Accounting Perspectives最新文献

This note introduces a set of one-page research-informed infographics addressing eight distinct topics on equity, diversity, Indigeneity, inclusion, and belonging (EDIIB) in accounting. The infographics serve to build community and capacity in EDIIB in the profession. This note positions EDIIB within the set of competencies needed in accounting professionals; introduces our motivations in preparing the infographics; describes briefly how the infographics may be used in accounting education, practice, and research; identifies common themes across the infographics; proposes broad areas for future research; and encourages readers to engage with the EDIIB topics addressed in the infographics and to reflect on their role in fostering inclusion within the accounting profession.

The Laurentian University Financial Scandal: Accounting and Audit Deficiencies

This case study investigates the shocking 2021 insolvency and resulting financial scandal at Laurentian University, a publicly funded post-secondary institution in the province of Ontario, Canada. The case exposes significant weaknesses in internal control, highlights the institution's inability to become financially sustainable, and serves as a warning about the importance of responsible governance. Using publicly available information, the case study focuses on the financial, governance, and auditing elements resulting from the scandal. The Laurentian scandal is a significant Canadian accounting event that merits attention from the accounting community in Canada and beyond because important lessons can be learned about financial management and corporate governance. The case study is best suited for analysis in an upper-year professional integration undergraduate course or at the graduate level in an assurance course. The case study is also valuable for those in academic governance.

This paper reviews the expanding literature on the disclosure of cybersecurity risks and incidents. In contrast to prior reviews on cybersecurity, we focus specifically on disclosure and consider studies publicly available to the end of 2024. We classify the literature along three main dimensions: characteristics, determinants, and outcomes of cybersecurity disclosure. Within each dimension, we group studies that examine similar concepts to highlight areas where a critical mass of knowledge exists, as well as areas where research remains limited, findings are inconclusive, or contradictions persist. We conclude by outlining four broad research questions that warrant further investigation, with the goal of advancing our understanding of cybersecurity disclosure, its implications for organizations and stakeholders, the broader risk management landscape, and the related adversarial costs unique to this disclosure.

This fictional case centers on a not-for-profit organization, Healthy Meals 4 Kids, in the province of New Brunswick, Canada, that provides free meals to families experiencing financial difficulty who have children with special dietary needs. The case provides an opportunity for students to perform many tasks related to external auditing—using a nonprofit accounting framework—from the point of client acceptance through to the conclusion of the audit. The case, teaching notes, and rubrics are intended to mirror the tone and feel of Chartered Professional Accountants of Canada (CPA Canada) cases used in the CPA Professional Education Program (CPA PEP) but at a difficulty level appropriate for undergraduate learners. The case is particularly reflective of case material that would be found in the assurance elective of the CPA PEP. The case is best deployed in an undergraduate or graduate course focusing on auditing or an accounting class for which not-for-profit accounting is a prerequisite or corequisite.

Financial accounting and accountability requirements for many Indigenous communities in Canada can be complex, yet very few accounting programs and students cover these issues. This case introduces financial reporting and assurance issues pertaining to a remote First Nations community in a realistic, yet fictional, setting. Students assume the role of a senior manager planning for the initial audit engagement with Boreal First Nation. A detailed appendix to the case provides background information on the complex historical, social, regulatory, and practical nature of Indigenous assurance engagements. The case includes detailed financial statements for Boreal First Nation prepared in accordance with Public Sector Accounting Standards in addition to special reporting requirements based on the First Nations Financial Transparency Act. The case fosters students' professional judgment and intercultural competence in relation to audit planning considerations (e.g., overall financial statement–level risks, materiality, and approach) along with special reporting and financial reporting (e.g., investments and tangible capital assets) issues unique to a remote First Nation.

Sustainability accounting has encountered strong headwinds while advancing into “old guard” traditional accounting. To understand the status of sustainability accounting with regard to public interest, in this paper we examine the peer-reviewed accounting literature of the last 10 years using a robust bibliometric approach. Through co-citation analysis, bibliographic coupling, and co-word analysis, we find that despite the “old guard” headwinds, sustainability accounting has been progressing into traditional accounting. Disciplines that appear to intersect with sustainability accounting include assurance, taxation, marketing, and supply chain management; conversely, disciplines that lag behind include financial and management accounting. Compared to sustainability reporting and corporate social responsibility, environmental, social, and governance is less researched. The journal with the largest number of sustainability accounting articles is Meditari Accountancy Research, while Critical Perspectives on Accounting has garnered the most citations among the journals. Jan Bebbington is the author with the highest citation count. The findings of this bibliometric analysis reveal not only the status of sustainability accounting but also the “big picture” patterns in accounting research.

In this paper, I examine the literature on overwork, and I discuss its significance to the management accounting literature. Overwork, or working long hours, is a prevalent phenomenon, particularly among professional workers. Despite its pervasiveness, overwork has seldom been addressed in the accounting literature or studied as a distinct construct in managerial accounting research. Consequently, there is limited understanding of the management controls that contribute to overwork and the consequences of overwork in a management accounting context. This is despite overwork directly relating to an assumption in the management accounting literature that management controls are needed to motivate otherwise effort-averse employees. In this paper, the existing literature on employee overwork, primarily sourced from outside of accounting, is systematically reviewed and categorized into reasons for overwork and consequences of overwork. I discuss reasons at the economic, individual, job, and organization levels that are proposed as antecedents of overwork in the literature. I also find that there are negative consequences to overwork in the work domain as well as outside of work and to employee health, in addition to important macro-level consequences. Additionally, some relevant findings from the accounting literature are discussed. This paper also identifies significant gaps in the overwork literature from a management accounting perspective and discusses future research opportunities.