Are reported greenhouse gas emissions influencing corporate financial performance?

Research Question: This paper aims to analyse the impact of reported greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions on financial performance of companies operating in the chemical industry from Central-Eastern Europe over the period 2015-2019. Motivation: Currently, the climate change and global warming have become highly topical due to their progressively visible destructive effects worldwide on the environment, society, and economic activity. Idea: To offer the suitable information to all its stakeholders, each company should identify the necessary information, measure it, make it useful, and take reasonable steps to ensure that it’s accurate; our research investigates the effect of reported greenhouse gas emissions on return on sales, as a measure of business performance. Data: The paper is based on panel data extracted from non-financial and/or annual reports for the top 10 largest companies operating in the chemical industry geographically located in Central-Eastern Europe covering the time frame 2015-2019. The final sample consists of 34 firms and 134 firm-year observations. Tools: A multiple linear regression model was designed and applied, having return on sales as the dependent variable and GHG emissions as the independent variable. Findings: The findings of our study confirm that a lower level of GHG emissions will generate an increase in return on sales, consequently, the environmental performance reported in terms of controlling for GHG emissions enhances the financial performance measured as return on sales ratio. Contribution: The paper contributes to the literature on climate change, revealing a negative, but significant effect of GHG emissions on financial performance and endorsing that companies which today pay less attention to this global concern, tomorrow will face difficulties in terms of sales.

External pressures on accounting study programs: An institutional approach of stakeholder expectations

Research Question: What are the requirements and expectations of each class of external stakeholders? Is there any convergence between the identified expectations? Motivation: There is a large variety of stakeholder expectations that universities are confronted with in their permanent search for social legitimacy, acknowledgement and survival. In the case of accounting study programs, their strong relationships with practitioners and professional associations, as emphasized in previous research in accounting education in Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries, add to the expectations that need to be met. Idea: This paper explores external stakeholder expectations of accounting study programs provided by Romanian universities, in order to identify the elements to which these expectations converge. Data: Data was collected only from public documents (laws and regulations, reports, studies, press releases, websites of relevant bodies etc.). Tools: A review of relevant public documents has been performed. Findings: As expected, all stakeholders require quality. Still, they ascribe different meanings to quality, evaluate quality in different manners, and hence exert various pressures. More, we observed that all types of isomorphism: coercive, mimetic, normative, as well as competitive are involved in assuring quality and meeting expectations. Contribution: The study contributes to literature with a complex approach, employing stakeholder and institutional theory, in the context of the extensive environment of higher education. In terms of practice, by taking stock of stakeholder requirements and expectations, the study calls the attention of decision makers to stakeholder pressures and the need to adjust accounting study programs accordingly.

Properly identified imaginary needs, an inaccurately proposed methodology: The case of Rochester school of accountancy’s positive accounting methodology

Research Question: Whether accounting research has been in a better status after the domination of Rochester School of Accountancy’s Positive Accounting Methodology. Motivation: This study revisits the debate of the validity of Rochester school of accountancy's positive methodology. Rochester school of accountancy's positive accounting research has properly identified the assumed imaginary need of the US market. While positive accounting methodology may not be scientific under various accounts for science, it has contributed to accounting methodologically. Idea: Restricting financial accounting on issues related to decision-usefulness and perceiving corporate reporting as a product of accounting choices from an agency theory perspective constrains other dimensions of reality. Any restrictions to definitions of the role of accounting and its function (Glauter & Underdowen, 1974) blocks profoundly deep-rooted in contextual factors such as a country's social, political, and economic environment that all make up accounting which supposedly needs to be considered (Hellmann et al., 2010) in properly theorizing comprehensively practiced accounting. Data: Extensive writings have that documented internationally throughout time have been looked over. Tools: An analytical and critical examination has been conducted upon internationally accounting literature in a wide-ranging manner to provide an evaluation regarding Rochester school of accountancy's positive accounting research. Findings: The positive accounting methodology of the Rochester school of accountancy has been criticized by several accounting researchers for decades and even deem it disappointment and probably shame. Yet, Watts and Zimmerman declared themselves prime candidates. Its prevalence is the rhetoric of scientific inquiry. A measure of the failure of the so-called positive accounting methodology has achieved lays in its inability to become universal because differences in institutional environments persevere in the world. Contribution: Revisiting the debate of the validity of Rochester school of accountancy's positive methodology potentially contributes to our knowledge in assessing its legitimate prevalence in academic accounting research. New accounting researchers and scholars need to be aware of the predominant theoretical structure that governs the empirical financial paradigm and its limitation. This is especially significant to accounting researcher who has been intellectually trained under the positivistic tradition of economics.

Distributed ledger technology - Addressing the challenges of assurance in accounting systems: A research note

Background: With the progressive development of blockchain technology, its potential influence on the accounting and auditing professions is of interest to academia and practitioners. As the technology gains acceptance in businesses such as banking, stock exchanges, insurance, law, government services, and e-voting, business leaders are beginning to recognise its potential to transform their organisations. Despite concerns about how this technology will marginalise the accounting and auditing profession, blockchain continues to lag behind in adoption and there is time for accountants and auditors to reflect on their current practice and update their knowledge and skills to maintain their relevance to the industry. Motivation: The literature has not fully examined the implications of distributed ledger technology and its implications for the accounting and auditing profession. The intent of this research note is to identify opportunities for research that are of significance to the application of distributed ledger technology to accounting and auditing. Research Question: To identify possibilities that exist in researching the adoption, implementation and application of a distributed ledger solution in the context of accounting and auditing. Framework: Based on the literature, the study proposes a framework for a blockchain model of a simplified triple-entry bookkeeping system using smart contracts to automate self-verification and replication of transactions in a public distributed ledger. Findings: Drawing on the framework the article develops a series of research questions that may significantly reduce barriers and challenges facing organizations that want to implement blockchain technology in their accounting systems. Contribution: Given the complex nature of blockchain, cross disciplinary research is proposed to bring together information technology, accounting, assurance, economics and psychology resulting in further understanding of the technology as it relates to, and influences the accounting and auditing profession. In doing so, the paper makes several contributions to the literature.

The effects of funding on student performance: Findings from PISA 2018

Research Question: Is there a link between the investment in human capital, measured by the average gross salary in the pre-university education system and the student-teacher ratio together with the results obtained by students in tests? Motivation: In any society, the work done by man to obtain results is always present. Human capital in the economic and accounting context cannot be dissociated from its cost, and in the public system, it acquires an even greater influence. The role of human capital and implicitly its cost in the public expenditure system represents the largest part, and its significance is accentuated in education. Idea: The authors of this paper tried to see if investing in human capital has positive consequences on the outcome of the pre-university education system. Data: Research data were collected from the OECD (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development) website Tools: The research was performed by quantitative methods using the least squares regression equation. The hypotheses tested by the authors were the existence of a relevant positive or negative correlation between the indicators presented. Findings: Following the analysis, found that there was a positive correlation between the salary level indicators and the average score obtained in tests, and a negative correlation between the number of students per teacher and test results. Contribution: This paper contributes to research in the field on the effects of decisions regarding funding and pay policy for pre-university education using the results obtained by students in standardized tests. Therefore, this research is part of a larger research project that shows that the level of funding is correlated with the results of students measured by tests in pre-university education.

Managers’ attitude and organizational culture for social media use in supply chain efficiency and responsiveness

Research Question: The research model proposes that (a) Managers' Attitude and Organizational Culture are fundamental in using Social Media for supply chain activities, and (b) Social Media Use increases Responsiveness and Operational Efficiency. Motivation: IT professionals are continuously improving advanced software programs for business activities to leverage their activities and benefits. Beside that there are Social Media platforms which provide online presence to the company and enhance communication of people. Literature has studies regarding the use of Social Media for supply chain activities which mainly focus on enhancing marketing and customer relationships and the integration of supply chains. However, there is scarcity of research from organizational and employee perspectives. Idea: This study aims to see the influence of Managers’ attitude and Organizational culture for Social Media usage of supply chain professionals in their supply chain activities. Data: In order to test the relationships, a survey is conducted among 200 employees/professionals employed across 44 BiH SMEs which are parts of existing supply chains from various sectors. Tools: Descriptive statistics, confirmatory factor analysis-CFA and regression analysis are employed by using SPSS (version 20) software program. Findings: BiH companies have high operational efficiency and positive considerations about all model components. The results also show that the model works well in all dimensions. Contribution: This research serves as a good basis/template for similar future studies especially in BiH environment. Besides that, since there is few research from organizational and employee perspectives, this study purposes to see the impact of Managers’ attitude and Organizational Culture for Social Media usage of supply chain professionals in their supply chain activities.

The compliance evolution of the corporate governance codes in emerging European countries – a content analysis perspective

Research Question: Does the corporate governance codes from 18 Emerging European countries respect the European Commission recommendations? Motivation: The corporate governance is a wildly debated topic in the literature but only few studies are addressed to the level of compliance between the corporate governance and the European Commission recommendations, especially in emerging countries. Idea: The objective of this study is to analyse the corporate governance codes form eighteen Emerging European Countries and examine if these countries comply with the recommendations of European Commission regarding corporate governance by using the content analysis technique. The main research proposition is to identify how many out of the 32 recommendations included in this analysis are fulfilled by the corporate governance codes from the Emerging European Countries and how these developed during time. Data: Data sample consists of 18 corporate governance codes from Emerging European Countries, which are examined in the context of the recommendations of European Commission COM-284, and the next years updates from 2004 (2004/913/EC), 2005 (2005/162/EC) and 2009 (2009/384 and 385/EC), divided into five group, covering 32 recommendations. Tools: The latest versions of corporate governance codes from each country, from 2004-2020, were downloaded, collecting the data manually from each corporate governance code using the content analysis technique. Findings: The results illustrate that Slovenia and Czech Republic are the countries with the highest compliance degree, while Poland and Estonia are the countries with the least fulfilled recommendations Contribution: This paper provides a general overview regarding the level of compliance of the corporate governance codes and European Commission recommendations, thus being a starting point for researchers who will further study this subject. Secondly, we have contribute to the limited studies that analysed the evolution of corporate governance codes following the best practices for the companies issued by European Commission.

Banks’ risk and the impact of audit quality on income smoothing

Research question: This paper investigates the impact that specific audit quality dimensions have upon European Union Banks’ income smoothing behavior. Motivation: Although previous studies have investigated the characteristics of audit quality, little is known about the audit quality in the banking sector. Excessive risk taking and business complexity may further impair auditors’ work and an audit’s outcome may be conditioned upon banks’ risk. Idea: We examine whether auditors’ independence influences bank managers’ decision to smooth income and whether this attribute depends on bank risk and systemic importance. We investigate the association between auditors’ industry specialization and auditors’ tenure with the level of Loan Loss Provisions Data: We use a sample of 133 banks from 26 European Union countries for the period 2006-2013. Tools: Similar to previous research, we use ordinary least squares analysis to test the results. Findings: Empirical findings provide evidence that the auditors’ industry expertise limits management’s discretion of high-risk banks to a greater extent relative to low risk banks. In contrast, our results imply that banks that retain the same auditor for a consecutive fiscal year are more likely to engage in income smoothing through LLPs. Furthermore, our study examines whether audit quality dimensions have different outcomes on income smoothing decisions between globally systemically important banks (GSIBs) and the rest of banks. Our results provide evidence that the impact of industry specialization and auditor tenure on EU banks accounting policy decisions differs between GSIBs and non-GSIBs. Contribution: Our analysis contributes in the existing body of research by focusing on the impact of audit quality on managements’ accounting discretion and the influence of banks’ special attributes on the audit process.

Accounting and information systems in Irish family SME: professionalisation effects

Research Question: Does the use of IS in family businesses differ significantly from non-family businesses? Does professionalisation of accountants positively impact the use of IS, and is there a difference between family and non-family businesses? Motivation: Research indicates family businesses have more limited implementation and use of information systems (IS) coupled with less accounting and control. As accounting is a primary user of IS, this paper explores if professionalisation of accounting may explain such reported differences in IS use. Idea: This study tests two hypotheses around IS use and professionalisation of accounting. Using a more refined measure of professionalisation of accounting than previous. Data: Data was collected from a survey of CFOs in a country with a strong family business tradition and strong professional accounting bodies. A response rate of 30% was achieved. Tools: A Mann-Witney test coupled with binary and multi-nominal regressions were used to test the hypotheses. Findings: Although professional accountants’ presence is a significant explanatory variable, the results show no significant difference in IS use between family and non-family-owned firms. However, contrary to similar studies in countries without strong professional accounting bodies, the analysis suggests that professionalisation is a significant explanatory factor in the similarities found. Contribution: By applying a more refined measure of professionalisation of accounting, this study provides a useful basis for further exploration of the professionalisation of the accounting function in family firms and links to IS use.

IT required skills in accounting: A comparative analysis across European labour markets

Research Question: The research proposition is to identify the information technology (IT) skills required from accounting professionals by the labour market from European emerging and developed economies and analyse whether there are differences between the requirements, depending on the type of economy. Motivation: The wide adoption of several emerging technologies across various domains of activity is a widely debated topic. However, regardless of its popularity, little research focused on comparing the expectation of the professional bodies and the current labour market expectations in terms of the IT skills accountants should demonstrate. Idea: This study aims to analyse if there is any gap between the expectations formulated by accounting professional bodies and the labour market’s requirements in European countries regarding the IT skills accountants should demonstrate. Data: The dataset selected for this study consisted of 1000 accounting job advertisements, collected between two periods: September 2017 - July 2018 and January - February 2021. Tools: A cross-sectional study, including a content analysis and statistical analyses, was conducted to analyse the dataset collected. Findings: The results illustrate the European labour market’s current expectations regarding the IT skills accountants should demonstrate. The statistical analyses conducted highlight an association between the skills asked by emerging and developed European based companies. Contributions: This paper provides a glimpse regarding the European labour market’s expectations in terms of IT skills requested from accounting professionals, thus being a reference for the European professional bodies and academia.