The Montara Class Action Decision and Implications for Corporate Accountability for Australian Companies

A ground-breaking judgment of the Australian Federal Court regarding the Montara oil spill in the Timor Sea in 2009, Sanda v PTTEP Australasia (Ashmore Cartier) Pty Ltd (No 7) (Sanda (No 7)), 1 is one of the few Australian class actions to proceed to a favourable judgment for the claimants. It is also the first judgment against an Australian company for cross-border pollution loss suffered by foreign claimants.

A “green” accountant is difficult to find

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to empirically explore how accountants can contribute to organisational sustainability initiatives. Design/methodology/approach The paper adopts a critical case study methodology, focused on a large Australian company in which senior management sought to engage accounting staff in an internal sustainability reporting initiative focused on eco-efficiency. Bourdieu’s concepts of habitus, capitals and field enable a relational analysis of the findings. Findings While accountants adapted well to early changes aligned to cost efficiency, they struggled to engage with more creative sustainability improvements. The paper explains both adaptions and constraints as interactions between accountants’ professional habitus, capitals and their broader organisational field. Prior strategies to engage accountants (e.g. training) only partially address these factors. Practical implications The accounting profession has persistently urged members to contribute to organisational sustainability initiatives. This paper provides insight into how organisations might combine professional acculturation and appropriate capitals to advance this agenda. Social implications Although eco-efficiency is only one potential element of comprehensive organisational sustainability management, the paper’s insights into engaging accountants contributes to understanding how broader social sustainability agendas might be advanced. Originality/value The study addresses calls for empirical insights into how accountants can contribute to corporate sustainability practices. Prior studies have polarised between interpreting accountants as either enablers or barriers to sustainability change. This paper explores how shifting configurations of habitus, capital and organisational field can enable either outcome.

Lessons Learned from Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) Implementations in an Australian Company

Successful Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) implementations are a boon for organisations. However, there have been many instances of failed ERP implementations globally resulting in millions of wasted dollars. It is vital to learn from past ERP implementations so that such expensive mistakes are not recurrent. This qualitative exploratory case study aims to explore and document the lessons learned from ERP implementations in an Australian global natural resources company to mitigate such problems in the future. A single case study was conducted with the aim to understand experiences from different sites of the company that have already undergone proprietary ERP system implementation. Data was collected through interviews of key participants who were involved in the implementation. Analysis of the interviews has resulted in comprehensive lessons learned around the project focus areas. Finally, ten tips, divided in 4 categories i.e. People, Strategy, Technology and Management have been identified, to guide future ERP implementations and increase chances of success.

Dramaturgies of the Left-Behind: Mobility and Stickiness inThe Disappearances Project

In the verbatim theatre performanceThe Disappearances Project(2011–13), Australian company Version 1.0 explored the state of unresolved loss felt by those left behind by missing persons. Rather than relying on verbatim testimony to simply ‘tell’ the stories of the left-behind, directors Yana Taylor and David Williams sought to immerse the audience in an indeterminate world, characterized by pathologies of endless searching and waiting, and a sense of paralysing loss. In this article, I argue that the performance hinged on dramaturgical practices of stillness, slowed movement and friction to produce the disturbing sense of ‘sticky’ indeterminacy characteristic of the experience of the left-behind. To develop this interpretation, I turn to the post-disciplinary field of mobility studies, which highlights the movement (or otherwise) of people, objects, information and capital, as well as embodied experience and sensory and kinesthetic environments. This provides ways to identify and analyse mobility-as-dramaturgy as well as the co-production of affective atmospheres within Disappearances and the wider field of performance.

Beyond brand exposure: measuring the sponsorship halo effect

Purpose Global spending on sponsorship continues to rise and many companies now establish portfolios containing a range of sponsorships across sport, arts and cause-related activities. Yet a lack of practical methodologies for the measurement and comparison of sponsorship performance within a portfolio context remains a challenge. Sponsors often rely solely on proxy measures for brand exposure drawn from advertising. These do not capture the higher-level outcomes of sponsorship awareness and goodwill transfer, often attributed to sponsorship as a ‘halo effect’. This paper aims to present a matrix tool that combines consumer awareness of and goodwill for a sponsorship so the halo effects of sponsorships within a portfolio can be quantified and compared. Design/methodology/approach This archival analysis study is based on six years of brand tracking data (comprising some 15,500 consumer surveys) supplied by a large Australian company. A sponsorship portfolio matrix is developed to measure the halo effect. Findings This study demonstrates that a sponsorship’s halo effect can be measured and comparisons can be drawn across sponsorship types within a portfolio. The study shows that despite the significantly higher levels of brand awareness achieved by commercially oriented professional sports sponsorship types, community relations oriented sponsorship types achieve a greater halo effect because of their more positive impact on the sponsor’s brand attributes. Originality/value The matrix provides a valuable tool by which sponsorships can be compared, evaluated and managed to meet the longer-term brand and marketing objectives of a company.

Bilateral Investment Treaty Negotiations between India and U.S: Problems and Prospects

<p><em>Relationship between U.S. and India is at the best phase, especially after former unequivocal support in NSG (Nuclear Supply Group) and helping inclusion in MTCR (Missile Technology Control Regime). The relationship between two oldest and biggest democracies has matured under the headship of Mr. Barak Obama as President and Mr. Nardendra Modi as prime minister. In the recent visit of Indian prime minister, the warm gesture shown by U.S. congress members have further cemented the strength of tie up between two nations. However, despite great chemistry between two nation and its leaders from last many years, both have failed to enter into Bilateral Investment Treaty. India is having Bilateral Investment treaty with more than 80 countries including U.K. and Russia, of which 72 treaties are operational. <a title="" href="file:///C:/Users/SPub/Desktop/July%202016%20IRA%20Issues/IRAJEMS/IRAJEMS1.docx#_ftn1">[1]</a> U.S. is having Bilateral Investment treaties with more than 46 countries including Russia and Bangladesh.<a title="" href="file:///C:/Users/SPub/Desktop/July%202016%20IRA%20Issues/IRAJEMS/IRAJEMS1.docx#_ftn2">[2]</a> Since 2008, the two countries have been engaged in sporadic discussions to conclude the Investment treaty. Negotiations on its wording, based on each country’s revised model treaty texts, will begin soon. Both the leaders Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and U.S President Barack Obama affirmed their mutual commitment to facilitating increased bilateral investment flows and fostering an open and predictable climate for investment many a times , But consensus has not been reached till today on certain term and conditions. In the absence of BIT , the rights of investors of both the countries are at the stake. Further, MFN or nationality treatment clause cannot be invoked or granted in the event of any regulatory or other action. Obligations imposed by BIT to protect interest of foreign investors are absent. Further, after losing its first Investment Treaty Arbitration (ITA) claim in 2012 against White Industries, an Australian company and pending 17 cases, India has recently adopted new BIT in 2015 . It also has reflections of pending claims of Vodafone and other cases involving Intellectual Property Rights( Hereinafter refereed as IPR) and the cases of compulsory licences. </em></p><div><br clear="all" /><hr align="left" size="1" width="33%" /><div><p><em><a title="" href="file:///C:/Users/SPub/Desktop/July%202016%20IRA%20Issues/IRAJEMS/IRAJEMS1.docx#_ftnref1">[1]</a> Details Avaialble at <a href="http://www.finmin.nic.in/bipa/bipa_index.asp">http://www.finmin.nic.in/bipa/bipa_index.asp</a>.</em></p></div><div><p><em><a title="" href="file:///C:/Users/SPub/Desktop/July%202016%20IRA%20Issues/IRAJEMS/IRAJEMS1.docx#_ftnref2">[2]</a> Details Avialable at <a href="http://www.state.gov/e/eb/ifd/bit/117402.htm">http://www.state.gov/e/eb/ifd/bit/117402.htm</a>.</em></p></div></div>