This paper develops the conceptual and paradigmatic issues of social audit as groundwork for possible implementation within public services focusing particularly on the primary healthcare sector. Early sections of the paper consider arguments as to why social audit may be particularly relevant to the contemporary health care environment as well as some of the possible obstacles and reservations to its implementation. Alternative approaches to social audit are then discussed. A polyvocal citizenship perspective (PCP) which enables the direct participation of stakeholders is adopted. This is grounded in the concepts of reciprocal interest, empowerment evaluation and accountability. A social accounting and audit model is proposed which places emphasis on a system of iterative and interactive process of stakeholder dialogue, feedback and evaluation. Lastly, some prototypical ideas for social audit based on the Patients' Charter are discussed.
Research has detailed a perceived skills gap that points to accounting graduates lacking the communication and problem solving skills expected by the accounting profession. Higher education funding bodies have also emphasised the need for students to develop skills, demanding that degree courses support skills development and employability. This study examines the skills debate influenced by the accounting profession, higher education funding bodies and accounting academics, detailing the parameters for the skills debate and subsequent agenda.Academics from each university in Scotland providing accounting degrees or programme courses were interviewed to document the opinion and support for the skills debate in Scotland. The results indicate that skills are not considered uniformly by accounting's academia and that there is a political dimension to the debate that should be researched further. The findings centre on the recurring themes of the scope of skills, the placing of skills, and the politics of skills. The findings detail a complex situation in the context of diverse provision and subsequently the paper calls for more research into the nature of skills and further debate on the issues comprising the skills agenda.
The paper addresses the persistent problem of graphical communication in financial reporting. The lack of appropriate curriculum development for students' professional guidelines may arguably perpetuate poor practice. The multifaceted perceptual issues, strategic use and design issues involved in this visual medium for financial reporting are discussed. There are decision-making processes involved in using graphical displays. The paper presents a comprehensive set of guidelines along with practical insights for the effective use of graphical displays. It may serve as a critical (self)learning tool.graphical guidelines, graphical displays, graphical financial reporting, graphical communication, graphical presentation, graphical design,
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