Two different forces are involved in the international harmonization of accounting: institutional endeavours to harmonize accounting internationally by developing common accounting rules and reporting standards, and spontaneous efforts by 'global players' to adopt accounting methods that will improve communication with users in other countries. These two developments are proceeding side by side, generally reinforcing one another but occasionally moving independently. This paper is primarily concerned with the process of harmonization of financial accounting within the European Union. The hypothesis we want to test is that, in spite of the obstacles to the harmonization of regulations in the European Union, there has been greater conformity in recent years in the accounting practices of companies which operate on the international stage. If so, the implications for the harmonization strategies of the international bodies are important. In this study, we first carry out a critical analysis of previous research on accounting harmonization, summarizing the methods used in empirical studies of de facto harmonization and the results obtained. We note that the major deficiency in the index-based methods of measuring harmonization is that no test of significance has been included in prior research. In this paper, we propose a bootstrapping test of the C index as a way of measuring the significance of the change in its value. We consider a sample of eighty-five 'global players' from thirteen countries and we analyse their financial statements with regard to four accounting issues (deferred taxation, goodwill, leasing and foreign currency translation), providing estimates of the significance of de facto accounting harmonization for the periods from 1991-2 to 1996-7.
Purpose-The purpose of this paper is to discuss whether the mechanisms used to measure and manage intangibles in companies can be applied to universities and other research institutions. Design/methodology/approach-The characteristics of the issues is addressed by companies in relation to their intellectual capital (IC) and how they manage them are reviewed to discuss whether universities can apply the same framework. External pressures for change and barriers universities encounter, particularly due to the current governance system, are discussed. The experience of some universities are briefly described. Findings-The companies' framework is possible to be used by universities, with some specificity. Research limitations/implications-The number of universities actually applying this framework is small and therefore the results cannot be generalized. Practical implications-Policy measures are needed to encourage research institutions and universities to measure and manage their IC. In a knowledge-based society, the main knowledge producers should be more accountable for their activities. Originality/value-The use of IC concepts to analyze universities' performance is still scarce. This is an attempt to fill such lacuna.
The paper intends to show how the IC principles, developed mainly for companies over the last two decades, can be applied as well to Universities and Research Institutions. Firstly, it explores recent theoretical backgrounds which affect Universities, such as the “Mode 2” of Knowledge production and the Triple Helix Model. Secondly it analyses how similar objectives and procedures are when managing intangibles in both companies and Universi- ties. Then it examines whether the structure of IC reporting in companies may be useful for Universities, providing some examples for Europe, and how the harmonization and external control principles are relevant for public institutions. The main conclusion is that IC principles can broadly apply to Universities and that reporting on their IC would be beneficial for them and the society as a whole, which provides the rationale for public intervention.
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