Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the institutionalization of an accrual accounting system in the Indonesian public sector. Design/methodology/approach -The authors undertake a case study to gain insights relating to the critical features of the institutionalization process of the accrual accounting system (AAS) in one Indonesian public sector municipality. The data are drawn from official documents of the Indonesian Government and from publicly available information about the accrual adoption processes. The authors also interviewed key actors who were involved in the accrual accounting policy formulation, standards development and implementation. The data under investigation cover the period from 1983 to 2010. Findings -The IPM of Dambrin, Lambert and Sponem is employed to evaluate the process by which an AAS was idealized, standardized, implemented and used in one Indonesian municipality. Scott's pillars of legitimization also inform rationales behind practice. This study reveals how the decision of the Indonesian Government to adopt accrual accounting in 2003 was part of greater political and economic reforms following the financial and political crisis that occurred in 1998. Idealized in the early 1980s by technocrats in the Ministry of Finance, accrual accounting practices were deferred and then enabled by a series of national political events. Their ultimate internalization into our municipality was led by new legislation but also influenced by the habits and histories of the Indonesian local context and was as a result decoupled in many respects from ideals, discourses and techniques established for it.Research limitations/implications -The findings should be understood in the economic, social and historical context of Indonesia. Findings offered here may differ from other applications due to the nature of the economic, social and political contexts. Originality/value -Uniquely employing the IPM model, and drawing from a context which has undergone significant political change but which has benefitted from little research, this study contributes to an understanding of the institutionalization and legitimization process of an accrual accounting system in an emerging-economy public sector. Findings demonstrate how notions of politics and power inform the complexity of institutionalization in this unique political-economic environment.
In this study, internal auditors are asked to come to a view on whether functions they perform in connection with internal audit engagements are essential, and to what degree. Inspired by Burns, Greenspan and Hartwell’s concept of the true professional, there is an underlying interest in determining whether, and under what circumstances, internal auditors’ enjoy the authority over and independence from management that we might expect of a professional. The findings emerge from a survey of New Zealand auditors, all of whom are IIA branch members. A 73 per cent response rate is achieved over the original and follow‐up survey. A factor analysis identifies converging issues, and t‐tests isolate responses by employment status, disciplinary background, experience, and audit charter existence. The findings suggest that characteristics of a “true” profession exist but do not dominate. Significantly, and as subgroups, public practice and experienced auditors may enjoy greater influence over management, and accountancy‐trained auditors may enjoy greater status owing to the “mystique” of their activities. Comments from the internal auditors shed further light on these results. Conclusions point to further avenues for research.
Towards a conceptual framework for auditing' suggests a conceptual framework, which it is hoped may help in the teaching and understanding of external attest auditing. Briloff's (1986) view that 'as concern for ecology and the wellbeing of consumers in posterity intensifies, this responsibility (accountability) will extend to the total society and environment' is taken as the philosophical departure point for the conceptual framework.The paucity of attempts to develop a unifying theory of auditing is noted, and a brief history of developments is traced commencing with Mautz and Sharaf in 1961. Flint's 1988 work (The Philosophy and Principles of Auditing) is adopted and developed. Each of Flint's concepts is examined in some detail to consider its significance in the conceptual framework and its implications for audit practice. Reasons for changes from earlier frameworks are offered.In order to illustrate the effectiveness of the framework as an holistic tool of analysis, the concepts identified are then related to the Auditing Standards and Guidelines of our national professional accounting association, the New Zealand Society of Accountants (NZSA). Whilst considerable correlation is noted, some inconsistencies are also identified. It is suggested that the standards and guidelines may not have derived from any philosophical analysis and that the inconsistencies between the concepts and the standards appear to have resulted from a lack of a clear theory as to what constitutes a standard and what constitutes a guideline; higher and lower order ideas would appear to fall somewhat indiscriminately in both. It is noted that this analysis may be repeated in respect of the auditing standards of any professional organization.It is concluded that the application of these concepts can lead to more informed discussion of some of the controversial issues that face the auditing profession at this time, and to an holistic understanding of the discipline of auditing as well as of professional audit promulgations. It is recommended that standard setters should give thought to the adoption of a more holistic approach to standard setting, grounded in a conceptual framework, and that auditing educators should adopt such a framework in order to assist students towards an understanding of the role and process of auditing and away from the memorizing of techniques. 1
On‐going business success is not a ‘given’ and business failure is reasonably common. Such failures include 36 listed companies in New Zealand (2001–10), which, in liquidating, incurred losses for many small stakeholders. The purpose of this paper is to determine whether these failures could have been anticipated from public information available at the time. Of the 36 failing companies, 25 are matched to 25 non‐failing New Zealand and Australian companies. Financial and audit report data are obtained for the three years prior to failure, yielding 150 sets of data. Ten ratios, three failure‐prediction models and three nominal indicators, which were all available at the time, are applied to the data. News reports and media are reviewed. Findings reveal that while no specific forecasts of failure are publicised through mainstream New Zealand media, significant differences between failing and non‐failing firms do exist: 75% of the tested indicators show or approach significance in one or more of the three years prior to failure. Indications increase where data for all three years is combined. Conclusions are that problems could have been signalled and published, providing stakeholders bases for enquiry. Implications are as to a failure of public accountability in this respect, how practice and policy could address this problem, and suggestions for further research.
This study investigates whether ‘prestigious’ multiple board membership is positively associated with firm performance. We employ Resource Dependency theory to explain why performance outcomes may be improved by the presence of ‘prestigious’ multiple directorships. Our analysis relies on extensive hand‐collected data on New Zealand company directorships. The results support the contention that ‘prestigious’ multiple directorships are related to better accounting and market performance. Conclusions reflect upon how Resource Dependency theory informs this phenomenon and how ‘prestigious’ board members may be a valuable resource for firms. We also reveal how these findings expose a new avenue for board governance research.
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