Accounting Perspectives最新文献

This empirically grounded commentary explores the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the strategic direction of Canada's accounting profession and highlights opportunities and challenges that lie ahead in the post-pandemic era. We undertake a systematic literature review using deductive and inductive approaches within both the academic accounting literature and a selection of publications targeting accounting practitioners. Our deductive framework uses Chartered Professional Accountants of Canada's (CPA Canada) Foresight initiative, while our inductive approach identifies themes that do not fit within the Foresight initiative. We conclude that the accounting profession will be challenged to balance the pursuit of new opportunities arising from disruptive technologies, real-time data, and new organizational value drivers while simultaneously reflecting its roots in financial reporting, auditing, and taxation. Our findings also suggest that the profession should pay more attention to the human aspects of the profound changes that are underway. Specifically, the profession focuses heavily on how accountants' work will change due to disruptive forces but not enough on how these changes impact accountants from a broader human resource management perspective (e.g., mental health challenges, alternative work arrangements, retraining, and upskilling). Our work differs from prior reviews as we incorporate both academic accounting and accounting practitioner-focused publications to propose a research agenda intended to encourage more practically relevant accounting research.

New product development (NPD) has become essential for many small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to ensure their competitiveness and survival. However, NPD is fraught with pitfalls that can lead to project failure. To increase the likelihood of success, SMEs need to monitor the performance of their NPD projects using accurate indicators. The literature is underdeveloped when it comes to the indicators used by SMEs, with most research focusing on larger companies. Our research aims to fill this gap by taking a closer look at the indicators used by five Canadian SMEs that have successfully carried out NPD projects. Drawing on resource-based view theory, we identify the stages and activities carried out and the indicators used at different points in the NPD process of SMEs characterized by some resource constraints. Situation awareness theory helps to select quality criteria in the identification of indicators such as measurability. Our results show that a wide variety of indicators are used by SMEs to measure different dimensions of performance. Many of these indicators have not been previously identified in the literature.

This case not only familiarizes students with data analytics but also demonstrates its practical application. It presents a scenario of an electronic components company, equips students with budgetary and financial performance information, and challenges them to prepare a visual budgetary variance analysis for a board meeting. This hands-on exercise, conducted first in Excel and then in Tableau, enhances students' analytics skills. The learning tasks include creating formulas that depend on multiple worksheets in Excel, interpreting data results, and importing data into Tableau. Students will establish correct relations between imported tables; create formulas and new calculated fields; filter and format data; construct graphs; create workbooks, dashboards, and stories; publish graphical analyses on the Tableau cloud server; and distribute the presentation via a hyperlink. The case was tested with Master of Accountancy students in an Advanced Information Systems class and received high student evaluation scores. It is recommended for use in an undergraduate or graduate accounting or business program after students conceptualize the budgetary variance analysis.

This case asks students to prepare a report addressing a number of strategic and operational issues at Pino's Pizza, a small chain of pizzerias in the Niagara Region of Ontario. Pino's son, Mario, is taking over the business and has several new ideas that he wants to explore. He has asked for help in assessing various expansion opportunities, introducing new products, changing the current delivery method, and developing a better information system. Students must obtain an understanding of Pino's current vision and mission, strategic position, and financial situation before analyzing the strategic fit and quantitative and qualitative implications of the alternatives under consideration. These strategic alternatives include franchising the Pino's Pizza name, opening a new sit-down restaurant, and entering into a new partnership with a local winery. Mario is also considering offering gluten-free pizza, outsourcing pizza delivery, and designing a new computer system to ensure adequate controls. The case will enable students to integrate a number of issues faced by a small business seeking growth through evaluating strategic and operational issues and providing supported recommendations.

This field research case focuses on a housing cooperative based in Kingston, Ontario. The key issue is the need to craft a budget to support the general manager, Brent Bellamy, as he plans for the coming academic year. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Queen's University suspended in-person classes for the 2020–2021 school year. The Kingston Student Housing Co-operative (KSHC) depends on student members who attend Queen's to stay in its rooms and participate in its operations and governance structure. With Queen's effectively shutting down, KSHC's key source of funds will be absent for the coming year. Brent needs help recalculating the budget for the coming year, leading to advice on some of his strategic options. He is also worried about other issues at KSHC: (1) the organization's long-time bookkeeper has just given notice of her intent to retire, and he must evaluate the bookkeeping tasks that were her responsibility; (2) he has concerns about the governance structure, which sees a lack of continuity in the board of directors between years; and (3) KSHC was considering a significant build project prior to the COVID-19 pandemic that Brent would like to advance. In considering these issues, Brent must acknowledge and respect the unique nature of a cooperative as a member-owned nonprofit organization based on certain cooperative principles.

This case describes an equity investment scenario in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. A fictional decision-maker, Amandeep Singh, is considering whether or not to invest in Netflix, Inc. (Netflix). Netflix has benefited from changing habits during the pandemic, but Singh questions whether those benefits will persist post-pandemic. To make his decision, Singh needs to perform a qualitative analysis of the video streaming industry and Netflix itself before moving to a quantitative analysis of Netflix's performance. To properly assess performance, Singh needs to fully understand Netflix's accounting methods and estimates for content assets—especially original content. The case is ideally suited to an MBA or Executive MBA audience. Students can easily engage with the case since they will be familiar with the company and industry. This familiarity allows for a general discussion about the industry's future and key success factors. The case provides an opportunity to cover core financial statement analysis concepts and drives home the importance of understanding accounting judgments when assessing firm performance.

This case study is designed to enhance students' analytical thinking skills by presenting broad financial and nonfinancial information on three publicly traded Canadian senior housing companies. The focus is on students' ability to use the provided financial data and ratios for assessing financial performance and performing a valuation analysis in the context of the senior housing sector. The case also discusses the financial impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the three companies, in addition to opportunities and risks for the sector going forward. The novelty of this case study also comes from the use of valuation methods that are not traditionally used in accounting-based case studies. External accounting data are used to teach students about valuation methods that are more prominently used in the finance discipline.