Exploring the conceptualisation of Intangibles in law and accounting in the USA

2016 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 11-26 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura Girella ◽  
Carlo Bagnoli ◽  
Stefano Zambon
Keyword(s):  
Current Literature ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
International Level ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Research And Practice ◽  
Depth Analysis ◽  
The Us ◽  
The Usa ◽  
The Law

Purpose – Over the last decades concepts and practices related to intangibles gained momentum at international level especially within the economic, accounting and management arenas. However, dating back to the beginning of the 1900s, intangibles was a topic that in the USA dominated the law and taxation fields. Indeed, at that time few papers were published in accounting journals and reviews, whereas the majority populated law and taxation publications. The paper aims to discuss this issue. Design/methodology/approach – Drawing upon the sociology of the profession, the ways through which lawyers and accountants constructed a “professional competition and power” (Dezalay and Sugarman, 2005) upon this arena are here explored. In particular, an in-depth analysis of the papers published on this field from the beginning of the 1900s until the 1970s in the USA is carried out. Findings – Notwithstanding the current conceptualisation of intangibles as a field of research and practice at the margins (Miller, 1998) of accounting, the results achieved in the present research suggest that, at least historically, the topic of intangibles was highly intertwined not only within the different streams of accounting studies and practice, but also with the developments in legal and taxation fields that were surrounding the US economic, social and political institutional scenario. Originality/value – The work intends to contribute to the current literature providing insights into the “genealogy” (Foucault, 1977) of the intangibles territory and the “turf battles” (Dezalay, 1995) it went through in order to become what has been defined as “a field upon which questions of disciplinary legitimacy have been raised” (Zambon, 2006) and, consequently, as characterized by “an intrusion of ‘external’ specialists into the accounting domain” (Power, 2001).

Bringing order to non-GAAP financial measures: SEC sues to enforce “equal-or-greater-prominence” requirement

2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (4) ◽  
pp. 51-57
Author(s):  
Richard J. Parrino
Keyword(s):  
Design Methodology ◽  
Securities And Exchange Commission ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Financial Measures ◽  
Generally Accepted Accounting Principles ◽  
Enforcement Action ◽  
Accounting Principles ◽  
Depth Analysis ◽  
The Us ◽  
Earnings Releases

Purpose This article examines the first action by the US Securities and Exchange Commission to enforce the “equal-or-greater-prominence” requirement of its rules governing the presentation by SEC-reporting companies, in their SEC filings and earnings releases, of financial measures not prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP). Design/methodology/approach This article provides an in-depth analysis of the equal-or-greater-prominence rule and the SEC’s enforcement posture in the context of the SEC’s concern that some companies present non-GAAP financial measures in a manner that inappropriately gives the non-GAAP measures greater authority than the comparable GAAP financial measures. Findings Although the appropriate use of non-GAAP financial measures can enhance investor understanding of a company’s business and operating results, investors could be misled about the company’s GAAP results by disclosures that unduly highlight non-GAAP measures. The SEC’s enforcement action signals a focus on the manner in which companies present non-GAAP financial measures as well as on how they calculate the measures. Originality/value This article provides expert guidance on a major SEC disclosure requirement from an experienced securities lawyer.

From persuasive to authoritative speech genres

2014 ◽  
Vol 27 (8) ◽  
pp. 1271-1307 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hanne Nørreklit ◽  
Robert W. Scapens
Keyword(s):  
Design Methodology ◽  
Original Version ◽  
Research Papers ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Speech Genres ◽  
The Us ◽  
Academic Researchers ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Speech Genre ◽  
Persuasive Speech

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to contrast the speech genres in the original and the published versions of an article written by academic researchers and published in the US practitioner-oriented journal, Strategic Finance. The original version, submitted by the researchers, was rewritten by a professional editor in the USA before it was published. Design/methodology/approach – The paper analyses the “persuasive” speech genre of the original version and the “authoritative” speech genre of the published version. Findings – Although it was initially thought that the differences between the two versions were due to differences in the forms communication used by academics and practitioners, as the analysis progressed it became clear that the differences the authors were observing could be traced to more profound differences in philosophical assumptions about the “way of understanding and constructing a world”. Research limitations/implications – The choice of language and argumentation should be given careful attention when the authors craft the accounting frameworks and research papers, and especially when the authors seek to communicate the findings of the research to practitioners. However, the authors have focused on just one instance in which a text written by academics was re-written for publication in a practitioner journal. Originality/value – The paper contrasts the rationalism of the persuasive speech genre and the pragmatism of the authoritative speech genre. It cautions academic researchers against uncritically adopting specific speech genres, whether they are academic or practitioner speech genres, without carefully reflecting on their relevance and implications for understanding the nature of the phenomenon being discussed.

A dream deferred: interdisciplinary accounting in the US

2014 ◽  
Vol 27 (8) ◽  
pp. 1265-1270 ◽  
Author(s):  
Timothy J. Fogarty
Keyword(s):  
North American ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Research Perspective ◽  
Accounting Research ◽  
Policy Practice ◽  
The North ◽  
Current State ◽  
The Us ◽  
The Usa

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to set out to examine and critique the current state and future trajectory of interdisciplinary accounting research in the USA. Design/methodology/approach – The analysis is based on the author's involvement in and research into accounting research and publication contexts, drivers and patterns in the accounting discipline. Findings – In all likelihood, research will continue established traditions that prevent the explorations of economics and finance from material broadening. This paper identifies how that which everyone believes to be such a good idea cannot bear fruit. Research limitations/implications – Conventional economics-based accounting research has proliferated in volume but has largely exhausted its potential for significant contributions to knowledge. Failure to embrace broadened interdisciplinary perspectives risks a crisis of accounting research contribution to policy, practice, and society. Originality/value – This critique reveals the serious weaknesses and serious risks to international accounting scholarship of the continuance and global mimicking of the North American pursuit of an exclusively economic accounting research perspective.

Expected corruption and business formation

2014 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 292-305
Author(s):  
Noel Campbell ◽  
Adriana S. Cordis
Keyword(s):  
Standard Model ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Entrepreneurial Activity ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Us ◽  
New Business ◽  
Public Corruption ◽  
The Usa ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Business Venturing

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether public corruption influences entrepreneurial activity in the USA. Because the true underlying level of corruption is inherently unobservable, it cannot be factored into business venturing decisions. The authors hypothesize, therefore, that new business venturing should be related to the expected corruption level. Design/methodology/approach – The authors follow Cordis (2009) to calculate the expected rate of public corruption given observed levels of public corruption. The authors embed the expected level of corruption in a relatively standard model of business venturing, which the authors estimate using a cross section of the US states covering the period of 1986-2009. Findings – Using a relatively standard model of business venturing that accounts for variation in predicted corruption levels, the authors find that entrepreneurs launch more businesses in states with higher predicted corruption. Originality/value – To the knowledge, no one has previously tested the impact of expected corruption on entrepreneurial activity.

Course correction: an emerging US strategy for countering China

2020 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 81-97
Author(s):  
John Calabrese
Keyword(s):  
Design Methodology ◽  
Foreign Affairs ◽  
Secondary Source ◽  
China Policy ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Strategic Competition ◽  
The Us ◽  
Fresh Perspective ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Belt And Road

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate a significant course correction in US–China policy. It examines the increasingly broad dissatisfaction with China policy, which has resulted in an apparent end the era of intensive engagement and led to a hardening of the US approach to China across the policy spectrum, as exemplified by the critique of and incipient efforts to counter China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Design/methodology/approach The research draws on primary and secondary source material to identify evidence of and examine the rationale behind the shift from the USA’s decades-long “engagement” approach toward an in intensifying strategic competition with China. Findings A course correction in US–China policy has been years in the making, and as most now argue is long overdue. The idea that China has emerged as America’s foremost strategic competitor is widely accepted, and indeed deeply ingrained in the thinking of most US foreign affairs professionals. It is also starkly evident in current US declaratory policy and increasingly in its operational policy as well. Research limitations/implications The research offers a fresh perspective on the domestic and diplomatic dimensions of China’s rising. Originality/value The research builds on the latest scholarship on the growth of China’s geopolitical challenge to the USA to explore the development of China–US tensions and rivalries at all levels from the Bush and Obama eras to the present.

SEC’s disclosure effectiveness initiative reshapes MD&A disclosure requirements

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard J. Parrino
Keyword(s):  
Design Methodology ◽  
Securities And Exchange Commission ◽  
Financial Information ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Market Participants ◽  
Financial Condition ◽  
Disclosure Requirements ◽  
Depth Analysis ◽  
The Us ◽  
Financial Disclosures

Purpose This article examines rule amendments issued by the US Securities and Exchange Commission in November 2020, as part of the SEC’s ongoing “disclosure effectiveness initiative”, that revise in significant respects the requirements for financial disclosures presented in SEC filings as Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations. Design/methodology/approach This article provides an in-depth analysis of the rule amendments in the context of contrasting perspectives expressed by the SEC, individual SEC Commissioners who dissented from adoption of the amendments, and market participants regarding the merits of the SEC’s movement away from prescriptive disclosure requirements towards a more principles-based approach to disclosure. Findings Although the SEC’s rules have long reflected a mix of principles-based and prescriptive disclosure elements, the principles-based emphasis in this latest stage of the SEC’s disclosure modernization project accords the managements of filing companies greater latitude to determine whether financial information is material to investors and how such information should be presented. Originality/value This article provides expert guidance on a major new SEC disclosure development from an experienced securities lawyer.

The politics of margin squeeze in telecommunications: diverging paths of the US and EU

Info ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 1-15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fuat Oğuz
Keyword(s):  
Competition Policy ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Case Law ◽  
Extensive Literature ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Socialist Calculation Debate ◽  
The Us ◽  
The Usa

Purpose – This paper aims to study the historical origins of margin squeeze cases in the USA and Europe. Design/methodology/approach – The author compares and contrasts major margin squeeze investigations in the USA and the European Union (EU) in terms of the role of efficiency and fairness and shows their roots in the socialist calculation debate of the 1940s. Findings – It was found that the USA and EU diverge in their approaches towards margin squeeze claims. While the USA case law focuses more on efficiency, the European Commission makes decisions based more on fairness and “protection of rivals”. This shows that political and ideological preferences influence legal decision-making. Research limitations/implications – The paper is limited to major cases in telecommunications. It leaves aside cases in other areas. Thus, the author cautions that the generalization of the findings of the paper to all margin squeeze cases, or competition policy in general, may be difficult. Originality/value – While there is extensive literature on margin squeeze cases in the USA and EU, there is little work on the historical and ideological connections. The paper contributes to the literature by drawing attention to political influences over technical decisions.

scholarly journals Uncertainty shocks and policymakers’ behavior: evidence from the subprime crisis era

2015 ◽  
Vol 42 (4) ◽  
pp. 578-607 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Donadelli
Keyword(s):  
Empirical Evidence ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
House Prices ◽  
Theoretical Framework ◽  
Subprime Crisis ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Uncertainty Shocks ◽  
The Us ◽  
Lehman Brothers ◽  
The Usa

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the effects of the 2007-2009 uncertainty shocks on policymakers’ behavior. Design/methodology/approach – Uncertainty shocks in the US credit, financial and production markets are represented by extraordinary events. As in Bloom (2009), these events are associated with significant economic and political shocks (e.g. Lehman Brothers’ collapse). Credit markets uncertainty shocks, which played a crucial role in the aftermath of the house prices collapse in the USA, are first analyzed in a bivariate VAR context, and then, embodied in a simple theoretical framework. Findings – The empirical evidence suggests that the US credit, financial and production markets have been affected by a relative large number of uncertainty shocks (i.e. rare events). In a Brainard’s (1967) uncertainty scenario, it is shown that a bizarre money-liquidity relationship exacerbates the “policymakers’ cautiousness-aggressiveness trade-off.” In addition, the model suggests that a “double” dose of policy, in presence of a global credit crunch, might be useless. Originality/value – This paper improves the existing literature in two main directions. First, it provides novel empirical evidence on the unusual dynamics of the US credit market and its effects on the real economic activity during the crisis. Second, in a very simple theoretical framework accounting for parameter uncertainty, it addresses whether a bizarre money-credit relationship affects policymakers’ behavior (i.e. cautiousness vs aggressiveness).

Outsourcing as symptomatic: class visibility and ethnic scapegoating in the US IT sector

2007 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 71-83 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shiv Ganesh
Keyword(s):  
Design Methodology ◽  
Rhetorical Criticism ◽  
White Collar ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Ethnic Tensions ◽  
Critical Commentary ◽  
The Us ◽  
The Usa

PurposeThis paper aims to analyze recent debates about outsourcing in the USA, using examples from IT sector, especially in the context of India.Design/methodology/approachThe paper is a critical commentary and uses methods based in rhetorical criticism.FindingsThe author argues that to fully understand the outsourcing issue, it has to be considered a symptomatic discourse rather than a causative one. Specifically, it is argued that the outsourcing debate in the context of IT work evidences class issues in as much as it involves white collar visibility. Moreover, the debate is also symptomatic of ethnic tensions in the form of ethnic scapegoating. Some implications of the debate are discussed.Originality/valueThe paper is of value to those interested in debates about outsourcing, and highlights the importance of a communication‐oriented perspective.

Between ideal and reality

2014 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 13-30 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sungae Yoo ◽  
Hye Jeong Kim ◽  
So Young Kwon
Keyword(s):  
Online Learning ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
College Instructors ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Us ◽  
Learner Interaction ◽  
National Comparison ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Cross National

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to examine similar and/or different perspectives on, and practices of online-learning interaction as projected by the participating educators who are from either Korea or the USA. Design/methodology/approach – In this study, the authors analyzed how college instructors from two countries, Korea and the USA, consider the role of online-learning interaction in their students' learning by interviewing nine instructors from both countries. The authors examined the educators' responses using constructivism and Confucianism as the frame of reference. Findings – The analysis showed that the US instructors tend to focus on learner-to-learner interaction, whereas Korean instructors emphasized teacher-to-learner interaction. Korean instructors perceived a gap between ideal and reality in integrating interaction as a part of online activities in the course. Originality/value – This study focuses on a cross-national comparison of online-learning interaction between Korea and the USA. Thus, it will provide practical ideas for global or multicultural user experiences on online-learning courses.

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