The organizational context of accounting

Measurement distortion of graphs in corporate reports: an experimental study

“…For studies that discuss the impact of these incentives on accounting disclosure choices, see Watts and Zimmerman (1986) (positive accounting theory); Tweedie and Whittington (1990) and Revsine (1991) (thè`s elective financial misrepresentation'' hypothesis); Murphy and Zimmerman (1993) (the``cover-up'' hypothesis); Lewellen et al (1996) (self-serving behaviour); and Preston et al (1996, p. 119) (impression management). This manipulation can take a number of forms, including biasing (the selection of favourable information items) and focusing (the enhancement of degradation of aspects of the information set) (Birnberg et al, 1983).…”

Ethical Antecedents of Dysfunctional Behaviour in Performance Measurement and Control System

“…" There are many forms of DB that have been discussed in the literature. Among the most referred to is the classification made by Birnberg et al (1983) who classified the DB into six broad categories, namely 'smoothing', 'biasing', 'focusing', 'gaming', 'filtering', and 'illegal act or falsification' which can be considered as too detail, making some forms of DB appear redundant. The classification was then adapted and empirically tested by Jaworski and Young (1992), resulting in only two captions, which are gaming and information manipulation, which was later adapted by Soobaroyen (2007).…”

“…Fisher and Downes (2008) defined gaming as "…taking advantage of the loopholes in the rules and system under which they operate" (p. 248), which is a result of subordinates' rebel following a belief that the control system measures performance on the wrong task or only on a limited number of their required tasks. On the other hand, "Information manipulation" has been redefined as "…subordinates alter the free flow of information, report only those aspects of an information set that is in their best interest, or in the extreme, falsify data and company records" (p. 19), which includes Birnberg's et al (1983) earlier captions of smoothing, filtering, and falsification of information. Fisher and Downes (2008) further elaborated it as presenting information in a manner that recipient is likely to form an incorrect understanding, including misclassifying things, or lying or falsifying of data.…”

“…In 1956, Ridgway further proposed that this DB actual stems from the lack of understanding of motivational and behavioural consequences of PMCS that will lead to indiscriminate use, undue confidence and reliance in the system that may eventually result in side effects and reactions outweighing its benefits. Birnberg, Turopolec and Young (1983) then came up with a more elaborative account of DB in accounting. These early studies have somehow motivated others to keep exploring and developing the research issue besides introducing other variables.…”

“…The original model hypothesized that ethical decision making in organizations is explained by the interaction of individual (represented by cognitions, ego strength, field dependence, and locus of control) and situational components (immediate job context and the broader organizational culture). The proposed model originally started from the reviewing of the work done by researchers like Argyris (1953), Ridgway (1956), Hopwood (1972), Birnberg et al (1983), Jaworski and Young (1992), Van der Stede (2000), and Soobaroyen (2007) that had sparked an interest in the issue of dysfunctional PMCS behaviour. Later, a framework proposed by Drongelen and Fisscher (2003) that relates DB to moral responsibility of the PMCS actors triggered the adaptation of Trevino's (1986) model to explain how ethics might play a crucial role in the commission of dysfunctional PMS behaviour.…”