Radical Change, Accounting and Public Sector Reforms: A Comparison of Italian and Canadian Municipalities

NPM has been generally regarded as an administrative reform for which resilience and consequences have been mainly investigated at a country level. Although accounting played a central role in NPM reforms over the last decades, how accounting change actually took place, and through what organizational dynamics, has been under-investigated. This paper adopts a new perspective, archetype theory, and looks into how intra-organizational dynamics (values, interests, power, capabilities) combine with reform processes to influence the outcome of accounting change. Evidence from Italian (disruptive process) and Canadian (sedimented process) municipalities shows that radical change is associated with specific configurations of intra-organizational dynamics.

Interlocking directorates and conflicts of interest: The Rotterdamsche Bankvereeniging, Müller & Co. and the Dutch financial crisis of the 1920s

How can interlocking directorates cause financial instability for universal banks? A detailed history of the Rotterdamsche Bankvereeninging in the 1920s answers this question in a case study. This large commercial bank adopted a new German-style universal banking business model from the early 1910s, sharing directors with the firms it financed as a means of controlling its interests. Then, in 1924, it required assistance from the Dutch state in order to survive a bank run brought on by public concerns over its close ties with Müller & Co., a trading conglomerate that suffered badly in the economic downturn of the early 1920s. Using a new narrative history combined with an interpretive model, this article shows how the interlocking directorates between the bank and this major client, and in particular the direction of influence of these interlocks, resulted in a conflict of interest that could not be easily overcome.

Conversion Ratios, Efficiency and Obfuscation: A Study of the Impact of Changed UK Charity Accounting Requirements on External Stakeholders

Key stakeholders in the UK charity sector have, in recent years, advocated greater accountability for charity performance. Part of that debate has focussed on the use of conversion ratios as indicators of efficiency, with importance to stakeholders being contrasted with charities’ apparent reluctance to report such measures. Whilst, before 2005, conversion ratios could have been computed from financial statements, changes in the UK charity SORP have radically altered the ability of users to do this. This article explores the impact on the visibility of such information through an analysis of the financial statements of large UK charities before and after the 2005 changes. Overall, the findings suggest that, despite the stated intention of increasing transparency in respect of charity costs, the application of the changes has resulted in charities ‘managing’ the numbers and limiting their disclosures, possibly to the detriment of external stakeholders.

Irresponsible Lending?: A Case Study of a U.K. Credit Industry Reform Initiative

There are major concerns about the level of personal borrowing, particularly sourced from credit cards. This paper charts the progress of an initiative to create a Responsible Lending Index (RLI) for the credit industry. The RLI proposed to voluntarily benchmark lending standards and promote best practice within the credit industry by involving suppliers of credit, customer representatives and regulators. However, despite initial support from some banks, consumer bodies and the Chair of the Treasury Select Committee, it failed to gain sufficient support from financial institutions in its original format. The primary reasons for this were related to the complexity of building such a robust index and the banks trade body’s fear of exposing its members to public scrutiny. A revised alternative, the Responsible Lending Initiative, was proposed which took into account these concerns. However, the Association of Payment Clearing Service (APACS), the trade body of the credit industry, then effectively destroyed the proposal. This article describes an attempt to address the challenges in the credit card industry with the initiation of the RLI, reflected in stakeholder discourse and in the context of a wider concern expressed by the involved stakeholders in terms of the need for greater responsibility in the banking industry’s lending practices.

University Competition, Grading Standards, and Grade Inflation

We develop a model of strategic grade determination by universities distinguished by their distributions of student academic abilities. Universities choose grading standards to maximize the total wages of graduates, taking into account how the grading standards affect firms' productivity assessment and job placement. We identify conditions under which better universities set lower grading standards, exploiting the fact that firms cannot distinguish between good and badA''s. In contrast, a social planner sets stricter standards at better universities. We show how increases in skilled jobs drive grade inflation, and determine when grading standards fall faster at better schools. (JEL I21)

Rethinking the Sacred and Secular Divide. Accounting and Accountability Practices in the Diocese of Ferrara (1431-1457)

Purpose – Informed by the work of Laughlin and Booth, the paper analyses the role of accounting and accountability practices within the 15th century Roman Catholic Church, more specifically within the Diocese of Ferrara (northern Italy), in order to determine the presence of a sacred-secular dichotomy. Pope Eugenius IV had embarked upon a comprehensive reform of the Church to counter the spreading moral corruption within the clergy and the subsequent disaffection with the Church by many believers. The reforms were notable not only for the Pope’s determination to restore the moral authority and power of the Church but for the essential contributions of ‘profane’ financial and accounting practices to the success of the reforms.
Design/methodology/approach – Original 15th century Latin documents and account books of the Diocese of Ferrara are used to highlight the link between the new sacred values imposed by Pope Eugenius IV’s reforms and accounting and accountability practices.
Findings – The documents reveal that secular accounting and accountability practices were not regarded as necessarily antithetical to religious values, as would be expected by Laughlin and Booth. Instead, they were seen to assume a role which was complementary to the Church’s religious mission. Indeed, they were essential to its sacred mission during a period in which the Pope sought to arrest the moral decay of the clergy and reinstate the Church’s authority. Research implications/limitations – The paper shows that the sacred-secular dichotomy cannot be considered as a priori valid in space and time. There is also scope for examining other Italian dioceses where there was little evidence of Pope Eugenius’ reforms.
Originality/value – The paper presents a critique of the sacred-secular divide paradigm by considering an under-researched period and a non Anglo-Saxon context.

Public Value as Performance: Politicians’ and Managers’ Perspectives on the Importance of Budgetary, Accruals and Non-Financial Information

Purpose
The study contributes to the literature on public value and performance examining politicians’ and managers’ perspectives by investigating the importance they attach to the different facets of performance information (i.e. budgetary, accrual based- and non-financial information (NFI)).

Design/methodology/approach
We survey politicians and managers in all Italian municipalities of at least 80,000 inhabitants.

Findings
Overall, NFI is more appreciated than financial information (FI). Moreover, budgetary accounting is preferred to accrual accounting. Politicians’ and managers’ preferences are generally aligned.

Research limitations/implications
NFI as a measure of public value is not alternative, but rather complementary, to FI. The latter remains a fundamental element of public sector accounting due to its role in resource allocation and control.

Practical implications
The preference for NFI over FI and of budgetary over accruals accounting suggests that the current predominant emphasis on (accrual-based) financial reporting might be misplaced.

Originality/value
Public value and performance are multi-faceted concepts. They can be captured by different types of information and evaluated according to different criteria, which will also depend on the category of stakeholders or users who assesses public performance. So far, most literature has considered the financial and non-financial facets of performance as virtually separate. Similarly, in the practice, financial management tends to be decoupled from non-financial performance management. However, this research shows that only by considering their joint interactions we can achieve an accurate representation of what public value really is.

Auditoria às demonstrações financeiras num contexto de crise estudo de caso: inquérito às sociedades de Revisores Oficiais de Contas das empresas cotadas na CMVM

Dissertação de Mestrado apresentado ao Instituto de Contabilidade e Administração do Porto para a obtenção do grau de Mestre em Auditoria sob orientação da Doutora Alcina Portugal Dias

O tratamento contabilístico do goodwill nas empresas do PSI- 20

Dissertação de Mestrado apresentado ao Instituto de Contabilidade e Administração do Porto para a obtenção do grau de Mestre em Contabilidade e Finanças, sob orientação de Drª Mónica D’Orey

Imparidades em inventários

Dissertação de Mestrado apresentada ao Instituto de Contabilidade e Administração do Porto para a obtenção do grau de Mestre em Contabilidade e Finanças, sob orientação da Doutora Albertina Paula Monteiro Esta versão contém as críticas e sugestões dos elementos do júri.

Integrating Financial Perspective to Quality Orientated Management System. Case: ALSTOM Finland Oy

Tutkimuksen päätavoitteena on tutkia taloudellisen näkökulman integroimista laatuajatteluun pohjautuvaan johtamisjärjestelmään esimerkkiyrityksessä. Johtamisjärjestelmän tulee tuottaa tietoa johdon strategiselle päätöksenteolle ja lisäksi täyttää laatujärjestelmän (ISO 9001:2000) asettamat vaatimukset. Tutkimuksen kohteena oleva työkalu on balanced scorecard (tasapainotettu tuloskortti). Työn tarkoituksena on ehdottaa balanced scorecard- talouden tunnuslukuja esimerkkiyritykselle. Tutkimuksen tavoitteisiin päästään empiiristä tutkimusta varten tehdyn teoreettisen viitekehyksen avulla. Empiiristä tutkimustietoa kerätään osallistuvan havainnoinnin, haastattelujen ja keskustelujen avulla. Tutkimusmenetelmänä on laadullinen case -tutkimus. Balanced scorecardin eri näkökulmille ehdotettiin tunnuslukuja empiirisen tutkimuksen pohjalta. Lisäksi talouden näkökulmaa tutkittiin tarkemmin. Tutkimuksen johtopäätöksenä esitettiin, että taloudelliset tunnusluvut mittaavat ensisijaisesti strategiaa eivätkä laatua. Lisäksi huomioitiin, että tuloskorttien tulisi olla koekäytössä ennen bonuspalkkauksen ja balanced scorecardin yhdistämistä.

Osakeyhtiölain maksukykytesti pienissä osakeyhtiöissä - tilitoimiston rooli neuvonantajana

Osakeyhtiölakiin on vuodesta 2006 asti sisältynyt maksukykytesti (OYL 13:2), jonka tulkinnallinen epäselvyys on motivoinut useita tutkimuksia ja melko kriittistäkin kirjoittelua. Säännöksen tarkoituksena on ehkäistä osakeyhtiön velkojia uhkaava varojenjako velvoittamalla yhtiön johto huolellisuusvelvoitteensa nojalla arvioimaan varojenjaon vaikutukset yhtiön maksukyvyn säilymiseen. Oikeuskäytännön puuttuessa maksukykytestin toteuttamistapaan liittyy kuitenkin edelleenkin merkittävää epävarmuutta. Tämän tutkimuksen tavoitteena on pyrkiä selvittämään, miten osakeyhtiölain mukainen maksukykytesti pitäisi toteuttaa pienissä osakeyhtiöissä, joiden taloushallinto on kokonaan tai osittain ulkoistettu tilitoimistolle. Olennainen osa tutkimuksen tavoitetta on ottaa kantaa tilitoimiston rooliin maksukykytestin toteuttamisessa. Tutkimuksen johtopäätöksenä voidaan todeta, että yksityiskohtaisten tilinpäätöksen tunnuslukuihin perustuvien maksukykyarvioiden laatiminen maksukykytestin toteuttamiseksi on pienissä osakeyhtiöissä pääsääntöisesti tarpeetonta. Merkitystä tulisi sen sijaan antaa yhtiön johdolla olevalle hiljaiselle tiedolle, sillä yhtiön johto tuntee yrityksen tilanteen parhaiten ja kykenee siten myös arvioimaan tuleva kehitystä. Tilitoimiston rooliksi jää tällöin varmistaa, että asiakasyrityksen johto tuntee oman vastuuasemansa. Tutkimuksen perusteella tilitoimistot voisivat myös hyödyntää omaa asemaansa pienten yhtiöiden neuvonantajina nykyistä paremmin ohjeistamalla asiakasyrityksiään dokumentoimaan maksukykytestin hallituksen kokouspöytäkirjaan esimerkiksi osana hallituksen osingonjakoehdotusta.

Desired learning outcomes for the curricula in financial services industry as perceived by professionals in the financial services industry located in the Greater Toronto Area /

This study sought to explore the changing nature of the financial services industry in Toronto, Canada and the impact that these changes will have on the vocational educational outcomes required by Ontario Colleges of Applied Arts and Technology (CAAT) graduates who wish to enter the financial services industry. The study was descriptive and exploratory, based on both quantitative and qualitative data. Triangulation of 3 data sources (a collection of newspaper articles from the Toronto Star between July 1999 and June 2000, the calendars of the 25 CAATs, and a survey questionnaire prepared by me and distributed to subject matter experts who are key practitioners in the financial services industry) was used. The study contains a discussion of how the financial services industry is changing. The first question to be answered was: What do current practitioners in financial services perceive to be the knowledge, skills, and attitudes that will be required of future graduates for employment within the financial services industry? The study found that Ontario CAAT's graduates entering the financial services field need both business and financial services vocational learning outcomes. Colleges should have 2 programs 1 in accounting and 1 in financial services. The report addresses which specific topics should be included in the financial services program. The second question to be answered was: How does this anticipated profile of knowledge, skills, and attitudes change depending on the degree of implementation of the new technologies by the survey respondent? The study found no pattern. The third question to be answered was: In what way do existing programs need to change in the area of accreditation as perceived by the respondents? The study found that for accreditation, 3 credentials should be addressed within the financial services program. These are the Canadian Securities, the Life Underwriters, and the Certified Financial Planner designations. The last question to be answered was: What new knowledge, skills, and attitudes need to be incorporated into college curricula to address changing needs in the employment sector? For each Ontario CAAT which has a financial services program (excluding accounting), their program was reviewed in light of the topics as perceived by professionals in the financial services industry.

St. Catharines and District Labour Council fonds, 1957-1986

The St. Catharines and District Labour Council was founded in May 1957 by unionized workers from St. Catharines, Thorold, Merritton, Port Dalhousie and Grimsby. They sought to improve the social and economic welfare of workers; promote the organization of workers into unions for their mutual benefit, regardless of race, creed, colour, or national origin; encourage the sale of union-made goods and services; promote worker education; provide workers with a voice in politics; and safeguard the democratic nature of the labour movement. The Council, affiliated with both the Canadian Labour Congress and the Ontario Federation of Labour, was instrumental in assisting local workers with their labour disputes, including Canadian Pulp and Paper workers at Abitibi Provincial Paper in Thorold [1975-76], and Gallaher Paper [1999], workers at the St. Catharines Eaton’s store [1985], as well as smaller disputes such as that between the part-time secretarial staff and the Welland County Roman Catholic Separate School Board [1972] and workers of the Skyway Lumber Company [1972]. The Council also assisted the community at large by offering a Community Counseling Service [1971-1976] to help citizens with issues concerning various government agencies, social services and Acts, such as the Vacation Pay Act, Landlord and Tenant Act, Employment Standards Act, unemployment insurance claims and workman’s compensation claims. Other projects that the Council organized included an annual Education Institute [1958-1965] and the annual publication of Labour Review, a summary of the Council’s past year. The Labour Council continued to operate until 2010, when several local Labour Councils merged to form the Niagara Regional Labour Council.