Accounting’s chaotic margins : Financial reporting of the library collections of Australia’s public universities
- Authors: West, Brian , Carnegie, Garry
- Date: 2007
- Type: Text , Conference paper
- Relation: Paper presented at 2007 AFAANZ Conference, The Gold Coast, Queensland : 1st-3rd July 2007
- Full Text: false
- Description: This paper explores the circumstances and implications of an episode of accounting change arising from the extended use of accrual accounting within the Australian public sector. The matter under scrutiny is the financial reporting of the library collections of Australia’s public universities. Accounting standards applying within the Australian public sector may be interpreted as requiring such collections to be accounted for as assets in the statements of financial position of the entities that manage them. A survey reveals considerable diversity and subjectivity in the accounting practices adopted in seeking to satisfy this requirement. Consideration is given to possible explanations for the disorderly state of practice observed, and questions raised regarding the reliability and usefulness of the information reported. The financial reporting of library collections is depicted as a “chaotic margin” of accounting, and the technical propriety of attempting to express and account for these non-financial resources in financial terms is rendered problematic.
- Description: 2003005170
External influences on the development and professionalisation of accounting in Malaysia, 1957-1969
- Authors: Ali, Azham Md. , Lee, Teck Heang , West, Brian
- Date: 2008
- Type: Text , Conference paper
- Relation: Paper presented at 2008 AFAANZ / IAAER Conference, Sydney, New South Wales : 6th-8th July 2008
- Full Text: false
- Description: The accounting history literature identifies a tendency for accounting in developing countries to be dominated by the style of accounting institutions and practices of western developed nations – particularly the USA and UK. This “importation” hypothesis is investigated and refined through a case study examination of the history of accounting in Malaysia during the formative years of 1957 to 1969. This era commences with the Malay States gaining independence from Britain and closes with the race riots which marked a turning point in the nation’s history. The establishment of the Malaysian Association of Certified Public Accountants (MACPA) in 1958 and the passing of the Companies Act of 1965 and the Accountants Act of 1967 are identified as key events which perpetuated British colonial influence within the new nation. These circumstances add credence to the “importation” hypothesis and support a depiction of accounting and its institutional apparatus as regularising forces with a capacity to transcend political and social change within a nation state.
- Description: 2003006230
Financial reporting and accountability in charitable organisations
- Authors: Dellaportas, Steven , Langton, Jonathan , West, Brian
- Date: 2008
- Type: Text , Conference paper
- Relation: Paper presented at 2008 AFAANZ / IAAER Conference, Sydney, New South Wales : 6th-8th July 2008
- Full Text: false
- Description: The not-for-profit sector is made up of approximately 700,000 entities employing around 600,000 people and controlling assets up to $70 billion, with the largest charities comparing favourably in size and value to big business. While it is expected that many charitable organisations are well-managed and make a significant contribution to society, a lack of good governance and/or accountability could have devastating affects on the community. Official inquiries into the not-for-profit sector have questioned the lack of transparency and accountability created by a complex legal and regulatory regime. Critics of the existing regime have called for reforms including mandatory financial reporting requirements and an independent regulator to enhance public accountability and organizational efficiency and performance. This study provides an insight into the financial reporting activities of Australia’s largest charities so as to provide a measure of the extent to which charities meet public expectations of accountability. This involved the examination of over 100 publicly available reports for charitable organizations and the administration of a questionnaire. The majority of charities examined in this study provide community, welfare or health services, employ over 100 employees, and rely on a similar number of volunteers to assist with their activities. We have attempted to shed light on a significant failure of the not-for-profit sector to date, in that although our research highlights inconsistencies in reporting formats, ambiguus financial information and a high proportion of qualified audit reports there is a strong belief from charity organisations that the public is entitled to receive quality information on financial performance, suggesting that increased financial disclosures would be beneficial to the charitable sector. Respondents supported ‘programme accountability’ (89.1%), ‘fiscal accountability’ (78.2%) and ‘profit’ (76.6%) as suitable measures of performance with the circumstances of not-for-profit organisations sufficiently different to require a specific and dedicated accounting standard for the sector.
- Description: 2003006345
Governance and accountability in Australian charitable organisations: Perceptions from CFOs
- Authors: Dellaportas, Steven , Langton, Jonathan , West, Brian
- Date: 2012
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: International Journal of Accounting and Information Management Vol. 20, no. 3 (2012), p. 238-254
- Full Text: false
- Reviewed:
- Description: Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to explore the perceptions of senior accounting officers on governance, performance and accountability issues in the charity sector. Design/methodology/approach - The empirical data presented in this paper were collected via a mail-out survey to Chief Financial Officers (CFO) of large charity organisations in Australia. Findings - The executives surveyed agreed that the public is entitled to receive high quality financial disclosures from charities, favouring "programme accountability", "fiscal accountability" and "profit" as relevant performance indicators rather than cash surplus/deficit. The respondents also considered that charities warrant a dedicated accounting standard but were less enthusiastic about an independent regulator with stronger control functions. Research limitations/implications - The data in this study report the opinions of financial executives which may not represent the view of all managing executives. Originality/value - While governance in charities has been examined previously from an organisational or management perspective, this is one of the few papers that emphasises how members of the accounting profession view this important topic.