David Gadenne

Australian corporate environmental reporting: a comparative analysis of disclosure practices across voluntary and mandatory disclosure systems

Purpose – This paper extends the literature in the environmental disclosure area by examining annual report disclosure practices of Australian companies within the combined voluntary and mandatory environmental disclosure system. Design/methodology/approach – Content analysis was used to investigate the environmental disclosures over three consecutive years in the annual reports of companies that would be subject to environmental regulation and/or perceived to be environmentally sensitive. Findings – The study finds that Australian listed companies have a propensity to disclose higher levels of positive environmental disclosures in the voluntary sections of the annual report than in the statutory sections of the annual report. Research limitations/implications – These results suggest that regulatory authorities may need to acknowledge the usefulness of mandatory disclosure requirements as a potential means of counter‐balancing the voluntary disclosure system. It has been argued that the annual report is not the sole disclosure medium used by companies Further research may not only investigate these issues but also add weight to arguments for more environmental accountability. Practical implications – The results suggest that companies adopt different disclosure approaches when the disclosures are potentially under surveillance or increased scrutiny via legislated environmental disclosure requirements. Originality value – This research provides evidence that companies continue to use greater levels of self‐puffery within a voluntary reporting environment than within a mandatory reporting environment, and suggests that stakeholders may be more likely to receive information that is less favourable to the corporation (and potentially more decision‐useful to stakeholders) within a legislated disclosure environment.

An inter‐industry comparison of quality management practices and performance

This paper investigates similarities and differences in total quality management practices across different industry groups such as the service, manufacturing, and construction industries. The study also investigates the relationship between the quality management practices and business performance by industry category. A survey was conducted using Powell’s framework as a basis, and sent to Queensland businesses. A total of 140 responses were received – 58 from the service sector, 62 from the manufacturing sector, and 20 from the construction sector. The results suggest that there are some common factors including value chain integration, efficiency and employee involvement, though the composition of quality management practices comprising these factors differed somewhat between industries. The results reveal that value chain integration in particular appears to be an important factor for quality management in each of the industries examined. The results of MANOVA analyses suggest evidence of an association between some of the quality management practices and performance for the service and manufacturing industries but not for the construction industry.

An investigation of the perceived importance and effectiveness of quality management approaches

Investigates the key strategic approaches used by Queensland businesses in achieving their quality objectives. Finds that the highest ranked quality management techniques of total sample firms included a program for reduction in defects, commitment and communication of commitment to quality programs, an open trusting culture and interaction with customers and suppliers. Finds also that in excess of 65 per cent of Queensland businesses adopt some form of quality management techniques, of which ISO 9000 was found to be dominant. Quality management approaches used by businesses committed to quality management were compared with those which had no formal commitment to quality management. The results suggest that businesses committed to a quality management program are more inclined to have top executive support for, and organisational communication of, quality management principles, plus greater emphasis on better customer relationships, and that these quality management approaches are positively associated with organisational performance.

Financial distress, reorganization and corporate performance

Prospects for financially distressed companies in Australia have improved since the introduction of voluntary administration (VA) as an alternative to liquidation. This paper investigates whether companies that reorganise can be distinguished from those that liquidate under VA. In addition, performance of reorganised companies is examined to determine variables that distinguish ‘successful’ from ‘unsuccessful’ reorganisations. Significant variables in the logistic regression models developed differ between the analyses. The results of the analyses have implications for policy makers regarding efficiency of the VA procedure, as it appears the reorganisation decision is biased toward permitting inefficient firms to reorganise.

DO CORPORATIONS PERCEIVE MANDATORY PUBLICATION OF POLLUTION INFORMATION FOR KEY STAKEHOLDERS AS A LEGITIMACY THREAT

In recent decades several researchers have investigated the relationship between corporate environmental performance and environmental disclosures. A number of these studies have also investigated the positive/negative content of the disclosures, particularly following the occurrence of negative environmental events or media coverage. Limited research has investigated the usefulness of regulated public external disclosures of corporate environmental performance information as a driver of annual report environmental disclosure behaviour. The mandatory Australian National Pollutant Inventory now provides interested parties with access to information on corporate pollution emissions. This represents a change to the corporate operating environment and represents a potential threat to corporate legitimacy. This paper reports the results of research investigating the release of corporate pollution emission information on the National Pollutant Inventory and changes in corporate environmental disclosures in annual reports.

SOCIAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL NGOs AS USERS OF CORPORATE SOCIAL DISCLOSURE

This research examines social and environmental NGO usage of corporate social disclosure. The research confirms that social and environment groups are users of corporate social disclosure, however in contrast to earlier NGO studies, such as Tilt (1994), Annual Reports appear to be no longer the preferred medium of use. The results reveal a relative consistency in NGO viewpoints regarding corporate social disclosure across time, and show that NGOs view corporate social disclosure as low in credibility and insufficient even when relevant.

An exploratory study of the company reorganisation decision in voluntary administration

A primary purpose of the voluntary administration legislation is to provide a flexible procedure by which a company can attempt to reorganise its affairs and continue trading. Informed decision‐making regarding which companies should attempt reorganisation is critical to the efficient operation of company rescue legislation. This paper explores decision‐making associated with the voluntary administration process, with a focus on the relevance of financial information to the reorganisation decision. Statistical models are developed to provide some insight into the reorganisation decision and the problem of identifying suitable (successful) reorganisation candidates from a pool of distressed companies. Additionally, insolvency experts’ decisions regarding companies’ prospects in reorganisation are examined. The decision accuracy of insolvency experts was found to be significantly lower than statistical model accuracy, indicating that further development of statistical models may be a useful aid to insolvency experts.

Quality Management Strategies and Performance: An Empirical Investigation

Abstract Quality management has appeared as one of the most important strategic tools of top managers for improving quality performance and thereby organizational performance. However, there is very little research available in this area relating to small and medium businesses. Therefore, this paper presents the results of an empirical investigation of the relationship between quality management strategies and business performance in these types of business enterprise. Following a series of interviews with business executives to develop an understanding of the adoption of quality management strategies, a mail survey was conducted to collect the relevant data from businesses in Queensland, Australia. The survey found that even in small businesses, principles of TQM have been adopted in most cases informally if not explicitly. TQM factors such as top management philosophy, process improvement efficiency and training have a significant association with business performance although the level of implementation of TQM is still at a low ebb.

A Model For Best Financial And Cost Accounting Practices In SMEs: An Exploratory Study

Abstract In recent years many large corporations have reaped the benefits of following best practice in financial and management accounting to become more competitive. However, very few studies have been undertaken to determine whether such best practice can be used as a benchmark to improve performance in small and medium enterprises (SMEs). Accordingly, the main purpose of this study was to develop and test a conceptual model of ‘best financial and cost accounting practice’ (BFCAP) based on the practices of strategic planning, budgeting and budgetary control, and financial and cost accounting as related to financial effectiveness. To determine whether existing practices were consistent with a conceptual model of BFCAP that is linked to financial effectiveness, a survey was undertaken of some 200 SMEs in Queensland. The findings of the study indicated that the model does in fact explain relationships between strategic planning, best practice financial and cost accounting practices, and financial effectiveness.

Factors Associated with Small Business Burglary

This study found that factors such as location, socioeconomic area of business, and size of business are related with the likelihood of burglary; and in turn, burglary is associated with significant costs of an economic and psychological nature. In some instances it was found that a small business owner, faced with escalating crime perpetrated upon her or his business, might fold the business, even though insolvency was not an issue.