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Purpose -This study sets out to examine the effect of the choice of auditors in constraining earnings management within a rule-based reporting framework during the Asian financial crisis. Design/methodology/approach -Using the iterative seemingly unrelated regression methodology, 383 firm-observations of service-oriented listed companies in Singapore are analysed. Findings -The results show that service-oriented companies engage in income decreasing earnings management during the crisis period. More importantly, the results indicate that only the Big-6 firms are able to significantly constrain the earnings management of managers of such companies. Practical implications -The ability of Big-6 firms to constrain earnings management is perceived to add credibility to the quality of reported earnings, and hence contributes to the competitive advantage of the Big-6 firms in the market for auditing services. Originality/value -The evidence contributes to the literature on corporate governance and the competitiveness of the market for audit services in the context of an economy-wide financial crisis from an Asian perspective.

This is a comparative study of the career drivers of accounting students in Singapore, Australia and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR). The study examines the motivational factors that steer accounting students into choosing accounting as a programme of study in their respective countries. Comparative analyses are performed to examine the importance of each career driver, taking into consideration gender and country/institutional variables. The results indicate significant differences between male and female students with respect to the importance of the following career drivers: search for meaning, security, material rewards and creativity. Significant differences are also found among countries/institutions and the importance of career drivers such as expertise, status, security, affiliation and creativity. The study concludes with a discussion of the implications of the findings for both the profession and academic educators as well as suggestions for future research.