Brian B. Stanko

A revised classification pattern of hospital financial ratios

Abstract Health care administrators, governing boards, and public policy groups employ a broad array of financial ratios to assess hospital performance. However, only a few ratios may be necessary for meaningful insight. Our paper explores the common financial characteristics of performance which can be accurately and parsimoniously summarized by hospital financial ratios. We define a characteristic of performance as a group of ratios which measure essentially the same financial activity of a firm (see footnote 1 in our paper). First, a statistical-based taxonomy of financial ratios was used to explore the financial characteristics of 2,189 U.S. hospitals. Second, the taxonomy was employed to examine the correlations among the specific ratios which signal the characteristics of financial performance. Our findings: 1) indicate that hospital financial characteristics of performance reported in our study are different from previously reported findings in the literature, (which are reviewed in our paper) and 2) provide suggestions for future research in determining the value of the identified characteristics for decision making in the health care industry.

Sexual Harassment and Government Accountants: Anecdotal Evidence from the Profession

The changing gender of the United States workforce has forced employers to confront issues as never before. Twenty years ago women were just beginning to enter the workplace in numbers large enough to make them visible. Today women comprise 44 percent of the workforce and fill nearly one-third of managerial positions.

Foreign currency translation under the temporal rate method

Statements of Financial Accounting Standards (SFAS) are rules and procedures designed to establish reliable financial information. The Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) defines reliable financial information in Statement of Financial Accounting Concept No. 2 as information that is reasonably free from error and bias and faithfully represents what it purports to represent [FASB, 1980, paragraphs 59, 77]. Under SFAS No. 52 [FASB, 1981], however, the temporal rate method of translating foreign currency denominated financial statements may not produce reliable information. The result is that consolidated financial statements of U.S. companies may include unreliable components such as under (over) valued assets. The findings of this paper are important because unreliable financial information places U.S. firms at a competitive disadvantage by hindering efficient and effective business decisions.

AICPA rules of conduct and practitioner knowledge

Accountants practicing in all segments of accounting need to understand both the relevant ethical standards of accounting and the mechanisms for enforcing these ethical standards. Further, accountants need to have an understanding of how to apply these standards in practical situations [Loeb, 1992]. In 1988, the AICPA restructured the professions Code of Conduct. The changes resulted in a code with a more positive orientation. Since the 1988 Code restructuring, the Federal Trade Commission determined that certain rules embodied in the Code interfered with competition in violation of the FTC Act. Although the AICPA was reluctant to modify the existing Code, AICPA-FTC negotiations resulted in numerous amendments. Because of these recent changes, CPAs may be experiencing difficulty in maintaining an accurate perception of what constitutes acceptable conduct according to the Code. Consequently, this study addresses one important question. Do CPAs exhibit a satisfactory level of code knowledge when presented with a variety of ethical conflict situations? The results of this study are not encouraging for the profession.