bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Clinical features associated with improvement of fatty liver disease
Authors: Park S. H. , Kim B. I. , Kim H. J. , Kim H. , Kim S. H. , Park D. I. , Cho Y. K. , Sung I. K. , Sohn C. I. , Jeon W. K. , Keum D. K.
Published: July 2005

Abstract

Background: We presumed that identification of the factors associated with improvement of fatty livers disease (FLD) would support the therapeutic options for FLD. The goal of this study was to clarify what clinical characteristics are associated with biochemical and sonographic improvements in the non‐alcoholic population with fatty livers.

Methods: A total of 615 non‐alcoholic men had elevated alanine aminotransferase (ALT) (≥â40 IU/L) levels and sonographic evidence of a fatty liver, and their clinical characteristics were assessed at the beginning of the study and after 1 year of follow up. The improvement was defined as combination of normal ALT level and negative sonography for hepatic fat after 1 year. Programmed intervention or medications were not applied in this study population.

Results: The overall rate of improvement of FLD after a 1‐year follow up was 37/615 (6.0%). The improvement was strongly associated with decrement of changes in bodyweight, body mass index, waist circumference, γ‐glutamyltransferase, fasting blood sugar, total cholesterol, triglycerides, low‐density lipoprotein cholesterol, total cholesterol/high‐density lipoprotein cholesterol ratio and homeostasis model assessment. Multivariate analysis showed that decrement of changes in bodyweight (odds ratio (OR) = 1.56; 95% confidence interval (95%CI): 1.27–1.92) per 1 kg, body mass index (OR = 2.42; 95%CI: 1.58–3.71) per 1 SD (0.8 kg/m2), waist circumference (OR = 2.13; 95%CI: 1.02–4.54) per 1 cm, and low‐density lipoprotein cholesterol (OR = 1.64; 95%CI: 1.05–2.56) per 1 SD (22 mg/dL) were all independent predictors for improvement of FLD.

Conclusions: These results suggest that the reduction of bodyweight is a major key point for the improvement of FLD. (Intern Med J 2005; 35: 473–477)
Hypothesis: could Meniere's disease be a channelopathy?
Authors: Gates P.
Published: July 2005

Abstract

Meniere's disease is a clinical syndrome of uncertain aetiology but it is a widespread belief that it is related to endolymphatic hydrops. Clinically, it is a paroxysmal disorder with vertigo and subsequent deafness. It is responsive to acetazolamide and sensitive to the sodium content in the diet, many of the features of the channelopathies. The present paper explores the possibility that it may be related to a channelopathy. (Intern Med J 2005; 35: 488–489)
Guardianship and financial management legislation: what doctors in aged care need to know
Authors: Bennett H. , Hallen P.
Published: July 2005

Abstract

Demographic and epidemiological changes have resulted in increasing numbers of elderly people, and in increasing numbers of elderly people suffering from various degrees of cognitive impairment, including dementia. It is well recognized that the presence of cognitive impairment may impact upon an older person's decision‐making capacity, which has, in turn, been associated with increased acknowledgement of the need for greater accessibility to methods by which substitute decision‐makers are appointed. To this end, legislation has been enacted throughout Australia to enable the appointment of substitute decision‐makers in the form of guardians and financial managers. Medical practitioners are the largest group of health professional whose opinion is sought when appointments are being considered. Despite the significance of the legislation to the evaluation of elderly people with impaired cognition, many health professionals remain unaware of the provisions of the legislation and are unclear about what information will be required. The aims of this review are first, to provide health professionals with the legal context within which their evaluations of disability and capacity take place, by way of a review of the relevant guardianship and financial management legislation in each of the states and territories of Australia; and second, to discuss how these provisions relate to existing clinical practice, with suggested guidelines for the capacity assessment. The focus and quality of information that health professionals provide will be enhanced by them having a greater understanding of their role within the wider legal context by placing in their hands knowledge of the provisions of the relevant legislation. (Intern Med J 2005; 35: 482–487)
Clarence Hatry
Authors: MANLEY P. S.
Published: July 2005

Hatry was one of those curiously un‐English figures with whom the English peiodically find themselves unable to cope. J.K. Galbraith, The Great Crash 1929
A Survey of Accountants' Opinions on Cash Flow Reporting
Authors: LEE T. A.
Published: July 2005

The results of a survey of members of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland is reported. The survey gives evidence of the views of professionally qualified accountants concerning their support for, and the feasibility of reporting on, a cash flow basis. Considerable support was discerned for preparing company annual financial reports on a cash flow basis.
Accounting for Foreign Business
Authors: CHAMBERS R. J.
Published: July 2005

The currency translation problem is the same in kind as the inflation accounting problem. No demonstrable connection may be made between financial information and evaluation or choice unless the components of the information are derived uniformly in a dated setting. Proposals hitherto suffer in different degrees from heterotemporal aggregation and cross‐temporal translation. By recourse to four examples of different relations between an investor company and foreign investees, an integral method is described for dealing with foreign transactions and investments, where prices and inflation rates are different and exchange rates may vary. The essence of the process is that the components of financial statements shall be made to correspond with their factual or factually based features from time to time.
Is Common Stock Obsolete?
Authors: WILLIAMS EDWARD E. , FINDLAY M. CHAPMAN
Published: July 2005

Agency theory rests on a well‐defined relationship between shareholders and managers. That relationship is examined and found to be a poorly denned state‐contingent contract. The implications of that finding, and the existence of only a weak market for managers, lead to the conclusion that the traditional assumptions about the rights of shareholders no longer apply and that common stock (ordinary share capital) is obsolete.
Cash Distributions of Inflationary Gains
Authors: PETRI E. , SHAWKY H.
Published: July 2005

When a firm maintains its debt/equity ratio, changes in expectations of inflation lead to windfall gains through the ‘Fisher Effect’. Contrary to other studies, it is demonstrated here that the gain can be distributed to equity owners without impairing the firm's capacity to retire its debt.
The Effects of Alternative Methods of Accounting for Leases – An Experimental Study
Authors: WILKINS TREVOR , ZIMMER IAN
Published: July 2005

A report of an experiment testing analysts' reactions to alternative ways of reporting lease commitments. Results indicate that reporting methods affect the behaviour of financial analysts in projecting earnings, but not in share valuations.
Young Man's Companion of 1737: America's First Book on Accounting?
Authors: McMICKLE PETER L.
Published: July 2005

This paper introduces the first accounting writing published in America: ‘Merchant's‐Accompts’ in Bradford's Young Man's Cornpanion (Philadelphia, 1737). The earliest American publications previously recognized were Hutton (1788) and Mitchell (1796). There were fifteen eighteenth century American printings of the Young Man's Companion. American accounting historians have overlooked the work, probably because of H. C. Bentley's restrictive bibliography. ‘Merchant's‐Accompts’ presents a short, but fairly sophisticated, double‐entry instruction. Research reveals a tangled bibliographical history involving an incorrect attribution and a double plagiarism. The republication in 1748 by Benjamin Franklin gave credit to the proper author, George Fisher, who was once thought to be a woman. Knowledge of the Young Man's Companion adds an important dimension to our understanding of the development of accounting in America.
Corporate Dislosure in a Substantially Unregulated Environment
Authors: MORRIS RICHARD D.
Published: July 2005

Corporate disclosure in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries in New South Wales was substantially unregulated. Except for banks, insurance companies, companies receiving money on deposit and, after 1896, no liability mining companies, statutes regulating companies either contained no compulsory disclosure rules or were silent about the details of information to be disclosed. In almost all cases the statutes regulating companies were based on English counterparts or had English antecedents, while the capital maintenance rule limiting profits available for dividends came from English case law. However, some English statutes, notably the life insurance legislation of 1870 and the Companies Acts of 1879, 1900 and 1907, were not adopted in New South Wales.
The Relevance of Varieties of Accounting Information: A U.S.A. Survey
Authors: CHAMBERS R. J. , HOPWOOD WILLIAM S. , McKEOWN JAMES C.
Published: July 2005

Diverse kinds of financial information have been claimed to be relevant, for one purpose or another. A survey by mailed questionnaire over seven professional groups in five large U.S. cities sought to discover whether certain valuation rules yielded serviceable amounts in specific problem settings or in representations of financial position and income. Most of the questions were posed in the form of simple problem situations. To questions relating to wealth, spending power and financial position, large majority responses rejected conventional accounting values and endorsed market selling prices. To questions on income calculation, majorities favouring use of the same principle were smaller. Cross‐tabulations of answers on financial position and income showed substantial inconsistencies; a hypothetical explanation is given. A comparison is given of responses to some questions in similar surveys in Australia and South Africa.
Debt Finance and Capital Maintenance in Current Cost Accounting
Authors: ARCHER G. S. H. , PEASNELL K. V.
Published: July 2005

The proper treatment of debt finance in current cost accounting has been the subject of considerable debate in the literature, and there is considerable variation in the official standards issued in different countries. Opposition to making a‘gearing adjustment’against income seems to be due in part to doubts as to whether or not such treatment is compatible with physical capital maintenance. This article considers the financing implications of treating debt in this fashion in an entity (a) whose revenue is set at a level to ensure that replacement and financing costs are just covered and (b) which renders accounts on a discounted present value basis. It is shown that as long as debt is treated in a fashion consistent with the concept of‘real income’employed there is no problem.
Cash Flows and Net Realizable Values: Further Evidence of the Intuitive Concepts
Authors: LEE TOM
Published: July 2005

This paper reports the results of a survey of students with and without prior knowledge of accounting with a view to identifying any differences in their perception of the relevance of current prices of assets.

The combination of cash flows and net realizable values appears to have an intuitive appeal to students with no prior exposure to accounting concepts or practices. In the process of learning about accounting, it seems that students learn to abandon net realizable values in favour of historical costs.
The Impact of the Definition of Inflation on the Effectiveness of Inflation Accounting Adjustments
Authors: BOUSSARD DANIEL
Published: July 2005

In tests of inflation accounting methods, inflation is generally seen as a simple phenomenon: the prices of all elements change at the same rate. The example presented here deals with a different case: inflation is characterized by changes in the structure of prices. In particular, prices of articles bought and articles sold do not vary at the same rates.

In this context, it is observed that three types of adjustments are not effective, i.e. they do not have the potential to report real or nominal rates of return. This result should be considered as a criticism of the coherence of inflation accounting methods.
The Origins and Evolution of the Double Account System: An Example of Accounting Innovation
Authors: EDWARDS JOHN RICHARD
Published: July 2005

The distinguishing characteristic of the double account system is the subdivision of the conventional balance sheet into a capital account and a revenue account, and it is the purpose of this paper to explain why it became the practice of railway companies to publish accounts in this form.
Related Party Transactions: A Preliminary Evaluation of SFAS 57 and IAS 24 Using Four Case Studies
Authors: CHONG SEBASTIAN , DEAN GRAEME
Published: July 2005

Transactions between related parties have been the subject of increasing concern in recent years. Corporate scandals, overseas and local, have typically involved non‐arm's length transactions contrived between the reporting entity and related companies or affiliates. These scandals provided catalysts for the relatively recent development of accounting standards on related party transactions.

This paper considers whether the application of the new pronouncements, particularly the Financial Accounting Standards Boards’ statement 57 and its international equivalent, International Accounting Standard 24, is likely to overcome the problems highlighted in several major scandals. The methodology adopted involves the hypothetical application of the two pronouncements to the pertinent facts in four case studies: (1) Continental Vending, a U.S. criminal court case; (2) Penn Central, a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission investigation case; (3) Tarling (Haw Par), a Singapore criminal court case; and (4) Stanhill, an Australian case investigated by a government appointed Inspector.

In each hypothetical application, the resultant presentation is compared with the stated expectations found in the relevant findings of the case. In all cases, SFAS 57 and IAS 24 are found to be deficient.

While four case studies may not be sufficient for drawing general conclusions about either SFAS 57 or IAS 24 the conclusions of this study represent preliminary evidence for evaluating those standards.
Funds Statements and the Two‐Entity Test
Authors: ROBB ALAN J.
Published: July 2005

Funds statements represent one of the most confused and confusing areas of accounting because of the variety of concepts advocated and the paucity of definitions of terms. A recent proposal that a‘two‐entity test’ be used to identify those items which should be included in a statement based on the total resources concept of funds is confusing and contradictory.
Normative Information Qualities: A Contrast Between Information‐Economics and FASB Perspectives
Authors: VICKREY DON W.
Published: July 2005

The goals of this paper are (1) to develop a hierarchy of normative information qualities (NIQs) that operates at the level of the individual in an assumed information‐economics (IE) setting, and (2) to contrast the FASB (1980) hierarchy of NIQs with the related IE hierarchy. In this context, the IE hierarchy is meant to reflect qualities which make an information system useful to the individual and contains the NIQs of signal relevance, cost effectiveness, act selectivity, state‐predictive ability, reliability, representational faithfulness, timeliness, and understandability. With respect to goal (2), the analysis reveals numerous areas of both agreement and disagreement between the two hierarchies. Significantly, the investigation indicates that the two frameworks are more similar than might have been expected although numerous differences also exist. These similarities and differences are important because different policy decisions may flow from different sets of NIQs.
Earned Economic Income—A Theory for Matching
Authors: GRINYER JOHN R.
Published: July 2005

The paper presents a novel ex post income concept, called Earned Economic Income (EEI), which would provide periodic accounting signals that are consistent with those derived from Net Terminal Value (NTV) analyses. EEI assigns interest adjusted NTV to the periods in which it is earned. The allocation is made via the apportionment of interest adjusted original cost. Inflation adjusted and monetary EEI figures are identical, so that the concept provides an integrating framework for interest adjusted inflation accounting and historical cost matching approaches. In developing the model the paper discusses the significance of conceptual models and of Economic Income (EI).
Funds Statements and the Two‐Entity Test: A Reponse
Authors: PARTINGTON GRAHAM , McKINNON JILL , MARTIN CARRICK
Published: July 2005

Robb (1985) criticizes the two‐entity test proposed by McKinnon et al. (1983) as confusing and contradictory. This reply demonstrates that his criticisms also are confusing and contradictory.
Re‐appraisal of Garner v. Murray: A Comment
Authors: HOUGHTON K. A.
Published: July 2005

Ashton (1984) argues that the decision in Garner v. Murray was wrong, and that the intent of the relevant provision of the English partnership Act 1890 is ‘clear’. This comment suggests that the intent is far from clear and that there are reasns for agreeing with one critical aspect of the ‘Rule in Garner v. Murray’.
Re‐appraisal of Garner v. Murrya: A Reply
Authors: ASHTON R. K.
Published: July 2005

Houghton (1986) is not convinced by the arguments presented earlier in Ashton (1984) and argues that the decision in Garner v. Murray is very persuasive. He also challenges some of the conclusions reachd in my ealier paper. Those conclusions are further supported here. We agree that it is time legislative changes were made.
East India Company's 1783 Balance of Accounts
Authors: BALADOUNI VAHE
Published: July 2005

A description of the ‘Balance of Accounts’ or financial statements of the East India Company for presentation at a meeting of stockholders on 3 December 1783. The statement is unusual because it superseded an earlier, traditional statement and was arranged as a long report rather than the customary T‐account form.
Schmidt's Betriebswirtschaft Theory
Authors: CLARKE F. L. , DEAN G. W.
Published: July 2005

Those only speking English are confronted with considerable confusion regarding the precise nature of Fritz Schmidt's contribution to the German Betriebswirschaft (business economics) movement during the 1920s. The similarity between his theory and the Bedrijfseconomie theory attributed to Theodore Limperg has also been less than clear. The primary cause is that their repective works have not been translated from the original German and Dutch and published in English. This paper draws upon translations to illustrate the substantial similarity between the accounting content of Schmidt's Betriebswirtschaft and that of Limperg's Bedrijfseconomie. Translatio of the 1951 biography of Schmidt by his student and then colleague, publications are contained in Appendix B. Contrary to some perceptions of Schmidt's work, he did address the general price level problem in his theory. And contrary to Limperg's criticism that Schmidt's mechanism for adiusting accounts for prifce and brice level changes was‘incident specific’, it was an integral part of a theory of business economics which appears to have been at least as comprehensive as Limperg's theory of Bedrijfseconomie.
The Evolution of Consolidated Financial Reporting in Australia
Authors: WHITTRED GREG
Published: July 2005

This paper reviews the history of financial reporting by corporate groups in Australia, and in particular, the States of New South Wales and Victoria. Changes in Statutory and Stock Exchange rules governing consolidated reporting are described and the financial reporting practices of Australian holding companies between 1930 and 1962 are surveyed. The evidence indicates that (a) while the practice was not widespread, some Australian holding companies supplemented their financial statements with consolidated financial statements prior to the incorporation of such a requirement in either legislation or Stock Exchange listing requirements; (b) the influence of Stock Exchanges on the evolution of this practice is somewhat less than that previously attributed to it; and (c) the rapid spread of this form of reporting in an essentially unregulated environment (N.S. W.) coincided with the development of a market for public debt securities.
Ersatz Academics and Scholar‐saints: The Supply of Financial Accounting Research
Authors: PEASNELL K. V. , WILLIAMS D. J.
Published: July 2005

Watts and Zimmerman, in a widely acclaimed article, concluded that accounting theories serve to supply excuses for policies determined by political processes. This paper presents a critical review of Watts and Zimmerman's hypothesis, and in return, suggests that the academic reward system in the leading universities does not encourage that kind of activity. The alternative hypothesis is that there are two markets, one for excuses and the other for scholarly research.
Toward a Positive Theory of Corporate Financial Policy
Authors: FINDLAY M. C. , WILLIAMS E. E.
Published: July 2005

This paper offers an alternative theoretical structure to the neoclassical valuation model that has been the cornerstone of theories of finance for a quarter of a century. It begins by outlining the neoclassical model in simple but surprisingly robust terms. More recent extensions and refinements are then discussed. The alternative model, which does not rely on modern financial economic theory but which is consistent with real world empirical behaviour, is developed next. Finally, a new research agenda for finance is proposed.
An Historical Analysis of Ethical Pronouncements and Debate in the Australian Accounting Profession
Authors: PARKER LEE D.
Published: July 2005

This paper traces the forerunners of the present‐day ethical rulings of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia and the Australian Society of Accountants from the earlies professional Australian accounting bodies of the 1880s and 1890s. Various codes of ethics, articles, and memoranda of association, by‐laws, charters, and professional publications are reviewed. Key Australian ethical issues are identified and their orientation over time considered. There is an early orientation towards overseas viewpoints and the issue of advertising is identified as a key impetus for ethical code development. The profession's self‐interest is identified as an underlying rationale. This is presented as an historical case study of the development of accounting ethics with a view to identifying factors influencing change over time.
International Accounting Standards: An Alternative Rationale
Authors: TAYLOR STEPHEN L.
Published: July 2005

International aspects of financial reporting have begun to receive an increasing amount of attention by a range of organizations. There is a need then, to appraise critically the performance and the underlying rationale of those agencies responsible for influencing international practices. Identification and appraisal of the rationale underlying the existence of those agencies is a necessary step in determining their potential for achieving the objectives which they have been set. This paper examines the rationale behind one of these agencies, the International Accounting Standards Committee (IASC, 1977). Unlike many others, the paper does not attempt to explain why we should have an organization such as the IASC and the standards it produces. Rather, it represents an attempt to explain why we do have an organization such as the IASC. To that end, an alternative rationale is suggested for the output of the IASC, based on theories of professional selfinterest, agency, and property rights. It is argued that that rationale is likely to have significantly greater explanatory power in respect of the present output produced by the IASC than those traditionally presented.
Apportionment in Actions Against Auditors
Authors: GWILLIAM D. R.
Published: July 2005

Auditors are faced with an increasingly litigious environment. There are several options available to them. One is to seek apportionment with either clients or third parties by the application of the tenets of contributory negligence. Applications of this concept of contributory negligence in U.K. and British Commonwealth cases involving auditors are examined in this paper. Finally, there is a discussion of possible future developments of this branch of law as it affects the role and responsibilities of auditors.
Goodwill — An Example of Puzzle‐Solving in Accounting
Authors: MA RONALD , HOPKINS ROGER
Published: July 2005

The nature of goodwill continues to be misunderstood by most accountants and confusion surrounding the measurement and reporting of goodwill persists. The rejection of official accounting standards on goodwill is a common occurrence. A dynamic open system perspective is used in this paper to re‐examine the nature of goodwill. It is found that a meaningful economic interpretation can be developed for internally generated goodwill but not for ‘purchased goodwill’. There is an inability to identify the stream of benefits specifically associated with goodwill arising on acquisition.
Knowledge Preservation in Accounting: A Citational Study
Authors: BRICKER ROBERT J.
Published: July 2005

This study explores knowledge preservation in accounting research through an examination of a sample of 428 published accounting articles and their nearly 11,000 citations. The examination shows that accounting scholars tend to cite very recent literature. The small volume of cited pre‐1960 literature (preponderantly from non‐accounting sources) and the low incidence of historical research articles in most non‐historical journals suggests that earlier accounting knowledge may become lost to future generations of accounting scholars. This conclusion implies that accounting scholars can play an important role in the preservation and dissemination of previous generations of accounting knowledge.
Changes in Task Uncertainty Induced by Zero‐Base Budgeting: Using the Thompson and Hirst Models to Predict Dysfunctional Behaviour
Authors: HAYES RANDALL B. , CRON WILLIAM R.
Published: July 2005

Generic budgeting systems such as PPBS and Zero‐Based Budgeting (ZBB) are criticized by academics for failing to give consideration to some of the key variables affecting behaviour in budgeting endeavours. Despite this criticism, the literature has devoted little attention to modifications that can be made to make the systems more responsive to different configurations of organizational variables. This paper addresses this oversight in regard to ZBB. In particular the paper discusses ZBB within the context of two variables: (a) the degree of task uncertainty engendered by the system and (b) the character of performance measures used to evaluate units that employ ZBB. The paper argues that ZBB materially increases the degree of task uncertainty. Configured with the type of performance measures used to evaluate departments employing ZBB, the paper maintains that the increase in task uncertainty creates incentives to engage in dysfunctional behaviour, largely in the form of invalid data reporting. It is hypothesized that this problem may be responsible for the general failure of ZBB to lead to large budget re‐allocations.
Intuitive Choice of Cooperative Sharing Mechanisms for Joint Cost Savings: Some Empirical Results
Authors: BARTON THOMAS L.
Published: July 2005

Cooperative sharing arrangements are common phenomena in modern business. Joint ventures are used in a variety of industries, where participants are provided the advantages inter alia of risk sharing, pooling of economic and managerial resources, and synergy. An important issue in any cooperative venture is the mechanism for sharing the common rewards of participation. While some studies have looked at actual ventures, the issue has not been explored empirically when alternative sharing arrangements were also under consideration and the practical considerations of ‘fairness’, ‘reasonableness’, and ‘understandability’ were also present. This study examines sharing arrangements proposed by neutral observers under experimental conditions to a potential cooperative sharing arrangement where these practical considerations are important. The results indicate that the more complex literature solutions were approximated by some neutral observers intuitively, but the more pragmatic literature solutions were chosen by most observers.
Capital Maintenance Adjustment Under the Financial (Real) Capital Concept
Authors: PRATT DENIS J.
Published: July 2005

This paper examines the way in which the general purchasing concept of capital has been implemented in the real business income and selling price models. It presents an analysis of the conceptual aspects of the alternative methods of implementation proposed in the literature and identifies limitations in adjusting for inflation in entry price models.
Walter Mahlberg's Valuation Theory: An Anomaly in the Development of Inflation Accounting
Authors: GRAVES O. FINLEY
Published: July 2005

Walter Mahlberg's inflation‐accounting treatise of 1921, Bilanztechnik und Bewertung bei schwankender Währung, contains the first book‐length price‐level‐adjustment model in the literature. As the title of the book indicates, Mahlberg treated the matter of restatement technique and the matter of asset valuation during inflation as distinct topics. Mahlberg's restatement technique was not without immediate influence in Germany and has been addressed previously in English‐language publications. His valuation theory, on the other hand, had little effect on contemporary developments and remains an anomaly in the literature today. In particular, Mahlberg saw the effect of certain specific price‐level changes—those whose rate of change exceeded general inflation—as giving rise to unavoidable future losses; losses, he maintained, that should be recognized currently. Since Mahlberg's theory is generally unknown outside Germany, the present paper first provides English‐speaking audiences with an explication of the logic that led Mahlberg to his unique conclusion. It then argues that although Mahlberg's valuation theory represents a cul‐de‐sac in the development of inflation accounting itself, it ironically may have contributed to Henry Sweeney's 1936 concept of ‘unrealized appreciation’, which is an early conceptualization of a holding gain, net of inflation.
The Effects of State Risk and Controllability Filters on Compensation Contract and Effort Choice
Authors: SHIELDS MICHAEL D. , CHOW CHEE W. , WHITTINGTON O. RAY
Published: July 2005

Surveys of business firms in the U.S.A. indicate that standard‐based compensation contracts are common in practice. Analytical studies of this form of contract have suggested that under conditions of state risk, an employee's contract and effort choice are significantly affected by how pay relates to measured performance, and whether the compensation contract filters out the effects on measured performance of factors beyond the employee's control. This paper reports the results of a laboratory experiment indicating that in the presence of state risk, an individual's choice of compensation contract depends jointly on these two contract attributes and his/her risk preference as well as performance capability. The findings also indicate that actual effort is a function of the realized state, the presence/absence of a controllability filter, and the level at which the individual had expected to perform at the time of his/her contract selection. When an adverse state was realized, subjects without a controllability filter still exerted the level of effort that they had expected at contract selection, even though their marginal return to effort had been substantially reduced. On the other hand, when the controllability filter was absent, subjects who had a favourable realized state increased their effort in response to the increased marginal return to effort.
Cash Flow Accounting Revisited: A Note on a Partial Replication of the Lee Study
Authors: McENROE JOHN E.
Published: July 2005

This paper examines the attitudes of audit partners in U.S. public accounting firms towards various forms and dimensions of cash flow accounting (CFA), and in part replicates Lee's 1981 study. A total of 800 questionnaires were mailed. Despite the call by some cash flow proponents (i.e., Thomas, 1974) for additional CFA disclosures, the conclusions drawn from this study were that the current historical costs system is, in general, regarded as adequate for evaluating the economic performance of an entity, and there is a perception that publicly disclosed, supplementary cash flow information is not required.
Testing and Evaluating a Conceptual Framework of Accounting
Authors: DEPREE CHAUNCEY M.
Published: July 2005

As a step toward developing a widely accepted theory to guide the standards‐making process and the accounting profession, the Financial Accounting Standards Board submitted a conceptual framework to the profession for its consideration. Its purpose is to provide guidance in the choice among alternative accounting methods for an issue. Whether the conceptual framework performs its function can be objectively evaluated only when it is applied to issues and tested through a rigorous procedure. A rigorous procedure to evaluate a theory has two conceptually distinguishable but interrelated parts: (a) testing the set of sentences constituting the logical structure of the theory and its inferences by way of mathematical or logical proofs, and (b) evaluating the content of the sentences constituting the theory and its inferences by way of evidence, be it empirical, intuitive, or otherwise. The purpose of this study is to test the logical structure of the conceptual framework. The results of the study provide a demonstration that the structure of the conceptual framework is logically consistent and that inferences from the structure of the conceptual framework to alternative methods for an issue are deductively valid. The study also exemplifies an application of the structure of the conceptual framework in the selection of an alternative method for an issue. The application explicitly interrelates the structure and content of the conceptual framework.
Accounting History: Definition and Relevance
Authors: PREVITS GARY JOHN , PARKER LEE D. , COFFMAN EDWARD N.
Published: July 2005

This paper defines and relates contemporary applications of accounting history and is intended to assist scholars who do not specialize in historical study. A definitional distinction is drawn between history as a social science, with an emphasis on interpretation, criticism, and method, and history as a descriptive narrative form. Arguments are presented for the relevance of published accounting history studies to accounting pedagogy, policy and practice. The inherent limitations of historical inquiry are also explored. An appendix provides information on accounting history organizations, publications, and activities worldwide. A related paper which develops an accounting historiography will appear in a later issue of this journal.
Sample Size and the Strength of Evidence: A Bayesian Interpretation of Binomial Tests of the Information Content of Qualified Audit Reports
Authors: JOHNSTONE D. J.
Published: July 2005

Lindley (1957) demonstrated that, from a Bayesian standpoint, a given level of statistical significance P carries less evidence against the null hypothesisHothe larger (more powerful) the test. Moreover, if the sample is sufficiently large, a result significant onHoat 5% or lower may represent strong evidence in support ofHo, not against it. Contrary to Lindley's argument, a great many applied researchers, trained exclusively in orthodox statistics, feel intuitively that to‘reject’ the null hypothesisHoat (say) α= 5% is more convincing evidence,ceteris paribus, againstHothe larger the sample. This is a consistent finding of surveys in empirical psychology. Similarly, in accounting, see the principles for interpreting statistical tests suggested by Burgstahler (1987). In econometrics, ‘Lindley's paradox’ (as it has become known in statistics) has been explained in well known books by Zellner (1971), Leamer (1978) and Judge, Hill, Griffiths, Lutkepohl and Lee (1982), but is not widely appreciated. The objective of this paper is to reiterate the Bayesian argument in an applied context familiar to empirical researchers in accounting.
The Impact of Western Europe on Accounting Development in Tsarist Russia Prior to 1800
Authors: MOTYKA WOLODYMYR
Published: July 2005

Ubiquitous economic, social and political factors shaped the development of commerce in Tsarist Russia prior to 1800. Trade with the Hanseatic League might have been expected to have brought a concomitant modernization of accounting techniques in the State of Muscovy. However, the economic backwardness in which merchants operated, their virtual illiteracy, deep conservatism and traditional ways significantly delayed the adoption of superior European accounting concepts and practices, including double entry, in spite of Tsarist edicts to the contrary. Accounting literature, an important channel for dissemination of accounting ideas, first appeared in the Russian language in the eighteenth century, consisting in the main of translations of French and German works.
Indian Imitation or Invention of Cash‐Book and Algebraic Double‐Entry
Authors: SCORGIE MICHAEL E.
Published: July 2005

This paper opens by defining two distinct double‐entry systems: cash‐book and algebraic. It then examines evidence and arguments advanced in support of the contention that algebraic double‐entry was invented in India. Some evidence is found to support a case for an early development of cash‐book double‐entry. But the evidence and case for algebraic double‐entry seems to lack substance because the pivotal evidence of Alexander Hamilton was modified by his brother Walter. The paper then turns to examine the evidence that supports a contention that the Indians imitated and adopted the bookkeeping systems conveyed by the Moguls who conquered India in the mid‐sixteenth century. The analysis concludes that the available evidence regarding both cash‐book and algebraic double‐entry shows that the Indians were imitators rather than inventors.
Measuring International Harmonization and Standardization
Authors: TAY J. S. W. , PARKER R. H.
Published: July 2005

This paper analyses six recent studies dealing with the measurement of international harmonization of financial reporting. Methodological issues and problems relating to the definition and operationalization of terms, sources of data, statistical methods and causation are discussed, and an alternative methodology for measuring harmonization suggested.
Apportionment in Contract Actions: New Zealand's Innovative Approach
Authors: CHETWIN M. C.
Published: July 2005

Gwilliam (1988a) examined the application of the concept of contributory negligence in U.K. and British Commonwealth cases involving auditors. This paper examines recent developments in New Zealand regarding contributory negligence as a defence in contract. Further, it criticizes Gwilliam's discussion of policy issues and suggests that, for New Zealand and Australia, the fundamental issue is whether apportionment is appropriate for an audit contract. It supports moves to introduce some form of legislation which will limit the liability of auditors.
An Accounting Historiography: Subject Matter and Methodology
Authors: PREVITS GARY JOHN , PARKER LEE D. , COFFMAN EDWARD N.
Published: July 2005

This paper continues to study issues developed in a preceding manuscript which provided a definitional context for accounting history, its uses and limitations as a method of inquiry related to educational endeavours, standard setting and practice. In this study two aspects of the development of the history of accounting, subject matter and methodology, are extensively explored within the context of a definition of historiography. A set of outline tables is provided to assist researchers considering the topic areas as well as the process of historical inquiry, especially those scholars who do not specialise in historical study. As in the previous paper, an extensive bibliography is provided.
Management Accounting and Service Industries: An Exploratory Account of Historical and Current Economic Contexts
Authors: LOWRY JOHN F.
Published: July 2005

Management accounting's development between 1880 and 1930 was rapid but subsequently truncated. This development was notable for its synergy with coincident economic and social changes and a reliance on impetus from the practical experiences of the members of other disciplines. Since World War II, advanced economies have become increasingly dependent upon their service sectors. The characteristics of service firms differ from those of manufacturers on a number of criteria including average number of employees. The accounting implications of these circumstances may include reappraisal of: the behavioural assumptions of management accounting; the roles of budgets; appropriate budget use styles; the utility of management accounting in ambiguous situations; and qualitative research into organizational contexts.
Inflation Adjustments to Income in Entry and Exit Price Systems
Authors: PHILIPS G. EDWARD
Published: July 2005

There are different views on the way in which price level adjustments might be made in the income account. Pratt (1988) noted that adjustments might be made in respect of individual assets or as a single adjustment to the opening capital. Multiple adjustments are commonly believed to be necessary when monetary assets are separated from non‐monetary assets. An hypothesis is presented here that may explain why accounting theorists have believed (erroneously) that inflation affects monetary items differently from non‐monetary items. Some complexities are considered and questions raised about the appropriateness of definitions of purchasing power and wealth.
Conjunctive Explanations in Cost Variance Investigation: Experimental Replications and Extensions
Authors: CHALOS PETER
Published: July 2005

This study examined conjunctive explanations of cost variances. Two experiments were conducted in order to examine the effect of conjunctive or joint explanatory variables upon cost variance investigation decisions. These variables included the representativeness of the hypothesized explanatory variables; the inter‐causality that existed between the explanatory factors; the perceived rarity of the explanation; and the multiplicity of explanatory variables related to the variance under investigation. Experiment 1 indicated significant main effects and insignificant interaction effects for representativeness and inter‐causality upon investigation judgments. Experiment 2 revealed no significant effect for event rarity but a significant effect for multiplicity of explanatory factors. The results suggest that certain characteristics of conjunctive explanations do affect cost variance investigation decisions.
The Impact of Non‐Serial Publications on Research in Accounting and Finance
Authors: BEATTIE VIVIEN A. , RYAN ROBERT J.
Published: July 2005

This study examines the role of books and official Publications in accounting and finance research. From an analysis of thirteen leading journals for the year 1987–8 we report on the characteristics of such non‐serial materials used by authors to support their research. We find that the accounting discipline in particular has become more open to influence from other disciplines. The individual perspectives of these thirteen journals can be partially revealed by their use of non‐serial materials. Using cluster analysis we examine inter‐journal variations in the disciplinary pattern of book citations and the distribution of citations to official bodies. Several relatively homogeneous groupings are identified.
‘Knowledge Preservation in Accounting’: Does It Deserve to Be Preserved?
Authors: SUBOTNIK DAN
Published: July 2005

This is my third in a series of critical pieces on the accounting education field. The first, ‘What Accounting Can Learn from Legal Education’, was published in Issues in Accounting Education (Fall 1987) and dealt with the problems resulting from teaching accounting as a science. The second, ‘Wisdom or Widgets: Whither the School of Business?’ (Abacus, September 1988) dealt with the price we pay in our research for our obsession with quantitative methods. The current piece evaluates Robert Bricker's 1988 article in this journal.
Transactions Theory, Stochastic Processes and Derived Accounting Measurement
Authors: WILLETT R. J.
Published: July 2005

The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate how the axiomatic theory of transaction cost measurement described in Willett (1987, 1988) can be used to determine precisely what accounting numbers represent. By a method of analysis supplemented with simulation experiments, transactions theory is shown to have a unifying character bringing together aspects of stochastic cost‐volume‐profit analysis, research into the distributional properties of accounting numbers, and income theory. The unifying character of transactions theory is due to the cost and production structures on which it is based being sufficient to describe accounting numbers of any complexity. The consequences of transactions theory are wide. Descriptions of accounting numbers as stochastic variables and statistical criteria for choice of income measurement arise naturally. The theory is a self‐contained conceptual framework for understanding the measurement problem in accounting which does not depend upon the concepts of rational decision making and restrictive assumptions about market structures.
Goodwill Accounting in Selected Countries and the Harmonization of International Accounting Standards
Authors: BRUNOVS RUDOLF , KIRSCH ROBERT J.
Published: July 2005

Economic and financial markets interpenetrate and national economies are increasingly interdependent. This results in a growing need for comparability of accounting procedures internationally. Accounting for goodwill illustrates this phenomenon. By specifying the recommended asset treatment for purchased, positive goodwill, and the five‐year amortization period, IASC has taken a significant step towards harmonization of goodwill accounting. As noted in the article, however, the implications for consolidated income may be quite drastic. This is especially so with respect to the implications of the revised IAS 22 (following IAS ED 32) for potential leveraged corporate buy‐outs.