Manuscript Type: EmpiricalResearch Question/Issue: This study investigates the association between the composition of the board of directors and corporate diversification, to explore the role of the board in corporate strategic choice. Research Findings/Results: Based on a sample of 101 Australian publicly listed firms in 2005, this study finds that there is no link between corporate decisions on product and/or geographic diversification and two aspects of board compositionboard independence and institutional representation. However, there is a positive link between total diversification and a third aspect of board composition -the proportion of directors who have ties to boards of corporations in other industries. Theoretical Implications: The results provide support for the managerial hegemony and the resource dependency theories. Corporate strategic decisions regarding diversification are more likely to be made by management than boards of directors, and to be encouraged by interlocking directors with extra-industry ties. Practical Implications: Contrary to the requirement or recommendation in many jurisdictions that boards be more independent, these results indicate that shareholders' interests, represented by lower levels of diversification, are not promoted under such circumstances. Interlocking directors appear to effectively link the corporation to the external business environment and to encourage diversification. Existing recommendations and regulations to align management with shareholders' interests through independent boards should be revised. Board composition should also consider directors' knowledge, relevant expertise, availability, and length of tenure.
This article explores farm parents' attitudes and practices regarding the employment, training and supervision of their children among a sample of 24 farm couples from southeastern Washington state. The goal was to gain a greater understanding of parental attitudes and practices in order to devise appropriate and meaningful efforts to improve the safety of children and adolescents involved in farm work. Demographic data regarding the farm families and their farm safety practices were collected through a short questionnaire, and parental attitudes and practices regarding the employment, training and supervision of their children were explored through open-ended, semi-structured interviews. The results suggest that farm parents have developed a logical and consistent set of beliefs and attitudes regarding the employment, training, and supervision of their children that is based in part on the belief that farm work is highly beneficial to their children's development. Safety interventions to reduce childhood farm injuries will have to acknowledge farm work as important and beneficial for children in order to maintain legitimacy and credibility. Nevertheless, because farm parents' practices regarding their children's employment reflect cultural beliefs and values regarding children and child-rearing, some recommended safety guidelines will be difficult to implement.
PurposeAustralia's early adoption of international financial reporting standards (IFRS) in 2005 was influenced by the argument that the quality of financial reporting would be improved as a result. The purpose of this paper is to provide an historical review of quality in relation to financial reporting in Australia by investigating how the qualitative characteristics of relevance, reliability, comparability and understandability developed in Australia between 1961 and 2004.Design/methodology/approachThis paper reviews the relevant academic and professional literature during the period as well as reporting on a survey of academics and others who contributed to debates about the characteristics of accounting.FindingsIn Australia the notion of “quality” can be captured by relevance, reliability, comparability and understandability although the names and descriptions of these elements have been debated over a 40‐year period. The paper contends that the exact meanings of those elements in relation to financial reporting remain unresolved, in spite of their adoption by the AASB Framework (2004) as the qualitative characteristics of accounting information.Research limitations/implicationsFuture research into the qualitative characteristics in Australia, which include questions such as the extent to which certain reporting practices or standards meet the requirements of one or more of the qualitative characteristics could be based on the historical development of these characteristics, as described in this paper. This paper also identifies critical areas that require further dialogue between researchers, standard setters and users of general purpose financial statements.Originality/valueThis paper describes links between a comprehensive list of attributes of accounting information that have been considered important over the past 40 years, and the four qualitative characteristics adopted by the AASB Framework. It also provides a history of contemporary accounting dilemmas, and reveals a lack of resolution to issues associated with each of the qualitative characteristics.
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