摘要:

Abstract:This study tests whether Australian firms' unregulated foreign‐currency accounting policies indicated the extent to which equity claims against the firm were exposed to exchange rate risk. Evidence supports the hypothesis that the methods of accounting for foreign‐currency gains and losses on long‐term monetary‐items were associated with the exposure. Methods of disposing of the gains and losses arising from translation of the accounts of overseas subsidiaries were also associated with the exposure, but not in the manner predicted. The results indicate that foreign‐currency accounting policies were established in an interactive (portfolio) decision‐making process, and that managers reported equity claim exposures relative to the returns to equity claims against other firms. Overall, the study provides evidence that at least some unregulated choices of foreign‐currency accounting methods were made to minimise the agency costs associated with contracts between shareholders a

ISSN:0810-5391    

DOI:10.1111/j.1467-629X.1992.tb00181.x

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:1992

数据来源: WILEY

ISSN:0810-5391    

DOI:10.1111/j.1467-629X.1992.tb00182.x

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:1992

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

Abstract:Regulations designed to achieve “uniformity in practice” in Australian firms' reporting of goodwill were first adopted in 1985 with the introduction of AAS18. Because of the requirement to amortise purchased goodwill, a number of firms either did not comply or took evasive actions to mitigate the effects of the standard. This paper documents and explains the pre‐regulation cross‐sectional variation in accounting practices. Reactions to the set of regulations introduced between 1985 and 1989 are then described and explained through a longitudinal study of accounting policy choice. We develop hypotheses which explain why the goodwill accounting rules reversed relations between the accounting methods adopted by firms and both the earnings effect of compliance and the market value of the firm's goodwill. The results are confi

ISSN:0810-5391    

DOI:10.1111/j.1467-629X.1992.tb00183.x

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:1992

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

Abstract:The study by Anderson and Zimmer [1992] of goodwill accounting policies uses a pooled time series experimental design. This approach can add substantially to our understanding of accounting policy choices, but not in the manner used by Anderson and Zimmer. Where accounting policy choices are believed to be independent from one period to the next, then a time series approach can greatly enhance our ability to capture the influence on such policy choices of changing circumstances, more so than a simple cross‐sectional test. Conversely, if accounting policy choices are not independent between periods, pooling over time can overstate significance levels of statistical tests. The nature of Anderson and Zimmer's data makes the impact indeterminate. However, even under an extreme assumption, pre‐regulation evidence remains significant at conventional lev

ISSN:0810-5391    

DOI:10.1111/j.1467-629X.1992.tb00184.x

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:1992

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

Abstract:Taylor (1992) argues that accounting policy choices in any year are not assessed independently of policy choices adopted in previous years. This independence assumption is a maintained hypothesis of Anderson and Zimmer (1992). Although Taylor acknowledges that our results remain robust to his suggested adjustments for non‐independence, we argue in this reply that such adjustments are unnecessary because temporal independence of accounting policy choices is consistent with the implications of costly contracting between the firm and its claimholders. We develop the arguments that (1) accounting choices are temporally independent and our research design is therefore, appropriate (2) to the extent that there is an independence problem of the type proposed by Taylor (1992) it also applies to cross‐sectional studies of accounting policy cho

ISSN:0810-5391    

DOI:10.1111/j.1467-629X.1992.tb00185.x

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:1992

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

Abstract:This paper tests the Mean‐Lower Partial Moment (MLPM) model of asset pricing, using the Gibbons (1982) multivariate methodology, as developed by Hariow and Rao (1989). The MLPM model specifies risk to be a measure of the downside deviations of return relative to a prespecified and exogenous target rate of return. The MLPM model of Hariow and Rao is a new model which has only been tested once, using US data. Therefore, further tests using independent data will help to assess whether the model deserves more serious consideration as a possible alternative to the Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM). In general, tests in this paper using Australian data confirm the results of Hariow and Rao (1989). The MLPM model cannot be rejected against an unspecified alternative, nor can it be rejected against the zero‐beta CAPM. Conditional on the MLPM model's validity, the optimal target rate appears to be more closely related to mean market returns than either to a risk‐free return or to a zero return. In addition, there is some evidence to support an intertemporally constant target rate of around 3 percent per month, over the 30 year period exa

ISSN:0810-5391    

DOI:10.1111/j.1467-629X.1992.tb00186.x

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:1992

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

Abstract:Agency theory and signalling theory both suggest that firms are motivated to disclose excellence of financial performance in an unambiguous manner. We might expect, therefore, that good financial performance is associated with a clear and readable Chairman's narrative and poor performance with an obscure or misleading message.Extant work linking corporate performance with clarity of executive narrative fails to distinguish sample cases by industry or financial status. This paper seeks to overcome the consequences of such deficiencies explicitly, by conducting a systematic analysis of the relationship between narrative complexity and alternative measures of financial performance, for a matched sample of failed/non‐failed companies across common industries.This study employs separate measures of the readability and the understandability of the chairman's narrative and finds them to be significantly related to overall financial performance and individual measures of performance, most notably liquidity. Poor readability is strongly associated with poor financial performance and ease of readability with relative financial success. The implication is that firms actively signal good news while obscuring, perhaps deliberately, messages which convey bad new

ISSN:0810-5391    

DOI:10.1111/j.1467-629X.1992.tb00187.x

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:1992

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

Abstract:A major type of substantive testing procedure performed during the audit examination are analytical procedures. The use of analytical procedures (APs) in the preliminary stages of the audit examination is required for both United States (U.S.) and international audits. Despite this requirement, neither international (International Auditing Guideline 12and AustralianStatement of Auditing Practice 17) nor U.S. (Statement on Auditing Standards No. 56) auditing standards provide guidance concerning the use of preliminary APs for specific account balances or in specific circumstances. This research represents a descriptive examination of auditor judgments concerning the use of preliminary APs in the audit engagement. Our results indicate that auditors believe that performing preliminary APs generally results in a significant reduction in the need for substantive tests of details; however, the reduction in substantive testing varied according to which APs were performed. The high levels of judgment consensus noted in this research indicate that, while specific guidance for preliminary APs has not been provided by U.S. auditing standards, it appears that firms examined in this study have developed structured approaches with respect to the use of preliminary APs. Finally, the higher level of consensus noted for the judgments of senior accountants and staff accountants compared to those of audit managers may reflect either the structured nature of the task examined in this study or the greater degree of senior and staff accountant familiarity with the use of preliminary APs.

ISSN:0810-5391    

DOI:10.1111/j.1467-629X.1992.tb00188.x

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:1992

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

Book reviewed in this article:G. Peirson and S. HendersonIssues in Financial AccountingM. SherrisMoney and Capital MarketsR. RoslenderSociological Perspectives on Modern AccountancyV.M. LevyFinancial Management of HospitalsG. CooperCapital Gains TaxR.J. ChambersFoundations of AccountingN. McLeod, J. Passant, B. O'KeefeEssential Tax LegislationS. Roberts, B. Cuthbert and L. ComleyComputerised Financial&Management Accounting

ISSN:0810-5391    

DOI:10.1111/j.1467-629X.1992.tb00189.x

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:1992

数据来源: WILEY