Accounting Perspectives最新文献

Holding all else constant, a larger proportion of fixed costs in the cost structure (i.e., higher operating leverage) implies a greater profit volatility for a given level of demand fluctuation. In a setting where operating leverage is irrelevant to the choice of investment projects, I experimentally examine whether managers under high operating leverage (as opposed to low operating leverage) choose a less profitable project for lower variability in anticipated earnings. Inconsistent with the hypothesis, I find that the level of operating leverage has an insignificant impact on managers' investment choices, providing preliminary evidence that managers may correctly identify the level of operating leverage as irrelevant. Notably, providing the cost structure information to managers, regardless of whether it pertains to high or low operating leverage, increases the likelihood of selecting the more profitable investment. Additional analyses suggest that the excerpt on operating leverage might prime managers to deliberate more on the investment decisions. Managers who receive the cost structure information dedicate more time to assessing the investment projects, which in turn aids in identifying the more profitable project.

This CPA-style case focuses on Eddie Kimpembe. Eddie is a trained CPA auditor and former nonprofit organization (NPO) manager working at a Kenyan public accounting firm. The firm has received an invitation to undertake the audit of a significant aid NPO operating in Ethiopia. Besides the normal considerations that exist when deciding whether to accept a new client, the Ethiopia audit presents many logistical and timing challenges. Students must help Eddie navigate the risks of accepting the client and develop an initial audit planning memo.

Compared to large enterprises (LEs), small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have unique characteristics that may affect their needs in several areas. Thus, the “one-size-fits-all” approach to meeting the needs of both groups of enterprises would be inappropriate in different circumstances. In this study, we examine the current competency requirements of the Canadian market for professional accounting jobs with the following research question in mind: To what extent do SMEs' requirements for professional accounting positions differ from those of large companies? The study draws on person-environment fit theory and job market signaling theory. It is based on a content analysis of 310 online job postings (of which 111, or 35.8%, are from SMEs) for accounting professionals or for positions requiring strong accounting knowledge. Our results show a complex picture made up of similarities and differences between SMEs and LEs' requirements when recruiting professionals in accounting-related positions. The study points to some paradoxes and contributes to the debate about the evolution of accounting education in relation to specific business needs. In particular, the study suggests that SMEs' competency requirements are not necessarily commensurate with the needs dictated by their specific context. From a practical point of view, the results of the study could be of interest to SME managers and organizations dedicated to SMEs' development; recruitment services; national accounting organizations, such as the Chartered Professional Accountants of Canada; and the academic and professional communities involved in the training of professional accountants.

The Wildfire Guardians (WG) case presents students with management accounting and financial reporting issues related to a not-for-profit (NFP) organization dedicated to managing and reducing the severity of wildfires in Canada. The case situates students in the role of the newly appointed CFO, who is tasked with analyzing WG's accounting issues, assessing the financial implications of a new strategic opportunity, and making recommendations that could shape the organization's future. By engaging with this case, students will gain insights into real-world challenges and dilemmas faced by NFP organizations and will sharpen their skills in fund accounting, financial decision-making, and the application of accounting standards for NFP organizations.

This case can be used in a graduate assurance or financial reporting class or an undergraduate capstone course. It incorporates more traditional financial reporting and auditing issues with current topics, including Indigenous perspectives, sustainability considerations, and data visualization. The student, in the role of an auditor of a small but growing organization with progressive goals, is asked by the partner to analyze the audit and financial reporting issues. The client is also considering entering a new agreement with a local First Nation and has asked for the firm's advice on the strategic fit.

Organizations face severe cyber risks, which may lead companies to contract related insurance or to demand cybersecurity assurance services to signal risk management. This paper experimentally investigates how cybersecurity assurance and insurance against cyber risks impact nonprofessional investors. We conducted an experiment with a 2 × 2 between-subjects design with 100 UK nonprofessional investors and manipulated the assurance provision and insurance purchase to analyze their impact on willingness to invest. Our results suggest that cybersecurity assurance and cyber risk insurance positively affect willingness to invest. The results confirm the usefulness of measures to handle cyber risks and are of interest to managers, auditors, regulators, and academics.

The ways in which accountancy (accounting, accountability, and accountants) has been a device of imperialism, colonialism, and postcolonialism, and therefore has had deleterious effects on Indigenous peoples in former colonies and continues to negatively impact immigrants in postcolonial OECD countries, is under-researched. This structured literature review synthesizes studies in the accounting literature that have investigated imperialism, colonialism, and postcolonialism and identifies opportunities for future research. This study is part of a broader research project that reviewed 161 articles on accounting and discrimination. This article, based on 65 of the articles reviewed for the broader project, discusses existing knowledge on imperialism, colonialism, and postcolonialism. The author finds that the exclusion of Indigenous peoples in colonial times is shaped by perpetual oppressive relations. In the postcolonial United States and Old Commonwealth countries (Canada, Australia, and New Zealand), these power relations are sustained by professions through the continuing exclusion of racialized people and immigrants, many from previous colonies. This study proposes future research directions to advance the decolonization of accounting research by foregrounding alternative perspectives of Indigeneity—such as Black Indigeneity—and enabling accounting scholars to confront the various subthemes of imperialism and postcolonialism in accounting, including Western accounting and accountability, professionalization, emancipatory accounting, and Indigenous knowledge and accounts.