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Pacific Accounting Review
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Hybrid journal (It can contain Open Access articles)
ISSN (Print) 0114-0582 - ISSN (Online) 2041-5494
Published by Emerald

[361 journals]

Rethinking insolvency law amid the COVID-19 pandemic
- Authors: James Routledge
  Abstract: Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, it is important to consider the effectiveness of insolvency law given the increase in companies facing financial distress. Current insolvency law was not designed in the context of the unprecedented challenges of the pandemic. Therefore, it may not provide the framework needed to assist the rehabilitation of distressed companies that is important to economic recovery. The purpose of this paper is to briefly discuss the rethinking of insolvency law policy with a view to maximising opportunities for rescue and rehabilitation. The commentary offers suggestions on how insolvency law can maximise opportunities for rehabilitation. The approach is to consider competing theoretical perspectives on the objective of insolvency law and provide commentary on rethinking key insolvency law provisions to better meet the needs of distressed businesses in the unprecedented circumstances of the pandemic and into the future. This paper concludes that in the context of the pandemic insolvency policy that is value-based and debtor-friendly is needed to promote rehabilitation. Insolvency law should refocus on debtors and rehabilitation rather than being excessively focussed on the interest of creditors. This paper offers a unique and timely commentary on the capacity of insolvency law to respond to the unforeseen COVD-19 pandemic.
  Citation: Pacific Accounting Review
  PubDate: 2021-04-06
  DOI: 10.1108/PAR-08-2020-0116
  Issue No: Vol. 32, No. 4 (2021)
A question of balance: study–work–life, perspectives from
accounting students
- Authors: Nicola J. Beatson, Paul de Lange, Heinrich Oosthuizen
  Abstract: Students have a finite amount of time that they can allocate between commitments of study–work–life. Striking a balance between these competing activities is an individual conundrum and this study aims to explore the impact of extramural activities and paid employment on the academic performance of accounting students. Guided by Carroll’s model of school learning, the authors adopt a quantitative approach where they survey (N = 264) and gather responses (n = 195) from students with respect to their choices regarding spare time outside study. These perceptions are then compared to their academic performance. Quantitative responses were subsequently triangulated with interview findings to provide in-depth analysis. Findings provide greater understanding for educators of the student lived experience, which reveals that the work, study and life balance is individually nuanced and is largely driven by the individual’s perceived level of interference from work, which is a significant predictor of academic performance. Analysis of the determinants of student learning includes prior academic achievement, confidence with numbers, critical thinking, gender and prior accounting knowledge. Yet, little is known about the implication of activities outside the formal curriculum. This study addresses this void in the literature and provides a much-needed link back to accounting faculty’s pedagogical approaches as they adapt to a cohort’s learning behaviour. This study also adds to the debate on the need for more discussion with faculty to allow alternate arrangements based on extramural activities and employment commitments. Greater understanding of study–work–life balance for students provides an opportunity for new dialog between faculty and students.
  Citation: Pacific Accounting Review
  PubDate: 2021-03-29
  DOI: 10.1108/PAR-09-2020-0137
  Issue No: Vol. 32, No. 4 (2021)
Ownership concentration, foreign ownership and auditing: evidence from
SMEs in Latin America
- Authors: Dengjun Zhang, Yuquan Cang
  Abstract: This paper aims to investigate the impact of ownership concentration of the largest shareholder and foreign ownership on the demand for an external audit for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in six Latin American countries. In particular, the authors test whether foreign-owned firms (compared with domestic private-owned firms) and domestic firms with minority foreign shareholders are more likely engaged in audit assurance. The authors applied the logit model to estimate the impact of ownership concentration and owner/shareholder type on audit demand, using a sample of 4,609 SMEs. The probabilities of being audited for firms in these countries are then calculated from the estimation results. The empirical results suggest an inverse relationship between ownership concentration and audit demand only for Uruguay and Peru. However, foreign-owned firms and domestic private-owned firms with minority foreign ownership have a high probability of being audited for all sample countries. Policymakers in developing countries may promote foreign investments in domestic private-owned firms to improve their corporate transparency and governance. This study contributes to the growing literature on the impact of ownership on audit demand by particularly focusing on foreign owners and foreign minority shareholders. The findings indicate that foreign ownership (either majority or minority) contributes to corporate transparency and business environments in emerging countries.
  Citation: Pacific Accounting Review
  PubDate: 2021-03-19
  DOI: 10.1108/PAR-06-2020-0081
  Issue No: Vol. 32, No. 4 (2021)
Does tax policy fit in the portfolio of COVID-19 responses'
- Authors: Kerrie Sadiq, Richard Krever
  Abstract: Tax policymakers are currently navigating a path through a delicate dialectic of macro- and micro-level policy responses to the economic dislocation of the COVID-19 pandemic. The purpose of this paper is to examine initial tax measures that are aimed at helping taxpayers needing liquidity, solvency and income support. This study undertakes a review of key tax policy responses of six jurisdictions across the globe that have similar tax regimes and virus mitigation strategies (albeit with different outcomes). Key initiatives implemented from February to April 2020 by Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Singapore, South Africa and the UK are examined. This study indicates that tax concessions are a crude and mostly ineffective way of assisting individuals and enterprises in difficulty. In the longer term, if the crisis prompts desirable reforms such as extending the recognition of tax losses, the income tax system will emerge fairer and more efficient. An investigation of the short-term reforms announced relating to asset write-offs, tax deferral, tax losses and goods and services tax/value-added tax rates in light of the liquidity, income support and stimulus objectives shows that in some cases the policies may have been misguided. The findings can be used by policymakers as the basis for designing better targeted alternative non-tax responses. Jurisdictional responses to tax policy reforms during a modern period of significant economic dislocation have yet to be documented in the literature. Specifically, this paper highlights the limitations of tax policy initiatives as a response to financial hardship.
  Citation: Pacific Accounting Review
  PubDate: 2021-03-01
  DOI: 10.1108/PAR-08-2020-0119
  Issue No: Vol. 32, No. 4 (2021)
COVID-19 and deferred tax reversals
- Authors: Jilnaught Wong, Norman Wong, Willow Yangliu Li
  Abstract: This paper aims to examine the financial statement impact resulting from the tax depreciation on buildings that was reinstated on 25 March 2020 as part of the New Zealand Government’s coronavirus (COVID-19) tax support package. The COVID-19 pandemic and the tax relief created an accounting response to map the environment to accounting reports, reversing previously recognized deferred tax liabilities and increasing reported income as a result. This is an exploratory and descriptive study to understand the accounting response and impact on companies’ financial statements following a COVID-19 tax relief to support businesses in a dire financial situation as the effects of COVID-19 took hold. First, the accounting response provided the appropriate mapping from the COVID-19 environment to accounting reports. Second, the financial statement impacts are material, especially for companies with extensive holdings of buildings that are held for use. Third, while the accounting relief was immediate, the economic (cash flow) support does not occur until a year later. The financial statement impacts are based on a subset of NZX 50 companies with the available information at the time of writing. However, they do not compromise the external validity of the findings because the tax depreciation relief applies to other listed companies, unlisted public and private companies, trust, partnerships and individuals. The New Zealand Government could have been more helpful to businesses by allowing an immediate depreciation deduction in the 2020 year as opposed to implementing it from 2021. Further, it could have legislated a backlog depreciation deduction from 2010 – when the depreciation on buildings was disallowed – to 2020. This paper documents the evolution of the accounting for deferred taxes when the New Zealand Government withdrew the tax depreciation in 2010, how NZ IAS 12 evolved as a result of that event and now the reversal effect with the reinstatement of the tax depreciation during COVID-19. The paper also blends in the accounting responses and considers whether they are opportunistic or efficient.
  Citation: Pacific Accounting Review
  PubDate: 2021-03-01
  DOI: 10.1108/PAR-09-2020-0140
  Issue No: Vol. 32, No. 4 (2021)
Auditing in the time of COVID – the impact of COVID-19 on auditing in
New Zealand and subsequent reforms
- Authors: David Hay, Karen Shires, Debbie Van Dyk
  Abstract: This special issue paper aims to describe the early effects of COVID-19 on auditing in New Zealand, and the subsequent reforms that the authors expect will follow. The authors use published sources to discuss the impact of COVID-19 on auditing, and potential reforms. COVID-19 was at first expected to have a substantial impact on audit outcomes such as audit opinions. The effects that eventuated have been much less substantial so far. Nevertheless, the authors expect reforms to auditing to take place, especially including non-audit services, reports on inspections of auditors and more reporting on going concern issues by directors, followed by increased responsibility for auditors. In future, there may be further changes including reform to the liability of auditors, reporting on internal control, more responsibility for fraud and changes to corporate governance. Limitations include the ongoing nature of the COVID-19 crisis. Further effects may yet eventuate. Financial report users and auditors should anticipate changes. This paper provides early evidence of the impact of COVID-19 on New Zealand auditing and predicts changes to the regulation of auditing.
  Citation: Pacific Accounting Review
  PubDate: 2021-03-01
  DOI: 10.1108/PAR-09-2020-0155
  Issue No: Vol. 32, No. 4 (2021)
COVID-19 pandemic and connectedness across financial markets
- Authors: Muhammad Abubakr Naeem, Saba Sehrish, Mabel D. Costa
  Abstract: This study aims to estimate the time–frequency connectedness among global financial markets. It draws a comparison between the full sample and the sample during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study uses the connectedness framework of Diebold and Yilmaz (2012) and Barunik and Krehlik (2018), both of which consider time and frequency connectedness and show that spillover is specific to not only the time domain but also the frequency (short- and long-run) domain. The analysis also includes pairwise connectedness by making use of network analysis. Daily data on the MSCI World Index, Barclays Bloomberg Global Treasury Index, Oil future, Gold future, Dow Jones World Islamic Index and Bitcoin have been used over the period from May 01, 2013 to July 31, 2020. This study finds that cryptocurrency, bond and gold are hedges against both conventional stocks and Islamic stocks on average; however, these are not “safe havens” during an economic crisis, i.e. COVID-19. External shocks, such as COVID-19, strengthen the return connectedness among all six financial markets. For investors, the study provides important insights that during external shocks such as COVID-19, there is a spillover effect, and investors are unable to hedge risk between conventional stocks and Islamic stocks. These so-called safe haven investment alternatives suffer from the similar negative impact of systemic financial risk. However, during an external shock such as COVID-19, cryptocurrencies, bonds and gold can be used to hedge risk against conventional stocks, Islamic stocks and oil. Moreover, the findings imply that by engaging in momentum trading, active investors can gain short-run benefits before the market processes any new information. The study contributes to the emergent literature investigating the connectedness among financial markets during the COVID-19 pandemic. It provides evidence that the return connectedness among six global financial markets, namely, conventional stocks, Islamic stocks, bond, oil, gold and cryptocurrency, is extremely strong. From a methodological standpoint, this study finds that COVID-19 pandemic shock has a significant short-run impact on the connectedness among financial markets.
  Citation: Pacific Accounting Review
  PubDate: 2021-02-22
  DOI: 10.1108/PAR-08-2020-0114
  Issue No: Vol. 32, No. 4 (2021)
The economics and accounting for COVID-19 wage subsidy and other
government grants
- Authors: Jilnaught Wong, Norman Wong
  Abstract: This paper aims to examine the economic rationale for the COVID-19 wage subsidy and grants related to assets and the accounting for these wealth transfers under NZ IAS 20 Accounting for Government Grants and Disclosure of Government Assistance. The principal contribution is presenting an economics–accounting nexus for government assistance to firms during a pandemic and for the nation’s economic development. This is a descriptive study that draws on the economic theory of regulation to understand the rationale for wealth transfers, then examining the accounting for the wealth transfers by analyzing the financial statements of NZX 50 companies that received the wage subsidy and SkyCity and Chorus that received substantial grants to develop and operate the New Zealand International Convention Centre and building a large part of New Zealand’s Ultra-Fast Broadband fiber optic network, respectively. First, the 10 NZX 50 companies that received the government’s wage subsidy were justified to receive it from the legal, ethical and moral perspectives. However, some non-NZX 50 companies, while legally entitled to the wage subsidy, took advantage of the wealth transfer when they were profitable and paid dividends. This latter group of companies was not seen as behaving ethically and morally. Second, the government granted millions of dollars to SkyCity and Chorus for building critical infrastructures that are economically beneficial for the nation and that are unlikely to attract private investment, and these companies accounted for the grants related to assets in accordance with NZ IAS 20. The financial statement impacts of the wage subsidy are based on a subset of NZX 50 companies with available information at the time of writing. However, they do not compromise the external validity of the findings because the wage subsidy applies to all businesses. Similarly, the manner in which SkyCity and Chorus accounted for the grants related to assets would apply equally to any entity that is a recipient of such a grant. This paper presents an economic understanding for the existence of government grants and how the accounting mirrors the economic rationale for the “grants related to income” and “grants related to assets.” This paper demonstrates the importance of the economics–accounting nexus.
  Citation: Pacific Accounting Review
  PubDate: 2021-02-11
  DOI: 10.1108/PAR-10-2020-0189
  Issue No: Vol. 32, No. 4 (2021)
“Look on the bright side”: CEO optimism and firms' market
valuation
- Authors: Salah Alshorman, Martin Shanahan
  Abstract: Previous research suggests that a CEO’s attitude can impact a firm’s performance. More particularly, there appears to be a link between the CEO’s revealed level of optimism and firm’s market value. The purpose of this paper is to measure the level of optimism revealed by Australian CEOs in their shareholder letters and compares this with their firms’ current and future valuations. This study assesses the CEO’s level of optimism using text analysis of the annual letters to shareholders in 180 Australian-based firms from 2010 to 2013. The market valuation of their companies over the same period is calculated using Tobin’s Q, and the results compared with the level of CEO optimism. Comparing the level of revealed optimism with their firms’ valuations over four years, CEO optimism is positively correlated, both currently and prospectively with firm valuation. Given the period under study immediately followed the global financial crisis (GFC), the results suggest CEO optimism may be an important factor in adding to firm’s market resilience. The study examines the link between revealed CEO optimism and firm valuation over a turbulent period of the business cycle. While the sample period follows the GFC, and Tobin’s Q has some known deficiencies, the results imply that further research should be undertaken to examine the importance of CEOs tone and communicated attitudes on their firms’ financial outcomes. The link between CEO optimism and the firm’s valuation suggest that shareholders and boards should pay particular attention to the values, cognitions and psychological and demographic characteristics of top executives when selecting CEOs. In particular, the results suggest that given two otherwise similar CEOs the one whose record of communication is optimistic should be preferred over a similarly qualified but less sanguine individual. The paper represents the first study demonstrating the link between CEO’s communicated optimism and Australian firms’ valuations. The study uses three different measures of optimism to improve the robustness of its conclusions, and a comprehensive measure of firm value – Tobin’s Q. It is the first to quantify the association between CEO optimism and firm value shortly after a period of financial upheaval (the GFC). The findings indicate that CEO optimism contributes significantly to firm value. The study also tests whether “excessive” optimism negatively impacts firm performance and conclude there is no evidence of this in the sample period. The study suggests that more research should be done to examine the contribution of positive business attitudes to periods of economic stress.
  Citation: Pacific Accounting Review
  PubDate: 2021-02-08
  DOI: 10.1108/PAR-04-2020-0041
  Issue No: Vol. 32, No. 4 (2021)
The impact of COVID-19 global health crisis on stock markets and
understanding the cross-country effects
- Authors: Eda Orhun
  Abstract: This paper aims to investigate the impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) on major stock markets. Specifically, an event study analysis is executed to estimate the abnormal returns of selected stock indices from 15 countries to key events concerning the global pandemic. Specifically, an event study analysis is executed to estimate the abnormal returns of selected stock indices from 15 countries to key events concerning the global pandemic. The study continues with a regression analysis that looks into cross-country variation of estimated abnormal returns by using country-specific characteristics as predictors. The results indicate that stock markets of countries that have larger foreign direct investment exposure to China, higher democracy index, a higher number of confirmed COVID-19 cases and that accept a higher percentage of Chinese tourists are more prone to getting negatively affected by such a global health crisis. On the other hand, stock markets of countries with higher health expenditure, a higher level of preparedness for pandemics and higher gross domestic product per capita are likely to have less negative abnormal returns. It is one of the first studies that focuses on determining the country-specific characteristics that influence the reaction of financial markets to a global health crisis that the world is experiencing today with the COVID-19 infectious disease. Investigating cross-country effects is very relevant and important today because countries and their relevant policymakers can take lessons and get better prepared for future pandemics only by recognizing the relevant points that are underlying and shape the response of the country’s economy to such a global health crisis.
  Citation: Pacific Accounting Review
  PubDate: 2021-01-11
  DOI: 10.1108/PAR-07-2020-0096
  Issue No: Vol. 32, No. 4 (2021)
Do financial analysts discourage or encourage corporate fraud'
Empirical evidence from China
- Authors: Hui Liu, Bei Yang, Junrui Zhang
  Abstract: This paper aims to focus on the role of financial analysts in corporate fraud in the Chinese stock market. Data on the analyst coverage and all the types of corporate fraud were obtained for 16,284 company-year observations of Chinese companies. The sample was subsequently divided into those of state-owned enterprises, before and after financial crisis. The overall results indicate that analyst coverage effectively deters the occurrence of fraud. The sub-sample results suggest that the impact of analysts on deterring fraud is more pronounced in non-state-owned enterprises, especially after the financial crisis. The path analyses show that analyst coverage can deter corporate frauds by affecting information transparency and investor attention. Furthermore, the results show that the deterrence role of financial analysts varies with fraud types: it is more pronounced in deterring disclosure fraud, but not as effective in illegal guarantees and illegal insider dealing. Moreover, analyst coverage can deter the occurrence of fictitious reporting, intentional postponement and material omission. This paper not only examined the overall fraud probability but also taking into consideration the heterogeneity of the information availability and research focus of financial analysts and examined the analysts’ impact on the occurrence of difference types of fraud. Moreover, this paper explored why financial analysts can deter corporate frauds through path analyses.
  Citation: Pacific Accounting Review
  PubDate: 2020-12-03
  DOI: 10.1108/PAR-03-2020-0036
  Issue No: Vol. 32, No. 4 (2020)
Female board directorship and earnings management
- Authors: Yosra Mnif, Imen Cherif
  Abstract: This paper aims to examine the impact of female board directorship on the extent of earnings management. The research hypotheses have been tested using both univariate and multivariate analyzes based on a sample of 198 firm-year observations from closely-held family firms listed on the SBF 120 over the period 2010–2018. The empirical results first indicate that female board participation reduces the level of earnings management. When looking at women positions in the companies’ boardrooms, the authors reveal that the negative linkage between female board directorship and earnings management remains constant for independent female directors while the opposite holds for their family-affiliated counterparts. Further, the gender quota reform is shown to mitigate the adverse relationship between gender-diverse corporate boards and the extent of earnings management. These results seem sound, as they hold unchanged for the several measures of, both, boardroom gender diversity and earnings management used in the empirical study. In a supplementary analysis, the authors provide evidence that the association between the presence of women directors on the companies’ boards and earnings management depends, in a different way, on the size of the audit firm in a joint auditing context. The country and the period considered in this paper are noteworthy characteristics that enhance the value of this research. The present study is relevant because it examines the relationship between female boardroom participation and earnings management using a homogeneous sample of family-owned and -managed companies within which shareholders and board members share identical motives for manipulating earnings in one of the leading countries in the world with regard to family ownership dominance (i.e. France). Moreover, this paper is considered to be very timely, as it explores, contrarily to previous related studies, the years following the implementation of a mandatory gender quota reform in one of the less available countries, to date, that have amended a gender quota law. To the knowledge, besides France, there are a few markets (Norway, Belgium, Finland and Iceland) that have implemented such legislation.
  Citation: Pacific Accounting Review
  PubDate: 2020-11-30
  DOI: 10.1108/PAR-04-2020-0049
  Issue No: Vol. 32, No. 4 (2020)
The impact of the 2012 NZX listing rule change on board composition and
company performance
- Authors: Glenn Boyle, Sanghyun Hong, Michael Foley
  Abstract: This study aims to examine the impact of December 2012, New Zealand (NZ) stock exchange operator listing rule change that introduced compulsory disclosure about gender diversity on NZ boards. A quasi-natural experiment setting with a clearly identifiable exogenous event. The rate of growth in female-held directorships increased significantly after the introduction of the new rule, resulting in, by 2016, the average female board representation being more than double what it had been in 2012. However, this paper finds no relationship between this response and company performance. This study cannot attribute causality to the observed jump in female directorships following the 2012 listing rule change due to the absence of a control group of firms not subject to this change. The results are consistent with an efficient director appointment process in NZ. Low-key regulatory changes can have a significant impact on company behaviour.
  Citation: Pacific Accounting Review
  PubDate: 2020-11-26
  DOI: 10.1108/PAR-07-2019-0091
  Issue No: Vol. 32, No. 4 (2020)
Determining factors of key audit matter disclosure in Thailand
- Authors: Suneerat Wuttichindanon, Panya Issarawornrawanich
  Abstract: In Southeast Asia, auditors play a crucial role in the quality of financial reports. With the introduction of a new format of auditors’ report that requires disclosure of key audit matters (KAM), the disclosure practice of auditors is, thus, of great interest. Specifically, this study aims to investigate the factors that auditors take into consideration when issuing KAMs. The research design is quantitative, with a focus on the number of KAM disclosures issued by auditors. As existing studies rely on the number of KAM disclosures in the analysis, this current research, thus, uses the quantity of KAM disclosures for comparison purposes. The analysis relies on secondary data and multiple regression analysis is used to establish the association between the number of KAM disclosures and three groups of determining factors, namely, auditor characteristics, corporate governance mechanisms and firm characteristics. The significant determining factors of KAM disclosure include auditor’s litigation risk, firm complexity, profitability and industry type. Firms using a Big 4 audit firm, firms with many subsidiaries and firms in the technology, property and construction and finance industries have higher numbers of KAMs, while highly profitable firms issue lower numbers of KAMs. As for corporate governance mechanisms, the number of KAMs is significantly positively correlated with the number of independent directors (p < 0.10). This research includes key corporate governance parties in the examination, including external auditors, independent directors and audit committees. The finding affirms the influence of Big 4 on KAM disclosure in Southeast Asia, while their roles are not significant in Western samples. The result also unearths the monitoring role of independent directors in KAM disclosure. The role of the audit committee in KAM disclosure is insignificant in Thai samples, while the committee role is statistically significant in the Western samples. Variations in the findings between this study and previous research could be attributed to differences in institutional settings between both regions.
  Citation: Pacific Accounting Review
  PubDate: 2020-11-26
  DOI: 10.1108/PAR-01-2020-0004
  Issue No: Vol. 32, No. 4 (2020)
Do institutional investors stabilize stock returns' Evidence from
emerging IPO markets
- Authors: Konpanas Dumrongwong
  Abstract: The purpose of this paper is to investigate how institutional ownership is related to the stock return volatility of initial public offerings (IPOs) in an emerging market and to examine the relationship between institutional ownership and underpricing. This paper investigates these relationships using White’s (1980) regression and 2 × 3 portfolios sorted by firm size and institutional holdings. The regression method examines the relationships across firms with different characteristics such as size, stock price, growth potential, firm age and type of investors. The data were chosen for this sample to cover the new equity issuances listed on the Thailand Stock Exchange for the period 2001–2019. The empirical results suggest that institutional ownership is negatively associated with initial stock return volatility. This highlights the importance of institutional investors in maintaining stability in emerging stock markets. Additionally, it was found that institutional holding and underpricing are negatively correlated. The results are robust after controlling for potential heteroskedasticity and differences in firm characteristics. To the best knowledge of the author, this paper is the first to study the relationship between institutional investors and volatility in Thai IPOs, and hence provides a deeper understanding of how investors influence the price formation and volatility of stock prices in emerging markets. Furthermore, besides academics, the results presented in this paper could be useful for market regulators and policymakers in designing future market regulations to efficiently stabilize equity markets.
  Citation: Pacific Accounting Review
  PubDate: 2020-11-26
  DOI: 10.1108/PAR-11-2019-0145
  Issue No: Vol. 32, No. 4 (2020)
Decoupling stock price momentum from accounting fundamentals
- Authors: Irfan Safdar
  Abstract: What explains patterns in stock prices is an important question. One such pattern, price momentum, is a well-known capital markets anomaly where recent stock price performance appears to continue into the future. This momentum is frequently thought to reflect delayed reaction by investors to unspecified information (i.e. underreaction). This study aims to provide a useful insight regarding momentum: potential mispricing related to accounting fundamentals appears to conceal longer-term reversals in price momentum. Controlling for these fundamentals reveals that price momentum reverses, indicating that investor overreaction is a potentially important source of stock price momentum. The evidence presented in this study emphasizes the importance of decoupling momentum and accounting fundamentals to achieve a more complete understanding of what explains stock price momentum. This study explores this question by examining the longer-term performance of momentum stocks in the US market after decoupling it from performance related to accounting fundamentals using returns to fundamentals-based factors as controls in time series regressions. This study finds evidence of clear reversals in the remaining price momentum. These reversals provide a new insight into the momentum effect because they imply that the component of price momentum not traceable to accounting fundamentals reflects investor overreaction rather than underreaction. The findings indicate that the underlying nature of the information driving price movements is important to achieving a complete understanding of what explains price momentum. To the best of the author’s knowledge, no other study has examined the behavior of stock price momentum while controlling for accounting fundamentals.
  Citation: Pacific Accounting Review
  PubDate: 2020-11-13
  DOI: 10.1108/PAR-01-2020-0011
  Issue No: Vol. 32, No. 4 (2020)
Female CEOs and investment efficiency: evidence from an emerging economy
- Authors: Irfan Ullah, Muhammad Ansar Majeed, Hong-Xing Fang, Muhammad Arif Khan
  Abstract: This study aims to investigate how the presence of female CEOs (FCEOs) affects investment efficiency in emerging economy, where female participation in business activities is limited. This paper investigates the impact of CEO gender on investment efficiency by using investment efficiency measures proposed by Biddle et al. (2009), Chen et al. (2011) and Chen et al. (2013). The findings suggest that FCEOs are associated with high level of investment efficiency. FCEOs improve corporate governance, streamline management and reduce inefficient investment decisions. In addition, FCEOs focus more on curbing underinvestment than overinvestment when making investment decisions. Furthermore, high financial reporting quality (FRQ) strengthens the effect of FCEOs on investment efficiency. The results suggest that FCEOs do not ameliorate the investment efficiency of state-owned enterprises. This study enhances our understanding of the effects of FCEOs on corporate investment decisions in a male-dominated society. Efficient use of resources is vital from corporate and societal perspectives. Emerging economies are characterized by the unstable political and economic environment and low participation of females in decision-making. Hence, these economies require efficient utilization of resources. This study also sheds light on the role of FCEOs in curtailing underinvestment in emerging economies. It proves that FRQ is important in emerging economies because it strengthens the governance role of FCEOs.
  Citation: Pacific Accounting Review
  PubDate: 2020-11-09
  DOI: 10.1108/PAR-08-2019-0099
  Issue No: Vol. 32, No. 4 (2020)
How does real earnings management respond to the 2007-2008 financial
crisis'
- Authors: Zhigang Li, Yuan-Teng Hsu, Xiang Gao
  Abstract: This paper aims to investigate the dynamics of repurchase-based earnings management vis-à-vis other real activities manipulations during the 2007–2008 financial crisis. This paper adopts a Probit model to regress alternate real earnings management (REM) methods on a dummy variable indicating whether a firm falls in the crisis event window or not, during our 15-year sample period. This paper also detects switches made by suspected firms from repurchasing to other REM tools such as reducing discretionary expenditures. This paper provides solid evidence indicating that firms suspected of earnings management have the tendency to decrease accretive share repurchases after the onset of the crisis. Conversely, the above pattern is neither observed in non-suspect firms nor over non-crisis periods. A further investigation documents that firms that switch REM during crisis can be characterized by less cash holding, smaller size, more severe liquidity shortage and/or tighter financial constraint. This paper contributes to the literature on understanding the respective and interactive implications of both share repurchases and global financial crisis on firms’ REM activities.
  Citation: Pacific Accounting Review
  PubDate: 2020-09-28
  DOI: 10.1108/PAR-09-2019-0119
  Issue No: Vol. 32, No. 4 (2020)
Intertwined institutionalization: pressures on Vietnam’s accounting
profession during transition to IFRS
- Authors: Lan Anh Nguyen, Gillian Vesty, Michael Kend, Quan Nguyen, Brendan O'Connell
  Abstract: The purpose of this paper is to understand the institutionally driven changes impacting organizational accounting manipulation in Vietnam’s emerging transitional economy. Specifically, this study explore how Vietnamese accountants and regulators explain questionable accounting transactions and their rationalization for those practices, especially during the period of accounting system transition from Vietnamese accounting standards to International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). The study uses interview-based methods involving 22 Vietnamese accountants, financial managers, audit partners and regulators. This study have found dysfunctional approaches to revenue and expense recognition underpinned by institutional theory. At play is a combination of opportunities relating to weak accounting standards and organizational controls; management pressure; and a desire to avoid unwanted scrutiny from Vietnamese regulators. This study does not include the views of non-financial managers or other accounting users. Future research could focus more on the perceptions of these other stakeholder groups. Accounting manipulation can be collusive, therefore, regulators should have a stricter view and broader examination in the monitoring process. This study examine accounting manipulation through the lens of New Institutional Sociology and also share the views of the accountants and regulators. This study argue that weak accounting standards are not the only factors contributing to accounting manipulation. When evaluating the existence of accounting manipulation, this paper find a combination of factors including: opportunities for manipulation, pressure from management and the rationale behind the conduct. These factors should be interpreted in context.
  Citation: Pacific Accounting Review
  PubDate: 2020-08-20
  DOI: 10.1108/PAR-03-2020-0026
  Issue No: Vol. 32, No. 4 (2020)
The mediating role of management control system characteristics in the
adoption of management accounting techniques
- Authors: Mayada Abd El-Aziz Youssef, Esam E. Moustafa, Habib Mahama
  Abstract: This study aims to investigate the mediating role of management control system (MCS) characteristics in the relationship between state type, reflected through societal institutions (SIs), and two sets of management accounting techniques (MATs), namely, performance measurement techniques (PMTs) and cost measurement techniques (CMTs). Structural equation modeling was used to analyze data from a cross-sectional survey of 136 firms in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The findings show a direct positive impact of state-type construct on MCS characteristics, and that MCS characteristics partially mediate the reported significant relationships between state type and the use of PMTs. While the findings show a similar positive relationship between state type and CMTs, MCS characteristics do not mediate this relationship. Although these results are affected by limitations associated with the survey method used, they are useful in explaining the necessary conditions supporting the use of MATs in general and performance measurement techniques in particular. The study uses a cross-section of companies in the UAE, an attractive global investment destination, as its sample. The results can help investors better understand the choice of MATs in the UAE and its relation to MCS characteristics. This study contributes to management accounting literature by determining the mediating role of MCS characteristics on the relationship between state type and the choice of two sets of MATs, whereas existing literature assumes a direct relation between the two.
  Citation: Pacific Accounting Review
  PubDate: 2020-06-27
  DOI: 10.1108/PAR-10-2019-0133
  Issue No: Vol. 32, No. 4 (2020)
Multidimensional performance evaluation styles: budget rigidity and
discretionary adjustments
- Authors: Keita Masuya, Eisuke Yoshida
  Abstract: This study aims to reconceptualize performance evaluation styles and reveal their performance effects. Based on a literature review, this study conceptualizes performance evaluation styles on two dimensions: priority of budgetary targets when setting performance criteria and use of accounting information for ex-post performance evaluation. This study discusses two concepts – budget rigidity and discretionary adjustments – to explain these two dimensions, and their optimal combination is then investigated by considering environmental uncertainty. The empirical analysis uses survey data from Japanese firms. The results indicate that suitable combinations of budget rigidity and discretionary adjustments differ depending on environmental uncertainty. As expected, a combination of lower budget rigidity and higher discretionary adjustments is optimal in an uncertain environment. Contrary to expectations, a combination of higher budget rigidity and higher discretionary adjustments is optimal in a stable environment. Moreover, higher discretionary adjustments complement budgetary targets’ motivational effects, regardless of environmental uncertainty. This study’s theoretical and empirical analysis suggests that it is difficult to understand the performance implications of performance evaluation styles without recognizing their multidimensionality and interdependencies. Moreover, the results demonstrate that discretionary adjustments in budget-based performance evaluations seem to act rationally in practice.
  Citation: Pacific Accounting Review
  PubDate: 2020-05-01
  DOI: 10.1108/PAR-07-2019-0089
  Issue No: Vol. 32, No. 4 (2020)
Analysis of balanced scorecard usage by private companies
- Authors: Divesh Sharma, Umesh Sharma
  Abstract: The purpose of this paper is to examine the factors related to the use of the balanced scorecard (BSC) by private companies. Specifically, the authors examine how foreign ownership, focus on a global market beyond the local company’s geographic region and other sophisticated management accounting practices (MAPs) (activity-based costing, just-in-time and total quality management) are related to the use of the BSC. The paper takes a contingency theoretic perspective. The data in this study is based on responses to a survey questionnaire that was mailed to 300 non-listed private companies in Singapore. A total of 135 responses were received, but 23 were incomplete, and thus, rendered unusable. Therefore, the final sample for the study is 112 private companies yielding a 37.3 per cent response rate that is considered high for survey research. The authors find significant associations between the use of BSC and foreign ownership, focus on a global market and other sophisticated MAPs. The authors find that foreign ownership and a global market focus are significantly and consistently related to the extent to which the BSC is used across seven different management control purposes. The authors also find some evidence of associations between other sophisticated MAPs and the extent to which the BSC is used for management control purposes. Private companies can use the BSC to better manage risks and use it for purposes such as communicating strategy and objectives, setting targets, evaluating performance, rewarding employees and managers, motivating employees and managers, controlling performance and coordinating across activities, departments and/or functional areas. The study has limitations such as the model is limited and excludes the effects of other significant contingency factors such as organisational culture. It may be appropriate to interview organisational participants to learn more about how their national and organisational culture affects the decision to use the BSC. The findings fill a critical void in the literature by providing new evidence on the determinants of the use of the BSC by private companies.
  Citation: Pacific Accounting Review
  PubDate: 2020-03-20
  DOI: 10.1108/PAR-06-2019-0076
  Issue No: Vol. 32, No. 4 (2020)
Pacific Accounting Review