Antti Miihkinen

Board's Financial Incentives, Competence, and Firm Risk Disclosure: Evidence from Finnish Index Listed Companies

Purpose - – The purpose of this paper is to examine novel corporate governance-based determinants of risk disclosures among index-listed Finnish companies. Therefore the focus of the study is on explaining the board’s monitoring role in relation to corporate managers. Design/methodology/approach - – Firms’ risk disclosures are analysed in terms of their Findings - – The authors find that the risk disclosures of these firms can be explained by financial incentives (wealth and compensation) and competence-related factors (attrition rate and education). The results indicate that among the “best disclosers”, the narrative risk disclosures are, on average, on a high level, and variation in risk reporting is largely associated with board characteristics. Research limitations/implications - – The relatively small sample size makes the results vulnerable to type two error. Further research could continue by examining the impact of board work on corporate disclosures across countries and disclosure items. Practical implications - – Board members’ financial incentives and competence impact the dynamism of board work. In this way, they are also associated with board members’ disclosure decisions. Originality/value - – This paper contributes to the extant literature by demonstrating the impact of previously unexamined board characteristics on the quality of the narrative risk disclosures of highly followed firms.

Development and application of assessment standards to advanced written assignments

ABSTRACT This study describes the results of a project that focused on developing an assessment rubric to be used as the assessment criteria for the written thesis of accounting majors and the quality of the coursework during the seminar. We used descriptive analysis and the survey method to collect information for the development work and to examine the effect of the rubric on learning. We find that the rubric has a positive effect on students’ understanding, self-assessment, confidence, and integration. We contribute to the extant literature by adding to prior work that has examined factors that can improve students’ learning outcomes. By synthesizing theories on approaches to learning and self-regulation, and combining them with literature on self-efficacy and social/academic integration, we bring conceptual clarity to the elements of learning in a course, which consist of written assignments and the accompanying group work. The paper demonstrates a way to help university students to learn via explicit assessment rubrics, and thus offers novel ideas for accounting educators.