Evaluating Australian social media policies in relation to the issue of information disclosure

Information disclosure is a key concern for many organisations especially in the era of social media. Social media allows for information disclosure to occur easily due to the ubiquitous usage of technology such as mobile devices. Acceptable social media policies can be used by organisations and their employees to improve their decision making behaviours as well as being used as a controlling mechanism to mitigate the issue of information disclosure. Through a review of related research literature along with a content analysis of publicly available Australian social media policies, this paper identifies a perceived gap pertaining to the issue of information disclosure in current Australian social media use policies. To fill this gap, we have highlighted the key components when developing an organisational social media policy. An evaluation criteria is also proposed by the paper that organisations can use to assist in mitigating the information disclosure.

The current status of related party disclosure in India: a longitudinal analysis

Purpose – This study investigates the status of related party disclosure in an emerging economy, that is, India. The reason behind concentrating on India is due to its opening of the economy in 1991 to attract foreign investment. Hence, it is significant that investors are provided with credible information. The accounting value of ‘secrecy’ underlying India and the voluntary nature of detailed reporting about related parties in this country further motivated the present study.
Methodology/Approach – The research method includes a content analysis of the ‘related party disclosure’ section of annual reports of a sample of Indian companies for the financial years 2002–2006.
Findings – Indian companies disclosed more than the required minimum level of related party disclosure as required in the Indian accounting standard. No association between related party disclosure with market capitalization, industry affiliation and foreign listing was found for the year 2006. However, when the scores of all the five years 2002–2006 were considered manufacturing and automotive companies disclosed more about related parties than diversified, service and technology.
Research Limitations – The limitations of our findings rests upon the fact that we have not examined the effect of factors such as the composition of management of each company and the presence of Indians/Non-Indians in management.
Originality/Value of the Paper – Most studies exploring disclosure practices are directed towards developed countries. The disclosure practices in developing countries is an under researched area. This paper contributes towards the existing literature by taking the case of an emerging economy, that is, India.

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.

Dietary salt intake and discretionary salt use in two general population samples in Australia: 2011 and 2014

The limited Australian measures to reduce population sodium intake through national initiatives targeting sodium in the food supply have not been evaluated. The aim was, thus, to assess if there has been a change in salt intake and discretionary salt use between 2011 and 2014 in the state of Victoria, Australia. Adults drawn from a population sample provided 24 h urine collections and reported discretionary salt use in 2011 and 2014. The final sample included 307 subjects who participated in both surveys, 291 who participated in 2011 only, and 135 subjects who participated in 2014 only. Analysis included adjustment for age, gender, metropolitan area, weekend collection and participation in both surveys, where appropriate. In 2011, 598 participants: 53% female, age 57.1(12.0)(SD) years and in 2014, 442 participants: 53% female, age 61.2(10.7) years provided valid urine collections, with no difference in the mean urinary salt excretion between 2011: 7.9 (7.6, 8.2) (95% CI) g/salt/day and 2014: 7.8 (7.5, 8.1) g/salt/day (p = 0.589), and no difference in discretionary salt use: 35% (2011) and 36% (2014) reported adding salt sometimes or often/always at the table (p = 0.76). Those that sometimes or often/always added salt at the table and when cooking had 0.7 (0.7, 0.8) g/salt/day (p = 0.0016) higher salt excretion. There is no indication over this 3-year period that national salt reduction initiatives targeting the food supply have resulted in a population reduction in salt intake. More concerted efforts are required to reduce the salt content of manufactured foods, together with a consumer education campaign targeting the use of discretionary salt.

Victoria’s banning provisions: ‘balancing’ discretionary police powers and individual rights

This thesis examines the parliamentary passage, implementation and ongoing scrutiny of Victoria’s banning notice provisions. Underlying political assumptions and justifications are explored to reveal how banning notices exemplify a move towards police-imposed discretionary justice, which undermines individual rights and reconfigures the notion of balance in the criminal justice system.

Remuneration committee effectiveness and narrative remuneration disclosure

This paper investigates the impact of the effectiveness of remuneration committees on narrative voluntary disclosure of information on remuneration. We develop a composite measure as a proxy for remuneration committee effectiveness by incorporating remuneration committee size, remuneration committee independence, remuneration committee chairman’s independence, expertise and diligence. We find that both the existence and quality of a remuneration committee play a significant role in the decision to provide voluntary disclosure of remuneration actions and in the extent of this disclosure. Further analysis suggests that remuneration committee independence and diligence enhance the quality of remuneration committees. The results have policy implications for remuneration committees as an effective corporate governance mechanism.

"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.

The influence of remuneration structures on financial reporting quality: evidence from Australia

This cross-sectional study investigates the influence of a company's remuneration structure on managers' opportunistic behaviour. The findings support the proposed hypothesis that a higher level of compliance with Remuneration Principle 8-ASX Corporate Governance Council) is associated with a lower level of earnings management. The findings support the efficient functioning of the ASX proposed remuneration structure. This cross-sectional study investigates the influence of remuneration structures on financial reporting quality, based on a sample of companies listed on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX). Compliance with Remuneration Principle eight issued by ASX (providing recommendations on formation, operation and disclosure of remuneration committees) is expected to improve financial reporting quality represented by a decreased level of earnings management. This study expands the corporate governance literature by examining an under-researched mechanism to address the agency problem. Earnings management, as a consequence of the agency problem, is measured using the level of absolute discretionary accruals. In this study, we use the modified Jones model to measure the level of discretionary accruals and the existence of reduced earnings management. The study is conducted using a random sample of 214 firm-year observations selected from the ASX listed companies. Our findings show a higher level of compliance with the principle on remuneration is associated with lower levels of earnings management. The findings support the efficient functioning of the ASX-proposed remuneration structure in reducing earnings manipulations.

Busy auditors, ethical behavior, and ciscretionary accruals quality in Malaysia

The required professional and ethical pronouncements of accountants mean that auditors need to be competent and exercise due care and skill in the performance of their audits. In this study, we examine what happens when auditors take on more clients than they should, thus raising doubts about their ability to maintain competence and audit quality. Using 2803 observations of Malaysian companies from 2010 to 2013, we find that auditors with multiple clients are associated with lower earnings quality, proxied by total accruals and discretionary accruals. Our results demonstrate that associating client firms’ reported discretionary accruals with individual auditors, rather than their firms or offices, is important in determining audit quality. Moreover, we demonstrate that the disclosure of auditors’ signatures on their reports is useful for assessing auditor quality at the individual level, thus contributing to the debate on the usefulness of having auditor identities on reports.

Director remuneration and narrative disclosure of remuneration changes: remuneration committee effects

 This thesis investigates the impact of remuneration committees on CEO remuneration, the narrative voluntary disclosure of remuneration information and its attribution. Results show the existence and quality of a remuneration committee play an important roles in relation to CEO remuneration and in relation to remuneration narrative disclosures and attribution.

Unauthorised disclosure of organisational information through social media : a policy perspective

The unauthorised disclosure of organisational information through social media has become an issue. This has resulted in the need for organisations to re-evaluate ways of minimising the risks of information loss and disclosure via social media. The implementation of social media use policies can inform employees’ social media behaviours and ultimately lead to the creation of an organisational culture of awareness. Although organisations may have a social media policy in place, the issue of unauthorised disclosure of organisational information has not been given due attention. Hence, a pilot study of content analysis was conducted to explore how organisations address the issues relating to the unauthorised disclosure of organisational information via their social media channels. The findings of this pilot study revealed some emergent themes that are important for addressing the issue of information disclosure by comparing five different sectors. These emergent themes could guide researchers and practitioners in understanding and informing the organisational use of social media technologies.