences of fishing or other human impacts at the species or ecosystem level. We also highlight some of the limitations in sampling design and data availability common in MPA studies and resulting implications for assessment.

"Because she's one who listens": children discuss disclosure recipients in forensic interviews

The current study examined investigative interviews using the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) Investigative Interview Protocol with 204, five- to thirteen-year-old suspected victims of child sexual abuse. The analyses focused on who children told, who they wanted (or did not want) to tell and why, their expectations about being believed, and other general motivations for disclosure. Children's spontaneous reports as well as their responses to interviewer questions about disclosure were explored. Results demonstrated that the majority of children discussed disclosure recipients in their interviews, with 78 children (38%) explaining their disclosures. Only 15 children (7%) mentioned expectations about whether recipients would believe their disclosures. There were no differences between the types of information elicited by interviewers and those provided spontaneously, suggesting that, when interviewed in an open-ended, facilitative manner, children themselves produce informative details about their disclosure histories. Results have practical implications for professionals who interview children about sexual abuse.