Accounting Journals Research Articles

Shedding light on alternative interdisciplinary accounting research through journal editors’ perspectives and an analysis of recent publications

Since its emergence in the 1970s, interdisciplinary accounting research has sought to cultivate alternative perspectives on accounting, and to incorporate insights from other disciplines to investigate accounting practices in their social and organisational contexts. By examining interdisciplinary accounting journals as boundary objects, this study addresses the increasing challenges of the field, including the metrification of academic performance. It also seeks to provide suggestions for interdisciplinary accounting scholars to negotiate a variety of pressures while continuing to pursue the core project of interdisciplinary accounting research. We analyse articles published in three of the main interdisciplinary accounting journals, Accounting, Auditing and Accountability Journal ( AAAJ ), Accounting, Organizations and Society ( AOS ) and Critical Perspectives on Accounting ( CPA ), along with interviews with the editors of AAAJ and CPA . The paper offers a holistic reading of the direction of alternative interdisciplinary accounting, as reflected in the epistemological choices emerging from changes in topics, frameworks and methods in AAAJ , AOS and CPA . Through the lens of a boundary object, the study provides insights to scholars which may contribute to the development of a research agenda which responds to the current pressures while maintaining the integrity of interdisciplinary accounting research.

“Minimal” and “Biased”: An Intersectional Analysis of Female Candidates’ Perceptions of Their Local News Coverage

This qualitative study analyzes the perceptions of US women political candidates about their local news coverage at a pivotal moment of change in both journalism and electoral politics. Through an intersectional approach, in-depth interviews with thirty-seven women who recently ran for office from 2016 to 2020 revealed findings in two areas of news research: local news declines and gender bias in political news. First, massive declines in local news capacities have trickled into local political communication, which, along with affordances of social media, point to a decline in relevance of local media to local campaigns. Second, participants perceived bias in their news coverage based on an identity intersecting with their gender, partisan affiliation, or both. Their experiences offered two potential ways forward for local news to reattain relevancy in local elections in countries of local news declines: through accountability journalism, and by diversifying staff to meet the needs of a diversifying electoral slate of candidates.

Digital Futures for Accountants

ABSTRACT Digital innovations are disrupting the accounting profession, and this disruption is likely to increase. Artificial intelligence (AI) applications, blockchain, and decision support technologies are moving beyond the “hype” stage to adoption in the accounting profession. Although accountants are gaining a greater understanding of the potential of these technologies, there is limited consensus on using these new capabilities in the accounting domain and how they are likely to impact the profession. This study investigates the potential impact of emerging technologies on the accountant’s role. A review of six relevant international accounting journals was conducted, focusing on keywords relating to these emerging technologies and articles published between 2011 and 2020. The articles examined are used to understand what the digital future looks like for the accounting profession. The article considers how the accounting profession needs to transform to utilize these technologies and how accountants can play an integral role in digital transformation.

The Research Development of Tax Avoidance: A Literature Review

This study looks at ninety articles about tax avoidance from seventy well-known national and international journals. This study looked at articles about tax avoidance from 2017 to 2022 and put them into groups based on the subject and method. China Journal of Economics, Management, Accounting, Journal of Accounting Studies, Journal of International Accounting, Auditing, and Taxation the International Journal of Innovation, Creativity, and Change has published most of the articles about avoiding taxes. The results of this study show that from 2017 to 2022, corporate governance, political connections, profitability, corporate social responsibility, and earnings management will be the most common ways for companies to avoid paying taxes. Most articles about tax avoidance have been published in the China Journal of Economics, Management, and Accounting, the Journal of Accounting Studies, the Journal of International Accounting, Auditing, and Taxation, and the International Journal of Innovation, Creativity, and Change. The results of this study show that from 2017 to 2022, corporate governance, political connections, profitability, corporate social responsibility, and earnings management will be the most common factors related to tax avoidance. Between 2017 and 2022, researchers will use the quantitative method the most, while the effective cash rate will be the most common way to measure tax evasion. This study has limitations, including the fact that it only includes data from 2017 to 2022.

The contested nature of third-sector organisations

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to reflect on the critical themes explored by the five papers in this Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal (AAAJ) special issue and to offer a prospective analysis of issues for further research.Design/methodology/approachThis reflective article provides a contextual outline of the challenges of managing and accounting for the third-sector during times of crisis.FindingsPrior studies have covered aspects of trust, accountability and the use of accounting numbers for performance management in the third sector; however, little is known about how accounting numbers and disclosures can contribute to repairing donor trust and sensemaking following adverse events or how accounting numbers and disclosures can be used to navigate uncertainty. Drawing on accountability, trust and sensemaking literature, the papers in this AAAJ special issue contribute to closing this gap.Research limitations/implicationsWhilst the papers presented in this AAAJ special issue provide valuable insights into the challenges faced by third-sector organisations (TSOs) in times of crisis, several vital gaps that merit further investigations have been identified.Originality/valueThis paper and AAAJ special issue provide a set of original empirical and theoretical contributions that can be used to advance further investigations into the complex issues faced by the third sector.

A retrospective overview of the Journal of Public Budgeting, Accounting and Financial Management using bibliometric analysis

PurposeThe study aims to explore a retrospective overview of the Journal of Public Budgeting, Accounting and Financial Management, a prestigious international journal in the discipline. It also analyses the bibliometric information of its publications between 2011 and 2021 in terms of authors, countries, documents, themes, topics and sources.Design/methodology/approachThe performance analysis and science mapping were conducted using the data from Scopus between 2011 and 2021. The bibliometric information of 301 publications was visualised through the analysis types, such as co-authorship, co-citation and bibliographic coupling, through the VOSviewer software programme.FindingsThe main finding is that the journal has recently improved in several areas (e.g. its productivity and visibility, citations, index scores and international collaborations). Although financial aspects such as accounting and accountability, financial management and public budgeting maintained their importance during the analysing period, some other features were revealed as new research themes. However, there are some research gaps regarding sustainable development goals, climate change and other matters, and the solutions for them through public fiscal policies.Research limitations/implicationsThe analyses are primarily backwards oriented by their very nature. Although they were excellent at portraying the past, the findings provided limited information about subjects that would be hot topics in future. The study has some limitations. The information on publications was collected from the Scopus database. However, bibliometric analyses were conducted from 2011 to 2021 as its data on Scopus did not cover before 2011. Second, the data are dynamic over time and may contain various changes in the future. Therefore, the bibliometric analysis may be repeated by including new studies of JPBAFM in the following years.Social implicationsA performance analysing that the editorial team could benefit from in order to monitor the productivity of JPBAFM, one of the popular and favoured journals in the discipline, was conducted in this paper. The editorial team may also find ideas for the intellectual development of the journal as a result of mapping the performance of the publications.Originality/valueThe bibliographic analysis of the Journal of Public Budgeting, Accounting and Financial Management has yet to be conducted. The study presents comprehensive findings on the performance and bibliometric analysis of the journal to guide authors and readers.

Two Decades of African Accounting Research 2000–2019: Synthesis, Reflection, Gaps, and Future Directions

ABSTRACTThis structured literature review analyzes 179 African accounting research articles in 38 major accounting journals published from 2000 to 2019 (inclusive) to assess trends of publications in these journals, topics covered or neglected, research methods employed, the main contributing authors, their research impact, opportunities for future research, and challenges confronting this field. It found that, despite the increase in research publications on Africa, they were almost absent in the top 6 accounting journals and had little presence in the remaining 32. The analysis of research methods, contributing authors, and research impact found that much African research has adopted a qualitative approach, unlike the U.S. tradition employing mostly quantitative and economics-based methods, and most top-contributing authors either originated from Africa or were affiliated with an African university. There was a regional imbalance of African accounting research, which covered only 19 of the 54 countries. These were larger, richer, and had stock markets.

Spanish Journal of Finance and Accounting (SJFA): Mapping of Knowledge over the Last 25 Years

The Spanish Journal of Finance and Accounting (SJFA) is a leading international journal in the field of accounting and finance, which was founded in 1972 with the aim of serving as a platform for dissemination at the service of academics, researchers and accounting and business professionals. The aim of this research is to examine the development of the SJFA journal from its creation to the present day, with the purpose of identifying the journal’s trend through published articles, authors, the most productive institutions and countries, and research topics, as well as citation patterns (most cited papers and typology of citing articles). The methodology used is bibliometric analysis and the data on which the bibliometric indicators are applied are taken from the Scopus database. This study also develops a graphical mapping of the bibliometric material by using the visualisation of similarities software. These graphs represent keyword co-occurrence, citation and co-citation analysis, and Journal Co-citation Analysis. The results show a significant growth of the journal over time, both in terms of the number and diversity of documents published and citations received, which has contributed to the positive evolution in terms of its impact and visibility. It is noteworthy that the journal is becoming more geographically diverse. The main topics covered in the journal are accounting and auditing management, and performance management. Papers dealing with topics related to management accounting, auditing, and management control, together with earnings management, accounting history and accounting regulation, stand out in terms of number of papers. Both topics are mediated by the subject of corporate governance.

Searching for dialogue in public sector budgeting research: the case study of the JPBAFM

PurposeThis paper aims to respond to the recent calls to discover the research developments in the field of public budgeting. Particularly, it explores whether and how research dialogue unfolds within the public budgeting field over time and how to stimulate it further, by investigating the case of a specific journal oriented to budgeting topics.Design/methodology/approachApplying a case study strategy, this paper reviews previous studies on public budgeting published in one specific journal, the Journal of Public Budgeting, Accounting and Financial Management (JPBAFM), from its “online inception” in 1994 to 2020. Borrowing ideas from dialogue literature, the authors analyse 108 selected papers according to a multi-dimensional framework for exploring research dialogues taking into account the year of publication, authorship (and affiliation), research setting, method and theoretical approach, and, above all, research topics on budgeting.FindingsThe findings illustrate that whilst public budgeting research has been fluctuating over time in the JPBAFM, there is a growing interest in the topic over the last several years (2015–2020). Yet, the journal illustrates a limited dialogic development of the field of public budgeting, where produced knowledge has been significantly North America-oriented, normative and quantitative-dominated. Until recently, only a limited role has been given to dialogue formation between researchers and practitioners, but the current debate is increasingly being enriched by new perspectives and a wider range of experiences. Finally, public budgeting has been addressed from multiple perspectives over time, with a significant impact determined by performance and participatory budgeting. Although multiple topics are receiving growing attention, it is still under-developed in the inter-dialogue formation between topics and theories, despite the more recently growing use of different theoretical approaches and empirical and analytical rigour.Research limitations/implicationsThe research is limited to one journal as a case study and does not claim to provide an overall reflection of public budgeting research and related empirical generalisations. Instead, the authors strive for a theoretical generalisation of multi-dimensional dialogue importance in the field.Originality/valueThe value of the research lies in a comprehensive analysis of research dialogue formation within public sector budgeting over time in an international journal that has actively engaged with public sector issues and, specifically, with budgeting. By so doing, this paper adds a critical stand on the value of dialogue in fostering inter-contextual and inter-disciplinary research in the field of public budgeting.

A Review of the Empirical Literature on Audit Market Concentration

Synopsis The research problem The extant audit market concentration (AMC) literature is quite scattered, which makes it challenging to comprehend the current state of knowledge and to highlight the areas that require further exploration. An improved understanding of AMC and its possible effects require a comprehensive review of the AMC literature, since no such review has yet been published. Therefore, our paper intends to: (a) synthesize the empirical work in the AMC literature; (b) determine the limitations in the ways AMC has been investigated; (c) identify avenues of inquiry that could guide future thinking on AMC; and (d) develop insights into how future AMC investigations can be further developed. Motivation The most noticeable developments in AMC occurred after the audit firm megamergers of the 1980s and 1990s and Andersen’s demise in 2002. This trend toward fewer and larger suppliers of auditing services has sparked intense debate about the costs and benefits of AMC. However, the literature provides mixed evidence on the determinants and consequences of AMC. Adopted methodology A structured literature review [Massaro, M., Dumay, J., & Guthrie, J. (2016). On the shoulders of giants: Undertaking a structured literature review. Accounting, Auditing and Accountability Journal, 29(5), 767–801. https://doi.org/10.1108/AAAJ-01-2015-1939 ] was employed to review the extant AMC literature. Analyses We analyzed 108 empirical papers published in 39 peer-reviewed quality accounting and auditing journals in the English language over a 55-year period (1967 to mid-2021). Findings The analysis suggests a consistent rise in AMC levels, leading to a tight oligopoly and, in rare cases, to a duopoly, across countries and over time. Studies of audit pricing and audit quality comprise the predominant part of the literature, and these report mixed findings as to whether AMC facilitates monopolistic pricing and allows audit-quality-threatening behaviors. This could be attributed to several factors, including the focus on short-term effects of AMC; substantial variations in how concentration was measured; and misguided use of proxies for audit competition and audit quality. The review identifies four key limitations that circumscribe our understanding of AMC: (a) the lack of investigation into the actual dynamic rivalry among audit firms; (b) great reliance on the positivistic approach and quantitative methods, and the lack of use of explicit theories aside from economic theories; (c) a focus on the audit of publicly listed companies in the United States, the U.K., and Australia; and thus; (d) the absence of key organizational settings and central regions in the AMC debate. To counter these limitations, this review puts forward possible future research avenues that can help to advance our understanding of AMC to address emerging challenges in the field.

Past, present, and future of carbon accounting: Insights from scholarly research

Although accounting functions have been expanded from traditional practices to recent practices, focusing on environmental, social, and governance issues, there is still a shortcoming in conceiving different approaches to creating organizational and human interaction with the environment. In this study, we review the existing research on carbon accounting from 1994 to July 2022 in order to examine its intellectual development and make recommendations for future studies. This study also discusses the scales, methodological choices, and major themes of carbon accounting research, including the most influential articles and top contributing countries, journals, theories, and institutions. The literature was retrieved from the Web of Science (WoS) and Scopus databases, in which 137 articles were obtained from 62 high-quality journals in accounting, environment, and economics. There has been a significant increase in recent years in the number of studies, with the majority taking place in the United Kingdom, Australia, and China, as compared to the United States. On the other hand, the results show that traditional theories, such as the theory of legitimacy, the theory of organization, and the theory of stakeholders, have been evaluated previously. Although a firm’s characteristics and consumer behavior play an important role in improving carbon efficiency, economic and behavioral theories have been underrepresented in the existing literature. Furthermore, it is found that carbon accounting research provides a mechanism through which carbon emissions can be measured and quantified and helps in knowing the emissions status of companies and making the necessary strategic decisions to achieve mitigation. Therefore, policymakers have to foster setting international standards that would compile firms to report their carbon strategies similar to the international financial reporting standards, allowing investors to verify and compare firms that perform well in terms of carbon reduction.

Accrual Anomaly: A Review of Literature

This study reviewed literature on accrual anomaly. The study investigates the occurrence of accrual anomaly globally with specific attention on other countries factors beyond the informatory aspect of stocks price prediction, that account for accrual anomaly worldwide. The conceptual approach methodology was adopted; materials were sourced online and journals of accounting and finance researches from where the findings of most previous related studies were reviewed. We observed that, accrual anomaly is not only associated with the United States and countries that share common characteristics with United States, but with code law countries; country legal system, changes in accounting regimes, influenced accrual anomaly occurrence globally; also, we observed some methodological deficiencies in accrual anomaly measurement in prior studies and a limitation of Sloan coexistence hypothesis of accrual and cash flow anomalies. Hence, we recommend that; first, a pre and post study of International Financial Reporting Standard (IFRS) on accrual anomaly is necessary in order to establish the effect of changes in accounting regimes on accrual anomaly in Nigeria. Second, a validation of Mishkin-test commonly accrual anomaly test and Sloan 1996 coexistence of accrual and cash flow anomalies. Finally, a future study that will include profit and loss firms as sample is encouraged.

ESG and Corporate Performance: A Review

ESG is becoming increasingly important topic in corporate finance literature. In addition to developed countries, emerging market economies have also increased their attention on ESG in recent years. The number of papers on ESG published by finance and accounting journals skyrocketed. The effect of ESG on corporate performance is uncertain. This paper provides implications for investors, ESG can build up reputation, transmit positive signals, and investors react positively to socially responsible firms, increasing corporate performance. On the other hand, according to the agency theory, more ESG involvements may reflect managerial opportunism, which negatively affects corporate innovation. This paper aims to provide a synthetic and evaluation monograph of literature that examines the relationship between ESG and corporate performance.

Türkiye'de Muhasebe Doktora Tezlerinde Atıf Yapılan Yabancı Dergiler Üzerine Bir İnceleme

This study was prepared with the aim of determining the level of use with references to accounting journals published abroad in order to guide researchers in their publication preference. The data set of the research consists of doctoral theses in the field of accounting between 2010-2020 years in Turkey. The most cited foreign journal list was determined based on the citations of the doctoral theses written between 2010-2020 in the field of accounting to the journals published abroad. As a result of the research, it has been determined that the top three most cited foreign journals are “The Accounting Review”, “Journal of Accounting and Economic” and “Journal of Accounting Research”.

Advancing Financial Knowledge: Exploring Information Dynamics, Market Reactions, and Valuation Theories: Insights from the December 2022 Issue

With the collaborative support of the editorial board members, authors, reviewers, section editors, technical editors, and production editor, we successfully launched the December 2022 issue of the International Journal of Accounting, Business and Finance (IJABF). The IJABF Volume 2 Issue 1 contains four articles dealing with contemporary issues. The authors try to unlock the research questions by providing empirical results and the scope for future studies. I thank all the contributors to this issue.

Effect of Internal Audit on Fraud Management in the Financial Service Sector in Sri Lanka

The International Journal of Accountancy (IJA) is published by the Department of Accountancy, Faculty of Commerce and Management Studies, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka. It is an interdisciplinary accountancy research journal, publishing enquiries of accounting, management accounting, auditing, taxation, and governance issues and their impacts on policy, practice and society. IJA encourages better understandings of accountancy related matters through research, encouraging innovative and interdisciplinary approaches.

Determinants of Banks’ Profitability: Empirical Evidence from Sri Lanka

The International Journal of Accountancy (IJA) is published by the Department of Accountancy, Faculty of Commerce and Management Studies, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka. It is an interdisciplinary accountancy research journal, publishing enquiries of accounting, management accounting, auditing, taxation, and governance issues and their impacts on policy, practice and society. IJA encourages better understandings of accountancy related matters through research, encouraging innovative and interdisciplinary approaches.

Corporate Governance and Corporate Transparency: A Sri Lankan Case

The International Journal of Accountancy (IJA) is published by the Department of Accountancy, Faculty of Commerce and Management Studies, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka. It is an interdisciplinary accountancy research journal, publishing enquiries of accounting, management accounting, auditing, taxation, and governance issues and their impacts on policy, practice and society. IJA encourages better understandings of accountancy related matters through research, encouraging innovative and interdisciplinary approaches.

CSR Disclosure and Financial Performance in Listed Manufacturing Companies in Sri Lanka

The International Journal of Accountancy (IJA) is published by the Department of Accountancy, Faculty of Commerce and Management Studies, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka. It is an interdisciplinary accountancy research journal, publishing enquiries of accounting, management accounting, auditing, taxation, and governance issues and their impacts on policy, practice and society. IJA encourages better understandings of accountancy related matters through research, encouraging innovative and interdisciplinary approaches.

Financial Distress and Earnings Management: Evidence from Sri Lanka

The International Journal of Accountancy (IJA) is published by the Department of Accountancy, Faculty of Commerce and Management Studies, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka. It is an interdisciplinary accountancy research journal, publishing enquiries of accounting, management accounting, auditing, taxation, and governance issues and their impacts on policy, practice and society. IJA encourages better understandings of accountancy related matters through research, encouraging innovative and interdisciplinary approaches.