While the role of lobbying in the US public accounting profession has been the subject of several studies, what has not been addressed is the profession's historic reluctance to lobby and the impact this may have had on the profession. This paper provides a case study of public accounting's interaction with government and the need for the profession to articulate the impact of government policies on the practice of accounting. It reviews and assesses the antitrust investigations by the US Justice Department and Federal Trade Commission that led to the repeal of the profession's anticompetitive ethics rules, rules that had governed American public accounting for most of the 20th century. These investigations are often blamed for an increased competitive atmosphere in public accounting that prioritized growth and profitability over quality in attest services. Using records obtained from Freedom of Information Act requests and archival sources, I attempt to reconstruct the US Government's motivations and the efforts of the American Institute of CPAs. I find a troubling lack of understanding of the audit profession by executive branch regulators and Congress and a reticence by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants to advocate for the profession that led to what many observers see as a profound misapplication of the antitrust laws. While this study deals only with the US, similar regulatory changes took place in Canada, the UK, Australia, and New Zealand.
Issue Information
Abacus, Volume 59, Issue 3, Page i-iv, September 2023.
Factors influencing the update of beliefs regarding controversial political issues
.
“Go eat some grass”: gender differences in the Twitter discussion about meat, vegetarianism and veganism
.
Technical analysis as a sentiment barometer and the cross-section of stock returns
.
Experiences of Xhosa women providing Kangaroo mother care in a tertiary hospital in the Western Cape, South Africa
South African Journal of Psychology, Ahead of Print.
Kangaroo mother care has been recognized as an intervention to improve preterm birth outcomes by the World Health Organization. Kangaroo mother care requires high user engagement and consists of continuous skin-to-skin contact between the mother and infant and exclusive breastfeeding. We conducted a qualitative study of Xhosa women (n = 10) practicing Kangaroo mother care in a tertiary hospital in the Western Cape, South Africa. All interviews were conducted in isiXhosa, audio-recorded, and transcribed. The transcribed data were analysed using thematic analysis. Four themes emerged: (1) Kangaroo mother care, a beneficial but foreign concept; (2) distress in the Kangaroo mother care ward; (3) the missing umbilical cord: cultural experiences of mothers in the Kangaroo mother care ward; and (4) the Kangaroo mother care village: interpersonal relations in the ward. Our study showed that cultural practices still pose a challenge to fully accepting Kangaroo mother care. We suggest more studies on cultural sensitivity to encourage acceptance of interventions that affect culturally diverse groups.
Kangaroo mother care has been recognized as an intervention to improve preterm birth outcomes by the World Health Organization. Kangaroo mother care requires high user engagement and consists of continuous skin-to-skin contact between the mother and infant and exclusive breastfeeding. We conducted a qualitative study of Xhosa women (n = 10) practicing Kangaroo mother care in a tertiary hospital in the Western Cape, South Africa. All interviews were conducted in isiXhosa, audio-recorded, and transcribed. The transcribed data were analysed using thematic analysis. Four themes emerged: (1) Kangaroo mother care, a beneficial but foreign concept; (2) distress in the Kangaroo mother care ward; (3) the missing umbilical cord: cultural experiences of mothers in the Kangaroo mother care ward; and (4) the Kangaroo mother care village: interpersonal relations in the ward. Our study showed that cultural practices still pose a challenge to fully accepting Kangaroo mother care. We suggest more studies on cultural sensitivity to encourage acceptance of interventions that affect culturally diverse groups.
When and How Perceived HRM Practices Influence Career Satisfaction: A Moderated Mediation Model on Career Self-management and Organizational Support
Management and Labour Studies, Ahead of Print.
Drawing from the social cognitive model of work satisfaction, we examine the relationship between perceived human resource management (HRM) practices and career satisfaction via career self-management moderated by organizational support. A survey was administered to the managerial-level employees (n = 223) in India. Hayes and Scharkow’s method was used to test the mediation and first stage moderated-mediation model. The moderated mediation results based on the responses reveal that perceived HRM practices are associated with career satisfaction and this relationship is mediated by career self-management. We found a significant interaction effect of organizational support between perceived HRM practices and career self-management. Finally, the moderated mediational hypothesis is also supported where the relationship between the perceived HRM practices and career satisfaction is mediated through career self-management and this indirect effect is further strengthened by organizational support. This study extends the social cognitive model of work satisfaction and contributes to the existing literature by demonstrating when and how organizational support and career self-management impact career satisfaction through perceived HRM practices.
Drawing from the social cognitive model of work satisfaction, we examine the relationship between perceived human resource management (HRM) practices and career satisfaction via career self-management moderated by organizational support. A survey was administered to the managerial-level employees (n = 223) in India. Hayes and Scharkow’s method was used to test the mediation and first stage moderated-mediation model. The moderated mediation results based on the responses reveal that perceived HRM practices are associated with career satisfaction and this relationship is mediated by career self-management. We found a significant interaction effect of organizational support between perceived HRM practices and career self-management. Finally, the moderated mediational hypothesis is also supported where the relationship between the perceived HRM practices and career satisfaction is mediated through career self-management and this indirect effect is further strengthened by organizational support. This study extends the social cognitive model of work satisfaction and contributes to the existing literature by demonstrating when and how organizational support and career self-management impact career satisfaction through perceived HRM practices.
Is ESG Data Financially Viable? A Case of Stock Price Synchronicity
Management and Labour Studies, Ahead of Print.
According to the information efficiency view, stock price synchronicity reflects the degree of integration of firm-specific information with market-level information. Stock price synchronicity is higher (lower) when there is a higher (lower) level of integration between the firm and the overall market information. As the disclosure of environmental, social and governance data provides more firm-specific, non-financial, value-relevant information to the market, stock prices reflect such information efficiently. It leads to more information efficiency and lower synchronicity of stock prices. Against this backdrop, the present study examines the relationship between ESG and its component scores and stock price synchronicity using a sample of 163 Indian companies reporting their ESG scores through the Thomson Reuters database from 2011 to 2021. The findings of the study confirmed that the ESG score and the scores of its components (except the governance score) have a significant negative impact on stock price synchronicity and a significant positive impact on idiosyncratic volatility. This is consistent with the information efficiency viewpoint, implying that ESG disclosure has value relevance in the capital market and that investors in the Indian market consider ESG information when making investment decisions.
According to the information efficiency view, stock price synchronicity reflects the degree of integration of firm-specific information with market-level information. Stock price synchronicity is higher (lower) when there is a higher (lower) level of integration between the firm and the overall market information. As the disclosure of environmental, social and governance data provides more firm-specific, non-financial, value-relevant information to the market, stock prices reflect such information efficiently. It leads to more information efficiency and lower synchronicity of stock prices. Against this backdrop, the present study examines the relationship between ESG and its component scores and stock price synchronicity using a sample of 163 Indian companies reporting their ESG scores through the Thomson Reuters database from 2011 to 2021. The findings of the study confirmed that the ESG score and the scores of its components (except the governance score) have a significant negative impact on stock price synchronicity and a significant positive impact on idiosyncratic volatility. This is consistent with the information efficiency viewpoint, implying that ESG disclosure has value relevance in the capital market and that investors in the Indian market consider ESG information when making investment decisions.
The interplay of episodic power in enabling and coercive budgetary designs in universities: A case study
Abstract
This paper explores how power exercised at the individual level within existing power relations in a university influences its enabling and coercive budgeting forms. A qualitative case study in a Sri Lankan university involved interviews and document analysis. Findings demonstrate the dominance of coercive controls over enabling controls in the university due to the power and influence of dominant individuals stemming from ongoing struggles among those pursuing diverse interests and strategic actions. We contribute to the literature by demonstrating how power is mobilised by actors and its impact on the variations of the enabling and coercive budgetary forms and practice.
Analysing China’s dream, and the Belt and Road Initiative: regional cooperation, innovation economy, and political economy perspectives
.