Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to examine corporate social responsibility (CSR) reporting by banks in the developing economy of Bangladesh. This paper also aims to examine the users' perceptions relating to CSR disclosures issues.Design/methodology/approach -The study collected two types of data. First the annual reports of 20 selected banking companies, which are listed in Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), were considered. A questionnaire was also used to investigate the level of users' understanding and their perception of CSR reporting.Findings -The principal findings are twofold: first, the study shows that the selected banking companies did some (albeit little) CSR reporting on a voluntary basis. Second, that the user groups are in favor of CSR reporting, and would like to see more disclosure. The current disclosures by the selected banks, however, are not ample at all to measure the social responsiveness of the organizations.Originality/value -The paper provides useful informaiton on users' perceptions relating to CSR disclosures issues.
Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to investigate the reality of financial and management accounting in a small group of small firms. Specifically, from the owner's perspective, an exploration is undertaken to see what financial information is collected, how it is used (or not) to make business decisions and evaluate the firm's performance, and the role played by the accountant in that process. Design/methodology/approach -A phenomenological paradigm underpins this exploratory study. Semi-structured interviews were undertaken with the owners of ten small firms, where the focus was on understanding what happens in an organisational setting, as opposed to theory and textbook practice. Findings -The qualitative data supported prior research in other countries. The in-depth analysis revealed a very basic understanding of accounting information and problems with the financial literacy amongst these small firm owners. Accounting reports were not widely produced or used, so an informal assessment, such as how much cash was in the bank, was the primary means of assessing business performance. Accountants were used for taxation services, although some owners sought more general business advice. Originality/value -An understanding is developed of why there might be a gap between textbook rhetoric and reality of accounting practice in small firms. The conclusion is that accounting textbooks need to include more information about the reality of financial management in small firms.
The field of corporate social responsibility (CSR) has grown exponentially in the last decade. Nevertheless, there remains a protracted debate about the legitimacy and value of corporate responses to CSR concerns. This study explored whether CSR is linked to profitability. This study bases its measurement of CSR on content analysis of the annual reports of Royal Dutch Shell Plc. This research used a case study approach and analysed data from several key performance indicators reported in Royal Dutch Shell Plc ' s sustainability report and annual account over a 5-year period; 2001 -2005. Results indicate that socially responsible corporate performance can be associated with profitability. Although this study did not explore the direction of the causal connections, nevertheless, the findings indicate that CSR is positively related to better financial performance (profitability) and this relationship is statistically significant. The Royal Dutch Shell Plc is chosen as it is a global energy and petrochemical company, operating in more than 145 countries and employing approximately 119,000 people (Shell, 2005). Royal Dutch Shell is one of the biggest in the oil sector and also listed as the third top company in the world. As Shell is a well-known international corporation, the perceptions of its CSR are an important indicator for not only the public at large, but also senior management of the corporation. Literature review has revealed that this kind of CSR studies involving Shell Plc is unique. This original contribution to case study analysis highlights the point that every company has to be looked at separate angles.
Australian Football clubs have traditionally been seen as contributing social benefits to the rural communities in which they are embedded. Declining numbers of participants, both players and volunteers, suggest that this role may not be as strong today. Critical explorations of the extent to which football has driven social inclusion and exclusion in such environments emphasizes a historic masculine culture of drinking and violence that segregates and marginalizes women and children. Less is known about the contemporary strategic efforts of clubs to use social capital to support their activities, and whether the resources they generate have positive impacts on social inclusion in the wider community. We use evidence from the Parliament of Victoria’s Inquiry into Country Football (2004) to explore the current focus of rural Australian Football clubs regarding social inclusion, in light of changes occurring in society and rural towns in the 21st century.
AimsThis paper aims to examine: the status and the use of financial and non‐financial measures, and the balanced scorecard (BSC) in Bangladeshi companies; the reasons for BSC adoption; and associated problems.Design/methodology/approachData via a questionnaire were obtained from the chief accounting and finance officers of a cross section of 60 Bangladeshi companies listed on the Dhaka Stock Exchange. A combination of descriptive statistics, bi‐variate, and multi‐variate techniques of statistics were used to test three research questions.FindingsThe results indicate that financial measures are more widely used, but that 78.4 per cent of companies use some non‐financial indicators. Further, the exercise of a full BSC is limited to only 10 per cent of the sample. The results also show that companies adopt these frameworks to aid decision making, and the problems associated with the adoption of BSC include a cost‐benefit perspective and a lack of management support.Practical implicationsThe findings suggest many companies are using a dashboard of financial and non‐financial performance measures that could possibly be a precursor to adopting more holistic performance measurement frameworks like the BSC.Originality/valueThere have been recent calls for more in‐depth analysis of the management accounting systems of emerging countries and these findings contribute further knowledge to an under researched area. In particular, the paper demonstrates how a performance measurement framework may evolve in an emerging country context.
The Australian Football League (AFL) is the largest professional sports competition in Australia. Most AFL clubs began as amateur bodies in the nineteenth century, but to survive they have had to adapt to changes in demand and production costs by adopting a commercial management approach. Because financial management is seen by most club members as secondary to the core business of winning games, accounting data is generally invisible in football histories. We use a range of accounting information from annual reports, committee Minute Books and media commentaries from 1910 to 1917 to demonstrate how financial data can be used to enhance our understanding of the history of one AFL club -Carlton. In particular, we show how previously overlooked accounting records can enrich the history of this sporting club as well as challenge long held "myths", thus creating new understandings of Australian football history.
Acknowledgments:The authors would like to thank the University of South Africa for permission to use student data as well as the financial assistance provided in order to assist in completion of the research paper. ABSTRACT PurposeThe objective of this paper is to examine the effects of five determinates of performance in students (N = 677) who completed three years of financial accounting to obtain a Bachelor of Accounting Science (BCompt) degree by distance education through the University of South Africa. Design/methodology/approachRegression analysis is used on three yearly measures of performance with five independent variables (age, gender, prior accounting knowledge, mathematics background and academic aptitude). FindingsResults show that mathematics background and academic aptitude are both significantly associated with 2 student performance, throughout the financial accounting subjects. Prior accounting knowledge is also important in the first year of study but not thereafter. Practical implicationsThe results of this study have important implications for instructors, students and career advisers, particularly as research linking various factors with performance in accounting subjects over the length of a degree is limited. Research limitations/implicationsPrior research has found that other factors may influence student performance, and future studies which include these variables will add to these findings. Originality/valueThe current study considers the determinants of student performance over three financial accounting years (rather than one year or one subject) and from a distance education perspective. As distance education becomes a more important delivery method of study in the future, these results have important implications.
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