Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the extent to which economically significant Caribbean and African firms provide human resources disclosures (HRD), and the factors related to their disclosure practices. It is motivated by the dearth of studies of HRD among firms in developing countries. Design/methodology/approach All companies with common shares listed on the main tier of the major stock exchanges in each country examined on December 31, 2013 as well as selected state enterprises were included in the study if their annual report, sustainability report or integrated report was available online. HRD was measured using an unweighted 174-item disclosure index. The research hypotheses were examined using multiple-regression analysis. Findings The level of HRD in the Caribbean and Southern Africa was relatively low (M=33.7 percent, SD=25.3 percent). The amount of HRD was related to organizational culture, firm size, industry affiliation, national governance environment and foreign influence. Geographical region, gender diversity and director independence were not statistically related to the amount of HRD. Practical implications Caribbean and African governments may need to implement incentives for economically significant companies to participate in targeted human resources (HR) development initiatives, to provide more comprehensive HR disclosures and incorporate HR consideration in their strategic decision making. Originality/value This is one of the first studies to compare the amount and determinants of HRD by economically significant Caribbean and African companies.

The purpose of this paper is twofold. First, it describes the nature of internal controls (IC) in Christian and Hindu religious organizations (ROs) in Trinidad and Tobago. Second, the paper provides an assessment of the relative comprehensiveness of IC among the ROs examined and offers tentative explanations for the findings. Most of the information used in the paper was collected by conducting structured interviews with the chief financial officer(s) of each RO. This information was supplemented by published studies. The findings indicate that the ROs as a group have inadequate and patchy IC systems. Conversely, all the ROs examined had implemented many of the basic foundational elements of an effective IC system. This suggests that they could significantly improve the quality of their IC systems by instituting some fairly minor and cheap practices. The implications of these findings for administrators and researchers of ROs are discussed.

PurposeThis paper aims to examine the extent to which publicly‐listed Caribbean companies provide social and environmental disclosures (SED), and the factors related to their disclosure practices. It is motivated by the dearth of studies of SED among publicly listed Caribbean firms.Design/methodology/approachAll 55 companies with common shares listed on the main tier of one of the three major Caribbean stock exchanges in December 2010 were included in the study. The comprehensiveness of SED was measured using an unweighted 43‐item disclosure index. The research hypotheses were examined using multiple regression analysis.FindingsThe level of SED in the Caribbean was relatively low (M=33.7 per cent, SD=25.3 per cent). The amount of SED was positively related to firm size, industry affiliation, foreign influence and organizational culture. Firm profitability, national culture, importance of public equity financing, gender diversity, and director independence were not statistically related to SED comprehensiveness.Practical implicationsTo promote the consideration of sustainability issues in national, corporate and individual investment and administration decisions, Caribbean governments may need to implement incentives for public companies to participate in targeted development initiatives and to provide more comprehensive social and environmental disclosures.Originality/valueThis is the first study to examine the comprehensiveness and determinants of SED by publicly‐listed Caribbean companies.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the relationships among time pressure (TP), task complexity (TC), and audit effectiveness (AE). It is motivated by the conflicting results reported in prior TP studies.Design/methodology/approachThe research hypotheses are developed using McGrath's interactional model of the Yerkes‐Dodson Law. Data are collected using a two‐treatment field experiment involving 63 public accountants.FindingsThe results show a negative, interactional relationship among TP, TC, and AE.Research limitations/implicationsThe first limitation concerns the non‐random procedure used to recruit public accounting firms and auditors. Second, there is the less than perfect operationalization of the TC construct.Practical implicationsFirst, the findings suggest that public accounting firms may need to resist the urge to reduce the time allowed for performing compliance tests, and provide training to improve the detection rate for all type of compliance deviations. Second, the fact that the rate of change in AE, in response to changes in TP, is different for the two audit tasks studied, suggests that it may not be appropriate for audit planners to assume a uniform TP effect across the various tasks involved in an audit. This insight has implication for the trade‐offs between the lower direct audit costs associated with tighter time budgets, and possible increases in audit risk associated with lower AE.Originality/valueTwo unique aspects of this paper are the operationalization of TP as a continuous random variable and the use of z‐scores to standardize the AE measure.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the comprehensiveness and determinants of internet reporting by publicly listed Caribbean companies. Design/methodology/approach – In total, 65 companies with common shares listed on one of the four Caribbean stock exchanges, were included in the study. The study examined the relationship between firm characteristics (size, industry affiliation, listing status, and CEO role duality) and the comprehensiveness of corporate internet reporting (CIR), while controlling for the importance of public equity financing, company age and profitability. CIR was measured using an unweighted 107-item disclosure index that focussed on web site usability, disclosure timeliness, disclosure content, and several advanced CIR features. The data were subjected to content analysis using descriptive statistics, contingency tables, and multiple regression analysis. Findings – As a whole, publicly listed Caribbean firms seem to be in stage 2 of the internet evolutionary model presented by Hedlin (1999); most firms have a web presence, a majority of firms engage in CIR and very few firms are using social media, communication and processable reporting formats in their CIR. It was found that Caribbean companies, on average, satisfied only 63.1 percent of the items included in the index. As hypothesized company size and industry affiliation were positively related to the comprehensiveness of CIR. Conversely, both industry affiliation and listing status generated mixed results. Also, the importance of public equity financing was significantly and negatively related to the general content and timeliness dimensions of CIR. Practical implications – The findings suggest that Caribbean governments and regulators interested in raising the profile of regional stock exchanges may need to implement incentives for public companies to engage in internet reporting. Originality/value – This is the first study to examine the comprehensiveness and determinants of internet reporting by publicly listed Caribbean companies.

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The case requires that students use their understanding of procedures for preparing cash flow statements and conducting financial and credit analyses to evaluate a request for financing by a small, family-owned company. Students are guided to an appreciation of the types of securities and covenants that may be required by a financial institution and the dangers of excessive drawings from business resources. The case has been used on eight occasions, by three different instructors, in the Financial Accounting course of the MBA programme offered by the University of the West Indies. It is used in the Financial Statements Preparation and Financial Statements Analysis modules of this course. The classes range in size from 40 to 65 students. The case is based on an actual financing request by an energy-based company to its principal bankers and it incorporates the major players involved in the real-world situation.Financial reporting, financial analysis, credit evaluation, small business,