Accounting Research Research Articles

Black and abused: understanding who Black employees hold accountable for their mistreatment

In an effort to extend workplace accountability research, our studies identify an actor that is accountable for the mistreatment of an understudied group of employees: Black employees. We accomplish this by leveraging insights from the attributions of accountability and anti-Black racism literatures. Subsequently, we adopt an overall socio-psychological perspective and integrate social cognitive and organizational resentment theories to explain why organizational leaders that are perceived to support anti-Black sentiments are more likely to mistreat Black employees. Across three studies, we find that supervisors perceived to be Trump-supporting, in comparison to those perceived to be Trump-opposing, are more likely to display abusive supervision toward Black employees. In turn, as Black employees experience abusive supervision, they develop organizational resentment as they attribute this mistreatment to their employer. We also find that the impact of abusive supervision on organizational resentment is weaker when Black employees’ organization-based self-esteem (OBSE) is relatively low compared to relatively high. This is because Black employees with relatively low OBSE are more likely to blame themselves for the abuse. Theoretical contributions, practical implications, limitations, and future research are discussed.

Akuntansi Hijau: Konsep dan Perspektif Maqashid Syariah

Profit oriented is the core of conventional accounting concepts and ignores profit oriented which has implications for environmental pollution. The phenomenon of environmental issues is increasingly interesting to study and is the basis for the birth of a new accounting paradigm, namely Green Accounting. Green accounting principles are in line with Islamic teachings contained in the sharia maqashid theory. This study aims to describe the concept of green accounting and green accounting in terms of maqashid sharia theory. This study uses a qualitative approach to the analysis of literature studies using data collection techniques in the form of documentation. The results of green accounting research contain guidelines for companies in compiling financial reports by including social and environmental responsibility cost components in their financial reports. Judging from the theory of maqashid sharia, the concept of green accounting has the same goal as maqashid sharia, namely protecting religion, protecting the soul, protecting the mind, protecting offspring, and protecting property.

How Does Carbon Footprint Information Affect Consumer Choice? A Field Experiment

ABSTRACTThis paper reports the results of a field experiment investigating how attributes of carbon footprint information affect consumer choice in a large dining facility. Our hypotheses and research methods were preregistered via the Journal of Accounting Research’s registration‐based editorial process. Manipulating the measurement units and visualizations of carbon footprint information on food labels, we quantify effects on consumers’ food choices. Treated consumers choose less carbon‐intensive dishes, reducing their food‐related carbon footprint by up to 9.2%, depending on the treatment. Effects are strongest for carbon footprint information expressed in monetary units (“environmental costs”) and color‐coded in the familiar traffic‐light scheme. A postexperimental survey shows that these effects obtain although few respondents self‐report concern for the environmental footprint of their meal choices. Our study contributes to the accounting literature by using an information‐processing framework to shed light on the information usage and decision‐making processes of an increasingly important user group of accounting information: consumers.

Forensic accounting research around the world

Purpose This paper aims to review the relevant forensic accounting research (FAR) around the world and suggests avenues for future research in forensic accounting. Design/methodology/approach The study used the thematic and systematic literature review methodology to analyse the existing literature in FAR. Findings The major thematic areas in the literature are fraud motivation, fraud consequences, fraud detection using forensic accounting techniques, forensic accounting theory, forensic accounting skills, forensic accounting education and forensic accounting jobs. The quantity of FAR is relatively small compared to the quantity of research in other accounting specializations. FAR is well developed in the USA and Canada and is less developed in Europe, Oceania and Asia. There is high interest in FAR in African countries. There is a relatively low global interest in internet information about “forensic accounting research” compared to global interest in other forensic accounting topics. Areas for future research include the role of the environment, digitalization, religiosity and sustainable development in forensic accounting. Practical implications FAR around the world is lopsided, as some regions have more advanced FAR compared to other regions. There is a need for even development of FAR across all regions and a need to publicize the outputs of FAR to a larger audience to increase people’s interest in forensic accounting. Originality/value The study extends the literature by presenting a rigorous thematic and systematic review of the existing literature. It highlights the depth of FAR, the major thematic areas, the benefits of FAR to society and the geographical reach of existing FAR.

Review on Research of Blockchain's Impact on Bookkeeping, Fraud Detection and Trust of Auditing Process

Blockchain technology has been the topic of several recent studies in area of accounting and auditing. These studies explored the potential of blockchain on changing the traditional approach to accounting and providing more secure and efficient methods of bookkeeping. Results of these studies suggest that the blockchain has the potential of being a powerful tool or even something disruptive in sector of accounting, auditing, and accountability. Blockchain can significantly increase trust, transparency, and accountability since its nature of decentralized ledger system and the cryptographic algorithms under the system. These studies also suggest that blockchain has the potential to tackle fraud in accounting activities, which is always a challenging topic in accounting industry. Current focus of blockchain research in accounting, auditing and accountability is about exploring blockchains positive impact on accounting industry, especially on trust, fraud detection, and the design of accounting systems.

ART AND RIGOUR: CREATING METHODOLOGIES FOR ARTISTIC RESEARCH IN MUSIC

This paper focuses on the construction of a methodology for artistic researchers, in particular practising musicians. Artistic research is a steadily growing field, gaining increasing relevance in academic discourse and flourishing in universities and music academies. Due to its relatively recent history there is still a lack of standardized widespread research methods, and the advice to be creative and borrow from other disciplines, though reasonable, can be confusing for young researchers. The adaptation process can be problematic, with the need to mediate between the rigour of academic research and the openness and creativity of the artistic side. How can methods from different disciplines be adapted to the needs of artistic research, without hindering creative practice? In this paper I will present, in meta-research terms, the personal adaptation of three qualitative methods: autobiographical design, borrowed from human computer interaction; thematic analysis, borrowed from psychology; and autoethnography, borrowed from social sciences. These were used to design an accountable research process to investigate differences and similarities in the musical affordances of the 13-keyed period clarinet and the modern clarinet. The three methods intertwine to form a complete methodology that could be applied by other researchers investigating similar topics. Adapting methods proved to be a fruitful process, bearing in mind that the goal is not objectivity, unreachable in the arts, but accountability and organization.

Environmental Accounting in the European Accounting Review: A Reflection

We reflect upon how European Accounting Review has conceived of environmental accounting (and to some extent social/sustainability accounting work) over its 30-year history, with the aim of discussing ways in which environmental accounting research can further develop, both within and beyond this journal. After outlining the broader social and ecological context from which environmental accounting has emerged (and noting that this context is evolving in substantive ways), we provide an overview of the types of research published in EAR. We combine these elements to identify three themes that we argue are critical for the direction of future research: the financial materiality of ecological issues and the impact this has on risk; how environmental accounting practices are constructed; and how a new relationship between nature and society may affect accounting practices. We finally conclude by envisioning a future of environmental accounting research that dovetails with the sustainability ambitions that can be draw from an examination of the detailed targets that underpin the Sustainable Development Goals.

The Impact of Female Executives on Corporate Development from the Perspective of ESG Investment

In recent years, gender equality has increasingly become the focus of international attention. The proposition of gender equality is widely used in politics, economics, and other fields. As a new investment concept emerging in the field of global economic law in the last decade, when assessing the potential for long-term growth, environmental, social responsibility, and governance investments also consider the social and long-term value of businesses. In the process of pursuing sustainable development, environmental and social responsibility, governance investment, and the embodiment of gender equality in enterprise management and business investment are inseparable. The research topic of this paper is the impact of female executives on corporate development. This paper mainly uses data from the China Stock Market and Accounting Research Database and the State Intellectual Property Office. Through legal study and data analysis, which are the three perspectives of the environmental, social responsibility, governance, and investment approaches. Then the paper evaluated the data using the Dow Jones Sustainability Index. Score the sample data with the Dow Jones Sustainability Index, and compare the final score to determine the sustainable development ability of the company. Deeply considers the role of female executives in the enterprise and the existence of female executives on investors, boards and even the entire company.

The effect of environmental factors on accounting systems: a comparison between South Korea and Australia

As globalization of the business environment increases, cross-national accounting differences have been the main focus of international accounting research. Specifically, the relationship between accounting and environmental factors has been the subject of many debates over the last decade. In comparative studies of accounting history, culture and practices, researchers have become increasingly aware of the importance of environmental factors in shaping a country's accounting system. This study explores whether environmental factors influence accounting systems by comparing South Korea and Australia. Although both South Korea and Australia were colonies, they had different cultural backgrounds and different legal/judicial systems. Australia's accounting standards-setting process is based on business practices and is relatively open to public opinion, while Korea's accounting standards tend to be enforced by the government and harmonized to tax law. Many prior studies suggest that environmental factors can be a valuable tool in explaining and understanding differences in the way in which accounting operates in countries with different environments. Based on environmental factors, this study found that cultural factors and institutional structures have a significant influence on the development of accounting systems and cause their differences. This study is expected to provide a systematic framework for differences in the development of accounting systems by analyzing the effects of environmental factors on accounting systems.

The effect of CEOs’ being the only children in the family on their CSR engagement

Purpose This study aims to investigate the influence of CEO’s only-child status on corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices. It seeks to extend the understanding of upper echelon theory by examining unexplored CEO characteristics and their impact on CSR decisions. Design/methodology/approach The paper uses manually collected CEO family information and Chinese Stock and Market Accounting Research data as a basis to examine the influence of CEOs’ early-life experiences on their engagement in CSR activities. The study applies attachment security theory from developmental psychology and uses upper echelon theory, particularly focusing on CEOs’ only-child status. A comparative analysis of philanthropic donations between CEOs who are only children and those who have siblings is conducted. The study also examines the moderating effects of corporate slack resources and CEO shareholdings. Findings Preliminary findings suggest that CEOs who are only children are more likely to engage in CSR compared to their counterparts with siblings. However, the difference in donation amounts between the two groups tends to attenuate with decreased slack resources and increased CEO shareholdings. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this research represents the first attempt to investigate being the only child in one’s family and the CSR-related decision of CEOs, which extends the upper echelon theory by introducing the family science theory into the management domain.

Exploring the historical roots of environmental and ecological accounting from the dawn of human consciousness

PurposeThis paper seeks to broaden the agenda for environmental and ecological accounting research across several dimensions, extending the form of accounting in this field by encouraging research into its historical roots and developing a definition of accounting that can address the severe environmental and ecological challenges of the 21st century.Design/methodology/approachThe authors explored environmental and ecological accounts from the dawn of human consciousness across a wide variety of media and in a broad range of forms. This theoretical approach reacts to the cold capitalist commodification of nature inherent in much environmental accounting practice, which documents, values and records usage of natural capital with little attempt to address depletion and loss.FindingsBy analysing the earliest ecological and environmental “accounts” recorded by humans at the dawn of human consciousness, and considering a wide array of subsequent accounts, the authors demonstrate that rather than being a secondary, relatively recent development emerging from financial accounting and reporting, environmental and ecological accounting predated financial accounting by tens of thousands of years. This research also provides a wealth of perspectives on diversity, not only in forms of account but also in the diversity of accountants, as well as the broadness of the stakeholders to whom and to which the accounts are rendered.Research limitations/implicationsThe paper can be placed at the intersection of accounting history, the alternative, interdisciplinary and critical accounts literature, and environmental and ecological accounting research.Practical implicationsPractically, the authors can draw ideas and inspiration from the historical forms and content of ecological and environmental account that can inform new forms of and approaches to accounting.Social implicationsThere are social implications including the diversity of accounts and accountants derived from studying historical ecological and environmental accounts from the dawn of human consciousness especially in the broadening out of the authors' understanding of the origins and cultural roots of accounting.Originality/valueThis study concludes with a new definition of accounting, fit for purpose in the 21st century, that integrates ecological, environmental concerns and is emancipatory, aiming to restore nature, revive biodiversity, conserve species and enhance ecosystems.

Let's have a relook at accountability

2020 Distinguished Accounting Academic Keynote Address presented at the Annual British Accounting and Finance in April 2022, University of Nottingham.This paper examines how Gloria Agyemang, the BAFA Distinguished Accounting Academic award winner of 2020, has studied accountability in her work. It does this by analysing her previous research contributions to public sector accountability, nongovernment organisational accountability, and accountability in other contexts such as social and environmental accounting as well as the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade. It argues that in the study of accountability, context and the need for accountability to several stakeholders is extremely important; but accountability contexts and the stakeholders need to include those who are hidden in the recesses of everyday life. The paper draws on a theoretical framework that Rached (2016) refers to as “coordinates of accountability”, which by providing a minimalist definition of accountability facilitates an expanded analysis to broaden and deepen accountability research. It argues for responsible scholars to be engaged with historical, contemporary, and societally critical issues and to employ counter accounting methods to reexamine accountability.

Advances in methane emissions from agricultural sources: Part I. Accounting and mitigation

Methane is one of the major greenhouse gases (GHGs) and agriculture is recognized as its primary emitter. Methane accounting is a prerequisite for developing effective agriculture mitigation strategies. In this review, methane accounting methods and research status for various agricultural emission source including rice fields, animal enteric fermentation and livestock and poultry manure management were overview, and the influencing factors of each emission source were analyzed and discussed. At the same time, it analyzes the different research efforts involving agricultural methane accounting and makes recommendations based on the actual situation. Finally, mitigation strategies based on accounting results and actual situation are proposed. This review aims to provide basic data and reference for agriculture-oriented countries and regions to actively participate in climate action and carry out effective methane emission mitigation.

Fragile assets: Street gangs and the extortion business

This study examines how El Salvadoran street gangs make assets fragile and, hence, amenable to extortion in the territories that they control. Starting from prior Foucauldian inspired accounting research and the literature on stationary bandits, we propose that social actors and their assets are simultaneously enmeshed in relations of government and relations of sovereign power. Using longer-term participant observation data as well as interviews and archival data from El Salvador, the study shows how people and assets are placed into sovereign power relationships, thereby helping to make assets (and people) fragile and thus facilitate extortion. The study also suggests that it is the Salvadoran state, through its taxation practices and its failure to nurture marginal territories, that creates the conditions of possibility for the extortion business.

The Positivism Paradigm in Internal Audit Research: A Perspective of Contemporary Accounting Research

ABSTRACTThis study aims to investigate the dominance of research with the paradigm of positivism in accounting, especially research related to the internal function of audit. The dominant paradigm in accounting research to date is the positivist paradigm. In internal audit, all things are not only seen from the facts that are on the surface and concluded directly from the existing data, but also must understand the meaning contained on it. Therefore, it is necessary to have another paradigm that contradicts positivism and covers its limitations. Anti-positivist paradigms, that are interpretivism, radical humanist, radical structuralist, critical, and postmodernist paradigm, should be widely used in internal audit research. The anti-positivism paradigm raises the heterogeneity of the mainstream paradigm which has a positive impact on the development of internal audit research.Keyword: Paradigma Positivism, Internal Audit, Qualitative Research Method

Council’s Online Disclosure of Accountability Practices: Isomorphism Inquiries

The study aimed to explain the reasons for disclosing the accountability practices information on the Malaysian local councils’ websites using the isomorphism tenet. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with officers from 12 selected Malaysian local councils involved in the disclosure of accountability practices on websites. The interviews revealed that the reasons for disclosure of accountability practices information were classified into six themes – regulatory requirements, website administration, community, organisational goals, leadership, and others, which are subsequently linked to the three isomorphism pressures and strategic controls concept. This study demonstrates the effect of the isomorphic influences by local councils on the disclosure of accountability practices on websites. This paper contributes to the public sector accounting research on the use of the isomorphism concept to explain the disclosure of accountability practices on websites and subsequently linked to behavioural control and informational control concepts that are not commonly used in disclosure studies. The findings of this paper are helpful to local councils and policymakers in identifying the reasons for the disclosure of accountability practices on websites, hence, enabling them to improve in the future. Keywords: Accountability practices, local council, isomorphism, disclosure, websites, strategic controls

An experimental study on the effect of penalties on employers' trust and employees' reciprocity and the moderating effect of communication

PurposeThere is growing scholarly interest in the use of penalty in employment contracts which reduce employees' pay if the employee's performance does not meet a pre-specified performance threshold. Prior accounting research has focused exclusively on the effect of penalty on employee performance. In this study, the authors extend earlier research by examining how penalty affects the employers' wage offers. Prior research suggests that employers' generous wage offers in employment contracts are normally translated as trust by employees who in turn reciprocate with higher effort. The authors present a theory that predicts penalty reduces employers' wage offers. Then, the authors propose unrestricted communication between employers and employees as a potential moderator for the negative effect of penalty on trust and reciprocity.Design/methodology/approachThe authors implement a controlled lab experiment with a 2 × 3 experimental design (Penalty: Present and Absent; and Communication: None, One-Way and Two-Way).FindingsThe authors develop their predictions by utilizing insights from motivational-crowding and organizational communication theories. The authors hypothesize and find evidence that employers' ability to penalize employees can reduce employers' motivation to offer generous wages. As a result, reduced trust demotivates employees to provide high effort. However, the authors find that a two-way communication moderates the negative effect of penalties by restoring trust, thereby, increasing reciprocity. Finally, the authors find evidence that relationship-oriented messages explain the moderating effect of communication.Research limitations/implicationsThis study is subject to limitations inherent in all experimental studies. The decisions in the study experiment are less complex than those found in practice. Moreover, there are significantly higher costs and potential benefits to shirk on effort in practice. The authors encourage future research on other organizational features that would influence the generalizability of their theory and results. Nonetheless, this study makes an important contribution to the literature on trust, reciprocity, gift-exchange contracts, managerial controls and communication.Practical implicationsThis paper has several important implications for theory and practice. The authors show that the presence of penalty may not automatically result in increasing employees' effort level, contrary to traditional economic theory predictions. This effect is driven mainly by the crowding out effect of a penalty on employers' desire to signal trust. Therefore, the presence of an open communication channel may become an important tool to reverse the psychological effect of reduced trust when penalty is present. Therefore, the study's findings contribute to the trust–reciprocity literature on how management control system influences employers' and employees' behavior. These findings are especially germane given the trend in the workplace toward establishing open communication at different levels within the firm hierarchy. The study also contributes to the literature on trust–reciprocity as critical informal controls and social norms in accounting practices (Bicchieri, 2006; Stevens, 2019), shedding light on how firms may influence employees' reciprocity in management control practices and induce them to act in line with the firm's objectives by opening communication channels.Originality/valuePrior accounting research document that penalty in employment contracts increases employee performance due to loss aversion. The study, however, demonstrates that the positive effect of penalty is not sustained in a gift-exchange contract. Specifically, the study's experimental results provide evidence that the availability of penalties can psychologically change the way employers perceive their decisions on offering generous wages (i.e. trust) and consequently reduce employees' reciprocation of high effort levels. Yet, the authors propose a two-way communication as a restorative mechanism for the lost trust. Implications for theory and practice are discussed.

Accounting Research Within the Framework of Feminist Theory

Feminist theory is one of the theories that discusses how women advocate for themselves in social life. This article aims to discuss the development of feminist accounting research in Indonesia. Literature studies were chosen in this article to enrich the forms and variations of feminist accounting research. Feminist issues cannot be analyzed with a quantified gender dichotomy. The role of women in the accounting profession is quite diverse. The methods and approaches used in feminist research are commonly used in other studies. This article is expected to serve as a catalyst for the development of future feminist accounting research

Addressing the Replication Crisis in Accounting

The prominence of the “replication crisis” in social sciences has spurred concern regarding the reliability of published research. Accounting researchers share such apprehensions, acknowledging the perceived scarcity of published accounting replication studies. To investigate this belief, we analyze annual replication rates and the number of replicated original articles from three prominent accounting journals: Contemporary Accounting Research (CAR), Journal of Accounting and Economics (JAE), and Review of Accounting Studies (RAST). Two sample periods, spanning from 1970-2015 and 2016-2021, reveal a more than doubled increase in both 1) the average annual replication rate, rising from 3.13 to 8.67 times, respectively and 2) the average number of replicated original articles per year, advancing from 5.33 to 12.77 original articles, respectively. These findings challenge conventional beliefs surrounding the replication crisis in accounting, revealing a growing volume of published accounting replication research and replicated original articles. The significant increase observed, even within this small sample of three journals, suggests that accounting replication is more prevalent than thought. As ongoing analysis extends to a broad selection of prominent and smaller journals, the distinguished pattern emerging within the current sample suggests a potential continuation of this trend across accounting research.

Breaking incommensurability boundaries? On the production and publication of interparadigmatic research

PurposeThis essay takes issue with the incommensurability thesis, which assumes that meaningful research work across different paradigms cannot occur. Could it be that the thesis understates the case for meaningful relationships to develop across paradigms? Is it possible that researchers can authentically and rewardingly collaborate across paradigms and create joint studies published in established journals?Design/methodology/approachBased on the observation that interparadigmatic research exists, the authors investigate two questions. How is interparadigmatic research expressed in the accounting research literature? How can we comprehend the process that underlies the development and publication of interparadigmatic research, focusing on cohabitation involving the positivist and interpretive paradigms of research?FindingsTo deal with the first question, the authors focus on two interparadigmatic articles: Greenwood et al. (2002) and Paugam et al. (2021). The authors find each article showcases a dominant paradigm – whereas the role of the other paradigm is represented as secondary; that is, complementing and enriching the dominant paradigm. To address the second question, the authors rely especially on their involvement as coauthors of three interparadigmatic studies, published between 2019 and 2022 in FT50 journals. The authors’ analysis brings to the fore a range of facilitators that fit their experiences, such as the development of cross-paradigmatic agreement within the authorship to cope with the complexity surrounding the object of study, the crafting of methodological compromises (e.g. regarding the number of documents to analyze) and the strategizing that the authorship enacted in dealing with journal gatekeepers.Originality/valueFrom the authors’ experiences, they develop a model, which provides a tentative template to make sense of the process by which interparadigmatic research takes place. The model highlights the role of what the authors call “epistemic mediation” in producing interparadigmatic studies.