Jill L. McKinnon

Reliability and Validity in Field Research: Some Strategies and Tactics

This article is concerned with issues of validity and reliability in field research. It examines the nature of, and threats to validity and reliability in field studies and documents some strategies and tactics that may be employed to counter those threats. At a time when field research is becoming an increasingly important and necessary method for more accounting researchers, it is hoped that an article such as this may provide useful reference for the conduct, communication and evaluation of field research in accounting.

Cross-cultural research in management control systems design: a review of the current state

Abstract This paper reviews cross-cultural research in management control systems (MCS) appearing in English-language journals over the past 15 years. The objectives are to examine these studies for their convergence or otherwise with respect to the state of our understanding of cultural effects on MCS design, and to analyse their theoretical and methodological strengths and weaknesses to guide future research. The review identifies four major weaknesses seen to apply collectively to this research: (i) a failure to consider the totality of the cultural domain in theoretical exposition; (ii) a tendency to not consider explicitly the differential intensity of cultural norms and values across nations; (iii) a tendency to treat culture simplistically both in the form of its representation as a limited set of aggregate dimensions, and in the assumption of a uniformity and unidimensionality of those dimensions; and (iv) an excessive reliance on the value dimensional conceptualization of culture, which has produced a highly restricted conception and focus on culture, and placed critical limits on the extent of understanding derived from the research to date. ©

Cultural influences on informal information sharing in Chinese and Anglo-American organizations: an exploratory study

Abstract This study examines cultural factors which may facilitate or impede the sharing of informal information in the context of face-to-face meetings in Chinese compared to Anglo-American organizations. Both qualitative and quantitative data were collected through personally conducted interviews with middle level managers in a sample of Taiwanese and Australian manufacturing firms. The results suggest the importance of individual differences, individual assertiveness, and corporate culture in influencing informal information sharing in Australia; and the trade-off between collective interests, respect for hierarchical status and concern with face in Taiwan.

Culture and accounting change: A new perspective on corporate reporting regulation and accounting policy formulation

Abstract This paper proposes and illustrates a new methodological framework for studying corporate reporting regulation and accounting policy formulation at the nation specific level. The process of corporate reporting regulation is viewed as a social system, and change analysis is used to determine the essential properties of such a system. The framework allows examination of the systems norms and values; the nature of its interdependencies both internally and with other social systems; the factors to which the system is especially sensitive; and the way in which culture influences the form and functioning of the systems elements.

THE ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE OF PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRMS: EVIDENCE FROM TAIWANESE LOCAL AND US AFFILIATED FIRMS

Abstract This study examines the organizational cultures of public accounting firms with data from US affiliated international accounting firms in Taiwan and Taiwanese local firms. Hypotheses are tested about the impact of the national culture of the US firms on their Taiwanese affiliates, and about cultural differences across function and rank. The study extends previous research by (1) examining an oriental country whose culture is significantly different from that of the US, (2) using the Hofstede, G., Neuijen, B., Ohayv, D. D., & Sanders G. (1990). Measuring organizational cultures: a qualitative and quantitative study across twenty cases. Administrative Science Quarterly, 35, 286–316 practices-based measure of organizational culture, and (3) examining the importance of the fit between employee preferences and organizational culture in influencing organizational commitment, job satisfaction and propensity to remain with the organization. Support is found for the cultural impact and fit hypotheses. Additonally, while culture is found to be relatively homogeneous across function, differences are found across rank.

Diffusion of transfer pricing innovation in the context of commercialization--a longitudinal case study of a government trading enterprise

This paper examines the diffusion of transfer pricing as an innovation in a government trading enterprise as it moved from protected monopolistic status to commercialization. Using data from semi-structured interviews and documentation, the paper draws on theories of transfer pricing choice and diffusion of innovation to analyse and explain events surrounding the introduction, abandonment and reintroduction of transfer pricing in the case organization over the ten year period from 1991 to 2000. The study demonstrates the importance of multiple theories and perspectives in understanding how and why management accounting innovations diffuse or not, as well as the importance of focusing on the secondary stage of innovation adoption and on organizational values, norms and past experiences as they affect secondary adoption. The study also provides support for the role of transfer pricing as an accounting mechanism to effect cultural and strategic change in organizations and for the reciprocal relationship between transfer pricing and organizational strategy over time.

Cash to accrual and cash to accrual: A case study of financial reporting in two NSW hospitals 1857 to post-1975

This study traces the development of financial reporting in two publicly funded hospitals in New South Wales over the period 1857 to post‐1975, with particular focus on the use of cash and accrual accounting. The historical analysis draws on process and contextual change and stakeholder theory, and uses both primary and secondary data, to describe patterns of change (and non‐change) in the hospitals’ financial reporting and to identify the social and political influences associated with such reporting. The study provides historical context for recent developments in public sector reporting and accountability in Australia, particularly the (re)introduction of accrual accounting, and provides insights into the nature of accounting change both in public sector organizations and generally.

Cultural influence on corporate and governmental involvement in accounting policy determination in Japan

Abstract This study examines the impact of culture on the motivation for, and mode of involvement of, the corporations and the government in accounting policy determination in Japan. Three propositions are developed and evaluated against the events that occurred in the formulation and implementation of the 1976 ordinances on consolidation. Data are derived from source documentation and personal interviewing. Cultural determinants are seen to position the corporations and bureaucracy as influential and conflicting interest groups in accounting standard-setting in Japan and to predetermine a mode of conflict resolution in policy determination that maintains the “balance of forces” between those parties.

Compulsory Audit Tendering and Audit Fees: Evidence from Australian Local Government

This study uses data collected from annual reports of Australian local councils in the state of New South Wales (NSW) to provide longitudinal evidence on the impact of compulsory audit tendering, as introduced by the NSW Local Government Act 1993, on audit fees over the nine-year period from 1993 to 2002, and including both the initial and second tender periods. The results show that (i) a relatively large audit fee decrease was associated with the introduction of compulsory audit tendering, and (ii) the fee decrease was non-transitory in that, following the initial decline, fees did not increase during the remainder of the six-year first tender period and did not change on the second tender. Our results are consistent with the economic literature on auctions and tenders and on compulsory competitive tendering. The results also have implications for policy-setters and regulators in both the governmental public sector and, potentially, the private sector, in that they provide a benchmark for what might be expected if compulsory audit tendering is adopted in other contexts.

Audit service quality in compulsory audit tendering: Preparer perceptions and satisfaction

Purpose - The paper aims to analyse audit service quality attributes that were perceived to be important in compulsory audit tendering (CAT) in local councils in New South Wales (NSW). It focuses principally on whether CAT leads to an impairment of auditor independence and audit quality. Design/methodology/approach - A questionnaire survey was conducted of 235 NSW local council finance professionals and 35 local council internal auditors in May 2006. Findings - The most important attributes in evaluating audit service quality were industry expertise, audit firm experience with a council, technical competence, independence, ethical standards and due care. The least important attributes were scepticism, freshness of perspective, audit firm size, and non-audit services. There is considerable consistency in the findings with those in non-CAT contexts. Research limitations/implications - The paper is subject to the general limitations of the survey questionnaire method. A further limitation is that audit quality was assessed using perceptions of audit service quality by preparers of local council financial statements, rather than by users of those statements. Practical implications - Audit firms will be better able to understand the audit service quality attributes valued by local council clients, to differentiate their promotional and service-provision strategies, improve their audit quality, and better satisfy local council clients. Concerns that CAT may impair audit independence and audit quality do not appear to be founded. Originality/value - Because the results are generally consistent with findings in non-CAT contexts, there can be more confidence in CAT as a regulatory form of audit procurement.