British Accounting Review最新文献

Exploring accounting academics’ views on sustainability: A Freirean dialogical pedagogic perspective 探讨会计学者对可持续性的看法：一个Freirean对话教学法的视角

IF 9.4 3区管理学 Q1 BUSINESS, FINANCE

British Accounting Review

Pub Date : 2026-01-01 DOI: 10.1016/j.bar.2025.101633

Olga Cam , Joan Ballantine

The emancipatory power of accounting is crucial for enabling sustainable living, placing a responsibility on accounting educators to unlock this potential. As sustainability remains an evolving global discussion, teaching it requires a shift from traditional, didactic approaches to accounting education. Paulo Freire's dialogical approach offers a valuable framework, assuming educators have the critical consciousness and pedagogical skills to co-create knowledge with learners. However, there is limited insight into educators' views on sustainability in accounting—an essential perspective for fostering critical consciousness—and their readiness for a dialogical teaching approach. These gaps present challenges to promoting sustainability through accounting education. This exploratory study adopts a phenomenographic approach to gain insights through semi-structured interviews with UK accounting academics, applying Freire's theoretical lens to deepen the analysis. The results reveal qualitatively different ways in which educators perceive sustainability in accounting, offering novel insights into accounting education and making an initial step toward fostering critical consciousness. Findings indicate that educators may lack the pedagogical skills necessary for a dialogical approach, often assuming roles as knowledge distributors rather than co-creators. This highlights the need to strengthen pedagogical capacity in order to move beyond traditional didactic teaching methods.

会计的解放力量对于实现可持续生活至关重要，会计教育者有责任释放这一潜力。由于可持续发展仍然是一个不断发展的全球讨论，教学需要从传统的教学方法转向会计教育。保罗·弗莱雷的对话方法提供了一个有价值的框架，假设教育者具有批判性意识和教学技能，可以与学习者共同创造知识。然而，对教育工作者对会计可持续性的看法（培养批判性意识的重要视角）以及他们对对话教学方法的准备程度的了解有限。这些差距对通过会计教育促进可持续发展提出了挑战。本探索性研究采用现象学方法，通过与英国会计学者的半结构化访谈获得见解，应用Freire的理论镜头来深化分析。结果揭示了教育者在会计中感知可持续性的定性不同的方式，为会计教育提供了新的见解，并朝着培养批判意识迈出了第一步。研究结果表明，教育工作者可能缺乏对话方法所需的教学技能，往往扮演知识分发者而不是共同创造者的角色。这突出表明需要加强教学能力，以便超越传统的说教式教学方法。

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引用次数: 0

Does the legal enforcement environment constrain earnings management in social enterprises? Evidence from microfinance institutions 法律执行环境是否制约了社会企业的盈余管理？来自小额信贷机构的证据

IF 9.4 3区管理学 Q1 BUSINESS, FINANCE

British Accounting Review

Pub Date : 2026-01-01 DOI: 10.1016/j.bar.2025.101684

Hubert Tchakoute Tchuigoua

The microfinance sector, with its diverse ownership structures and distinctive capital structure, provides a unique setting to examine cross-country differences in financial reporting practices. However, research on how the legal enforcement environment affects the financial reporting quality of development finance organizations, such as microfinance institutions (MFIs), remains limited. This study hypothesizes that higher financial reporting quality is associated with earnings that are less subject to earnings management. We assess financial reporting quality using abnormal loan loss provisions as a proxy for earnings management. Analyzing a global dataset of MFI financial statements spanning 15 years (2003–2017), we find that financial reporting quality is higher in weaker legal enforcement environments. This suggests that when enforcement is weak, investors rely less on accounting information, leading to less earnings management and higher financial reporting quality. In addition, our results suggest that for-profit MFIs and those less dependent on subsidies engage in less upward earnings management in weak enforcement environments.

小额信贷部门拥有多样化的所有权结构和独特的资本结构，为研究财务报告实践的跨国差异提供了独特的环境。然而，关于执法环境如何影响小额信贷机构（MFIs）等发展金融组织的财务报告质量的研究仍然有限。本研究假设较高的财务报告质量与较少受盈余管理影响的盈余相关。我们使用异常贷款损失拨备作为盈余管理的代理来评估财务报告质量。通过分析跨越15年（2003-2017）的全球小额信贷机构财务报表数据集，我们发现在较弱的执法环境中，财务报告质量更高。这表明，当执行力较弱时，投资者对会计信息的依赖程度较低，从而导致盈余管理减少，财务报告质量提高。此外，我们的研究结果表明，在执行力弱的环境中，营利性小额信贷机构和那些对补贴依赖程度较低的小额信贷机构较少参与向上的盈余管理。

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引用次数: 0

Editorial: Special Issue New challenges in governance, sustainability and accountability of universities 《英国会计评论》特刊：大学治理、可持续性和问责制的新挑战

IF 9.4 3区管理学 Q1 BUSINESS, FINANCE

British Accounting Review

Pub Date : 2026-01-01 DOI: 10.1016/j.bar.2025.101815

Phil Hancock , Ilse Lubbe , Neil Marriott , Angus Duff

This special issue invited research addressing the governance, sustainability, and accountability challenges of universities globally, particularly in balancing financial performance with the integration of intellectual, environmental, and social capital, while maintaining their public value for society and future generations. Five studies conducted in Australia, New Zealand, and Brazil are included in this issue. With reference to public value and institutional theories, these studies highlight the influence of coercive, normative, and resource-dependent pressures on the adoption of disclosure strategies by universities, emphasising the need to integrate reporting on environmental and social capitals (including female capital) with financial public value disclosures for universities. Additional regional observations include challenges facing universities in Australia, the United Kingdom (UK) and South Africa, a developing economy. Concerns associated with dwindling government support, lower levels of international students and high levels of student debt are causing financial stress for universities, resulting in faculty job losses and closure of essential knowledge fields. The result is an overemphasis on financial capital in performance indicators and strategic decision-making, with limited or no concern for intellectual, environmental and social capital. Instead, leaders of public universities are reminded that the governance of universities and their accountability should be for the benefit of society and the environment, and that the public value of universities includes the sustainability of the universities for future generations.

本期特刊邀请研究人员探讨全球大学面临的治理、可持续性和问责挑战，特别是在平衡财务绩效与智力、环境和社会资本的整合方面，同时保持大学对社会和子孙后代的公共价值。这一期包括在澳大利亚、新西兰和巴西进行的五项研究。根据公共价值和制度理论，这些研究强调了强制性、规范性和资源依赖性压力对大学采用披露策略的影响，强调需要将环境和社会资本（包括女性资本）报告与大学的财务公共价值披露结合起来。其他区域性观察包括澳大利亚、英国和发展中经济体南非的大学面临的挑战。政府支持的减少、国际学生的减少以及高额的学生债务给大学带来了财政压力，导致教师失业和基本知识领域的关闭。其结果是在绩效指标和战略决策中过分强调金融资本，而很少或根本不考虑智力、环境和社会资本。相反，公立大学的领导人被提醒，大学的治理和他们的责任应该是为了社会和环境的利益，大学的公共价值包括大学为后代的可持续性。

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引用次数: 0

Resource allocation to engagement teams: Evidence from asset-backed securitization assurance services 对业务团队的资源配置：来自资产支持证券化保证服务的证据

IF 9.4 3区管理学 Q1 BUSINESS, FINANCE

British Accounting Review

Pub Date : 2026-01-01 DOI: 10.1016/j.bar.2025.101677

Ran An , Jiayan Gao , Shan Li , Yanyan Wang , Lisheng Yu

Human resource allocation to engagement teams is the key determinant of the efficiency and quality of assurance production. Employing a unique setting of bank-originated asset-backed securitization (ABS) assurances in China and hand-collected data on ABS assurance teams, we examine resource allocation at the team level among accounting firms that provide both ABS assurance services and financial statement audits to the same client bank, which we term “joint-provision accounting firms.” We find that, compared with accounting firms that provide ABS assurance services only, joint-provision firms allocate more auditors to their ABS assurance teams, but these auditors generally have less expertise. We further find that banks audited by joint-provision accounting firms tend to receive higher-quality financial statement audits. Additional analysis indicates that the workload of financial statement auditors and the banking specialization of accounting firms have moderating effects on the association between joint provision and team size (but not team expertise). These results broaden the understanding of dynamics of engagement teams and highlight the implication of resource allocation to other assurance services for financial audit quality.

人力资源分配给业务团队是保证生产效率和质量的关键决定因素。采用中国独特的银行发起的资产支持证券化（ABS）担保设置和手工收集的ABS担保团队数据，我们研究了在团队层面上为同一家客户银行提供ABS担保服务和财务报表审计的会计师事务所（我们称之为“联备会计师事务所”）之间的资源配置。我们发现，与只提供ABS保证服务的会计师事务所相比，联备公司为其ABS保证团队分配了更多的审计师，但这些审计师通常缺乏专业知识。我们进一步发现，由联备会计师事务所审计的银行往往得到更高质量的财务报表审计。进一步的分析表明，财务报表审计师的工作量和会计师事务所的银行专业化对联合准备金和团队规模之间的关联有调节作用（但对团队专业知识没有调节作用）。这些结果扩大了对审计项目组动态的理解，并突出了资源分配给其他鉴证服务对财务审计质量的影响。

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引用次数: 0

How do women accounting and finance professors develop and leverage their capitals for career advancement? 女性会计和金融教授如何发展和利用她们的资本来促进职业发展？

IF 9.4 3区管理学 Q1 BUSINESS, FINANCE

British Accounting Review

Pub Date : 2026-01-01 DOI: 10.1016/j.bar.2025.101575

Meredith Tharapos , Brendan T. O'Connell , Nicola Beatson , Paul de Lange

This study examines women's career journeys to professorship in accounting and finance academia with a focus on the potential influence of various forms of capitals. Given the dearth of women at professorial level despite various institutional initiatives to reduce gender imbalances, it is critical that their careers be examined. We utilise the work of Bourdieu and studies on gender capital to interpret the influence and interplay of capitals within the career journeys of accounting and finance women professors from Australian universities. Our key findings show that women professors utilised various forms of social capital to advance their careers, including connecting with mentors who taught them the rules of the game and introduced them to powerful actors in the academic field. Interviewees leveraged economic capital through institutional and personal support and resources to progress their career and to enhance their social and cultural capital through valuable artefacts such as publications, and professional connections to world-renowned scholars. Turning to gender capital, we found that interviewees referred to the advantages flowing to them from both female capital and feminine capital. This study contributes to the literature on gender in the academic workplace and highlights the importance of gender capital to career progression.

这项研究考察了女性在会计和金融学术界担任教授的职业历程，重点关注各种形式资本的潜在影响。尽管有各种机构倡议减少性别不平衡，但由于教授级别的妇女人数很少，因此对她们的职业进行审查至关重要。我们利用布迪厄的工作和性别资本的研究来解释资本在澳大利亚大学会计和金融女教授职业生涯中的影响和相互作用。我们的主要发现表明，女教授利用各种形式的社会资本来推进自己的职业发展，包括与导师建立联系，后者向她们传授游戏规则，并将她们介绍给学术领域有影响力的人物。受访者通过机构和个人的支持和资源来利用经济资本来推进他们的职业发展，并通过出版物等有价值的文物和与世界知名学者的专业联系来增强他们的社会和文化资本。在性别资本方面，我们发现受访者提到了女性资本和女性资本给他们带来的优势。本研究对学术工作场所的性别研究文献做出了贡献，并强调了性别资本对职业发展的重要性。

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引用次数: 0

Do students have satisfying educational experiences at sustainable universities? Evidence from Australian universities 学生在可持续发展的大学里有满意的教育经历吗？来自澳大利亚大学的证据

IF 9.4 3区管理学 Q1 BUSINESS, FINANCE

British Accounting Review

Pub Date : 2026-01-01 DOI: 10.1016/j.bar.2025.101649

Junru Zhang , Yuan George Shan , Nirosha Dilhani Kapu Arachchilage

Drawing on a sample of Australian universities from 2012 to 2018, we investigate the association between the extent of university sustainability disclosure and student satisfaction. University sustainability disclosures are critical for communicating with key stakeholders when seeking resources, thereby facilitating student satisfaction. Using hand-collected data from university annual reports and the Student Experience Survey, we find that the extent of university sustainability disclosure is positively associated with student satisfaction in both short and long terms. Our channel analysis suggests that sustainability disclosures help universities attract increased government funding and student income. Moreover, universities with a greater extent of sustainability disclosure offer better employee benefits and are more likely to invest in student facilities, engagement and activities. In cross-sectional tests, we find that the effect of sustainability disclosures is contingent on public monitoring, organisational culture and managerial environmental awareness. We also show that sustainability disclosures can help universities mitigate the adverse effects of reputational risks and promote university rankings through enhanced student satisfaction. Our findings remain robust to an array of endogeneity tests. The findings of this study provide important implications for policymakers and regulators, sustainability reporting standard setters and university management.

利用2012年至2018年澳大利亚大学的样本，我们调查了大学可持续性披露程度与学生满意度之间的关系。大学的可持续发展信息披露对于在寻求资源时与主要利益相关者进行沟通至关重要，从而提高学生的满意度。使用从大学年度报告和学生体验调查中手工收集的数据，我们发现大学可持续性披露的程度与学生的短期和长期满意度呈正相关。我们的渠道分析表明，披露可持续性有助于大学吸引更多的政府资助和学生收入。此外，可持续发展信息披露程度更高的大学提供更好的员工福利，更有可能投资于学生设施、参与度和活动。在横断面测试中，我们发现可持续性披露的影响取决于公众监督、组织文化和管理环境意识。我们还表明，可持续性信息披露可以帮助大学减轻声誉风险的不利影响，并通过提高学生满意度来提升大学排名。我们的发现在一系列内生性测试中仍然是稳健的。本研究结果对政策制定者和监管者、可持续发展报告标准制定者和大学管理层具有重要的启示意义。

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引用次数: 0

The role of sustainability awards in institutionalising sustainability: Case study evidence 可持续发展奖在可持续发展制度化中的作用：案例研究证据

IF 9.4 3区管理学 Q1 BUSINESS, FINANCE

British Accounting Review

Pub Date : 2026-01-01 DOI: 10.1016/j.bar.2025.101735

Charl de Villiers , Ruth Dimes , Matteo Molinari

We examine whether sustainability awards and rankings can help to institutionalise sustainable practices within universities, analysing the case of the University of Auckland, the inaugural recipient of the number oneTHE Impact award. First, using deductive computer-aided text processing, we analyse management narratives in annual reports and strategic plans. Whereas annual report disclosures show a growing recognition of sustainability over time, strategic planning documents show dramatic changes in narratives following receipt of theTHE award. Next, we compare these findings to comments made by senior managers and faculty, including the Vice Chancellor, in response to an open-ended questionnaire designed specifically for this research project. Three key themes emerge. Firstly, awards raise awareness of sustainability and are seen as beneficial in attracting and retaining staff and students. Secondly, they require considerable resources in terms of funds, time and senior management attention. Thirdly, there was growing complacency and cynicism about such awards, given the risk of greenwashing and their consumption of valuable resources. We use the lens of institutional theory to interpret the rich findings from our study. Our discussion shows that external awards represent an important and under-researched influence on sustainability institutionalisation, and we suggest multiple avenues for future research.

我们研究了可持续发展奖项和排名是否有助于大学内部的可持续实践制度化，分析了奥克兰大学的案例，奥克兰大学是第一名影响力奖的首届获得者。首先，使用演绎计算机辅助文本处理，我们分析了年度报告和战略计划中的管理叙述。年度报告披露显示，随着时间的推移，企业对可持续发展的认识日益增强，而战略规划文件则显示，在获得the奖后，叙事发生了巨大变化。接下来，我们将这些发现与高级管理人员和教师（包括副校长）对专门为本研究项目设计的开放式问卷的评论进行比较。出现了三个关键主题。首先，奖项提高了人们对可持续发展的认识，并被视为有利于吸引和留住教职员工和学生。其次，它们在资金、时间和高级管理方面需要大量资源。第三，考虑到洗绿的风险和对宝贵资源的消耗，人们对此类奖项越来越自满和愤世嫉俗。我们使用制度理论的镜头来解释我们研究的丰富发现。我们的讨论表明，外部奖励对可持续性制度化的影响是重要的，但研究不足，我们建议未来研究的多种途径。

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引用次数: 0

Institutionalisation of sustainability performance measurement and reporting: Insights from Victoria (Australia) and New Zealand universities 可持续发展绩效衡量和报告的制度化：维多利亚州（澳大利亚）和新西兰大学的启示

IF 9.4 3区管理学 Q1 BUSINESS, FINANCE

British Accounting Review

Pub Date : 2026-01-01 DOI: 10.1016/j.bar.2024.101527

Pei-Chi Kelly Hsiao , Mary Low , Tom Scott

This study explores the sustainability performance indicators (SPIs) universities disclose, and how institutional and resource dependence pressures influence the institutionalisation of sustainability performance measurement and reporting. We assess performance indicators (PIs) with quantitative or qualitative results reported against established targets and conducted a longitudinal cross-jurisdiction assessment of over 25,000 PIs reported by 16 Victorian (Australia) and New Zealand (NZ) universities from 2012 to 2021. Results from content and regression analyses provide evidence that SPI reporting is influenced by coercive, normative, and resource dependence pressures, with universities adopting an acquiescence strategy towards disclosure. SPIs account for a substantial proportion (54%) of total PIs and focus on economic and social performance. Environmental SPIs are typically absent unless mandated and SPIs that indicate the embedding of sustainability practices into core university activities are uncommon. Despite some innovative universities that voluntarily adopted sustainability reporting guidelines or disclosed SPIs beyond reporting mandates, these disclosure practices may not represent an improvement over currently accepted practices as they have not become widely diffused and institutionalised. Our study provides new insights on the state of university sustainability reporting and is relevant to standard-setters and regulators in advancing public sector sustainability reporting.

本研究探讨了大学披露的可持续发展绩效指标（SPI），以及机构和资源依赖压力如何影响可持续发展绩效衡量和报告的制度化。我们评估了根据既定目标报告定量或定性结果的绩效指标（PIs），并对澳大利亚维多利亚州（Victorian）和新西兰（NZ）的16所大学在2012年至2021年期间报告的25,000多项PIs进行了跨辖区纵向评估。内容和回归分析的结果证明，SPI 报告受到强制、规范和资源依赖压力的影响，大学对披露采取默许策略。SPI 占 PI 总量的很大比例（54%），重点关注经济和社会绩效。环境方面的 SPI 通常不存在，除非有强制要求，而表明可持续发展实践已融入大学核心活动的 SPI 也不常见。尽管一些创新型大学自愿采用了可持续发展报告指南或披露了报告授权之外的 SPI，但这些披露做法可能并不代表对当前公认做法的改进，因为它们尚未得到广泛传播和制度化。我们的研究为了解大学可持续发展报告的现状提供了新的视角，对标准制定者和监管者推进公共部门可持续发展报告具有借鉴意义。

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引用次数: 0

Perceived enabling budget designs and motivational channels for learning in R&D projects 在研发项目中学习的预算设计和激励渠道

IF 9.4 3区管理学 Q1 BUSINESS, FINANCE

British Accounting Review

Pub Date : 2026-01-01 DOI: 10.1016/j.bar.2025.101687

Nina Detzen

This study takes up Adler and Borys' (1996) assertion that an enabling control design can mobilise employees' internalised motivation. Drawing on self-determination theory, it explores different motivational channels through which learning is facilitated in research and development (R&D) projects. Based on survey data from 151 R&D team members, the results show that intrinsic and autonomous extrinsic motivation mediate the relationship between a perceived enabling budget design and learning. A subsample analysis showed that autonomous extrinsic motivation mediates the effect of a perceived enabling budget design on learning in highly explorative projects, while the effect of intrinsic motivation was inferior. Based on the empirical analysis, employees’ perceptions of the four underlying design features of the enabling design are critically reflected upon. Overall, the study sheds light on the mediating role of employee motivation as an important aspect to better understand the relationship between management control practices and work outcomes in innovative settings.

本研究采纳了Adler和Borys（1996）的主张，即启用控制设计可以调动员工的内化动机。借鉴自我决定理论，它探索了不同的动机渠道，通过这些渠道，学习在研究和开发（R&；D）项目中得到促进。基于对151名研发团队成员的调查数据，结果表明，内在动机和自主外在动机在感知授权预算设计与学习之间的关系中起中介作用。子样本分析表明，自主的外在动机调节了感知授权预算设计对高度探索性项目学习的影响，而内在动机的作用较差。在实证分析的基础上，批判性地反思了员工对使能设计的四个基本设计特征的看法。总体而言，该研究揭示了员工激励的中介作用，作为更好地理解创新环境中管理控制实践与工作成果之间关系的一个重要方面。

引用次数: 0

The effect of big data-driven tax enforcement on audit pricing: Evidence from China 大数据驱动的税务执法对审计定价的影响：来自中国的证据

IF 9.4 3区管理学 Q1 BUSINESS, FINANCE

British Accounting Review

Pub Date : 2026-01-01 DOI: 10.1016/j.bar.2024.101531

Xiting Wu , Sammy Xiaoyan Ying , Jiaxing You , Xiaochun Wu , Huiying Wu

Over the past few decades, the Chinese government has implemented a series of tax system reforms, namely, the Golden Tax Project (GTP), to use information technology to enhance tax administration. Taking advantage of the staggered implementation of phase III of the GTP from 2013 to 2016, we use a difference-in-differences design to examine whether strengthened tax enforcement impacts audit pricing. Using a sample of 2751 companies listed on Chinese stock exchanges from 2007 to 2016, we test and find support for our hypothesis that the implementation of GTP III leads to a reduction in audit fees. We predict that GTP III decreases audit risks by improving corporate tax compliance and information transparency, which in turn reduces audit fees. Consistent with our prediction, the results show that the implementation of GTP III is associated with improved tax compliance (proxied by reduced tax avoidance and negative tax-related media coverage) and with improved information transparency (measured by reduced earnings management and analyst forecast errors). Our further analyses show that the effect of GTP III on audit pricing is more pronounced for companies in regions with higher fiscal pressure, worse tax compliance environment, and more severe corruption. Furthermore, the effect is strengthened when auditors are from a Big 4 firm, have more experience, and have experience in the high-tech industries. Moreover, business complexity, industry competition, and business uncertainty attenuate the effect of GTP III on audit pricing. Overall, this study suggests that tax enforcement has an important impact on auditor behavior, with benefits extending beyond enhanced tax compliance.

在过去的几十年里，中国政府实施了一系列税收制度改革，即“金税工程”（GTP），利用信息技术加强税收管理。利用2013年至2016年GTP第三阶段的交错实施，我们采用差异中的差异设计来检验加强税收执法是否会影响审计定价。我们以2007年至2016年在中国证券交易所上市的2751家公司为样本，对GTP III的实施导致审计费用减少的假设进行了检验并找到了支持。我们预测，GTP III通过提高企业税收合规性和信息透明度来降低审计风险，从而降低审计费用。与我们的预测一致，结果表明GTP III的实施与提高税收合规性（通过减少避税和与税收相关的负面媒体报道）和提高信息透明度（通过减少盈余管理和分析师预测误差来衡量）有关。进一步分析表明，在财政压力较大、税务合规环境较差、腐败现象较严重的地区，GTP III对审计定价的影响更为明显。此外，如果审计师来自四大会计师事务所，经验更丰富，并且在高科技行业有经验，则效果会增强。此外，业务复杂性、行业竞争和业务不确定性减弱了GTP III对审计定价的影响。总体而言，本研究表明，税收执法对审计师行为有重要影响，其好处不仅限于提高税收合规性。

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引用次数: 0