Meditari Accountancy Research最新文献

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the technical, social and moral aspects of accounting through the implementation of a novel balanced scorecard (BSC) that addresses the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (UN SDG) 6 – Clean Water and Sanitation – within the Portuguese water utilities sector.

Design/methodology/approach

A novel research design is adopted, using actor network theory (ANT) as a broad approach to frame the study. ANT emphasizes the importance of ever-evolving networks of relationships and how concepts such as the BSC are just as important in structuring social practice. A set of expert interviews was conducted with stakeholders in the water utilities sector in Portugal, which led to the iterative development of a context-relevant BSC proposal and associated indicators.

Findings

A novel BSC architecture to achieve UN SDG 6 is proposed through a unique engagement between professionals and academics. The BSC, and the specific definition of indicators for an entire sector (water), contribute to bridging business processes with the common good to improve life and planetary conditions. Ultimately, the study discusses how the technical aspects of accounting can be enhanced to achieve social and moral imperatives. The paper also reflects on the limitations of broadening existing technical practices.

Originality/value

There is a burgeoning literature on how organizations are engaging with the UN SDG agenda. However, there is a dearth of studies on how management control systems are currently addressing, or can potentially contribute to measuring and managing specific UN SDGs such as Clean Water and Sanitation. This study makes a unique contribution to the literature by developing a novel BSC solution to SDG 6 measurement and management using a novel practitioner-led approach. Ultimately, our study highlights how accounting can be broadened to enhance technical practices while also serving a moral and social purpose.

Purpose

This study aims to explore the process of identifying and defining multiple capitals in the integrated report (IR) of a government-owned tourism company.

Design/methodology/approach

Interventionist research was conducted using a case study design. The researcher was directly involved in developing the first IR of Zètema, a heritage and tourism company owned by the Municipality of Rome. The research team analyzed internal reports, business model (BM), strategic plan and marketing plan, and collected data through semistructured interviews and participation in company meetings.

Findings

A template based on a step-by-step deductive process to select and define relevant capitals was derived. Following this process, an appropriate form of capital emerged: “cultural capital”. Furthermore, this study emphasizes a novel awareness of the different meanings that capitals can assume as inputs and outcomes of a BM.

Originality/value

This study meets the demand for empirical research that investigates real information in integrated reports intended for those for whom value is created. Thus, the paper contributes to the existing knowledge on integrated reporting by examining the partially explored concept of capital, particularly its identification process. Furthermore, this study provides support to preparers of integrated reports by defining a conceptual reference model for the disclosure of significant capitals and underlining the importance of distinguishing capitals as input or outcome.

Purpose

This paper aims to examine how managers make non-generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) exclusion decisions depending on the regulatory guidance provided and their motivations. Guidance detail is a double-edged sword: resolving uncertainty but risking rule-based compliance over principled judgment.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper uses the context of non-GAAP measures in reporting, given the history of Securities and Exchange Commission changes in guidance detail. Drawing on theories of epistemic motivation and process accountability, this paper manipulates the goal of management (informativeness vs. opportunism) and guidance detail to examine effects on management decisions to exclude an ambiguous charge.

Findings

The 2×2 between participants experiment with 132 managers reveals that more detailed guidance increases likelihood of exclusion of an ambiguous charge. This paper further finds that this exclusion is more likely when management is given an informativeness goal, a result of a mediating effect of epistemic motivation. However, these findings only hold at low levels of process accountability.

Practical implications

The findings regarding the psychological concepts recognize the influence of perceived decision uncertainty by suggesting how managers respond to the level of regulatory guidance detail, offering regulators and auditors a basis for understanding and anticipating managerial reporting choices. Also, awareness of heightened epistemic motivation under the informativeness goal provides a nuanced practical understanding of non-GAAP decision drivers. Finally, the finding that effects are more pronounced for managers with lower process accountability highlights the significance of organizational accountability structures in guiding managerial choices, which can inform board-level governance and control decisions.

Originality/value

Pragmatically, this paper finds that detailed guidance leads to more appropriate exclusion decisions under a goal of informativeness but finds no such evidence where the goal is opportunism. No prior study has examined how the level of detail in guidance affects managers’ disclosure choices.

Purpose

This paper presents a critical examination of the contemporary state of the accounting discipline and poses the question of its future trajectory. The aim of the study is to show that the path to be followed is the one traced by the masters of the discipline, which lies in the wake of the rediscovery of social and moral values and shared value.

Design/methodology/approach

Study of the conceptual nature of research topic, that is, the discipline of accounting, in an intertemporal exploration through some selected theoretical constructs.

Findings

There is no need for a new accounting science with new paradigms, but only for a recovery of the social and moral values of accounting that have lain dormant during the dusty centuries of human history.

Research limitations/implications

The study does not provide an extensive analysis of the evolution of accounting history.

Practical implications

The recovery of the social and ethical dimension will not only make accounting more attractive to young students but will also have a medium-term impact on the profession, freeing it from the stereotypes of an unexciting and aseptic discipline. This broadening of scope and momentum inspires the engagement of academics, practitioners, experts and policymakers in confronting and proactively addressing the complex challenges that the world faces today, toward the United Nations 2030 Agenda and beyond.

Originality/value

This historical paper’s originality lies in its intertemporal perspective.

Purpose

The purpose of this research is to highlight the imperative need for an internationally accepted standard for sustainability accounting reporting, not exclusive to the analyzed sector but across all industries.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper uses an enhanced analysis of existing empirical literature on accounting reporting for sustainability efforts in corporate practices. The study uses two statistical techniques: multiple linear regression analysis and structural equations modeling, focusing on a sample drawn from the Newsweek Green Rankings within the automobile industry. Specifically, the analysis is conducted on data spanning from 2014 to 2016, covering three years and comprises 25 corporations from the Global Fortune 500 list.

Findings

The empirical analysis reveals a significant gap in sustainable reporting practices, highlighting the challenges of nonstandardized managerial accounting across the globe. This research portrays key benefits including enhanced data accessibility and the adoption of sustainable practices across industries. Furthermore, assisting in academic research.

Research limitations/implications

The study addresses challenges in researching sustainability constraints across various dimensions. The obtained empirical data could inform stakeholders, including accounting setters and managers in the automobile industry, about the pressing need to set uniform sustainability constraints comprehensively and to implement global reporting standards to foster transparency and accountability.

Practical implications

The sustainability accounting setters, such as Sustainability Accounting Standards Board and International Financial Reporting Standards Foundation, face the challenge of adopting globally accepted accounting standards for sustainability reporting. The statistical evidence correlates sustainable variables with three profitability margins (earnings before interest and taxes, earnings before interest taxes, depreciation and amortization and pretax), providing empirical proof of the degree of correlation among them.

Social implications

This paper aims to collaborate with the Meditari Accountancy Research Journal in bridging the gap in international standards for sustainability accounting reporting. It emphasizes the global significance of achieving a standardized approach to reporting for sustainability and its potential positive impact on corporations, governments, academic research teams and society.

Originality/value

Diverse societal stakeholders have advocated for the implementation of a more sustainable world. Currently, there is no international agreement on how to report for sustainability efforts. This paper evidences this gap, which if pe

Purpose

The study aims to identify the practical borders of AI legal personality and accountability in human-centric services.

Design/methodology/approach

Using a framework tailored for AI studies, this research analyses structured interview data collected from auditors based in Poland.

Findings

The study identified new constructs to complement the taxonomy of arguments for AI legal personality: cognitive strain, consciousness, cyborg paradox, reasoning replicability, relativism, AI misuse, excessive human effort and substitution.

Research limitations/implications

The insights presented herein are primarily derived from the perspectives of Polish auditors. There is a need for further exploration into the viewpoints of other key stakeholders, such as lawyers, judges and policymakers, across various global contexts.

Practical implications

The findings of this study hold significant potential to guide the formulation of regulatory frameworks tailored to AI applications in human-centric services. The proposed sui generis AI personality institution offers a dynamic and adaptable alternative to conventional legal personality models.

Social implications

The outcomes of this research contribute to the ongoing public discourse on AI’s societal impact. It encourages a balanced assessment of the potential advantages and challenges associated with granting legal personality to AI systems.

Originality/value

This paper advocates for establishing a sui generis AI personality institution alongside a joint accountability model. This dual framework addresses the current uncertainties surrounding human, general AI and super AI characteristics and facilitates the joint accountability of responsible AI entities and their ultimate beneficiaries.