Pub Date : 2020-11-08DOI: 10.1080/10291954.2020.1817268
M. T. Mey, C. Lamprecht
Purpose: This paper investigated the potential opportunistic disclosure of ‘earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation’ (EBITDA) by analysing the association between the quality of EBITDA reconciliations and factors associated with opportunistic disclosure. Design: Ordinary least squares estimation was used to regress an EBITDA reconciliation score on factors associated with opportunistic disclosure for a sample of stock exchange news service reports of companies listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) for the financial years 2014 through 2016. Findings: The results suggest that the management of JSE-listed companies signal the credibility of EBITDA as a performance measure by providing higher quality reconciliations, rather than using poor quality EBITDA reconciliations to mask potential opportunistic disclosure. Practical implications: The results suggest that JSE-listed companies use EBITDA disclosure for informational purposes, rather than for opportunistic purposes. Value: This paper contributes to a limited corpus of research on EBITDA as non-GAAP earnings measure. It provides support for the adequacy of the JSE’s disclosure requirements in facilitating high-quality financial reports. The results are timely as the JSE is contemplating whether to issue expanded disclosure requirements intended to limit the potential opportunistic use of non-GAAP earnings disclosure.
{"title":"The association between EBITDA reconciliation quality and opportunistic disclosure","authors":"M. T. Mey, C. Lamprecht","doi":"10.1080/10291954.2020.1817268","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/10291954.2020.1817268","url":null,"abstract":"Purpose: This paper investigated the potential opportunistic disclosure of ‘earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation’ (EBITDA) by analysing the association between the quality of EBITDA reconciliations and factors associated with opportunistic disclosure. Design: Ordinary least squares estimation was used to regress an EBITDA reconciliation score on factors associated with opportunistic disclosure for a sample of stock exchange news service reports of companies listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) for the financial years 2014 through 2016. Findings: The results suggest that the management of JSE-listed companies signal the credibility of EBITDA as a performance measure by providing higher quality reconciliations, rather than using poor quality EBITDA reconciliations to mask potential opportunistic disclosure. Practical implications: The results suggest that JSE-listed companies use EBITDA disclosure for informational purposes, rather than for opportunistic purposes. Value: This paper contributes to a limited corpus of research on EBITDA as non-GAAP earnings measure. It provides support for the adequacy of the JSE’s disclosure requirements in facilitating high-quality financial reports. The results are timely as the JSE is contemplating whether to issue expanded disclosure requirements intended to limit the potential opportunistic use of non-GAAP earnings disclosure.","PeriodicalId":43731,"journal":{"name":"South African Journal of Accounting Research","volume":"35 1","pages":"87 - 110"},"PeriodicalIF":1.1,"publicationDate":"2020-11-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/10291954.2020.1817268","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47094956","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2020-10-31DOI: 10.1080/10291954.2020.1810504
H. Strauss, D. Schutte, Tyson Fawcett
Tax administration and reform within the digitalised economy is an ongoing global debate. In the study, the global tax response to various elements introduced by the digitalisation of the economy is synthesised, analysed and evaluated. The study is set apart from other studies, as it provides a global and holistic overview of current tax reform of all major tax types impacted by the digitalisation of the economy. The study’s results are based on evidence collected for 120 countries worldwide and reflect that while the digitalised economy is regarded as borderless and digitalised, current international responses remain influenced by country borders and traditional tax principles that have led to global tax reform that is complex, expensive and difficult for highly digitalised multinational entities to comply with. The findings further indicate that although the recommended interim tax measures (where applicable) were adopted in principle by the majority of countries worldwide, the application of these measures lacks uniformity. It can further be deduced that international tax response to the digitalisation of the economy does not fully embrace and acknowledge the hybrid nature and digital environment of the business models associated with a digitalised economy.
{"title":"An evaluation of the legislative and policy response of tax authorities to the digitalisation of the economy","authors":"H. Strauss, D. Schutte, Tyson Fawcett","doi":"10.1080/10291954.2020.1810504","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/10291954.2020.1810504","url":null,"abstract":"Tax administration and reform within the digitalised economy is an ongoing global debate. In the study, the global tax response to various elements introduced by the digitalisation of the economy is synthesised, analysed and evaluated. The study is set apart from other studies, as it provides a global and holistic overview of current tax reform of all major tax types impacted by the digitalisation of the economy. The study’s results are based on evidence collected for 120 countries worldwide and reflect that while the digitalised economy is regarded as borderless and digitalised, current international responses remain influenced by country borders and traditional tax principles that have led to global tax reform that is complex, expensive and difficult for highly digitalised multinational entities to comply with. The findings further indicate that although the recommended interim tax measures (where applicable) were adopted in principle by the majority of countries worldwide, the application of these measures lacks uniformity. It can further be deduced that international tax response to the digitalisation of the economy does not fully embrace and acknowledge the hybrid nature and digital environment of the business models associated with a digitalised economy.","PeriodicalId":43731,"journal":{"name":"South African Journal of Accounting Research","volume":"35 1","pages":"239 - 262"},"PeriodicalIF":1.1,"publicationDate":"2020-10-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/10291954.2020.1810504","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48424879","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2020-09-01DOI: 10.1080/10291954.2019.1675254
O. Iredele, Moloi Tankiso, M. Adelowotan
The rising profile of environmental issues, most of which relates to continuous consumption of materials, energy and water by companies, and the continuous accumulation of environmental-related costs, necessitates the need for environmental management accounting (EMA). EMA is regarded as an extension of the conventional management accounting, which is adopted for the purpose of tracking and treatment of costs, earnings and savings incurred in relation to companies’ environmental-related activities. This paper determines the level of EMA practices among selected Nigerian and South African firms, and the influence of institutional and organisational factors on the level of practice in each country. Utilising a quantitative research approach, the study used a structured questionnaire to obtain data from 22 listed firms from each country. The data were analysed using an independent sample t-test and a multiple regression estimation technique. Results demonstrate that the level of EMA practices in South African firms is higher than those in Nigerian firms. Institutional isomorphism, through coercive pressure, was found to be the main determinant of EMA practice among South African firms, while EMA practice among Nigerian firms is on account of individual organisational factors. The evidence from the study supports both the institutional and contingency theories as they apply to EMA practices. Therefore, the results indicate that coercive pressure may be necessary to stimulate EMA practice in Nigerian firms given that similar conditions exist in sampled firms in South Africa. Efforts to strengthen normative and mimetic forces can also improve the level of EMA practice in both countries.
{"title":"The influence of institutional isomorphism and organisational factors on environmental management accounting practices of listed Nigerian and South African firms","authors":"O. Iredele, Moloi Tankiso, M. Adelowotan","doi":"10.1080/10291954.2019.1675254","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/10291954.2019.1675254","url":null,"abstract":"The rising profile of environmental issues, most of which relates to continuous consumption of materials, energy and water by companies, and the continuous accumulation of environmental-related costs, necessitates the need for environmental management accounting (EMA). EMA is regarded as an extension of the conventional management accounting, which is adopted for the purpose of tracking and treatment of costs, earnings and savings incurred in relation to companies’ environmental-related activities. This paper determines the level of EMA practices among selected Nigerian and South African firms, and the influence of institutional and organisational factors on the level of practice in each country. Utilising a quantitative research approach, the study used a structured questionnaire to obtain data from 22 listed firms from each country. The data were analysed using an independent sample t-test and a multiple regression estimation technique. Results demonstrate that the level of EMA practices in South African firms is higher than those in Nigerian firms. Institutional isomorphism, through coercive pressure, was found to be the main determinant of EMA practice among South African firms, while EMA practice among Nigerian firms is on account of individual organisational factors. The evidence from the study supports both the institutional and contingency theories as they apply to EMA practices. Therefore, the results indicate that coercive pressure may be necessary to stimulate EMA practice in Nigerian firms given that similar conditions exist in sampled firms in South Africa. Efforts to strengthen normative and mimetic forces can also improve the level of EMA practice in both countries.","PeriodicalId":43731,"journal":{"name":"South African Journal of Accounting Research","volume":"34 1","pages":"183 - 204"},"PeriodicalIF":1.1,"publicationDate":"2020-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/10291954.2019.1675254","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46191253","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2020-09-01DOI: 10.1080/10291954.2019.1675256
Muneer Hassan, M. V. Van Heerden
Apartheid in South Africa left a legacy of inequality in every sphere – political, social and economic. The first democratically elected government in 1994 introduced a Black Economic Empowerment (hereafter BEE) strategy to rectify these inequalities. This strategy was accompanied by a BEE Act and the BEE Codes of Good Practice. South African companies subscribed to the BEE strategy for various reasons. A salient fact in all BEE transactions is a discount element presented to the previously disadvantaged investor. This discount element raises the question of whether donations tax arises on these transactions. At first glance, the answer appears straightforward in that no donations tax should arise as this would hinder government’s policy objective of redressing the inequalities of the past. However, there is more to this issue. The purpose of the study on which this article is based was to analyse the overwhelmingly complex BEE structures that have been implemented and to determine the donations tax implications at the various transactional levels. The contribution of this study is that it revealed that tax commentators have taken a simplistic approach to answering the question and that the donations tax implications on the discount element are contentious and unclear. The authors seek to rectify this uncertainty through legislative amendment.
{"title":"Donations tax implications of BEE transactions: More than meets the eye?","authors":"Muneer Hassan, M. V. Van Heerden","doi":"10.1080/10291954.2019.1675256","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/10291954.2019.1675256","url":null,"abstract":"Apartheid in South Africa left a legacy of inequality in every sphere – political, social and economic. The first democratically elected government in 1994 introduced a Black Economic Empowerment (hereafter BEE) strategy to rectify these inequalities. This strategy was accompanied by a BEE Act and the BEE Codes of Good Practice. South African companies subscribed to the BEE strategy for various reasons. A salient fact in all BEE transactions is a discount element presented to the previously disadvantaged investor. This discount element raises the question of whether donations tax arises on these transactions. At first glance, the answer appears straightforward in that no donations tax should arise as this would hinder government’s policy objective of redressing the inequalities of the past. However, there is more to this issue. The purpose of the study on which this article is based was to analyse the overwhelmingly complex BEE structures that have been implemented and to determine the donations tax implications at the various transactional levels. The contribution of this study is that it revealed that tax commentators have taken a simplistic approach to answering the question and that the donations tax implications on the discount element are contentious and unclear. The authors seek to rectify this uncertainty through legislative amendment.","PeriodicalId":43731,"journal":{"name":"South African Journal of Accounting Research","volume":"34 1","pages":"236 - 253"},"PeriodicalIF":1.1,"publicationDate":"2020-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/10291954.2019.1675256","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41353696","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2020-09-01DOI: 10.1080/10291954.2019.1675255
Blanche Steyn, Farai Kwenda, L. Stainbank
If board-level controls matter, the introduction of the 2008 Companies Act with its enhanced legislative requirements, should have a positive impact on firm performance. To assess board-level controls this study developed two unique control indexes to assess the boards of 84 companies over three years. The study focuses on companies on the SRI index as they have a greater focus on sustainability and transparent disclosure of board-level controls including separation of duties, monitoring, goal-aligned remuneration and oversight. The first index uses 23 board-level control indicators (CI) and the second 19 board-level direction indicators (DI). The two indexes were assessed using fixed effects estimation methods against current and negatively lagged firm performance proxies. Results show that board-level controls matter as both indexes were positively related to return on assets (RoA), however, only DI was highly significant. Both indexes changed to a negative relationship to next year’s return on assets (NYRoA), again highly significant for DI. The change to a negative relationship suggests a timing and information asymmetry problem. CI was positively related to the natural log of enterprise value per share (LEV) with a low level of significance while the positive relation continues to the next year’s natural log of enterprise value per share (LNYEV) that was highly significant. The latter suggests that the controlling role of the board are continued to be valued by the market.
{"title":"Do board-level controls matter? – An agency perspective on socially responsible investment (SRI) company boards in South Africa","authors":"Blanche Steyn, Farai Kwenda, L. Stainbank","doi":"10.1080/10291954.2019.1675255","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/10291954.2019.1675255","url":null,"abstract":"If board-level controls matter, the introduction of the 2008 Companies Act with its enhanced legislative requirements, should have a positive impact on firm performance. To assess board-level controls this study developed two unique control indexes to assess the boards of 84 companies over three years. The study focuses on companies on the SRI index as they have a greater focus on sustainability and transparent disclosure of board-level controls including separation of duties, monitoring, goal-aligned remuneration and oversight. The first index uses 23 board-level control indicators (CI) and the second 19 board-level direction indicators (DI). The two indexes were assessed using fixed effects estimation methods against current and negatively lagged firm performance proxies. Results show that board-level controls matter as both indexes were positively related to return on assets (RoA), however, only DI was highly significant. Both indexes changed to a negative relationship to next year’s return on assets (NYRoA), again highly significant for DI. The change to a negative relationship suggests a timing and information asymmetry problem. CI was positively related to the natural log of enterprise value per share (LEV) with a low level of significance while the positive relation continues to the next year’s natural log of enterprise value per share (LNYEV) that was highly significant. The latter suggests that the controlling role of the board are continued to be valued by the market.","PeriodicalId":43731,"journal":{"name":"South African Journal of Accounting Research","volume":"34 1","pages":"205 - 235"},"PeriodicalIF":1.1,"publicationDate":"2020-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/10291954.2019.1675255","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41511722","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2020-06-01DOI: 10.1080/10291954.2020.1742458
D. Coetsee
Accounting literature has identified fundamental conceptual issues and uncertainties regarding the financial reporting treatment of liabilities. This paper assesses whether the underlying concepts for the definition of a liability are robust and sufficiently developed in the 2018 Conceptual Framework of the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) to create a conceptual foundation to identify, recognise, measure and derecognise liabilities. Doctrinal research is applied to evaluate the proposed concepts by using authoritative interpretation. The outcome of the authoritative interpretation is the contribution to the accounting literature. The paper finds that the 2018 Conceptual Framework significantly improves the conceptual foundation of the identification, recognition, measurement and derecognition of liabilities. The 2018 Conceptual Framework clarifies the obligation and past event criteria of the definition of a liability and, as a result, has paved the way for removing the reference to future outflow or sacrifices in both the definition and the recognition criteria of a liability. The 2018 Conceptual Framework also implies that when meeting the definition of a liability, in principle, it appropriately triggers recognition. It also clearly defines the different measurement bases and clarifies the measurement decision process regarding liabilities, which are sufficiently based on the nature and benefits of different measurement bases and the factors of useful information. The uncertainty about the existence of a liability for incorporation in financial statements is, however, still problematic and could create uncertainty in developing related International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRSs) and in practical applications.
{"title":"The underlying concepts of the definition of a liability in financial reporting: A doctrinal research perspective","authors":"D. Coetsee","doi":"10.1080/10291954.2020.1742458","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/10291954.2020.1742458","url":null,"abstract":"Accounting literature has identified fundamental conceptual issues and uncertainties regarding the financial reporting treatment of liabilities. This paper assesses whether the underlying concepts for the definition of a liability are robust and sufficiently developed in the 2018 Conceptual Framework of the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) to create a conceptual foundation to identify, recognise, measure and derecognise liabilities. Doctrinal research is applied to evaluate the proposed concepts by using authoritative interpretation. The outcome of the authoritative interpretation is the contribution to the accounting literature. The paper finds that the 2018 Conceptual Framework significantly improves the conceptual foundation of the identification, recognition, measurement and derecognition of liabilities. The 2018 Conceptual Framework clarifies the obligation and past event criteria of the definition of a liability and, as a result, has paved the way for removing the reference to future outflow or sacrifices in both the definition and the recognition criteria of a liability. The 2018 Conceptual Framework also implies that when meeting the definition of a liability, in principle, it appropriately triggers recognition. It also clearly defines the different measurement bases and clarifies the measurement decision process regarding liabilities, which are sufficiently based on the nature and benefits of different measurement bases and the factors of useful information. The uncertainty about the existence of a liability for incorporation in financial statements is, however, still problematic and could create uncertainty in developing related International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRSs) and in practical applications.","PeriodicalId":43731,"journal":{"name":"South African Journal of Accounting Research","volume":"35 1","pages":"20 - 41"},"PeriodicalIF":1.1,"publicationDate":"2020-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/10291954.2020.1742458","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48584826","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2020-05-18DOI: 10.1080/10291954.2020.1735685
Kerrie Sadiq, H. du Preez
This conceptual study investigates a model for addressing both poverty and income inequality, which is theoretically distinct from the traditional tax and transfer systems adopted by most jurisdictions. It does so against a backdrop of global uncertainty and ongoing challenges to the current economic landscape. The model investigated is known as universal basic income (UBI) which provides a minimum payment to all citizens of a jurisdiction. In doing so it decouples income from labour and removes any means or employment tests from the receipt of assistance. To adequately address this model, a theoretical rationale for such an approach is first discussed followed by an analysis of the advantages and disadvantages. Current and previous experiments of UBI in Alaska, Switzerland, Canada, Finland, Kenya and Namibia are outlined and analysed. This is followed by a case study for the introduction of UBI in South Africa, with the conclusion that such a model is not outside the realm of political will or practicality.
{"title":"The case for a universal basic income in South Africa: A conceptual approach","authors":"Kerrie Sadiq, H. du Preez","doi":"10.1080/10291954.2020.1735685","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/10291954.2020.1735685","url":null,"abstract":"This conceptual study investigates a model for addressing both poverty and income inequality, which is theoretically distinct from the traditional tax and transfer systems adopted by most jurisdictions. It does so against a backdrop of global uncertainty and ongoing challenges to the current economic landscape. The model investigated is known as universal basic income (UBI) which provides a minimum payment to all citizens of a jurisdiction. In doing so it decouples income from labour and removes any means or employment tests from the receipt of assistance. To adequately address this model, a theoretical rationale for such an approach is first discussed followed by an analysis of the advantages and disadvantages. Current and previous experiments of UBI in Alaska, Switzerland, Canada, Finland, Kenya and Namibia are outlined and analysed. This is followed by a case study for the introduction of UBI in South Africa, with the conclusion that such a model is not outside the realm of political will or practicality.","PeriodicalId":43731,"journal":{"name":"South African Journal of Accounting Research","volume":"35 1","pages":"167 - 190"},"PeriodicalIF":1.1,"publicationDate":"2020-05-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/10291954.2020.1735685","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41569305","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2020-05-12DOI: 10.1080/10291954.2020.1738072
M. Stiglingh, A. Smit, Anri Smit
All over the world, the tax avoidance practices of large multinational firms have received much media attention over the last few years, which has become a prominent reputational risk for many firms. In addition to the possible reputational risk stemming from corporate tax avoidance, these tax practices can also have dire consequences for the economies in which these firms operate. Global tax transparency initiatives were developed in an attempt to address the issues created by global tax avoidance. There is, however, little academic evidence on whether increased tax transparency can have an effect on corporate tax avoidance. The purpose of this study is therefore to investigate the relationship between tax transparency and tax avoidance. A content analysis was firstly used to qualitatively assess the extent of tax transparency disclosures in the annual corporate reports of the top 100 firms listed on the JSE. Thereafter, a regression analysis was used to determine the relationship between tax transparency and tax avoidance. Tax transparency scores were used as a proxy to measure tax transparency while both effective tax rates and cash effective tax rates were used as a proxy to measure tax avoidance. The study finds that firms which are more transparent in the disclosure of their tax affairs also have higher effective tax rates and cash effective tax rates.
{"title":"The relationship between tax transparency and tax avoidance","authors":"M. Stiglingh, A. Smit, Anri Smit","doi":"10.1080/10291954.2020.1738072","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/10291954.2020.1738072","url":null,"abstract":"All over the world, the tax avoidance practices of large multinational firms have received much media attention over the last few years, which has become a prominent reputational risk for many firms. In addition to the possible reputational risk stemming from corporate tax avoidance, these tax practices can also have dire consequences for the economies in which these firms operate. Global tax transparency initiatives were developed in an attempt to address the issues created by global tax avoidance. There is, however, little academic evidence on whether increased tax transparency can have an effect on corporate tax avoidance. The purpose of this study is therefore to investigate the relationship between tax transparency and tax avoidance. A content analysis was firstly used to qualitatively assess the extent of tax transparency disclosures in the annual corporate reports of the top 100 firms listed on the JSE. Thereafter, a regression analysis was used to determine the relationship between tax transparency and tax avoidance. Tax transparency scores were used as a proxy to measure tax transparency while both effective tax rates and cash effective tax rates were used as a proxy to measure tax avoidance. The study finds that firms which are more transparent in the disclosure of their tax affairs also have higher effective tax rates and cash effective tax rates.","PeriodicalId":43731,"journal":{"name":"South African Journal of Accounting Research","volume":"36 1","pages":"1 - 21"},"PeriodicalIF":1.1,"publicationDate":"2020-05-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/10291954.2020.1738072","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45893722","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2020-05-03DOI: 10.1080/10291954.2019.1662575
Peter A. Lansdell, B. Marx, A. Mohammadali-Haji
Constant changes in the business environment require from inter alia, Chartered Accountants in South Africa (CA(SA)s) to develop professional skills alongside technical accountancy knowledge. These skills are a crucial component of well-rounded business leaders who are able to add value to an organisation. Practical experience is often suggested to be more effective in developing certain professional skills when compared to the development thereof in a university accounting degree (accounting programme). Practical experience in a firm before entry into the Chartered Accountancy profession (CA profession) is therefore investigated to explore the professional skills perceived to be developed during this period while gaining practical experience. The data was collected by means of a questionnaire distributed to entry-level CA(SA)s entering the CA profession in 2017. The results indicate that a period of practical experience is seen as effective in developing professional skills. The study also established that the size of the firm in which the practical experience is obtained does not have any influence on the development of professional skills. However, the industry in which practical experience is obtained, as well as the interrelationship between firm size and industry, does have an influence on the development of skills. This paper contributes to the debate on South African entry-level CA(SA)s’ professional skills, from the perspective of a developing country which is recognised for its pre-eminence in CA education and training.
{"title":"Professional skills development during a period of practical experience: Perceptions of accounting trainees","authors":"Peter A. Lansdell, B. Marx, A. Mohammadali-Haji","doi":"10.1080/10291954.2019.1662575","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/10291954.2019.1662575","url":null,"abstract":"Constant changes in the business environment require from inter alia, Chartered Accountants in South Africa (CA(SA)s) to develop professional skills alongside technical accountancy knowledge. These skills are a crucial component of well-rounded business leaders who are able to add value to an organisation. Practical experience is often suggested to be more effective in developing certain professional skills when compared to the development thereof in a university accounting degree (accounting programme). Practical experience in a firm before entry into the Chartered Accountancy profession (CA profession) is therefore investigated to explore the professional skills perceived to be developed during this period while gaining practical experience. The data was collected by means of a questionnaire distributed to entry-level CA(SA)s entering the CA profession in 2017. The results indicate that a period of practical experience is seen as effective in developing professional skills. The study also established that the size of the firm in which the practical experience is obtained does not have any influence on the development of professional skills. However, the industry in which practical experience is obtained, as well as the interrelationship between firm size and industry, does have an influence on the development of skills. This paper contributes to the debate on South African entry-level CA(SA)s’ professional skills, from the perspective of a developing country which is recognised for its pre-eminence in CA education and training.","PeriodicalId":43731,"journal":{"name":"South African Journal of Accounting Research","volume":"34 1","pages":"115 - 139"},"PeriodicalIF":1.1,"publicationDate":"2020-05-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/10291954.2019.1662575","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47526752","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2020-05-03DOI: 10.1080/10291954.2020.1750544
I. Lubbe, L. Peta Myers, A. van Rooyen
The recent challenges for the accounting profession, relating to accountability, stewardship, ethical conduct and corporate governance, highlight the need for quality education and training of accounting professionals. Businesses today require adaptable and broadlyskilled accountants who can cope with challenges such as globalisation, responsible leadership and rapid advancements in financial technology. In South Africa, the urgent need for effective and relevant accounting education is highlighted by the shortage of high-level skills, graduate unemployment (which points to mismatches between the outcomes of higher education and the needs of the economy) and persistent social and economic inequalities. Recent studies relating to education for the profession and professionalism have highlighted the importance of collaboration between academics and practitioners in conducting accounting education research (Jones, 2017); skills and competencies of trainee accountants (Chaffer & Webb, 2017) and the desirable skills and attributes of graduate trainees (Howcroft, 2017). Accounting education research is currently dominated by research emerging from developed, Westernised countries (Marriott, Stoner, Fogarty & Sangster, 2014) with scant attention paid to the particular challenges associated with the diversity of students present in the South African environment. Some topics that have recently been explored in South Africa include challenges associated with teaching and learning (Coetzee & Schmulian, 2013; Coetzee, Schmulian & Kotze, 2014; Janse van Rensburg, Coetzee & Schmulian, 2014); student performance (Jansen & De Villiers, 2016); personality differences (Papageorgiou & Callaghan, 2018) and personal attributes (Merino & Aucock, 2017); challenges for curriculum design (Lubbe, 2017); the structure of knowledge, and how students construct knowledge in accounting (Myers, 2016, 2017) and assessment to stimulate collaborative learning (Malan & Stegmann, 2018).
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