Theoretical thesis.

Bibliography: pages 99-114.

Chapter 1: Overview of the thesis  – Chapter 2: Paper 1  – Chapter 3: Paper 2  – Chapter 4: Paper 3  – Chapter 5: Conclusions  – List of references.

Impression management in accounting is defined as attempts by management to control and manipulate the impressions of users of accounting information by strategically disclosing information included in the narrative sections of annual reports. In this context, the human memory system plays a key role. Previous studies suggested that the human memory is influenced by biases that may result in distortions of judgement. The aim of this thesis is to examine the role of memory in accounting judgements and decision - making under the context of impression management. To achieve this aim, the thesis includes three papers. Paper one develops a framework outlining the human memory process and explains key biases and errors in memory that may facilitate further biases and errors in judgements and decision - making. Further, this framework distinguishes between online judgements (i.e., judgements made without memory retrieval) and memory - based judgements, proposing a relationship between the biases of the memory system and the two types of judgements. Paper two examines how on - line judgements are influenced by the interactions between the text and readers. Specifically, two biases from the memory system - namely, textual salience and personal mood - are examined as influential factors in the online judgements of investors. The findings suggest embedding textual salience (i.e., highlighted favourable cues) in a chairman's letter can easily distort non - professional investors' attention and judgement and readers' positive moods may further enhance their perceptions of the highlighted favourable cues. Paper three examines how the recall order of non - professional investors and the visual salience embedded in a chairman's letter may influence their memories of previously encoded accounting information and subsequent memory - based judgements. It pays special attention to the effect of memory on impression manipulations and suggests that embedding inappropriate salience (e.g., highlighting favourable cues) or strategically altering readers' recall order (e.g., recalling positive cues first) can easily distort investors' memory and memory - based impressions towards a positive view of a company.

1 online resource (xi, 117 pages) illustrations

Theoretical thesis.

Bibliography: pages 145-158.

Chapter 1. Introduction  – Chapter 2. Paper 1 - Internal auditors' perceptions of their role in environmental, social and governance assurance and consulting  – Chapter 3. Paper 2 - Factors associated with internal audit's involvement in environmental and social assurance and consulting  – Chapter 4. Paper 3 - The dynamics of internal audit's involvement in environmental, social and governance assurance and consulting  – Chapter 5. Conclusion.

This thesis by publication examines the provision of assurance and consulting over environmental, social and governance (ESG) areas by internal auditors in the Australian context. The thesis consists of three papers based on a sequential mixed methods design comprising a survey in Stage 1 and semi-structured interviews in Stage 2 of the thesis, both conducted with internal auditors. The thesis aims to further our understanding of the nature and dynamics of internal audit's involvement in ESG areas by investigating three key objectives.•What is the nature of internal audit's involvement in ESG areas?•Why is internal audit involved in ESG areas?•How does internal audit facilitate its expansion and embed itself into emerging ESG areas?The first paper provides the context for the study by investigating the current state of play with respect to internal audit's involvement in ESG areas. It examines internal auditors' perceptions of the current and future importance of these issues to internal audit and the adequacy of their skills and expertise in meeting the challenges associated with their involvement in these areas.Using data from a survey of chief audit executives and service provider partners of internal audit services, the study found that respondent internal audit functions were involved in providing assurance and consulting on a diverse array of ESG issues, with greater involvement in assurance services relative to consulting services. While internal audit predominantly focused on governance issues, Paper 1 reports that environmental issues were generally expected to increase in importance in coming years, with a corresponding need for internal auditors' skills in environmental areas in greatest need of further development.The second and third papers address the question of why internal audit is involved in ESG areas. Paper 2 examines factors associated with the extent of internal audit's involvement in environmental and social issues using data collected from the survey in the first stage of the thesis. The findings indicate that management support for internal audit's involvement in ESG activities is the key factor associated with the extent of the internal audit function's involvement in assurance and consulting over these areas. In addition, internal audit functions in organisations operating in sensitive industries, and with higher levels of external ESG reporting, were found to be associated with greater involvement in assurance over environmental and social issues. Interviews conducted in the second stage…

Theoretical thesis.

Chapter 1: Overview of the Thesis  – Chapter 2: Paper 1 - The Pathway of Transition to International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) in Developing Countries: Evidence from Indonesia  – Chapter 3: Paper 2 - The Impact of Culture and Risk Propensity on the Judgements of Accountants: A Comparative Study of Indonesia and Australia  – Chapter 4: Paper 3 - Ethical Decisions by Accountants in Applying International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS): Cross-Cultural Evidence from Indonesia and Australia  – Chapter 5: Paper 4 - An Examination of the Perceptions of Accountants towards the Professional Skills Required for Applying the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS)  – Chapter 6: Summary and Conclusions.

The increasing popularity of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) over the last few years has led to a growing number of IFRS adopters around the world. As of 2016, more than 130 countries have adopted the IFRS, with many other countries stating a commitment to support the global accounting convergence initiated by the International Accounting Standards Board. The worldwide adoption of IFRS is believed to result in a greater cross - national comparability of financial information which, in turn, will benefit the global economy. This thesis aims to undertake a comprehensive examination of the conceptual and practical issues associated with the adoption of IFRS in both developed and developing economies. Specifically, this thesis seeks to answer the question of whether convergence in accounting standards will necessarily lead to comparability of financial reporting practices, and to propose possible ways to improve consistencies in the interpretation and application of the IFRS within and across countries. To address this issue, the thesis undertakes four research projects with the following objectives: (1) to critically analyse the process of convergence in a developing country and to identify the critical issues in that process; (2) to examine whether cultural and personal factors cause differences in the judgements made by professional accountants across countries when interpreting and applying the IFRS; (3) to examine the extent and the cause of differences in the ethical decisions between professional accountant s across countries when applying the IFRS; and (4) to examine the perceptions of professional accountants towards the skills and competencies that are essential for applying the IFRS. The findings of this thesis suggest that there are intense challenges f acing the adoption of IFRS in different countries, which hampers the comparability of financial reporting practices under the standards. In particular, this study demonstrates that the measurement and recognition criteria contained in the IFRS are not interpreted and applied in a consistent manner across and within countries due to differences in cultural, organisational, personal, and ethical characteristics. The findings of this thesis also show that even when the IFRS are adopted,…

Thesis by publication.

1. Introduction  – 2. A brief overview of the literature  – 3. The importance of business angels  – 4. Research methodology  – 5. The three papers  – 6. The tasks of critical management research  – 7. Limitations  – 8. References.

Researchers have been investigating the phenomenon of angel financing for almost 40 years, however, few studies investigate business angels in the Australian context. This thesis presents an examination of business angels through three research papers focusing on academic, practice, and policy. This triumvirate identifies what we know about business angels - the academic - how they make decisions - the practice - and, finally, the interaction of government and business angels - the policy. This 'academic, practice, policy' model is formed into a coherent piece of work using a critical research perspective framework, providing insight, critique, and transformative redefinition.

The first paper, the academic, provides a structured literature review of 84 business angel articles published between 2000 and 2013. The paper identifies what scholars know about angel financing and provides a new research agenda. This agenda calls for future research to focus on six key areas of angel financing - policy, crowd sourced investing, the changing nature of angel markets, gender issues, entrepreneurs, and emerging markets.

The second paper, the practice, investigates the decision-making process of business angels using the Australian context to identify the underlying motivating factors of the investment decision. The paper uses qualitative research interviews with angels which are corroborated by interviews with other actors in the ecosystem. Using an analytical framework that combines the decision-making process with investment criteria, the paper identifies four key drivers motivating the investment decision - personal experience, trust, the need to contribute, and realistic expectations.

The third paper, the policy, examines the perspectives of both investors and policy makers in the Australian context. The paper introduces policy theory to frame the analysis - adopting a problematisation approach - allowing for a critique of the implementation and effectiveness of government intervention. In adopting this approach, a disconnect between investors and government is clearly identified. Alongside this theme, the paper identifies a number of new behaviours not seen in the literature. These include the use of diversification to manage risk, and the provision of human and social capital without financial capital - 'sweat equity'.

This thesis aims to stimulate a wider discourse about angel financing and the behaviour of angel markets more broadly. It encourages the reader to think about what they know from a new perspective. Using the three empirical papers, and adopting a view of research as a process, this thesis discusses three interwoven spheres of insight - the changing nature of angels and angel markets (academic), micro issues - human and social capital…

Thesis by publication.

Aggressive financial reporting, which refers to accountants' preference for reporting disclosure that portrays events favourably when accounting treatments are not clearly indicated by the facts, accounting standards and relevant literature, has long been recognized as a critical ethical issue for the accounting profession. The aim of the dissertation is to examine the influence of three factors, namely language, personality, and accountability on Chinese accountants' aggressive financial reporting judgments. These three factors have been selected for examination in the three papers comprising this dissertation because of their importance and relevance both globally and in China. This dissertation is based on the 'thesis by publication', and comprises three separate experimental studies. This dissertation includes an introduction (Chapter 1), three separate experimental studies (Chapter 2-4), and a conclusion (Chapter 5). Specifically, the three papers comprising this dissertation are as follows.

The first paper is entitled, "The Influence of Native versus Foreign Language on Chinese Subjects' Aggressive Financial Reporting Judgments". Researchers have suggested that ethical judgments about "right" and "wrong" are the result of deep and thoughtful principles and should therefore be consistent and not influenced by factors, such as language. As long as an ethical scenario is understood, individuals' resolution should not depend on whether the ethical scenario is presented in their native language or in a foreign language. Given the forces of globalization and international convergence, an increasing number of accountants and accounting students are becoming proficient in more than one language and they are required to interpret and apply complex ethical pronouncements issued by various global standard setters both in their native language and in English. There have been calls in the literature to examine whether subjects make systematically different ethical judgments in a foreign language than in their native language. This paper contributes to the literature by drawing on culture, linguistics and psychology research to provide empirical evidence that Chinese subjects are more aggressive in interpreting the concept of control when providing their consolidation reporting recommendations in English than in Simplified Chinese. This paper applied 2x2 within-subject and between-subject randomized experimental design using a sample of Chinese final year undergraduate accounting students at a leading Chinese university, where accounting courses are taught in both Simplified Chinese and English. Students in this study are proxy for entry-level accounting practitioners. This paper provides empirical evidence that Chinese accounting students are more aggressive in interpreting the concept of control when providing their consolidation reporting recommendations in English than in their native language.

The second paper is entitled, "Construal of Self and Chinese Accountants' Aggressive…

Theoretical thesis.

Chapter 1: 1. Introduction 1.1 Background and context 1.2. Literature summary 1.3 Aims and objectives 1.4 Structure of thesis  – Chapter 2: Study 1: The influence of Islamic religiosity on auditors ' preference for more or less judgment 2.1 Introduction 2.2 Literature review 2.3 The Pakistani context 2.4 Theory development and hypothesis formulation 2.5 Research method 2.6 Results and discussion 2.7 Conclusions  – Chapter 3: Study 2: The influence of clients' religious adherence and gender on auditors' evidence reliability judgments in an Islamic context 3.1 Introduction 3.2 Literature review and hypothesis development 3.3 Research method 3.4 Results 3.5 Discussion and conclusions  – Chapter 4: Study 3: The influence of auditors' Islamic religiosity and clients' religious adherence on the level of conservatism in auditors' judgments 4.1 Introduction 4.2 Literature review and background 4.3 Hypothesis development 4.4 Research method 4.5 Results 4.6 Conclusion  – Chapter 5: Conclusions 5.1 Summary and main findings 5.2 Contributions and implications 5.3 Limitations and suggestions for future research.

This thesis by publication contributes to the literature on auditors' judgment and decision making by investigating the influence of Islam on auditors' professional judgments. Pakistan, this study's proxy for Islamic countries, provides an appropriate national setting because over 97% of the population strongly identifies with Islam. Pakistan is selected as a proxy for Islamic countries given its adoption, without modifications, of the International Standards on Auditing (ISAs) in 2005 as part of international auditing and accounting convergence. Given the growing influence of Islam on accounting and auditing practices, it is timely to examine its influence on auditors' professional judgments. Auditors' professional judgments pervade virtually all aspects of contemporary financial statement audits and is selected for examination in this thesis because the exercise of informed judgments is referred to as the most important element i n applying the firm's audit approach at the various stages of the audit . This thesis consists of three individual studies . Study 1 is based on a survey conducted in medium - tier auditing firms. Given the calls to provide causal evidence in audit research, Studies 2 and 3 adopted 2x2 between - subjects experimental designs and collected data from Big 4 firms. The overall aim of this thesis is to investigate the influence of Islamic culture on auditors' judgments. Prior research provides evidence of the influence of culture as a broad variable on auditors' judgments ; this thesis "unpacks" culture by invoking the concept of Islamic religiosity, which provides sharper insights into auditors' judgments. As such, this thesis contributes to the literature by introducing an Islamic religiosity measure to the audit judgment literature. Together, the three interrelated studies of the thesis provide holistic insights into the influence of Islam on auditors'…

Thesis by publication.

Chapter 1. Overview of the thesis  – Chapter 2. Contextual factors influencing global convergence of financial reporting : the case of Indonesia  – Chapter 3. Professional accountants' preferences for the application principles- versus rules-based standards in Indonesia  – Chapter 4. Gender-based auditors' judgments in Indonesia  – Chapter 5. Conclusions.

Using Indonesia as a case study, this PhD thesis aims to contribute to the literature by critically examining the influence of relevant contextual factors including Islam and dominant indigenous values (adat) on various issues related to global convergence and accountants' professional judgments.The forces of globalization and the convergence of financial reporting with the adoption of global accounting standards have attracted increasing interest on the influence of social, political and economic factors including culture on accounting. Although prior research has examined various countries’ experiences with global convergence, only few studies have rigorously examined issues related to globalization, convergence and accounting practices in non-Anglo-American context especially in Islamic countries. This is surprising since it is increasingly acknowledged that Islam poses challenges to globalization and convergence of financial reporting. This is especially related to the requirement for compliance with Islamic law (Sharia) in religious (ibadah) and secular aspects (muamalat) of life including commercial activities and, indeed, financial reporting. Moreover, there is a growing movement towards ―Islamic convergence‖ in the recent years, which is primarily driven by the significant growth of Islamic Financial Institutions (IFIs) and the issuance of accounting, auditing and Sharia standards for IFIs by international standards setting body, namely, Accounting and Auditing Organization for Islamic Financial Institutions (AAOIFI). The Islamic convergence is recognized as an effort to resist globalization that has been severely criticized as the promotion of Anglo-American dominance and values which are inconsistent with Islam and Sharia. As such, using Indonesia as a case study, this PhD thesis aims to contribute to the literature by critically examining the influence of relevant contextual factors including Islam and dominant ndigenous values (adat) on various issues related to global convergence and accountants’ professional judgments. Indonesia provides an appropriate context to examine various issues related to global convergence and Islam. Indonesia is the largest Islamic country in the world where Islam is the religion of 87 percent of its population of 253 million. Indonesia has joined the convergence movement with the adoption of the Code, IFRS and ISA in 2010, 2012 and 2013, respectively. Indonesia hasalso applied a separate set of Sharia Accounting Standards for financial reporting of IFIs in the country. Both global convergence and Islamic convergence of financial reporting are simultaneously reinforced and applied in the…

Chapter 1. Introduction  – Chapter 2. - Paper 1. Managerial attitudes toward social and environmental accountability - a study across developed and developing countries  – Chapter 3. - Paper 2. Evaluating corporate environmental performance across developed and developing economies: evidence from Australian and Indian companies  – Chapter 4. - Paper 3. The association between firm characteristics and levels of corporate social and environment reporting in Autralian and Indian organisations  – Chapter 5. Conclusion.

The thesis (1) examines managerial attitudes towards social and environmental (S&E) accountability, (2) measures organisational S&E performance and (3) examines the extent of S&E disclosure. The purpose of the study is to compare, across Australia and India, the attitudes of managers toward S&E issues, S&E performance and determinants of S&E disclosure. This study argues for greater engagement by S&E accounting researchers with S&E practice, particularly within emerging economies. The study also illustrated that gaps and challenges still remain in improving the performance and extent of S&E disclosure from an emerging and developed economy perspective. This study is important in gaining an understanding of current and potentially future Indian managerial attitudes toward S&E accountability, performance and reporting. Given India's ongoing economic growth and development, it is critical that managers both understand the importance of CSR and enact policies and practices to reduce their organisations overall negative social and environmental impact. Economic growth is placing significant pressure on India's social infrastructure and environmental resources. As India continues to develop and interact in the global market, it is essential to understand Indian managerial attitudes on CSR, the CSR practices they put into place, and the extent of CSR information that they formally report, in order to gauge the extent to which social and environmental problems can be identified and reduced, and overall improvements made.

Using a questionnaire survey the first paper seeks to explore whether respondents from Australia and India, characterised by differing levels of social and economic development, vary in their attitudes towards social and environmental accountability. Findings indicate that Australian respondents are concerned about specific issues within the broad social accountability continuum, whilst Indian respondents are concerned about a range of issues surrounding social accountability. Indian respondents were stronger in their support of certain questions related to environmental attitudes than Australian respondents. Significant differences existed between the 318 respondents on 16 of the 34 questions.

The second paper uses four management and two operational performance indicators to measure selected components of environmental performance across various industries. Results imply that corporate efforts in environmental management may not necessarily lead to good operational performance. Indian…

Theoretical thesis.

Bibliography: pages 179-229.

Chapter 1: Introduction  – Chapter 2: Cities lead climate Change by mitigating GHG Emission  – Chapter 3: Literature review on social and environmental accounting research  – Chapter 4: Paper 1: greenhouse gas emissions disclosure by cities: the expectation gap  – Chapter 5: Paper 2: measuring for climate actions: a disclosure study of ten megacities  – Chapter 6: Paper 3: energy efficiency public disclosure of major Australian cities  – Chapter 7: Conclusion.

Several social and environmental accounting (SEA) scholars have suggested that sustainability issues need to be explored at the regional or geographic boundary level as opposed to focusing on the legal form of corporations (Dumay et al., 2010; Gray, 20 10; Milne and Gray, 2007). One such regional level is that of a city as each city has its own geographic/regional boundary. In relation to the key sustainability issue of climate change, cities are responsible for a large share of anthropogenic greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Cities also have the ability and capacity to reduce GHG emissions via strategies and other actions. Policies and actions already being implemented at city level have the potential to reduce GH G emissions by 1 billion metric tons annually by 2030 (Ostrander and Oliveira, 2013). Measurement is vital for managing GHG emissions and disclosure is the critical step for public accountability. Extant accounting literature, however, is relatively silent about exploring the measurement and disclosure practices of GHG emissions at the city level. Prior studies have predominately examined the accounting and reporting of GHG emissions in the corporate sector (e.g., Andrew and Cortese, 2011a; Depoers et al., 2016; Kolk et al., 2008). These studies found that the quality of disclosure is poor and advocated mandatory reporting as well as calling for further GHG disclosure research. In responding to this call, this thesis ex amines the extent and quality of disclosures of GHG emissions and reduction activities at the city-level.

This thesis consists of three empirical research papers. Paper 1 (Mia et al., 2019) investigates the quality of GHG emissions disclosures of 42 cities to the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) and compares them with the expectations of users. The expectation gap framework is used to examine GHG disclosure quality on the premise that quality disclosure is needed to meet user expectations, and the quality dis closure should be complete, consistent, timely, accurate, reliable and comparable. An expectation gap may arise because o f deficient performance, deficient standards and users' unreasonable expectations. Content analysis is conducted to analyse the expectation gap. Overall, the findings are that GHG emissions disclosures do not meet the expectations of users. In relation to performance, man y cities have excluded several GHGs from emissions inventory, used multiple protocols to calculate emissions inventory, reported old emissions data and applied emissions reduction…

Empirical thesis.

"This thesis is presented for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Accounting and Corporate Governance, Faculty of Business and Economics, Department of Accounting and Corporate Governance, Macquarie University & Faculty of Businss Administration, Chair of Accounting and Auditing, Catholic University Eichstaett-Ingolstadt"  – title page.

I. Introduction  – II. Building a social empire? Managerial preferences, shareholder litigation, and corporate social responsibility  – III. Do customers affect the value relevance of corporate social responsibility reporting? Empirical evidence on stakeholder interdependence  – IV. Cultural rule orientation, legal institutions, and the credibility of corporate social responsibility reports  – V. Conclusion.

The aim of this thesis is to provide novel and holistic evidence on why managers pursue corporate social responsibility (CSR). To achieve this aim, I conduct three independent but interrelated empirical studies. Motivated by endogeneity concerns and the lack of evidence on managers' private preferences (i.e., agency motives), the first study (Chapter II) examines how a truly exogenous increase in agency problems affects different types of CSR investment decisions. Using a natural experiment for identification, I find that an increase in agency problems causes managers to misinvest in immaterial CSR and overinvest in material CSR. This finding suggests that managers have an underling preference for building a social empire. In addition, I provide evidence that an increase in agency problems causes managers to issue CSR press releases more frequently, and these press releases have a more positive tone. This indicates that managers want the general public to notice their social empire. The findings of the first study contribute to the existing literature by providing more nuanced evidence on managerial preferences, offering improved identification of agency problems, and analyzing CSR press releases.

Motivated by the inconclusive evidence on managers'financial motives, the second study (Chapter III) provides more nuanced evidence by accounting for customer profile differences. Using an interaction model, I show that issuing a CSR report has a positive effect on financial performance if firms address end-consumers (i.e., are a B2C firm) and their profitability level is low. In contrast,if firms addresses other businesses (i.e., are a B2B firm) and their profitability level is low, issuing a CSR report has a negative effect on financial performance. This finding contributes to the existing iterature by revealing that only managers of less profitable B2C firms have a financial motive to issue a CSR report.

Motivated by the scarcity of research on institutional forces that push or pull managers to pursue CSR, the third study (Chapter IV) examines how culture - an informal institutional force - affects managers' decisions regarding the credibility of CSR reports. Using a multi-methods approach, I show that cultural rule orientation - that is,…

Theoretical thesis.

Bibliography: pages 114-119.

Chapter 1: Introduction  – Chapter 2: Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in East Asia: visualizing the latent themes and connections between semantic concepts  – Chapter 3: Philosophical values and employees' Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) attitude, behaviour, and impact: an examination among China, Korea, Japan, and Taiwan  – Chapter 4: Philosophical approach to Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in East Asia: the integration of Confucianism, Legalism and Taoism  – Chapter 5: Conclusion.

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has attracted a great deal of attention in the field of management research in the past few decades. The East Asia region-including Mainland China(China), Japan, South Korea(Korea), and Taiwan-as a unique research context has increasingly attracted CSR scholars due to its importance in the global economy and its different cultural traditions from the West. Studies argue that CSR in Asia demonstrates a strong ethically driven style as a result of long-standing influence from traditional philosophies. However, it remains unclear which are the underpinning philosophies that drive CSR attitudes and behaviours in East Asia. Moreover, CSR studies with a focus on traditional philosophies have often been descriptive in nature,with a lack of empirical evidence and the lack of a comprehensive theoretical framework to guide research in this area forward. This thesis advances CSR research in East Asia through a process of inductive theory development embodied by three studies. Chapter 2 (Study 1) conducts a systematic literature review of current CSR studies East Asia utilizing the methods of co-citation analysis and content analysis to visualize the connections and interactions of key studies and latent themes. Three major Chinese philosophies, namely Confucianism, Taoism, and Legalism,emerge in the literature on CSR in East Asia as having ethical traditions that show strong links with CSR.The findings of this first study justify the need for further investigation into these philosophies and how they can contribute to the understanding of CSR. Chapter 3 (Study 2) then uses a quantitative research design to empirically test the associations between the three philosophies and CSR perceptions at an individual level. Data was collected from East Asian full-time employees in China, Japan, Korea, and Taiwan. The results show that philosophical values are significant predictors for employees'attitudes and behaviours around CSR, demonstrating that East Asian people are fundamentally driven by these philosophies. However, different combinations of philosophical values explain different dimensions of CSR. The findings indicate that the three philosophies may not only act as isolated predictors for CSR but also have more complex associations that have been overlooked. Finally, Chapter 4(Study 3) proposes a philosophical modelincorporatinga Venn diagram to synthesize all three philosophies. This study suggests that the three philosophies…

Thesis by publication.

Bibliography: pages 200-237.

Chapter 1. Introduction  – Chapter 2. Paper one  – Chapter 3. Paper two  – Chapter 4. Paper three  – Chapter 5. Conclusion  – References  – Appendices.

Whistleblowing refers to the disclosure of wrongdoings by members of organisations to persons or organisations that may be able to effect action. This thesis presents an examination of the effects of national and organisational cultures on the whistleblowing decisions of employees. The thesis also considers how remaining silent or blowing the whistle in response to observed wrongdoings affects employees’ key work-related attitudes. Mail surveys were used to collect data from 82 (Australian) and 198 (Pakistani) middle-level managers who were working in large-scale organisations in Australia and Pakistan respectively. The thesis employs the format of ‘thesis by publication’ and consists of three separate, yet interrelated, comprehensive research papers.

Paper 1 addresses a major gap in the whistleblowing literature, which has been caused by generalisability issues of single-country studies, limited geographical coverage and the use of student samples and/or hypothetical scenarios by previous cross-cultural whistleblowing studies. Using Hofstede’s (1980) framework of national culture, the study examined the effects of three dimensions of national culture—individualism/collectivism, power distance and indulgence/restraint—on actual whistleblowing decisions of real-life employees. The results indicated a significantly higher frequency of whistleblowing in the individualistic national culture of Australia than in the collectivist national culture of Pakistan. Further, large power distance was found to be a hindrance for official reporting but not for the unofficial reporting of wrongdoings committed by superiors. Additionally, characteristics of restrained national culture were found to be a major reason for employees to remain silent regarding observed wrongdoings. The findings provide valuable insights for lawmakers, regulators and domestic and multinational organisations to understand the effects of national culture on the whistleblowing decisions of employees. The findings from the study presented in Paper 1 suggest that whistleblowing legislation and organisational whistleblowing policies should be customised to suit national cultures.

Paper 2 provides empirical evidence regarding the association between organisational culture and whistleblowing. The results demonstrated a lower likelihood of whistleblowing in organisations that focused more on the cultural dimensions of respect for people, innovation and stability. Additionally, employees in organisations that focused more on cultural dimension of attention to detail were more likely to blow the whistle regarding observed wrongdoings. Outcome orientation and teamwork dimensions of organisational culture were not found to be associated with whistleblowing. These findings provide valuable insights for organisations to shape their organisational…

Thesis by publication.

Bibliography: pages 154-169.

1. Introduction  – 2. Paper 1 : Data in search of a theory : understanding the potential of digital disruption in the accounting profession through a structured literature review  – 3. Paper 2 : Identifying and managing digital disruption in the accounting profession through disruptive innovation theory - a view from accounting professionals  – 4. Paper 3 : On cloud nine : a case study on the disruptive innovation effects of accounting software as a service in accounting domain  – 5. Conclusion  – 6. Full reference list  – 7. Appendices.

Digital Disruption is a term frequently used to describe the changes enabled by ICTs that will fundamentally transform the existing value proposition and business model across all industrial sectors, including professional services (Christensen et al., 2018; Vesti et al., 2017). For the accounting profession, digital disruption is a phenomenon shaping the breadth and depth of accounting services. It has generated extensive discussion as to whether it poses a threat or opportunity to the future role of professionals within the business domain. Despite its current and future impact on practitioner and firm alike, there has been scant academic research on disruptive innovation within an accounting context.

This thesis examines the extent to which Information and CommunicationTechnologies (ICTs), and accounting software in particular, has digitally disrupted the accounting profession and professionals. This thesis seeks to address the deficiency and advance our understanding of Digital Disruption through the lens of disruptive innovation theory across three studies. Chapter 2 (Study 1) conducts a systematic literature review of prior studies on how ICTs impact the role of accounting professionals and professionalism and then evaluates the potential for Disruptive Innovation Theory to provide a lens by which to assess the impact of ICTs on the accounting profession. Results indicate that prior literature has identified “changes”in the employment role of accounting professionals from one of core technical accounting skills to a greater focus on IT knowledge and soft skills. However, research has proceeded without an underlying theoretical framework and Disruptive Innovation Theory can provide a basis upon which to understand digital disruption within the professional services market. Chapter 3 (Study 2) explores whether ICTs can be viewed as disruptive innovation to the accounting profession and to what extent, accounting professionals have identified and coped with digital disruption in their daily practice. Semi-structured interviews with 13 senior managers/CEO/CFO of firms, professional bodies and public sector organizations, who occupy key decision-making positions with respect to ICT strategy across firms, finds that disruption has yet to fully materialize, but that accounting professionals have learnt to collaborate with ICTs as tools to achieve high value services and adapt different strategies to enhance their…

Theoretical thesis.

Chapter 1. Overview of the thesis  – Chapter 2. The influence of construal of self on internal auditors' judgments on whistle-blowing: evidence from China  – Chapter 3. The influence of ethical climate on whistle-blowing as an internal control mechanism: evidence from China  – Chapter 4. Construal of self and social desirability response bias  – Chapter 5. Conclusiona.

Global standards setters and national regulators have both recognised the importance of whistle-blowing in preventing and detecting business wrongdoing. In addition, researchers have advocated that whistle-blowing has contributed significantly to efforts in improving corporate governance and in reducing business misconduct across countries. The aim of the the sisis to examine the influence of three factors, namely personality, ethical climate, and social desirability response bias on Chinese internal auditors' acceptance and likelihood of engaging in whistle-blowing. These three factors have been selected for examination in the three papers comprising this thesis because of their importance and relevance both globally and in China. This thesis is based on the "thesis by publication", and comprises three separate studies. This thesis includes an introduction (Chapter 1), three separate empirical studies (Chapter 2-4), and a conclusion (Chapter 5). Specifically, the three papers comprising this thesis are as follows.The first paper is entitled, "The Influence of Construal of Selfon Internal Auditors' Judgments on Whistle-Blowing: Evidence from China". This paper contributes to the literature by examining how an important antecedent of whistle-blowing, namely construal of self, influences Chinese internal auditors' judgments in the context of whistle-blowing. China provides a particularly unique environment because traditional cultural values such as collectivism, obedience, submission, and the fear of jeopardizing harmonious interpersonal relationships arelikely to influence whistle-blowing. Internal auditors have been selected as subjects because of the importance placed on them by regulators and enterprises in designing whistle-blowing systems. Construal of self has been selected for examination because it captures complex moral,cognitive processes experienced by individuals at both cultural and personality levels. This study develops and finds support for the hypotheses that, compared to independents, interdependent internal auditors are less accepting and less likely to engage in whistle-blowing.The results also show the presence of strong social desirability response bias among internal auditors. Given the existence of social desirability response bias, this study viii questions the findings from prior research where subjects are required to provide their judgments on complex ethical issues related to their relationships with their colleagues, superiors, and junior staff members. The second paper is entitled, "The Influence of Ethical Climate on Whistle-Blowing as an Internal Control Mechanism: Evidence from China".…

Thesis by publication.

Chapter One. Overview of the thesis  – Chapter Two. Cross-border acquisitions and CSR performance  – Chapter Three. Short selling, margin trading and corporate social responsibility  – Chapter Four. Mandatory CSR disclosure and financial constraints  – Chapter Five. Conclusions.

To achieve economic, social and environmental objectives, the Chinese government has directed Chinese firms to acquire strategic assets and expand business abroad through its “Go Global” policy. As a result, Chinese firms have become the world’s largest foreign investors since 2016. In the first paper, I examine the relationship between the cross-border acquisition activities and corporate social responsibility (CSR) performance of Chinese firms. I find that Chinese acquirers significantly improve CSR performance following their cross-border acquisitions, suggesting that Chinese acquirers initiate efforts to improve CSR performance to gain legitimacy in host countries. I also find that host country legal origins, social norms, and the exposure of the acquirers to multiple jurisdictions hold the keys to improve the CSR performance of acquirers. In addition, CSR performance of non-State-Owned Enterprises (non-SOEs) are positively affected by cross-border acquisitions, especially that of non-SOEs in heavy-pollution industries. The study provides micro-level evidence on the effect of the government’s “Go Out” policy on the CSR practices of Chinese firms. It also explores the implication of corporate acquisition activities on stakeholder welfare.

In the second paper, I examine whether firms use CSR activities to signal information about their future prospects to investors and other stakeholders using the pilot program of short selling and margin trading introduced by the China Securities Regulatory Commission in 2010 as a quasi-natural experiment. This pilot program imposes non-fundamentally driven pressure on the stock prices of the pilot firms. I find that the pilot firms enhance their CSR performance to respond to the exogenous shock of the sudden removal of the short-selling and margin-trading bans. When the effect of short selling on CSR is disentangled from the effect of margin trading on CSR performance, I find that the pilot firms respond to the exogenous shock of short-selling pressure by enhancing their CSR performance but not to the exogenous shock of margin trading. The results suggest that CSR activities can send a positive signal about future prospects to investors and other stakeholders including short sellers.

In the third paper, I examine the effect of mandatory CSR disclosure on financial constraints using a quasi-natural experiment in China that mandates a subset of listed firms to disclose their CSR activities. Using a difference-in-differences research design, I find that firms with mandatory CSR reporting experience an increase in financial constraints after the mandate. Additional analyses reveal that the increase in financial constraints is more pronounced for firms without…

Thesis by publication.

Bibliography: pages 138-189.

Chapter 1. Overview of the thesis  – Chapter 2. Theoretical and methodological suggestions for improving research on the global convergence of financial reporting  – Chapter 3. The influence of Islamic religiosity on professional accountants’ judgments on the global convergence of financial reporting : evidence from Bangladesh  – Chapter 4. The influence of perceived accountability on professional accountants’ judgments on the convergence of financial reporting : evidence from Bangladesh  – Chapter 5. Conclusions  – References  – Tables  – Appendices.

The thesis comprises three related papers which extend the literature on global convergence of financial reporting using Bangladesh as a proxy for Islamic countries. Figure 1.1 on page 14 provides the aim of the thesis and objectives of the three papers, and Figure 1.2 on page 15 provides the theoretical framework of the study. The first paper is entitled, “Theoretical and Methodological Suggestions for Improving Research on the Global Convergence of Financial Reporting”. This paper critically evaluates 430 scholarly articles published in leading journals (classified as A* and A by the Australian Business Deans Council) from January 1985 to June 2018. The articles examine various aspects of the global convergence of financial reporting with the objective of providing theoretical and methodological suggestions for improving research in this area. All 430 papers were grouped into two categories, namely (1) de jure convergence (12) and (2) de facto convergence (418). Whilst de jure research examines uniformity and consistency in accounting standards, de facto research studies consistency in accounting practices. The papers in the de facto category are further classified as follows: (1) archival research (199); (2) behavioral research (85); and (3) others (134), which includes topics related to, for example, the standard-setting agendas of the IASB and countries such as the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia, the history and politics of accounting standards in different countries, and accounting system classification. All 418 papers categorised as de facto are evaluated in terms of the objective of the paper. Archival studies primarily examine the impact of IFRS adoption on various variables, including earnings management, value relevance, analyst following and forecast accuracy, various financial ratios, cost of capital, and liquidity. Fifty-four studies developed quantitative approaches such as indices and regression analysis to measure the de facto level of global convergence. However, these simplistic quantitative techniques are criticised on a number of theoretical and methodological grounds. For example, the indices used to measure convergence are very sensitive to sample size, number of countries, and number of accounting practices examined. In these studies, quantitative models are simplistically employed and country-specific contextual factors that influence professional…

Thesis by publication.

Bibliography: pages 164-176.

Chapter 1. Introduction  – Chapter 2. Literature review  – Chapter 3. Paper 1 - Searching in the nonmarket environment ; the impact of regulatory search on firm innovativeness  – Chapter 4. Paper 2. The role of market environmental turbulence in moderating the effect of market and regulatory search on firm competitiveness  – Chapter 5.Paper 3 - Managerial intentionality and firm strategic renewal : the mediating role of higher order competencies  – Chapter 6. Summary and conclusions  – Reference list  – Appendix.

This thesis investigates an overarching research question about how firms’ performance is affected by exploratory search, internal and external environmental conditions, and firms’ strategic change processes. Specifically, building on multiple theoretical lenses such as organizational learning theory, the knowledge based view of the firm, the theory of strategic renewal and higher order competences, the thesis extends the literature examining the relation between exploratory search and performance in a number of ways. First, drawing on organizational learning theory, the thesis conceptualizes and develops a measure of exploratory search in the regulatory environment (i.e., regulatory search). Second, building on the knowledge based view of the firm, the thesis examines the effects of regulatory and market search on firm performance in a contingency framework, with a focus on the moderating effect of internal environmental conditions, specifically slack, and external environmental conditions, specifically market environmental turbulence. Third, the thesis conceptualizes exploratory search as a complex and multi-dimensional construct (including both market and regulatory search), and frames the exploratory search and performance relation in the theoretical framework of strategic renewal. Using this framework, the thesis examines the mediating roles of research and development and marketing competences in the association between a firm’s overall exploratory search orientation (representing managerial intentions to renew) and firm performance (representing renewal outcomes).

The format of the thesis is ‘thesis by publication’, consisting of three individual yet related papers. Paper 1 investigates the relation between regulatory search and firm innovativeness, and the moderating effect of slack on this relation. Regulatory search is conceptualized as a nonlocal and exploratory knowledge acquisition capability in a firm’s regulatory environment. Given there is no established scale for regulatory search, using survey data from the CEOs of Australian listed and private firms, a self-developed scale is used. Psychometric properties of the scale are examined with the results suggesting two independent factors, aligning with the knowledge requirements for the nonmarket strategies of anticipation (i.e., reactive regulatory search) and participation (i.e., proactive regulatory search). In relation to the direct effects of regulatory search factors on…

Empirical thesis.

Bibliography: pages178-187.

This thesis consists of three self-contained research papers in the areas of cash flow forecasts, cash flow asymmetry and accounting conservatism. The first paper (in Chapter Two) examines the factors affecting the issuance, accuracy and usefulness of analysts’ cash flow forecasts (CFFs) in Australia. The Australian market is selected due to the dominance of mining firms on the Australian Securities Exchange, the adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) and the prevalence of the direct method to prepare cash flow statements among Australian firms. Given the economic importance of the mining industry in Australia, the results show that analysts are likely to provide CFFs to mining firms with poor financial health and high default risk because investors have particular concerns about mining firms’ distress risk. In contrast, analysts’ provision of CFFs increases with non-mining firms which remain in sound financial health. The determinants of the issuance and accuracy of analysts’ CFFs also differ in the periods before and after the adoption of IFRS. The results add new evidence on the effect of the adoption of IFRS on analysts’ cash flow forecasting behaviours. In addition, I find that analysts’ CFFs are substantially more accurate than the forecasts generated from time-series models and analysts’ earnings forecast accuracy is improved with the presence of CFFs. The findings contribute to the debate on the merits of the presentation of cash flow statements using the direct method and will be welcomed by the Australian Accounting Standard Board, one of few accounting standard setters around the world which had previously required and now encourages cash flow statements to be presented using the direct method.

Asymmetric behaviour of operating cash flows (CFO) refers to the extent to which cash flows reflect bad news in a timelier manner than good news. It was first documented in Basu (1997) along with the well-known asymmetric behaviour of earnings. Although both asymmetries are pervasive, the former has received far less attention. The second paper (in Chapter Three) of the thesis uncovers the determinants that drive CFO asymmetry. It proposes and examines two new explanations for CFO asymmetry based on sticky cost behaviours and conservatism demands. The results show that cost stickiness and the equity contracting, litigation and taxation demands for conservatism, in addition to firm life cycle, drive CFO asymmetry. However, none of these factors dominates the others, and their combination cannot fully explain the degree of asymmetric timeliness in CFO. Overall, the results provide the first insights regarding CFO asymmetric timeliness.

Given that directors and managers do not always act in shareholders’ interests (Adams & Ferreira, 2007; Laux, 2008; Taylor, 2010), the Securities Class Action Litigation in the United States has been perceived to function as a potentially useful mechanism to discipline opportunistic managers and…

Theoretical thesis.

Bibliography: 255-339.

1. Introduction and aims  – 2. Theoretical approach and methodology  – 3. New institutional economics theory  – 4. Institutional formation of the .cn ccTLD (1990-1997) – legal transplantation  – 5. The first institutional change in 2002 – legal localisation  – 6. The second institutional change in 2004 – legal characterisation  – 7. Conclusion  – Bibliography.

The Domain Name System (DNS) operates at the literal root of the Internet. Governments can control cyberspace communications through controlling the DNS and countries can claim cyberspace sovereignty via their administration of country-code Top-Level Domains (ccTLDs). In order to understand how China governs the Internet and its cyberspace, it is necessary to know how Chinese governments regulate the DNS. Under the theoretical framework of New Institutional Economics theory, combining qualitative analysis, historical research, case studies, and triangulation research, this dissertation analyses the institutional formation and institutional change process for the .cn ccTLD administrative regulations. It also explores how Chinese governments’ governance practices are affected and how the constraints of politics, law, economics and technology improve and restrain the institutional formation and change of the .cn ccTLD administrative regulations. The structure of the thesis includes institutional transplantation, institutional localization and institutional specialization.

This dissertation proposes and tests three key arguments: (1) within the context of the DNS and characterized with connectivity and hierarchy, and domain name administrative regulations with a hierarchic administrative mode, domain name technological path dependency led to China’s domain name administrative regulation’s path dependency; (2) the institutional change of the Administrative Measures on China’s Domain Names resulted from the synthesis of endogenous and exogenous institutional change factors; (3) Chinese governments sometimes supply or tolerate inefficient institutional arrangements so as to achieve other higher goals. Overall, this dissertation provides evidence that the Chinese governments tolerate, develop, and/or promote institutions and technologies which might increase the quality of citizens’ lives and which might develop the domestic economy, but constrain, supervise, or/and forbid institutions and technologies perceived to risk causing damage to China’s stability and unity.

1 online resource (x, 340 pages) 1 colour map

Empirical thesis.

Bibliography: pages 222-244.

Chapter 1. Overview of the thesis  – Chapter 2. (Paper 1) The changing face of the auditor’s report : implications for suppliers and users of financial statements  – Chapter 3. (Paper 2) The effects of preference for quantitative information and utilisation of quantitative versus qualitative information on auditors’ materiality judgements  – Chapter 4. (Paper 3) The impact of client pressure and client’s financial condition on auditors’ judgements to report KAMs in the auditor’s report  – Chapter 5. (Paper 4) The impact of director liability regime, national culture and the quality of the audit environment and enforcement of accounting regulations on audit fees  – Chapter 6. Conclusions and implications  – Bibliography  – Appendices.

The auditing profession has experienced significant transformations in the past fifteen years, in efforts to boost public confidence. In particular, auditing standards and corporate law have undergone significant changes. These reforms and changes were driven by large-scale corporate failures, financial scandals and dwindling public confidence in the craft of external assurance.

The aim of this thesis is to identify and examine empirically the impact of various factors that may impede the implementation of the numerous reforms in auditing standards and legislations. Specifically, this thesis has undertaken the following four research projects in the domain of audit regulations and auditor judgements: (1) to critically analyse the current audit report reforms and investigate the implications of the changes for the suppliers and users of the financial reports; (2) to examine the factors that affect the materiality judgements of auditors and identify interventions that could mitigate their effects; (3) to examine the factors that influence auditors’ judgements to present key audit matters in an auditor’s reports; and (4) to investigate the extent and causes of differences in audit fees between companies across countries.

This thesis employs both qualitative and quantitative research methods to examine the various factors affecting the adoption of new auditing standards and the impact of differences in legislation across countries on audit fees. The findings of this thesis provide evidence that reforms in auditing standards have significant implications for stakeholders such as the users of financial statements and the accounting firms who have to implement the changes. Furthermore, various factors such as personality traits of accountants, pressures from their clients and characteristics of the client have significant effect on the decision-making process and judgements of accountants. Finally, the findings show that differences in legal liability laws, national culture and the quality of audit environment and enforcement of accounting regulations have an impact on audit fees that auditors charge across countries. These findings have important implications for various stakeholders such as the auditing standard-setters and…

Bibliography: pages 297-319.

Introduction  – Part I. Hong Kong mentality  – 1. Colonial factors  – 2. China factors  – 3. Other factors  – 4. Defining the Hong Kong mentality  – Part II. Period of low demand  – 5. Demand initiated only by the local government  – 6. Lack of demand and lack of presence  – Part III. Period of growth of demand  – 7. Emergence and growth of demand in the general public  – 8. Growth of Japanese presence and pragmatic motivations  – Part IV. Period of expansion of demand  – 9. New developments in Japanese studies  – 10. Weakened insecurity and secured Japanese presence  – Conclusion

This thesis examines how the Hong Kong mentality has affected the development of Japanese studies in Hong Kong. It first defines the Hong Kong mentality as "insecure" "flexible" and "pragmatic" and analyses the background against which these characteristics developed. It places an emphasis on the unique history of Hong Kong, colonized by the British, once occupied by the Japanese, and finally reunified with China.  – The development of Japanese studies in three different periods is analysed according to the demand for Japanese studies. The Period of Low Demand characterizes Japanese studies from the establishment of colonial Hong Kong until the 1950s, with particular attention to the sense of insecurity Hong Kong people lived under, and the weak Japanese presence in Hong Kong society. The Period of Growth of Demand examines the rapid growth of Japanese studies from the 1960s to the 1980s and discovers that it was due both to a strengthened Japanese presence and pragmatic motivations driving the growth. Finally, the Period of Expansion of Demand describes the current expansion of Japanese studies into new areas. It is analysed that the expansion came about because of new factors such as the penetration of Japanese popular culture into Hong Kong, reduced insecurity, and the introduction of a new education system.

1 online resource (319 pages) illustrations

Theoretical thesis.

Chapter 1. Introduction  – Chapter 2. A study of the emergence of the Kuwaiti Association of Accountants and Auditors  – Chapter 3. Social change and the emergence of the accounting profession in a high-income oil-exporting country : the case of Kuwait, 1973-1985  – Chapter 4. Closure and the evolution of Kuwait's accounting profession in the 1980s  – Chapter 5. Conclusion.

The aim of this historical study is to explore the emergence and development of the accounting profession and professionalization project in Kuwait. Therefore, filling a gap in the literature by presenting a case of an Arabic former British protectorate country (De Beelde, 2011). This aim will enable situating the case of Kuwait among the cross-­nation studies, thus adding to the called for diversity of historical accounting professionalization studies (Chua & Poullaos, 1993, 1998; Freidson, 1994; Walker, 2004). The case of the emergence and development of the Kuwaiti Association for Accountants and Auditors (KAAA) is utilized. Drawing from the theoretical framework of the sociology of the professions, with a focus on the socio-economic environment in which it emerged and state-profession axis. The study is constructed following thesis by publication format. Accordingly sub-aims has been contracted to fulfil the overall aim of the study as follows: 1. First paper, aims to explore the influence of the British Empire on the formation of KAAA in 1973. For which, it deploys the enabling factors identified by Poullaos & Sian (2010) in professionalization projects in former British colonies to explore whether these factors were present in Kuwait as an Arabic British protectorate. 2. Second paper covered the period from 1973 to 1985. The aim is to identify how changes in the socio-economic environment influenced the professionalization project in Kuwait. Using social change theory as an explanatory framework. 3. The final paper looks into the post formation period leading to the enactment of new Practice Law no. 5 in 1985. In this study the aim is to explore the challenges and strategies deployed by the KAAA in its attempt peruse closure, and how these strategies are applied within the contexts of conflict, and state-profession axis. The thesis employs two methods of data collection. The primary data are obtained following oral history method, through semi-structured interviews with pioneer and foreign accountants, some of KAAA founding members, and state representatives. The secondary data are obtained by conducting archival research.

1 online resource (viii,216 pages) diagrams, tables

Theoretical thesis.

Chapter Ome. Overview of the thesis  – Chapter Two. Australian evidence on the accuracy of analysts' expectations : the value of consensus and timeliness prior to the earnings announcement  – Chapter Three. Exploration intensity : analysts' private information development and their forecast performance  – Chapter Four. Exploration intensity and analyst forecast bias  – Chapter Five. Conclusions.

Analysts’ earnings forecasts have long been recognized as proxies for market expectations of future earnings because they are more accurate and have a stronger association with excess returns on the date of the earnings announcement than time-series models of earnings (Brown and Rozeff, 1978; Bradshaw et al., 2012). A large literature establishes the important role of analysts’ forecasts. For example, Kothari (2001) suggests that “almost all models of valuation either directly or indirectly use earnings forecasts” (p. 144). The predictability of share returns is also associated with the properties of analysts’ forecasts (Frankel and Lee, 1998; Jorgensen et al., 2012). Australian research has increasingly used analysts’ forecasts as proxies for expected earnings (Brown et al., 1999; Jackson, 2005; Beekes and Brown, 2006). While extensive research on analysts’ forecasts focuses largely on the U.S. market, few studies relate to analysts’ forecasts using Australian data. Motivated by the distinctiveness of the Australian setting with continuous disclosure to the stock market, and the prominence of the resources sector in the Australian economy, this thesis examines the properties of analysts’ forecasts in Australia. The aims and objectives of the thesis are addressed in three papers, that is, a comparison of the relative accuracy of alternative earnings forecast measures, and the impact of the intensity of exploration and evaluation (E&E) activities on analysts’ private information acquisition, forecast accuracy and bias in the extractive industry setting. Specifically, the first paper (in Chapter Two) compares the relative accuracy of the consensus forecast against the most recent forecast in the month before the earnings announcement. It investigates how the number of analysts following a company and the timeliness of an individual analyst’s forecast impacts on the differential accuracy of the consensus and the most recent forecast in Australia. The results suggest that, whilst in the late 1980s there is some evidence that the most recent forecast is more accurate than the consensus, since the early 1990s the accuracy of the consensus forecast has consistently outperformed the most recent forecast. The forecasting superiority of the consensus forecast can be attributed to the aggregation value of the consensus outweighing the small timing advantage of the most recent forecast over the short forecast horizon examined in this study. The second paper (in Chapter Three) examines whether analysts in the extractive industries adjust their private information development activities in response to the…

Thesis by publication.

Bibliography: leaves 206-219.

Chapter 1. Introduction  – Chapter 2. An historical review of quality in financial reporting in Australia  – Chaper 3. Readability of notes to the financial statements and adoption of IFRS  – Chapter 4. Readability of notes to the financial statements, analysts' forecasts and IFRS adoption  – Chapter 5. Conclusion.

This thesis examines the impact of the adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) on the readability of financial disclosures, firm performance and analysts’ forecasts in Australia. The thesis comprises three papers. The first paper (Chapter 2) provides an historical review of quality in relation to financial reporting in Australia by investigating how the qualitative characteristics of relevance, reliability, comparability and understandability developed in Australia between 1961 and 2004. The notion of the ‘quality of financial reporting’ has been debated extensively by accounting standard setters and regulators both nationally and internationally. However, there is no unanimous agreement as to the meaning of the word ‘quality’ or the qualitative characteristics that contribute to notions of ‘quality of financial reporting’. The objective of this paper is to investigate the meaning of quality in relation to financial reporting in different time periods over the past 40 years; how different characteristics were identified and developed; and how particular characteristics emerged, dominated and were then superseded or disappeared due to corporate collapses, changing economic conditions and globalisation. The second paper (Chapter 3) examines the association between readability, firm performance and IFRS in Australia by assessing the impact of the adoption of IFRS on the readability of Notes to the financial statements in the Australian context, and the interaction effect between IFRS and firm performance on readability. This paper uses the complexity of financial reports (Gunning Fog Index) and the number of words (Length) as proxies to measure the readability of financial reports. Results show that financial reports are significantly lengthier, yet are more readable in the post-IFRS period. Further, additional analyses identify that the length of disclosures in Summary of Significant Accounting Policies, Financial Instruments and Intangible Assets are significantly longer after the adoption of IFRS. However, there is no evidence to support any management obfuscation hypothesis in Australia as evidenced in prior United States (US) studies. Results do not demonstrate any differences in the readability of financial reports for poorly performing as opposed to better-performing firms in either pre- or post-IFRS periods, suggesting that managers continue to report both positive and negative information to investors. The third paper (Chapter 4) examines the association between the readability of financial disclosures, analysts’ forecasts and IFRS adoption in Australia by assessing whether the readability of Notes to the…

Thesis by publication.

Bibliography: pages 203-227.

Chapter One. Introduction  – Chapter Two. Literature review  – Chapter Three. Paper One  – Chapter Four. Paper Two  – Chapter Five. Paper Three  – Chapter Six. Conclusion.

This thesis examines the use and effectiveness of management control systems (MCSs) in the Australian public sector. In examining the use of MCSs the study considers three aspects of MCSs: management accounting practices (traditional and contemporary), the approaches to using MCSs (the interactive and diagnostic use of controls), and specific MCS characteristics (broad scope MCS information, the formality of MCSs and the tightness of MCSs). The effectiveness of MCSs is assessed based on the impact on organisational change, organisational performance, the perceived success of MCSs, and organisational capabilities (employee empowerment and strategic flexibility). Data was collected using a mail survey of 740 Australian public sector organisations with the formulated hypotheses tested using structural equation modelling (SEM).

The thesis adopts the “thesis by publication” format and identifies three related academic papers that address specific objectives. Paper One examines the extent of use of contemporary and traditional management accounting practices, and the relationship between the use of a package of contemporary and a package of traditional management accounting practices with organisational change and organisational performance. The results reveal that while the rate of usage of traditional management accounting practices was high, the usage of contemporary management accounting practices was low. In addition, while there was no association between the use of a package of traditional management accounting practices with organisational change and organisational performance, a positive association exists between the use of a package of contemporary management accounting practices with both organisational change and organisational performance.

Given the importance of contemporary management accounting practices for organisational change and performance, Paper Two examines the association between the interactive and diagnostic use of MCSs with the extent of adoption of contemporary management accounting practices, and the subsequent impact on the success of such practices. It was found that both the interactive and diagnostic approaches to using MCSs were positively associated with the adoption of contemporary management accounting practices, either as a package or independently. Furthermore, although the level of success of contemporary management accounting practices was moderate, the success of such practices was enhanced by the extent of their adoption.

Paper Three examines the mediating role of organisational capabilities (strategic flexibility and employee empowerment) in the relationship between the interactive and diagnostic approaches to using MCSs and the characteristics of MCSs (broad scope MCS information, the formality of MCSs and the tightness of MCSs) with…

Thesis by publication.

1. Introduction  – 2. Literature review  – 3. Paper One. Management control systems: the role of input, behaviour and output controls from an organisational life cycle perspective  – 4. Paper Two. Management control systems: the role of interactive and diagnostic approaches to using controls from an organisational life cycle perspective  – 5. Paper Three. Management control system effectiveness: the association between types of controls and approaches to using controls with employee organisational commitment  – 6. Conclusion

The thesis examines the use of specific types of controls, the approaches to using controls, and their association with employee organisational commitment (EOC) from an organisational life cycle (OLC) perspective. Data were collected by a survey questionnaire from a random sample of 343 general managers in Australian manufacturing organisations.  – The thesis employs the "thesis by publication" format and comprises three academic papers. Paper One examines the association between the use of Snell's (1992) three types of controls (input, behaviour and output) and four of Miller and Friesen's (1984) OLC stages (birth, growth, maturity, revival) . These results indicate that both behaviour and input controls are used to a significantly greater extent than output controls in both the birth stage and the growth stage, while all three types of controls are used to a similar extent in the maturity and revival stages. The results also reveal that each type of control is used to a significantly greater extent in the growth and revival stages than the birth and maturity stages.  – Paper Two examines the association between the approaches to using controls (interactive and diagnostic) and four of Miller and Friesen's (1984) OLC stages. The results show that the interactive and diagnostic approaches are used to a similar extent in each of the four OLC stages. In addition, each approach is found to be used to a greater extent in the growth and revival stages than the birth and maturity stages.  – Paper Three examines the association between the three types of controls and the two approaches to using controls with the level of EOC. The results indicate that the use of input controls and the interactive approach to using controls are significant determinants of the level of EOC. Such associations were also explored from an OLC perspective, with the results revealing that the use of input controls is positively associated with the level of EOC in the birth and revival stages.  – The thesis contributes to the management control system (MCS) literature by adopting the configuration approach to examine MCSs from an OLC perspective. The findings provide Australian manufacturing organisations with an insight into the suitability of specific types of controls and approaches to using controls in different stages of the OLC. The findings also highlight the importance for organisations to adjust the emphasis placed on each type of control and each approach to using controls as they…

Thesis by publication.

Chapter 1. Introduction  – Chapter 2. Multi-dimensional performance measurement practices in developing countries : a review of the literature  – Chapter 3. Influences on the use of multi-dimensional performance measures in banks : an institutional perspective  – Chapter 4. Intangible assets, multi-dimensional performance measures and organisational performance : a direct and mediating relationship  – Chapter 5. Conclusion.

Multi-dimensional performance measures (MPM) take into account qualitative, non-financial performance measures that have been practised worldwide including in developing countries in recent decades. Traditional accounting-based measures, when used alone, have been criticised as delineating incomplete, inadequate, past-oriented pictures of performance, whereas MPM that constitute financial and non-financial performance measures are perceived as leading indicators of organisational performance in many dimensions such as employees, customers, internal business processes, suppliers, communities and the environment. However, there is very little research that has examined the relationships between the use of MPM, the factors that influence their use and the effects of MPM on organisational performance in the banking industry. Similarly, there is very little systematic understanding of the use of MPM in the context of developing countries. The current thesis fills this gap in the extant performance measurement (PM) literature by examining the factors that influence the use of MPM and the effect of MPM on organisational performance. This PhD study is in publication format comprising three academic papers. The first paper focuses on a review of the MPM literature in the context of developing countries. For the purpose of this review, the existing literature was classified into four topic areas, namely: (a) the use of MPM; (b) contextual factors and their role in MPM and organisational performance; (c) comparative studies on MPM; and (d) others. The paper also identifies internal and external factors that influence the use of MPM in developing countries and provides areas for future research. A number of research gaps identified in the first paper are empirically examined in the second and third papers. The second paper which examines the role of institutional factors on MPM use is informed by the new institutional sociology theory. The paper also examines the mediating effects of top management participation in the relationship between central bank influence and MPM use and the moderating effects of market competition in understanding the relationship between top management participation and the use of MPM. The third paper examines the mediating effects of MPM use in the relationship between change in investment in intangible assets and organisational performance using contingency theory. Additionally, the moderating effects of external factors (e.g., market competition) and internal factors (e.g., banks‟ size) in understanding the relationship between the change in…

Thesis by publication.

Bibliography: pages 181-200.

Chapter One. Introduction  – Chapter Two. Literature review  – Chapter Three. Data collection and analysis  – Chapter Four. Paper one  – Chapter Five. Paper two  – Chapter Six. Paper three  – Chapter Seven. Conclusion  – Appendices  – References.

This thesis examines the use of specific environmental management practices by Australian organisations, including Environmental Management Systems (EMSs) and Environmental Management Accounting (EMA), operationalised in respect to the use of physical and monetary components and Environmental Activity Management as a specific tool of EMA. In addition, the thesis investigates the influence of contingency factors on the use of these practices, and the association between the extent of use of such practices and environmental performance. Data were collected by mail survey questionnaire from a random sample of 208 senior managers in Australian organisations across different industries.

The thesis adopts the ‘thesis by publication’ format and consists of three academic papers. Paper One examines the influence of institutional pressures (coercive, mimetic and normative) on the comprehensiveness of EMSs, and the impact of EMS comprehensiveness on environmental performance. The findings indicate that both coercive and normative pressures influence the comprehensiveness of EMSs. In addition, organisations with more comprehensive EMSs were found to experience higher levels of all four dimensions of environmental performance (resource usage, regulatory compliance, productivity, and stakeholder interaction).

1 online resource (xii, 200 pages) diagrams

Theoretical thesis.

Bibliography: pages 201-226.

Chapter One: Introduction  – Chapter Two: Literature review  – Chapter Three: Paper one  – Chapter Four: Paper two  – Chapter Five: Paper three  – Chapter Six: Conclusion

Doing business in a responsible, ethical and more transparent manner is essential in order to remain competitive in the current global environment and to ensure the long-term survival of organisations. The traditional concept of profit maximisation or creating value for shareholders has been called into question by the social and environmental impacts of organisations. Organisations are under increasing pressure from their stakeholders to consider the impacts oftheir commercial and industrial activities. By ignoring stakeholder pressure, organisations may face penalties and consumer boycotts or worse, in having their licence to operate cancelled. In response to increased stakeholder pressure, organisations practise corporate social responsibility (CSR) to balance their obligations to be socially responsible, environmentally sustainable and economically competitive. However, achieving these goals simultaneously is often viewed as contradictory.

While the prior literature on CSR mostly focuses on its ethical aspects or the relationship between CSR and performance, little is known about why and how CSR diffuses, the association between strategy and CSR, and the mediating role of management control systems (MCS) on adoption and implementation of CSR. Therefore, the aim of this study is to make an original and significant contribution by addressing these empirical gaps in the exiting literature. The format of this thesis is ‘thesis by publication’ consisting of three separate but interrelated comprehensive research papers.

The purpose of paper one is to explore the determinants of CSR, by addressing the following two research questions. (i) Why and how was CSR diffused within the case organisation operating in a developing country? (ii) What factors influenced the diffusion of CSR within the case organisation? To address these research questions, the study draws on the diffusion of innovations theory (Rogers, 1995, 2003) and Abrahamson’s (1991) theoretical perspectives. Data were collected from a Nepalese airline company through semi-structured interviews and relevant documents to examine CSR diffusion. The findings of this study suggest that perceived benefit facilitates the diffusion of CSR within the organisation. The adoption of CSR is also seen as a proactive strategy to avoid any future risk associated with an organisation’s environmental impact. The findings reveal that organisations’ strategy, cultural values and beliefs, and top management support are important predictors of the adoption of CSR. The empirical findings of this study provide valuable insights into how CSR can enhance organisations’ performance if CSR is used in a strategic way. This study extends the diffusion of innovations theory by focusing on both the initial and post-adoption process (primary and secondary…

Empirical thesis.

Bibliography: pages 175-189

Chapter 1. Overview of the dissertation  – Chapter 2. Sceptical judgments and self-constural  – Chapter 3. The influence of partners 'views on Chinese auditors' judgments of professional scepticism  – Chapter 4. The importance of peer pressure relative to trait scepticism in influencing Chinese auditors' judgment of professional scepticism - Chapter 5. Conclusions.

Professional scepticism (PS) has been widely recognised as the cornerstone of audit quality and the foundation of the profession, and remains one of the most important and underexplored topics in auditing. This dissertation makes theoretical, methodological and empirical contributions to the literature on PS by examining various antecedents to auditors’ sceptical judgments in the Chinese context. China is selected for examination because there have been calls for studies to provide richer and deeper understanding of auditors’ judgment and decision making (JDM) beyond Anglo-American cultural settings. The Chinese core cultural values, which emphasise collectivism, interdependence and harmony within hierarchy, substantially differ from the individualist and independent cultural values dominant in Anglo-American countries. Specifically, the aim of this dissertation is to provide empirical evidence on various antecedents to Chinese auditors’ sceptical judgments by taking into account relevant cultural values and within cultural differences in individual auditors’ personality. This aim is attained by three papers comprising the dissertation, which empirically examine the influence of various antecedent factors on Chinese auditors’ sceptical judgments, namely self-construal, partners’ views, and peer pressure respectively.

The first paper provides empirical evidence on the influence of a relevant personality variable, namely, self-construal on sceptical judgments. Self-construal has been selected because this variable captures complex cognitive processes experienced by individuals and is fundamental in explaining individual differences at both cultural and personality levels. Self-construal is broadly classified into two categories: independent and interdependent self-construal. Independent self-construal emphasizes autonomy, uniqueness, assertiveness and independence from others, whereas interdependent self-construal emphasizes belonging, fitting in, conformity, connectedness and harmony with others. This study examines how Chinese accounting students in two distinctive learning and cultural environments, Australia and China, are likely to differ in their self-construal, and how these differences may influence their sceptical judgments. Final year undergraduate accounting students have been selected as proxies for entry-level auditors because they have not been socialised and influenced by organizational cultures of audit firms. The results show that Chinese students undertaking university accounting education in Australia scored higher on measures of independent and lower on measures of…