(Job)Keeping up appearances

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to critique the Australian Government's JobKeeper scheme and demonstrate how accounting rationalities were intertwined with the process of governing the nation during the COVID-19 pandemic.Design/methodology/approachAdopting a Foucauldian perspective, the authors make use of public discourse to draw attention to the centrality of accounting and quantitative techniques that were used to support government interventions during the pandemic.FindingsThe authors show that accounting numbers, techniques and quantitative information were mobilised by the government as a way of formulating and implementing the JobKeeper scheme, a program designed to minimise the economic impacts of COVID-19.Originality/valueThe authors demonstrate the centrality of accounting concepts as a rhetorical device and their use by government in times of crisis.

Testing times: governing a pandemic with numbers

PurposeUsing Dean's (2010) analytics of government, this research explores how regimes of governing practices are linked to the underlying policy rationalities in dealing with the UK government's COVID-19 testing policies as a strategy for governing at a distance, including how targets were set and operationalized.Design/methodology/approachThis paper draws on the UK government's policy documents, other official publications (plans) and parliamentary discourse, together with publicly available media information related to its COVID-19 policies.FindingsThis research reveals that, with respect to the governance of COVID-19 in the UK, testing has the dual role of inscription for the government's performance and classification for the pandemic risks. The analysis illustrates that the central role of testing is as a technology for classification for identifying and monitoring the virus-related risks. Moreover, our discourse analysis suggests that initially COVID-19 testing was used by the UK government more for performance communication, with the classificatory role of testing and its performativity as a strategic device evolving and only being acknowledged by government gradually as the underlying testing infrastructure was developed.Research limitations/implicationsThis paper is based upon publicly available reports and other information of a single country's attempts to control COVID-19 over a relatively short period of time.Originality/valueThis paper provides a critical understanding of the role of (accounting) numbers in developing an effective government policy for governing COVID-19.

Cluster analysis of share price: How firm characteristics relate to accounting metrics

The purpose of this paper is to improve our understanding of the relationship between share price and accounting information. Much of the literature utilizes the earnings number to reflect firm value. However, the revenue number seems more relevant for high tech firms (Xu, Cai, & Leung, 2007), and cash flow figures are more informative for internet companies (Romanova, Helms, & Takeda, 2012). We build on this notion that share price may map out to different accounting numbers for different firms. We collect 629 accounting metrics for 3,365 firms in the U.S. and estimate their correlation with the firms’ share price. We analyze these correlations and find that many firms exhibit a low correlation between share price and earnings. Other accounting numbers are important for these firms, including book value of net assets, retained earnings, stock options, gain or loss items, special or non recurring items, and dividend rates. We are curious to learn what causes firms to anchor onto different metrics, therefore perform a cluster analysis to group similar firms together along three key accounting metrics. We examine the composition of each cluster and find that capital structure, dividend patterns, the persistence of operations, age, and industry can influence which accounting number is correlated with firm value. We encourage other researchers to continue this exploration as there are many interesting questions to answer.

Financial reporting under economic policy uncertainty

Purpose This paper aims to discuss financial reporting under economic policy uncertainty. Design/methodology/approach The paper uses discourse analysis to examine financial reporting under economic policy uncertainty. Findings The paper identifies the link between economic policy uncertainty and financial reporting, in terms of earnings management and fair value accounting. It argues that high economic policy uncertainty will transmit fewer new information to firms which can motivate managers to influence accounting numbers in the direction of the desired financial reporting outcome. Originality/value The relationship between economic policy uncertainty and financial reporting has not been studied. This paper is one of the first papers to relate economic policy uncertainty to financial reporting behavior.

Valuation Models Applied to Value-Based Management—Application to the Case of UK Companies with Problems

Many still rightly wonder whether accounting numbers affect business value. Basic questions are “why?” and “how?” We aim at promoting an objective choice on how optimizing the most suitable valuation methods under a “value-based management” framework through some performance measurement systems. First, we present a comprehensive review of valuation methods. Three valuations methods, (i) Free Cash Flow Valuation Model (FCFVM), (ii) Residual Earning Valuation Model (REVM) and (iii) Abnormal Earning Growth Model (AEGM), are presented. We point out advantages and limitations. As applications, the proofs of our findings are illustrated on three study cases: Marks & Spencer’s (M&S’s) business pattern (size and growth prospect), which had a recently advertised valuation “problem”, and two comparable companies, Tesco and Sainsbury’s, all three chosen for multiple-based valuation. For the purpose, two value drivers are chosen, EnV/EBIT (entity value/earnings before interests and taxes) and the corresponding EnV/Sales. Thus, the question whether accounting numbers through models based on mathematical economics truly affect business value has an answer: “Maybe, yes”.

The Debate over Subsequent Accounting for Goodwill

This paper evaluates whether alternative methods of subsequent accounting for goodwill result in accounting numbers that are significantly different from previous methods prescribed by standard setters. Financial statement users have identified significant flaws in both the amortization-and-impairment and impairment-only methods of subsequent accounting for goodwill. In this paper, we (1) summarize the current debate over subsequent accounting for goodwill, (2) empirically examine the decline in goodwill value under the amortization-and-impairment and impairment-only regimes, and (3) empirically investigate whether there are alternative methods that result in significantly different rates and patterns of decline in the value of goodwill (and thus have the potential to address the identified weaknesses of each method). We conclude that the proposed alternative methods provide markedly different patterns and periods over which goodwill is written off and, therefore, have the potential to provide a more faithful representation of the economics of goodwill.

Accounting Quality and Alliance Contract Provisions

We show that the number of governance provisions imposed on a firm by a strategic alliance partner decreases with the firm's accounting quality. This effect is weaker when the firm has greater bargaining power and stronger when the alliance project is riskier. Moreover, the net benefit to an alliance partner of imposing an additional governance provision on its counterparty apparently increases when the counterparty accounting quality is low, resulting in an enhancement of the partner's market value and a reduction in its bankruptcy risk. Furthermore, alliance partners adopt fewer provisions based on their counterparties' accounting numbers when the counterparties' accounting quality is poor.

COMPANY CHARACTERISTICS AND THE TENDENCY OF FRAUDULENT FINANCIAL REPORTING

<p><strong><em>ABSTRACT : </em></strong><em>Business environment dynamics may influence the companies performance. In those changing situations, the management is expected to satisfy the expectation of its shareholders, even in the worst position. This requires the management to accomplish various decisions, including those related to financial reporting. The management may tend to convey information about their achievement for the investor’s expectation through accounting numbers. Financial reporting is important as one of the tools that investors use to see deeper to the company. There are several legal ways to make up the report such as accounting method selection. On the other hand, there are also some illegal ways, such as fraud, and manipulation. This research is aimed to find the relation between company characteristics towards the tendency of fraudulent financial reporting. The research data are taken from the Indonesian Stock Exchange and Compustat from 2014 until 2018. The research uses a logistic regression model for data analysis. The result shows that company size, age, and management integrity have negative relation towards the tendency of fraudulent financial reporting. Contrary to the hypothesis, this research found that audit quality has a positive relation to the tendency of fraudulent financial reporting. This research can contribute to society as additional consideration for the investor. </em></p><p><strong><em>Keywords: </em></strong><em>Company characteristics, fraudulent financial report.</em><em></em></p><p> </p><p><strong>ABSTRAK</strong> : Dinamika lingkungan bisnis dapat mempengaruhi kinerja perusahaan. Dalam situasi yang berubah tersebut, manajemen diharapkan dapat memenuhi harapan pemegang sahamnya, bahkan pada posisi yang paling buruk sekalipun. Hal ini menuntut manajemen untuk mengambil berbagai keputusan, termasuk yang terkait dengan pelaporan keuangan. Manajemen mungkin cenderung menyampaikan informasi tentang pencapaiannya untuk harapan investor melalui laporan keuangan. Pelaporan keuangan penting sebagai salah satu alat yang digunakan investor untuk melihat lebih dalam perusahaan. Ada beberapa cara legal untuk membuat laporan seperti pemilihan metode akuntansi. Di sisi lain, juga terdapat beberapa cara ilegal, seperti penipuan, dan manipulasi laporan keuangan. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui hubungan antara karakteristik perusahaan dengan kecenderungan pelaporan keuangan yang mengandung kecurangan. Data penelitian diambil dari Bursa Efek Indonesia dan Compustat dari tahun 2014 sampai dengan 2018. Analisis datanya menggunakan model regresi logistik. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa ukuran perusahaan, umur, dan integritas manajemen berhubungan negatif dengan kecenderungan kecurangan pelaporan keuangan. Bertentangan dengan hipotesis, penelitian ini menemukan bahwa kualitas audit berhubungan positif dengan kecenderungan kecurangan pelaporan keuangan. Penelitian ini dapat memberikan kontribusi kepada masyarakat sebagai pertimbangan tambahan bagi investor.</p><p><strong>Kata kunci</strong>: karakteristik perusahaan, laporan keuangan yang mengandung kecurangan.</p>