Accounting Theory Essays (Examples)

Accounting Theory

Accounting Theory

Over the year, the world scholars continue to evaluate the economics of the world to understand their functioning. In this course, they developed the subject of accounting to assess the frameworks of financial principles. The accounting theory in discussion involves reviewing the historical foundations of financial reporting and creating new models of reporting the financial developments and exchanges (ichards, 2009, p. 17). Accounting theory evolves continually; thus, there are various theories and principles of accounting in practice within the world economics. These theories, in the process of developing them, the scholars expressed a desire to help enhance understanding of economics.

Positive Accounting Theory in neo-liberal ideology to solve problems of society

Positive accounting theory is one theory in accounting that resorts to explaining actual accounting practices, and predicting the future accounting practices. In this theory, it shows the essence of practicing certain accounting theories and the reason they…… [Read More]

Accounting Theory

Accounting Theory

Why accounting research has had so little impact on preventing such failures in accounting practice?

The modern economic society has seen many scientific researches that have been directed at establishing the nature of performance of economic activities. The present world is a literate society that depends on the technicalities of life and assumption of activities as they happen in the natural society. In order to have a genuine avenue of relaying the facts between the research activities and the real happenings in the ground, several studies have been conducted across the varied advocacies of life. The entire society has been established under a summative approach that has ensured an equitable and pleasant avenue of relaying between the real standards of the economy together with the variations in the avenues of deploying and exemplifying what can be done in the society (ClarkE et al., 2003, p. 54).

Accounting research…… [Read More]

Accounting Theory KITCHENS2GO - Analysis

This is often referred to as the "acid test." The standard range is 1.8:1 for a young company versus.9:1 for a more developed company. Using these benchmarks gives banks a frame of reference from which to measure.

Other indicators to banks include comparing the % of the Cost of Goods Sold on the income statement to industry averages. This gives an indication of the firm's profit margin with regard to its competitors. Operating expenses may also be examined, not only overall but by type of spending. For instance, is the company adequately staffed during peak cycles? Overstaffed during slow cycles? Is some spending preventable or reducible?

One type of expense that is often examined more closely is administrative expense. Administrative expense is largely fixed and generally not directly attributable to generating sales. There are standard measures by industry for appropriate ranges. Exceptions may include start up costs or capital upgrades.…… [Read More]

Positive Accounting Theory and other Theories in Financial Accounting

Accounting

Policy Setting Using Ex-Ante and Ex-Post Accounting Techniques

Firms make contracts every day because they are required to gain assets that would be costly for them to obtain otherwise. At one time these contracts were made from an opinion-based accounting model called normative theory. Many departments used this theory because they believed that they could use the knowledge that they had gained to make accurate guesses regarding financial and intangible accounting decisions. The problem with this is that it does not take into account actual empirical data that could be used more accurately to make accounting decisions that helped the firm grow for the long run. Because accounting researchers realized that these types of anecdotal theoretical stances did not actually work, they tried to determine a model that could more accurately predict a firm's accounting needs. The result of this investigation was positive accounting theory. esearchers found that firms…… [Read More]

Normative vs Positive Accounting Theory

The examples cited by Thomas and Smith (1997) are the political concern with discrimination in insurance pricing, leading to numerous papers on underwriting; and proposals to change accounting standards for pension costs, leading to a flurry of effort to defend traditional actuarial approaches, or argue for alternative approaches. Another example cited by Thomas and Smith (1997) is that normative accounting theory are stimulated by the emergence of "orphan estates," as a political and media issue, leading to efforts to justify distributions more favorable to shareholders. A second consequence of normative theories' role as excises is that whether a theory proves true or false in the long-term may not be a particularly relevant factor in whether its originators prosper or not (Thomas & Smith, 1997).

Positive accounting theory appears to have the better position in the debate. This is because the first step in economics involves identifying the qualitative nature of…… [Read More]

Fraud Positive Accounting Theory the Positive Theory

Fraud

Positive Accounting Theory

The positive theory of accounting is contrasted with the normative theory of accounting -- it predicts what accounting practices actually happen, as opposed to stating prescriptivist optimal accounting practices. The positive theory of accounting contains three major hypotheses within the opportunistic perspective, that is, the idea that managers act in their own self-interests.

First, the "management compensation hypothesis" predicts that managers whose pay is tied up with their firm's performance will tend to manipulate the accounting method so that their performance will seem better than it actually was. In other words, they will move profits from future periods into the current period.

Second, the "debt hypothesis" predicts that managers will attempt to pay the interest and principal of the debt they have accumulated in the business, so tying the bonus to debt makes the firm manager more likely to select accounting procedures that shift reported earnings…… [Read More]

Integrated Reporting and Positive Accounting Theory

Integrated Reporting & Positive accounting theory

Integrated reporting

According to IIRC 1.18-1.20, there is an ideal of seamless integration between all competing perspectives that is honored by the integrated reporting perspective. However, despite the strengths of this concept, the notion of a truly seamless presentation of competing data remains elusive. It is true that for a long time, the profession of accounting has been criticized for placing undue emphasis on short-term financial data when evaluating the performance of an organization. This can make it difficult for investors to comprehend the state of health of an organization and make wise decisions with their money. The integrated reporting framework was designed to address this and "is organized around the concept of reporting on 'capitals,' including financial, manufactured, intellectual, human, social and relationship, and natural capital. Under each of these headings are a series of disclosures that a company might make" (Cohn 2013).…… [Read More]

Accounting Theories and Business Decisions The Business

Accounting Theories and usiness Decisions: The usiness World

Case Facts

Application of theories

Other cases of stakeholder theory application

Accounting theories and business decisions: The business world

There are many theories that explain the complexity of relationship between different groups of people directly and indirectly related to an organization. Two of the most comprehensive and most discussed theories are stakeholder theory and agency theory. oth the theories describe what the main purpose of each group is and how these groups ought to manage these relationships. In agency theory, it identified that agency relationship takes place when one or more than one principal, acting as owners, delegate their power to make decisions, to a person acting as their agent or steward. Thus, agency theory principally revolves around the relationship of principal and agent. While the principal delegates the authority or decision making power to agent (managers) to act in the best…… [Read More]

Accounting Research in the Past

In aaccounting research, the model used would be called analytical modeling, which consists of sstudies that use models with no specific underlying economic theory but use mathematical techniques. The mathematical formulas are applied to test and establish laws and accounting practices. Simulation, or the practice where the analysis is so complex that it requires a computer, is also an example of an inductive accounting practice research methodology.

Finally, pragmatic research utilizes pragmatic validity, which views research from a prescriptive-driven perspective. For example, solutions to problems that actually occur in the complex and high field of practice are developed in a way that, while valid for a specific situation, need to be adjusted according to the context in which they are to be applied. In the accounting area, general empirical research is a catchall that includes primarily descriptive empirical work. Another example of an accounting research methodology that consists of pragmatic…… [Read More]

Accounting the Most Effective Means

ystems of income and financial position would superimpose standards of normalization upon everyone within the firm. Accounting, thereby, had achieved Foucault's definition of knowledge as power over people per excellence. By the 1950s, however, person as decision-maker replaced this vision of person as machine, and accounting still has power in our society, but a different sort of power. Likewise, accounting still possesses its constructivism (i.e. manner of perceiving a certain stranglehold on reality by emphasizing certain construct and demoting others), although its constructivist paradigm may have differed from that of, say, a century ago. Individuals are viewed, measured, and criticized within programmatic frameworks, and Miller and O'Leary (1987) suggest that accounting today can still be viewed as part of the heritage and structure (albeit slightly changed) of the traditional mode of power that it was in the early decades of this century. In other words, the slanted domination of accounting…… [Read More]

Accounting Information System for Harmonization

This model could then be customized for the needs of the different companies.

Sankaran and AlHashim (2006) make a compelling case regarding the need for harmonized accounting standards and practices. In addition to the globalized economy, they also rightly point to the benefits of such harmonization for corporations - including a greater ability to keep track of expenses and a better way of reconciling different accounting practices in its branches worldwide. Furthermore, Sankaran and AlHashim (2006) also allay fears that harmonization is equivalent to imposing only one accounting system around the world. Instead, they highlight the need for commonality, for a web-based accounting system that lends itself to different accounting practices.

The paper makes a strong argument, and the data regarding the need for a harmonized accounting system is compelling. hile this article may present a challenge for readers unfamiliar with basic programming language, the inclusion of a generic algorithm…… [Read More]

Accounting Journal Entries A P A R Cash Liabilities

Accounting

Journal Entries

A/P

A/R

Cash

Liabilities

AP

AR

Cash

Liabilities

Cash

Cash

Liabilities

Reserve

Theory

Alan Moser and Stephanie Philips operate a successful software business in Brisbane. Alan and Stephanie are existing clients of your accounting firm CPT Accountants. Their business currently operates as a partnership but due to expansion plans they are considering incorporating the business (ie becoming a company). They wish to clarify the following points before making a decision and have asked CPT accountants to write a report answering the following:

What is the difference between forming a proprietary (private) company and public company?

There is substantial difference in the reporting requirements and tax basis for private and public companies. However, the biggest difference is how the legal entities deal with liability. Under a sole proprietorship and a partnership the owner can be held liable for many different problems that the business incurs while under a…… [Read More]

Accounting America Was Not Founded as a

Accounting

America was not founded as a Democracy or as a Monarchy, for the educated and landed founding fathers felt assured that neither would provide the nation with rights for all and privilege for the few. America was founded as a Republic, and one might add as an ogliarchic republic at that. Those with the right gender, race, and wealth were represented through their while others were represented through the votes of their betters. Today, nearly-universal sufferage (age and past misbehavior are both barriers) assures that these factors do not determine whether a person can vote -- but an argument can still be made that the majority of the political process is determined by wealth. "The creators of America's constitution and government were among the wealthy aristocrats of their day. When they created their new government, the founders excluded democracy to the extent politically possible at the time. ..The great…… [Read More]

Accounting and Economics the Power

Education should come from non-profit international scientific, health and environmental organizations. They would be most widely respected and would have more access to both the TNCs and the host and origin country governmental bodies. They can educate the corporations on the practicality of policing their own people and actions. They can educate government bodies on how to include these considerations in political decisions. They can be resources for The United Nations and the TO to help them decide on their programs. Finally they can help the educate the global populace via global media, especially independent educational media.

The last suggestion is one way to approach using public relations. Another is to incite the press and various other media to report the good and the bad actions of TNCs. His makes for interesting news for their audiences, and good public service for the media. In essence, Fowler has said much of…… [Read More]

International Regulation Accounting Standards and Australia Background

International egulation, Accounting Standards and Australia

Background and Need for egulation

International regulation is a necessity in the finance arena as the world bears a high rate of interconnection, particularly via banking and accounting. In 2008, Europe was given international accolades for its attempts to strengthen the world financial system and protect nations all over the world from a serious crisis. "Europe led the way last year in facing down the global financial crisis, restructuring our banking system and strengthening the global financial system. The European Union was also at the forefront in calling for a new forum for economic cooperation of G-20 leaders. And from the outset of the crisis, it was Europe that promoted the fiscal stimulus -- and sought to coordinate it globally -- that has been a major factor in preventing recession becoming a world-wide depression" (Brown & Sarkozy, 2009).

The reality is that in order…… [Read More]

Public Accounting Corporate Accounting and

This role is in response to clients' demands for a single trustworthy individual or firm to meet all of their financial needs. However, accountants are restricted from providing these services to clients whose financial statements they also prepare." (U.S. Department of Labor, ureau of Labor Statistics, 2009)

1. Public Accounting

The work entitled: "The Reality of the CPA's Role" states that modern CPAs work "behind the scenes as trusted advisors in nearly all significant business decisions. Successful accountants display the ability to think strategically and creatively and to be problem solvers and business advisors." (Douglass, 2006) Douglass states that the views of the CPA are widely varied "...whether from the viewpoint of the investing public or from the perspective of the companies that engage CPAs to audit their financial statements or perform other functions. In fact, many people not involved in the business management or accounting profession may perceive CPAs…… [Read More]

Ethics in Business Accounting Standards Accounting Standards

Ethics in Business: Accounting Standards

Accounting Standards

Ethics in Business

Accounting Standards

The objective of this work is to address the relationship among the FASB, SEC, and PCAOB and to provide explanations of basic accounting theories, assumptions and principles; and finally to evaluate the role of ethics in accounting.

Victor, G. & Levitin, M. (2004) Current SEC and PCAOB Developments -- September 2004. The national conference of the AICPA in relation to recent SEC developments convened in Washington D.C. And boasted more than 2,000 attendees from "accounting firms, private industry, and government" while representatives from the SEC, Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB), FASB International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) and AICPA shared their knowledge on various issues. Key was ethical standards among items on the agenda of the professional attending the meeting." (Victor and Levitin, 2004)

AICPA

AICPA SEC Practice Section (SECPS) effectively changed its name and is now known…… [Read More]

Worldcom's Collapse and the Accounting

The reality was that a company which aspired to be "the No. 1 stock on all Street" was instead steadily bleeding money while claim growth in the billions.

The pressure placed upon accountants at ordCom was reflective of the pressure facing accountants throughout the economy during this period of widely absence securities oversight. Indeed, the relationship between regulation and accounting is essential, and this diminished link would have catastrophic implications for the profession as a whole. Such is shown by the Scott text, which tells that "efficient securities market theory has major implications for financial accounting. One of these is that supplementary information in financial statement notes or elsewhere is just as useful as information in the financial statements proper. Another is that efficiency is defined relative to a stock of publicly known information. Financial reporting has a role to play in improving the amount, timing, and accuracy of this…… [Read More]

Finance Management Accounting the Topic of Finance and

Finance/Management Accounting

The topic of finance and managerial accounting inclusively, are broad and incorporate a critical skill set in the modern day business student. Finance involves corporate and investment finance and managerial accounting is complimentary as it involves cost accounting and essentially stresses cost management. Together, these topics provide a comprehensive financial analysis skill set yielding capability in solving the day's most critical business financial quandaries. The literature review will seek to narrow down the literature and funnel the topic into the main financial analysis area.

According to Musvoto, (2011), "Studies in accounting measurement indicate the absence of empirical relational structures that should form the basis for accounting measurement. This suggests the lack of objectivity of accounting information. Landmarks in the development of finance theory indicate the use of accounting measurement information as a basis for their development. This indicates that subjective accounting information is incorporated in finance theory. Landmarks…… [Read More]

Accounting for That Quite Likely

They then proceed to detail their selected sample (76 NYSE firms that reported at least three annual losses in period's 1980-1985 and that reduced cash dividends. They then implemented various conditions to test their hypothesis that it is the troubled firm's aim to retain preservation of their company, rather than to make a bonus, that causes them to select a certain accountancy plan.

In section 2, the authors describe their methods used in selecting a sampled population and their bias controls. There is a great deal of numerical data, and the material is dense particularly when they elaborate on the earnings and cash flow performance of the various firms. Each unit is broken up into subunits. Scholarly tables condensed with data that for instance report accrual levels and changes for the 76 firms support their written text and the Tables are alluded to in the text. Statistical analysis of these…… [Read More]

Accounting CPA Ideas 1- My Story I

ccounting CP. Ideas 1- My story: I a young, my father gave responsibility manage budget house. School I control budget Volunteer

Personal statement: Why I want to obtain an MSc in ccounting

Ever since I was young, I have had the responsibility of balancing a budget. My father encouraged me to manage some of the household finances, and by the time I was selected in school to oversee the treasury of the volunteer club, I felt very comfortable and confident with bookkeeping. Majoring in accounting when I went to college seemed like a natural extension of my interests and aptitudes. I graduated with a B.. In accounting from King Saud University in 2009. However, even then I knew that obtaining a B.. was only the first step in gaining mastery of the profession. I already knew I wanted to go on to get my MSc in ccounting but decided to…… [Read More]

Accounting GAAP and IFRS

Accounting includes recording, summarizing, and reporting of the economic activities and events of an organization. It is pertinent in business decision-making and the management and control of operations. The financial statements reported by a company include the income statement, balance sheet, statement of retained earnings and statement of cash flows. Globally, there are two sets of accounting standards, the Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) and International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). In particular, the GAAP are more often than not employed in the United States whereas IFRS are more often than not employed in Europe and international expanses. IFRS are regarded as being more principles-based and U.S. GAAP as being more rules-based. The establishments responsible for setting the IFRS and GAAP are the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) and Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) respectively (Gaspar et al., 2016). The purpose of this paper is to discuss the difference between GAAP…… [Read More]

Accounting Questions and Answers

financial crisis was abusive off-balance sheet accounting. Abusive off-balance sheet accounting led to a daisy chain of ineffective and dysfunctional decision-making because it removed transparency from regulators, investors, and markets. Spread of derivative transactions, bad loans, and securitizations brought a once stable financial system to the edge of ruin. While improvements have been made, the FASB's guidelines suffer from two main flaws. The first is lack of congressional mandate. With no clear congressional mandate, FASB and SEC guidelines remain subject to the same type of interpretation that led to the growth of 'regulatory arbitrage' or what others may pen as financial engineering, meaning shifting debts off-balance sheets. This means a company must consolidate a VIE only when it possesses 'control' and has the right to receive benefits and access to VIE's 'most pertinent activities' making the design of the guidelines qualitative in nature (Stickney, 2010).

The guidelines then require assumptions…… [Read More]

Accounting Ethics Questions

.....ethical for an employer to use social media information as a factor when considering whether to hire an employee? What about monitoring social networking activities of employees while on the job? Use ethical reasoning in answering these questions.

The wide-ranging use of social media in the workplace gives rise to serious moral and ethical concerns. Kantian ethics lays emphasis on the form of an action in ascertaining its morality. Kant insists on the Categorical Imperative. Kant implies that this ethical principle is the superlative and outright and proper test to morality, whereas imperative implies that from time to time one must command oneself to be moral and undertake the right thing, even and particularly when one's self-centeredness may be infringed by acting ethically (Mintz, 2015). As an overall moral rule, for an employer to impose into an employee's private life on social media devoid of consent or in a clandestine…… [Read More]

Accounting Systems Their Tradeoffs and Discusses the

accounting systems, their tradeoffs, and discusses the differences between countries in their approaches.

Each of the cost accounting systems discussed in the articles accomplishes some management goals better than other systems, but there are tradeoffs involved with each. Different nations approach their cost accounting systems differently due at least in part to differences within cultures. For instance, GP is more suited to countries where the culture is one of uncertainty avoidance, one of the five dimensions of Hofstede's taxonomy. GP offers the most uncertainty avoidance because there is relatively little ambiguity in the assignment of costs; GP is characterized by narrowly defined cost centers and strict cost center criteria. Cultures such as Germany's are characterized by a management environment that includes highly skilled workers and technical expertise among managers. This is in contrast to the U.S. where workers tend to have more generalist skill sets and managers have been educated…… [Read More]

Theory of Planned Behavior and Theory of Reasoned Action

Management Theories

Behavior Management Theories and Applications

The Theory of Planned Behavior & Theory of easoned Action

The theory of planned behavior (TPB) is one of the most commonly mentioned and used behavior management theories. It is one of a carefully interrelated family of concepts, which follows a cognitive strategy to describing behavior, which centers on individuals' behavior and values. The TPB progressed from the Theory of easoned Action, which posited intention to act as the best forecaster of behavior. The intention is itself a result of the mixture of attitudes towards behavior (Dunlap, 2012). That is a good or bad assessment of the behavior and its predicted results, and very subjective standards, which are the social pressures used on a person as a result of their views of what others think they should do and their tendency to adhere to these. The TPB included a third set of aspects…… [Read More]

Theory and Design Organization

difficult for organization to be effective?

Effectiveness within an organization is a measure of how effective the organization is in achieving the outcomes or goals it has for itself. An organization's effectiveness is also interdependent upon its set of morals, ethics, and ability to community appropriately. Effectiveness is important in different ways for different organizations because of the criteria used to judge (e.g. A non-profit aid group might have a different benchmark than a new accounting firm). It is sometimes difficult for an organization to be effective due to external factors, lack of clear definition and focus, and internal dynamics.

What is the example most outstanding in your mind that accurately illustrates the reality of a learning organization?

A learning organization that almost continually transforms itself and encourages the intellectual growth of its members is probably Apple, Inc. In two eras, 1976-1980 and 2005+. In both of these eras, innovation…… [Read More]

Theory of Constraints

Constraints

What is the Theory of Constraints?

There has been a continuous development of management from the time it was realized that it can be studied carefully to form a branch of knowledge and the individuals who had studied it generally performed better as managers than others who never spent time on the matter. The Theory of Constraints or TOC is basically a philosophy of management and improvement. The first person to draw the attention of the world to this was Eliyahu M. Goldratt and he brought it to the notice of others through his famous book, The Goal. The guiding principle behind this theory is that in any organization there exists a weak link, and this acts somewhat like a chain with a weak link. This tops the organization from performing even better than it is performing at any period of time. In short, it is important to remove…… [Read More]

Theory of Constraints in Production

Constraints

The theory of constraints is a management concept that emphasizes that an organization is only as strong as its weakest link. Weaknesses, therefore, are constraints on organizational capability. In order to improve organizational performance, the weaknesses need to either be removed or strengthened (MindTools.com, 2016). While this theory has most commonly been applied to production, such as in overcoming bottlenecks or improving defect rates, it can also be applied to other practices.

Fiscal accountability can operate under this theory. In the typical organization, most people normally behave ethically, and with a high level of accountability. It only takes one or two people, however, to behave unethically, and the entire organization is undermined. Many cases of accounting fraud, for example, were perpetrated by only a few well-placed people. Thousands of good people worked at Enron, for example, but they were entirely undermined because the people running the company were criminals.…… [Read More]

Theories of Organizational Change

Organizational Change

There are many organizations that use strategic planning to implement change in their services so that the facility runs in a more effective manner. Thus, the overall responsibility of healthcare providers is to offer the best level of care to their patients. For those organizations that follow the plan process, they have had solid outcomes with staff and patient feedback. During my period of research, I generally noticed that many healthcare providers shared the same mission, which was to serve patients with the highest quality care through performance measurements and improvement processes. The ways in which the effectiveness of organizational change will be determined once implemented is through a strong and thorough understanding of roles and positions. This can be achieved through deadlines and guidelines being set so that the protocol is followed in all aspects through measurement. Measurement offer the ability to gather quantitative values to subjective…… [Read More]

Ethical Issues in Budgeting Accounting

Accounting: Ethical Issues in Budgeting

What should an employee do when he or she discovers that there is an error in a projection?

Accounting professionals have a duty to observe high standards of conduct and integrity in order to uphold the reputation of the accounting profession. For instance, if an error occurs in sales projections, the accountant has a duty to correct the error immediately and inform the head of the department or manager of the company. Sales projections are crucial to a company's budget because they give an idea of the amount of revenue the company intends to generate in future. Since they help determine the health of the company, majority of the decisions the company makes will based on the projected figures. If an accountant chooses to conceal errors in the projections, therefore, wrong decisions will be made and the overall performance of the company will be affected…… [Read More]

Ethics and Friedman and Accounting

Accounting and Ethics

The stakeholder model should be implemented in combination with Friedman's shareholder model

In his article, "The Social esponsibility of Business is to Increase its Profits" published in 1970's reputed "The New York Times" Magazine, Friedman debates in favor of precisely what the article's title states. He alleged that corporate social responsibility (CS) was a diversion from the economic rudiments of business that helps in capitalization of profits and yields to shareholders. In his article, when he raised the description of advocates of CS he stated, "The businessmen believe that they are defending free enterprise when they declaim that business is not concerned 'merely' with profit but also with promoting desirable 'social' ends; that business has a 'social conscience' and takes seriously its responsibilities for providing employment, eliminating discrimination, avoiding pollution and whatever else may be the catchwords of the contemporary crop of reformers (Kristin, 2009; pg 7)."…… [Read More]

Looking Into Theory on Juvenile Delinquency

Theory on Juvenile Delinquency

Interventions that involve life-course unrelenting offenders should place emphasis on remedial social abilities, for them to have a chance to decrease their frequency of offending in future, and to tackle conduct disorder problems. Interventions involving teenage-onset offenders should, wherever applicable, tackle issues relating to parenting, alcohol/drug misuse, and anti-social cronies. Keane, Krull and Phythian (2008) define self-control as the extent to which a person is susceptible to temptation. According to them, lack of self-restraint or self-control is a fairly universal and stable characteristic, accounting for individual discrepancies in deviant, reckless, and criminal conduct. Youngsters' parents are usually blamed for their kids' delinquent behavior. Some courts go as far as penalizing parents for their kids' antisocial actions. It is believed that weak self-control develops during early childhood, when one's family is the most central socializing agent. Hence, lack of self-restraint and the resultant deviant behavior result from…… [Read More]

Philosophical Orientations and Theory

Theory and Philosophical Orientations
Part 1
An area of interest for a possible research topic that I consider is organizational performance. My topic of research interest is the effect of employee participation on organizational performance. The philosophical orientation that mirrors my worldview is the interpretivist research paradigm. In-depth inquiry is enabled by interpretivist research, which sees knowledge as subjective (Bryman, 2008). In other words, knowledge is not generalizable – it is contextual, situational, or circumstantial. This means that different individuals interpret their world differently. To ensure in-depth inquiry, interpretivist research focuses on a small sample and employs qualitative techniques such as in-depth interviews, focus groups, and observations. Such techniques enable the researcher to cultivate a closer relationship with the subjects (Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, 2015). A close relationship gives the researcher an opportunity to understand the perspectives, experiences, and worldviews of the subjects with respect to the research phenomenon (Creswell,…… [Read More]

Value of Accounting Standards

Value of Accounting Standards

Accounting rules are designed to serve the capital markets and make these markets work efficiently. Accounting rules are essential to the efficient functioning of the economy because decisions about the allocation of resources rely heavily on credible, concise, transparent and understandable financial information. Without standard measures of the worth of a company, lenders and investors would have no way in which to evaluate the worth of the business, so these rules are essential to the capital markets. With the rise of multinational businesses, it is essential that these rules be uniform throughout the world. Generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) are the accounting rules used to prepare financial statements for publicly traded companies and many private companies in the United States. In the United States, as well as other countries practicing English common law system, the government does not set accounting standards, in the belief that the…… [Read More]

International Accounting Undergraduate Degree Accounting & Finance

International Accounting Undergraduate degree Accounting & Finance 1. The Assignment "Several organisations involved efforts harmonise accounting practices rregionally internationally. The important players effort European Union (regionally) International Accounting Standards Committee (IASC) ( IASB) (internationally).

There have been a series of efforts during recent years with the aim of developing a common agenda of accounting standards. The fact that there are several alternatives of accounting practices, for example, contributes to making it difficult for influential bodies to reach common ground concerning the matter. Institutions such as the European Union and the International Accounting Standards Committee (IASC) (currently called the International Accounting Standards Boards -- IASB) have played significant roles with the purpose of emphasizing the importance of international accounting standards.

ith society being composed out of distinct national economies, there has been little need for common accounting practices in the past. However, as the global economy has come to dominate international…… [Read More]

International Harmonization of Accounting Standards

This is important, because it shows how there is the potential for both harmonization and division. Yet, once you look at what is taking place around the world, it is obvious that a common set of ideas are being readily accepted in different countries around the world.

A good example of this can be seen by looking no further than China, where they announced that the country would follow IFRS standards. As they are going to be phasing in the different provisions one step at a time. This is significant, because it shows how globalization is causing a single form of accounting standards to be embraced. At the same time, the U.S. And EU have begun working together to integrate the different accounting standards in line with IFRS principals. This is important, because it shows how there is an emphasis to slowly integrate these ideas into one basic standard that…… [Read More]

International Accounting - Evaluate Research Theories and

International accounting - Evaluate research theories and methodologies to classify accounting systems internationally

The necessity of accounting standards is given by the fact that financial statements should describe financial performance in a fair and consistent manner. Lacking standards, users of financial statements would be required to master the accounting rules of each company, and any comparison between companies' performances would be almost impossible.

Accounting standards are essential to the healthy development of an international financial reporting structure. Around the world several accounting traditions have been developed as a response to the needs of users who are in need of the financial information. Some countries, for instance, chose to build the structure of accounting standards around the needs of private creditors, while other countries were more concerned with the needs of tax authorities or central planners. As a characteristic of the United States, the needs of participants in the capital markets…… [Read More]

Role of Accounting in Economy

" (2004)

Ricol states in relation to the audit area that "...actions were recommended in two primary areas:

1) Reducing threats to auditor independence; and 2) Strengthening audit quality control processes. (Ricol, 2004)

In regards to corporate management and governance, it is related in Ricol's speech that the task force called for corporate boards to "demonstrate greater accountability for the information, financial management and internal controls necessary to produce trustworthy information. Sound corporate governance policies are especially important in emerging economies, directly impacting investor confidence and economic growth." (Ricol, 2004)

V. ACCOUNTING'S CENTRAL ROLE in the ECONOMY

Accounting clearly plays a central role in the economy through "building confidence in financial information and financial infrastructure." (Ricol, 2004) According to Ricol the accounting profession "cannot afford to look the other way and focus on capital markets in developed countries." (Ricol, 2004) Additionally stated by Ricol is that the accountancy profession needs…… [Read More]

International Accounting Standards Adoption and

" (Camfferman & Zeff, 2) Indeed, the purpose which seems to stand above many others as specific Standards are examined is the improvement of financial reports as informative documents inbuilt with the capacity to educate users as to the financial disposition and outlook of reporting entities.

The declared purpose of the IFRS is to improve the comparability, clarity, relevance and reliability of accounting processes and the resultant financial reporting across a global scale. (IASC Foundation, Framework) This purpose is directly correlated to the apparent direction in which the global economy has thrust itself across the last few decades, with the deconstruction of trade barriers and the forging of encompassing exchange agreements producing a circumstance where proponents view a categorical necessity in standardizing accounting practices. Therefore, in a discussion on the global applications of the IFRS, which is conducted by a consideration of the adoption challenges, procedures and experiences of some…… [Read More]

Key Features of the Current Accounting Standard

IAS 17 Leases

Explain the key features of the current accounting standard. You should use at least one illustrative example for lessee accounting from a published set of financial statements to illustrate the effect of the standard

IAS 17 accounting standard establishes and elucidates the pertinent accounting procedures and also disclosures that are supposed to be employed in accounting by lessors and also lessees. The lessor is the owner of the underlying asset while the lessee is the party that opts to make use of the asset at that point in time. One of the key features of the accounting standard is the classification between an operating lease and a finance lease. A financial lease is a contract or agreement whereby all of the risks and the rewards that are characteristic to the ownership of the asset are transferred to the lessee. On the other hand, an operating lease is…… [Read More]

Disclosure Principle in Accounting Is the Standard

disclosure principle in accounting is the standard adopted by the accounting profession, which "calls for financial reporting of any financial facts significant enough to influence the judgment of an informed reader" (Kieso, Weygandt, & Warfield, 2007). Obviously, this definition is a very subjective one, because the reporting entity makes the determination of what facts are significant enough to influence an informed reader. "To reduce the amount of disclosure, it is customary to only disclose information about events that are likely to have a material impact on the entity's financial position or financial results" (Accounting Tools, 2011). However, the principle is not meant to be narrowly interpreted, and may require a company to report things that cannot be reduced to numbers on a balance sheet. For example, "this disclosure may include items that cannot yet be precisely quantified, such as the presence of a dispute with a government entity over a…… [Read More]

Certified Public Accounting the Job

Another challenge facing the industry today is the important legal issues that surround the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (Koehn & Del Vecchio, 2004). One of these is the fact that the process of due diligence practiced by many companies is now taking much longer (Koehn & Del Vecchio, 2004). There is a higher degree of caution than was previously utilized and because of this many companies are discovering information that would have gone unnoticed before the Act was passed. This is, however, not the only legal issue that the Sarbanes-Oxley Act has caused (Koehn & Del Vecchio, 2004). Another concern is that accountants and attorneys could now be required to report the known wrongdoings of corporations that they have business with to authorities.

Since lawyers are now required to disclose these types of issues, the attorney-client privilege has been compromised by this Act (Koehn & Del Vecchio, 2004). However, the Act was…… [Read More]

Value Accounting the Effects of

In theory, of course, this means that values would end up fluctuating more in response to market fluctuations, which would lead to further market fluctuations and thus more value changes, etc., etc. etc. In reality it is doubtful that this state of affairs would lest into perpetuity, as eventually investors would become used to the new schema and reactions would grow more measured. And even the initial volatility that has been observed might not indicate a problem.

Moyer (2008) claims that in discounting existing capital and management, fair value accounting practices replace objectivity in financial analysis with fear. What this claim in essence boils down to us that fair value accounting practices demand values to be assessed solely on the current state of affairs rather than on potentials. Clearly, management and capital are only as valuable as what they are able to produce; an assessment of value based on their…… [Read More]

Analyzing Tax Accounting Memorandum

University has offered its professor $200,000 in order to relinquish tenure and resign. In particular, the aspect to consider is the tax consequence of such compensation. The professor's standpoint is that tenure should be treated as an intangible capital asset, and relinquishing tenure ought to be a long-term capital gain. The main tax issue in this case is whether the relinquishment of tenure encompasses a sale or interchange of a capital asset, which qualifies to be treated as long-term capital gains or should it be treated as ordinary income. The paper will look at cases that have addressed this issue and come up with different ways in which this issue should be treated.

This particular issue was directly addressed in the Foote vs. Commissioner case. The ruling made by the taxation court implied that the tenure does not classify as a capital asset and therefore the relinquishment of tenure by…… [Read More]

What Is Post Modernism

Accounting Theory

Lyotardian Post Modernism

Jean-Francois Lyotard's "What is Post Modernism?" begins like a Homeric, epic poem -- in medias res. The piece commences with descriptions of the times in which Lyotard lives, works, and the times on which he reflects and bases his assertions. Lyotard projects the reader into his critical, philosophical, and artistic context with descriptions of the practices and attitudes within the thinking and creative communities. He expresses exasperation and a rejuvenation to critical perspective. Enter post modernism and Habermas.

Lyotard's aim is to locate and interpret changes in perception and experience as described by Habermas regarding aesthetics, experience, quantifiable reality, and the value of reality. Specifically, what concerns Lyotard is Habermas' contention that the unity of the sociocultural experience of life wherein various elements of thought and life integrate organically as a whole. This unity would bridge gaps among cognitive, ethical, and political discourses and this…… [Read More]

Values and Morals in the Accounting Industry

Values and Morals in the Accounting Industry

The important questions to be addressed are taken from the "…business ethics/corporate social responsibility literature, oriented towards business enterprises but also of relevance to professional bodies: whether being ethical 'pays' in financial terms; and whether formal codes are useful in promoting ethical behavior…" (Cowton, 2009, p. 177).

Accountants are charged with carrying out ethical and moral decisions in their everyday work, but judging from some of the scandals in recent years (Enron, orldCom, the Anderson Accountancy, etc.) not all accountants are up to speed with those ethical and moral decisions. This paper reviews the judgments that accountants should be making based on morality and ethical values, whether the accountant is working for a multinational corporation or for a small business with only half a dozen employees.

Accounting Students and Moral Decision-Making

Deborah Leitsch writes in the Journal of Business Ethics that auditors are…… [Read More]

Non-Profit CAFR Nonprofit Accounting Is Based on

Non-Profit CAFR

Nonprofit accounting is based on the fund accounting, making it very complicated and different from for profit accounting. Fund accounting financial statements are divided into government wide, proprietary, and fiduciary statements. Nonprofit actually has three sets of financial statements compared to one set of financial statements for a for profit entity. Government wide statements basically cover the operations of the government in general. The government wide statements are the ones that are basically the same as for profit financial statements, except they are done differently. Proprietary statements cover funds that are restricted for certain items, such as capital infractures. Fiduciary statements are funds the government is responsible for that are for held other entities, such as the hospital district.

Differences in Missions

There are key differences between non-profit and for profit accounting. (Nonprofit (Not-for-Profit) Accounting) The primary mission of nonprofit is to provide needed services to the community,…… [Read More]

Psychological Trait Theory

Psychological Trait Theory in Criminology:

The field of criminology can basically be described as the scientific study of criminals and criminal behavior since professionals in this field try to develop theories that explain the reason for the occurrence of crimes and test the theories through observation of criminal behavior. The criminological theories in turn help in shaping the response of the society to crime in relation to preventing criminal behavior and reacting to such behaviors after they occur. Generally, the field of criminology has evolved in three different phases since the inception of this discipline in the 18th Century. While crime and criminals have existed for as long as societies have existed, the systematic study of these incidents began in the late 1700s. Prior to this period, crime and criminal behavior were mainly equated to sin i.e. The infringement of a sacred obligation.

Evolution of the Discipline of Criminology:

As…… [Read More]

Crime Theories Psychological Theories of Criminal Behavior

Crime Theories

Psychological theories of criminal behavior focus on the individual, rather than on contextual factors (as sociological theories of crime do) or on biological factors (such as genetics). Personality, traits, and cognitions are all covered under the rubric of psychological theories of crime. One of the prevailing and most widely accepted psychological theory of crime is rational choice theory. ational choice theory " is perhaps the most common reason why criminals do the things they do," accounting for a wide variety of criminal behaviors (Dechant, 2009). The theory was first suggested and developed by William Glasser, and has since become a default theory of explaining everything from petty theft to white-collar crime.

ational choice theory is relatively straightforward. The individual is believed to be acting rationally, making decisions based on personal need, convenience, and expediency. The theory permits for individual differences, as each person may be motivated by different…… [Read More]

Tension Between Theory and Practice

International Social Science eview, 85(1-2), 62-63.

Halachmi, a. & Bouckaert, G. (1996). Organizational performance and measurement in the public sector. Westport, CT: Quorum Books.

3.

How has congressional agenda setting changed over time?

The agenda of the U.S. Congress has been closely aligned with its role as the legislative branch of the U.S. government. According to Black's Law Dictionary (1991), "The first Congress under the Constitution met on March 4, 1789 in the Federal Hall in New York City" (p. 301). Indeed, the creation of the U.S. Congress coincided with the adoption of the U.S. Constitution. In this regard, Black's (1991) adds that, the U.S. Congress was created pursuant to Article I, Section 1, of the Constitution, adopted by the Constitutional Convention on September 17, 1787 providing that "all legislative Powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and…… [Read More]

Agency Theory

Agency Theory

The main problem in the case is that the CEO, Mr. Rodriguez, did not uphold his duty of care to the shareholders. Agency theory holds that the management of a company is an agent of the shareholders and should undertake actions that support the improvement of shareholder wealth at the firm. There are several points where this did not take place. The company's strategy of being a low-cost provider may have worked initially but it eventually became apparent that the company was suffering a decline in sales. The response of Mr. Rodriguez was to leave the strategy unchanged. Worse, he undertook significant misconduct and failed to safeguard the interests of the shareholders by giving luxurious bonuses to the staff and using company funds to finance his high-flying lifestyle. His action to call for an increase in the revenues from the accounting department was illegal, and directly misleading, and…… [Read More]

Strategic Perspectives in Management Accounting and Finance

Strategic Perspectives in Management Accounting and Finance

The main reason for differentiation in the accounting studies seemed to occur due to the functionalist perceptions in the expertise of social studies. According to Dellaportas and Davenport (2008) professions are being separated by occupation on the basis of the level of distinctiveness one occupation has from another; a model first designed by Greenwood in 1975.

Abercrombie et al. (1994, p. 335) in their study explained that such distinctiveness is surrounded by the concept which results in more beneficiary outcomes for the public than for an individual's professional interest in providing services. This simply means that it was an original human demand that gave birth to all professions. There's an equality on profession's social compulsion i.e. there is a balance between a professional's job and his obligation to serve the public. In this regard Carey (1965, p. 376) asserted that it was in…… [Read More]

History of Management Accounting Management

The mistake occurred when enthusiasts tried to use those data for other purposes such as 'strategic product decisions.' The average cost of production never could, and never will, be relevant for those classes of decisions where only the change in total costs and revenues are relevant. That is, the rough, average post calculations provided a guide for pricing unique one-off products or services, but were of no use for the other purposes (emphasis added) (Garner & Tsuji, 1995, p. 52).

The strategic product decision function of management accounting described above is based on the strategic management accounting method; this approach serves to cause change in the management framework through various accounting devices designed to adapt effectively to the constantly changing external business environment (Garner & Tsuji, 1995). Strategic management accounting, though, should be managed by production people (including sales and engineering), rather than by accounting staff (Garner & Tsuji, 1995).…… [Read More]

Agency Theory

Agency Theory and Executive Compensation

An Analysis of Agency Theory and Aligning Executive Stock Options with Corporate Objectives

According to Jensen and Meckling (1976), any medium- or large-sized firm today is not directly managed by its owners (the shareholders) but rather by "hired hands" that is, professional managers. Presumably, these professionals are capable and diligent agents of the owners, but these professionals' interests are not always the same as the shareholders' interests. Shareholders want their agents to maximize the value of the firm. The professional managers want to maximize their own welfare. They, for example, may want to create an organization with a great many employees as a way of wielding more power and getting more remuneration (there is a correlation between top executive pay and the size of the organization). This "agency problem" is addressed by modern firms in a variety of ways. Firms are often counseled to deal…… [Read More]

Nozick's Entitlement Theory of Property

NOZICK'S ENTITLEMENT THEOY

obert Nozick's Entitlement theory is mainly connected with the issue of property and transfer of property but it is essentially based on the issue of Justice and how it comes into question when property is being transferred or owned. Nozick believes that property rights need to be studied in the social context to understand how transfer and owning of property can give rise to the issue of justice within the society. He believes that when a property that was previously not owned by anyone is transferred to someone and an individual becomes the owner of that piece of land, it is the duty of the government to ensure that no one is left worse off due to this transaction. This is the Libertarian view of property rights and was previously raised by some important thinkers including Aristotle and Thomas Aquinas. ousseau and Bentham also touched upon the…… [Read More]

Economic Value Added EVA Accounting Practice

Economic Value Added (EVA) Accounting Practice

Although Economic Value Added (EVA) is not a new concept in economics and financial theory and is based on the 19th century concept of "economic profit," it has only been widely adopted recently by business firms as an accounting practice. In this paper we shall describe what EVA is, and look at its pros and cons from the point-of-view of the company adopting the practice and the investors. We shall also discuss how EVA differs from some other emerging accounting practices and the major issues relating to EVA as compared to other commonly used accounting principles. Finally, the possible problems and opportunities that a company adopting EVA principles can face shall be examined.

What is Economic Value Added (EVA)?

Economic Value Added (EVA) is the after-tax cash flow generated by a business minus the cost of the capital it has invested to generate that…… [Read More]

Economic Development and Opposing Theories

In fact, Brierly and Costello bring into the argument the three variables commonly associated with industry growth -- labor, Capital, and Technology. Brierly and Costello used time series regression to test each of these variables in order to determine which made the largest impact on state economic growth, while holding the caveat that states should be careful when considering these variables as they do not have much control over them. Brierly and Costello's results suggested that increasing labor had larger impacts on state economic development than increases in the other two variables. This conclusion is correct only for the short-term, however. In fact, Brierly and Costello's reasoning for their findings that neither increases in labor or technology result in economic growth for states because their investments are typically more "long-term" (Brierly and Costello).

Instead of simply relying on capital, however, ichard C. Feiock argues that non-traditional methods can be beneficial…… [Read More]

Pro-Regulation Regulation in Accounting Regulator Battle the

Pro-Regulation

Regulation in Accounting

Regulator Battle (The Economist, 2009)

The importance of regulation is often overlook or even mocked in society. Regulations and the regulators that administer them are often portrayed as something that slows progress and makes it difficult to navigate the complexities that adherence to the regulatory requirements require. It is easy for people to view regulations from this perspective because when regulations are effective and properly designed they may seem unduly burdensome. However, when regulations break down or are ineffective it is far easier to see the value of regulation. People commonly do not actually appreciate the value of regulation until they have an example in mind that stands in recent memory. This is summarized in a statement by Tim Geithner after the global recession emerged in 2009 which said, "You want to move at the point where people still have the memory of the trauma" (The…… [Read More]

Financial Theories Financial Theory General

" Bhattacharya (1988). It is used to calculate the value of a company based on its total cash flow. (oss, 1988).

Bhattacharya (1998) states that this theory assumed that lower dividends will lead to reduced levels of new equity and this will bring about a balance between the debt and equity of a company. This is not ture for utilities companies and other monopolistic firms where new equities are rare.

For the "Current Examples" in our table, do we need to find specific company examples that exist today or have happened in the last 2-3 years? Or will it suffice to give a theoretical example of a measurement in a firm that fits the model.

For example, would this be OK.

Efficiency Theory Example

- Production returns based on shared, variable, and per unit costs divided by the total output of a factory in a given period of time.

Instructor…… [Read More]