Andrew Lymer

Internet and the future of reporting in Europe

Pressure is being applied on companies right across Europe to distribute more corporate information, in more usable ways, with fewer time delays. The delivery of corporate information via the Internet is being seen by many companies as a way of addressing at least some of these demands. This paper introduces the subject of electronic corporate reporting and provides a detailed literature review of both academic and professional material produced on this subject so far. It also outlines a wide range of issues that need to be considered by companies, accounting regulators and standard setters in determining how this form of reporting should develop in the future. This debate is specifically set in a European context but has global applications.

An exploration of the potential for studying the usage of investor relations information through the analysis of Web server logs

This paper introduces the Web server log file and assesses its potential as a research instrument in measuring and interpreting the use of corporate reporting information. Measuring Investor Relations output, including annual financial reports but covering a wider range of corporate reporting and market informing activity, has proven a difficult task in the past due to a lack of truly effective research methodologies to access such activity. This paper highlights the growth in the provision of online Investor Relations information and details how online information can be measured using activity logs taken as a Web server fulfils user requests for information over the Internet. The paper analyses the limitations of this methodology for measuring the use of Investor Relations output and illustrates its possible application by drawing on data from a UK FTSE 100 company. Finally, the paper concludes that this methodology has significant potential in measuring the use of online Investor Relations information, and can therefore make valuable contributions to corporate reporting research and policy making in this area.

Translation in XBRL standardization

Purpose – Extensible business reporting language (XBRL) presents new opportunities for integrating the flow of financial information within communities of diverse organizations, thereby significantly enhancing the business information supply chain and addressing existing efficiency, accuracy and transparency problems. Vital to its success, XBRL standardization is proving to be challenging. This paper aims to investigate the phenomena that occur when heterogeneous actors interact in attempts to standardize XBRL.Design/methodology/approach – Drawing upon actor‐network theory (ANT) the authors “follow the actors” participating in the standardization of XBRL in Australia. Supporting qualitative empirical evidence was collected via interviews and reviews of XBRL artifacts and relevant technical documentation.Findings – The authors confirm the critical role of focal actors in standardizing XBRL in networks of heterogeneous actors. In addition to clear and indispensable value propositions and solid political and...

Tax education in the UK: a survey of tax courses in undergraduate accounting degrees

This paper presents the results of a postal survey designed to examine the teaching of taxation in UK universities. The project looks at taxation in undergraduate accounting degree programmes and adopts an objective centred focus. The principal aim of the survey was to examine the relationships between some characteristics of individual tax courses, including the course objectives and coverage, staffing, teaching and assessment methods, in an attempt to draw some conclusions on the nature of tax education in UK accounting degrees. The results of the survey and consequent analysis may provide taxation and accounting educators, professional bodies and researchers into accounting education with an insight into approaches to, and methods used in, taxation teaching. It may also present a framework for comparative international research in tax education.

Examining the adoption of computer-assisted audit tools and techniques: Cases of generalized audit software use by internal auditors

Purpose - – The use of computer-assisted audit techniques and tools (CAATTs) is a part of many professionally recommended audit procedures. This paper aims to argue that obtaining a better understanding of the factors underlying successful CAATTs adoptions would be helpful to aid wider development of these technologies in internal audit functions. Design/methodology/approach - – To help develop the understanding of the factors that lead to successful adoption of GAS, this paper uses current theories that are seeking to better explain the various elements that constitute IT adoption processes. In particular, it makes use the “Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology” (UTAUT). UTAUT is used to structure the analysis of ten semi-structured, qualitative, interviews of key decision-makers in adoptions of CAATTS in internal audit functions in exploring the key factors that drove the successful adoption of these IT technologies. The most widely used CAATTs tools available to internal auditors is currently GAS. This study specifically focuses on GAS tools. Findings - – This paper explores the successful adoption of GAS in ten cases to draw out the general factors that appear to be essential elements that lead to successful adoptions. From this basis, the paper proposes an initial model, built on existing theories of IT adoption more generally, as a theoretical basis for GAS adoption by decision-makers in an internal audit setting to better understand what may be essential factors to their adoption decisions to be likewise successful. Results suggest that two constructs from UTAUT (performance expectancy and facilitating conditions) appear to be particularly important factors influencing successful adoptions of GAS in this domain. However, the UTAUT constructs of social influence and effort expectancy are not found by this study to be as important in this specific IT adoption domain. UTAUT also proposes four moderating factors that influence the constructs. This paper explores two of these moderators – experience and voluntariness – and shows that both are keys to the constructs application to this domain. Originality/value - – The paper examines the motivation for CAATTs adoption by internal auditors using the UTAUT framework commonly used in information system research but not so to date in this domain where there is professional guidance suggesting wider use of technology should be made compared to actual usage.

Exploring the use and users of narrative reporting in the online annual report

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore who uses narrative reporting information contained within online corporate annual reports and assess the relative use of different types of narrative information.Design/methodology/approach – Web server logs were used to analyse over one million instances where information is successfully delivered to users of the corporate web sites of 15 FTSE 350 companies.Findings – The most frequent users of the online annual report are, respectively, private individuals, those registered under internet service providers, employees and professional investors/creditors. The results suggest that those with greater experience and expertise in preparing and using financial accounts adopt different information preferences with respect to the online annual report. Although experienced users such as professional investors, creditors and accounting firms use the annual report to download predominantly detailed financial accounting data, the widespread availability and accessib...

Developments in tax e-filing: practical views from the coalface

Purpose - Electronic filing (e-filing) of personal tax returns has become a global trend in developed countries. An increasing number of individual UK taxpayers are seeking help from tax advisers as ambitious e-filing targets increase the interaction between taxpayers, tax agents and government departments. This article aims to review the attitudes to information and communications technology (ICT) adoption between these three groups. Design/methodology/approach - This article has partly built on the work of Walsh and White, who use Moores “Technology Adoption Life Cycle” to examine e-filing adoption by taxpayers and tax preparers in the USA. However, this article uses a mixed methodology that the authors argue is more suitable for the wider issues found in the UK. Findings - The results confirm that small/medium sized tax agent firms are more likely to be technology enthusiasts/early adopters of e-filing for their individual clients. As their business policies are more likely to be directly driven by technology enthusiasts, they have fewer issues with the incomplete e-filing system available at the early stages of its roll out and were more motivated by the visible benefits available from adopting e-filing. Larger firms have been slower and appeared more reluctant to embrace e-filing of personal tax returns being concerned that engaging in HM Revenue and Customs controlled systems and targets would compromise their internal systems, ICT integrity and control of complex tax cases. Practical implications - This split in e-filing attitudes by tax agents supports Moores “chasm” argument for technology adoption processes, implying solutions for widening participation found appropriate for other domains could be equally applicable in this domain. The article reflects on these findings and proposes practical solutions that build on prior research to assist the government in achieving the future ambitious targets for e-filing. Originality/value - This paper reports the results of a national survey of tax advisers, supported by follow-up interviews, addressing the development of e-filing for personal taxation in the UK.

The integration of expert systems into the teaching of accountancy: a third-year option course approach

The documented experiments into the teaching of expert systems to accountancy students have generally followed the pattern of including exposure to this technology as a minor aspect of a mainstream accounting or business course. This paper describes a different approach to the teaching of expert systems. It cites a case in which expert systems are taught as a tool in their own right. The key objective of the course was to develop knowledge of this technology from an appreciation of the tool itself rather than from any particular use of it. The paper attempts to highlight a number of issues behind te developments of a course of this nature and describes how they were dealt with in one particular circumstance. It concentrates on the first iteration of a course taught at a large UK university to undergraduate accounting students during 1991 and 1992.

An empirical examination of corporate websites as a voluntary disclosure medium

Standards-setters, regulators and academics believe that corporate websites may enhance the flow of voluntary disclosure to the capital market and other stakeholders. Management’s use of corporate websites for investor relations purposes is a common practice, yet we know little about how these websites affect investors. In this study, we analyse seven corporate websites disclosures categories to examine their predictive ability and their value relevance. The results show that the key non-financial statistics, projected information, information on intangible assets, social and environmental information, are associated with future revenue, future earnings and contemporaneous stock return. The paper contributes to the growing literature on websites disclosure and more generally to the literature on voluntary and strategic disclosure.

Introduction to Taxation in an International Context

This chapter provides an outline to taxation in an international context. It discusses the importance of taxation as both an individual and business planning activity, outlines what a tax is, why Governments charge them and how they can be arranged. It then discusses how these domestic structures for tax are changed to be applied to cross border transactions where more than one country is involved. It discusses the key problem of international taxation, that of double tax, and how this arises from jurisdictional conflicts in the rights to tax. The chapter also discusses how double tax can be relieved in practice. It concludes with a brief introduction to other key issues in international taxation; neutrality, tax avoidance/evasion and transfer pricing.