Despite the numerical and economic significance of family businesses to Australia, they are not extensively researched. This paper reports some of the results from a nationwide study of Australian family‐owned businesses that sought to ascertain and understand their management and control practices. In particular, the paper assesses the organizational transitions of Australian family firms in terms of their dominant control practices. These control measures are evaluated according to Ouchi's classification of market, bureaucratic, and clan controls. The salience of these different forms of control serves to identify distinctive patterns that define periods of organizational passage (life cycles).

Purpose -This paper synthesises relevant theoretical and empirical literature to develop propositions and suggests a research agenda on the antecedents and organisational performance implications of internal audit effectiveness. Design/methodology/approach -The paper employs institutional theory and Karl Marx's theory of the ‗circuit of industrial capital' to synthesize relevant internal audit literature to develop theoretically justifiable propositions and highlight an operational research agenda. Findings -Propositions and a research agenda are provided on potential antecedents of internal audit effectiveness and its possible association with company performance measured as rate of return on capital employed. Also, key variables are identified and operationalisation issues discussed. Originality/value -As the extant literature does not provide a canon of internal audit effectiveness, the paper's originality is its argument that a positive association between compliance with standards for the professional practice of internal auditors and organisational goal achievement could serve as an approach to assess internal audit effectiveness. Furthermore, the use of the two theories in combination provides additional insights into identifying the antecedents of internal audit effectiveness and its measurement.Paper type -Literature review, theory

Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to identify an effective management accounting system using sustainability accounting concepts for environmental and social cost measurement to add shareholder value. Suggestions from literature show that there is a need for a conceptual framework for environmental management accounting (EMA) and social management accounting (SMA) practices to be developed. This study therefore designs a conceptual model for a sustainability management accounting system (SMAS) combining EMA and SMA practices to create more accurate cost information of environment and social impacts. A SMAS also expands on activity based costing (ABC) application to help in the cost analysis and allocation of environment and social impacts. By applying a SMAS, companies generate more accurate cost information thus fully costing products for internal management decision and reporting purposes. Design/methodology/approach -This study used mixed methods combining quantitative and qualitative research approaches to collect and analyse data to triangulate findings. Findings -The results of the study indicate that companies are intending to change to new management accounting practices while looking for ways to improve cost identification and measurement of environment and social impacts. Research limitations/implications -This study is limited to Australian non-service manufacturing companies. As a SMAS is a new holistic management accounting approach, it provides companies with a way to create economic, environmental, and social value both immediately and in the future. Originality/value -This study designs a SMAS conceptual model to contribute to the literature. By having a SMAS, companies could create more accurate cost information while fully costing products to effectively enhance management decisions on cost savings and greenhouse gas emission reductions.

Fraud is a multi-billion dollar industry that continues to grow annually. Many organizations are poorly prepared to prevent and detect fraud. Fraud detection strategies are intended to quickly and efficiently identify fraudulent activities that circumvent preventative measures. In this paper, we adopt a DesignScience methodological framework to develop a model for detection of vendor fraud based on analysis of patterns or signatures identified in enterprise system audit trails. The concept is demonstrated by developing prototype software. Verification of the prototype is achieved by performing a series of experiments. Validation is achieved by independent reviews from auditing practitioners. Key findings of this study are: (a) automating routine data analytics improves auditor productivity and reduces time taken to identify potential fraud; and (b) visualizations assist in promptly identifying potentially fraudulent user activities. The study makes the following contributions: (a) a model for proactive fraud detection; (b) methods for visualizing user activities in transaction data; and (c) a stand-alone Monitoring and Control Layer (MCL) based prototype.

This paper discusses the differences between a traditional organization and a virtual organization. Different forms of virtual organizations are described to illustrate the nature of a virtual organization. The concept of a virtual supply chain is proposed and defined as a hybrid of the existing forms of virtual organizations. A virtual supply chain is then explored from an information systems viewpoint. This exploration reveals contextual factors associated with information systems in a virtual supply chain. These issues are further explored to determine how they might be addressed. Finally further research that could be conducted is proposed.