John Joseph Williams

Predicting Change in Management Accounting Systems: National Culture and Industry Effects

This study replicates the model developed in Libby and Waterhouses [Libby, T., & Waterhouse, J. H. (1996). Predicting change in management accounting systems. Journal of Management Accounting Research, 8, 137–150] exploratory study of changes in a population of 23 management accounting control systems, and the five components of planning, controlling, costing, directing, and decision making, at the organizational level in Canadian manufacturing firms. The determinants of size, organizational capacity, intensity of competition, and centralization (replacing decentralization) are used to examine a sample of manufacturing firms in Singapore. Regression results from survey data partially support the cross-national transferability of their findings. Additional analyses show consistency between manufacturing and industrial firms but not service-oriented firms, suggesting limited generalizability of the model across different economic sectors.

Evidence on the relationship between Takaful insurance and fundamental perception of Islamic principles

One of the complexities overarching the concept of Islamic insurance is anchored in the belief system pertaining to fundamental Islamic Law, while another is embedded in the role of profit within the takaful contract. The purpose of this study is to empirically explore the association between the awareness of the existence of Islamic insurance (takaful) and religious perceptions of this financial service. I think the way to move will be to identify more people within the Malay/Muslim community who have an interest in this type of insurance. Perhaps AMP [Association of Muslim Professionals] can do a survey to produce statistics to show that there is a potential demand for this type of service before approaching the banks and insurance companies. Up to now my impression is that the demand is either unknown or not sufficiently known for the insurance companies themselves to initiate something. Dr Richard Hu Former Finance Minister, Republic of Singapore1 1 ‘Window of Opportunities for Islamic Financing’, Karayawan, Volume 3.

A NEW PERSPECTIVE ON THE EVOLUTION OF DOUBLE-ENTRY BOOKKEEPING

Inquiry into the origin of double entry accounting has typically focused on form as the causal factor. In the present article the arguments supporting this view are reviewed and challenged by devel...

A note on matching control system implications with organizational characteristics: ZBB and MBO revisited

Abstract The implementation of new control systems governed by a rational-technical logic often produces contrary responses due to the underlying value and belief structures lodged within prevailing control systems, task and hierarchy. This note empirically examines this discordance within the context of perceived managerial benefits to ZBB implementation. Several prescriptive implications are offered for the design of systems change.

The integration of zero-base budgeting with management-by-objectives: An empirical inquiry

Abstract Popular arguments in the management literature advocate the implementation congruity and complementarity of zero-base budgeting (ZBB) with an established management-by-objectives (MBO) system. The present study examined management perceptions on 28 ZBB implementation variables for MBO users and non-MBO users which were gathered from 153 managers at two hierarchical levels within a single private sector organization. Results from both univariate and multivariate tests indicate that ZBB implementation was not facilitated by the existence of an MBO system for either lower level management or for upper level management. The evidence obtained here strongly suggests that the purported conventional rationale underlying ZBB coupling with an extant MBO system is seriously defective; ZBB design implementation issues need to be thoroughly re-assessed, with the emphasis on matching compatible systemic properties between information sub-systems.

Designing a Budgeting System with Planned Confusion

Contemporary accounting literature has debated the merits and defects of both the traditional budgeting process and new challenger zero-base budgeting on the premise that managers should choose one or the other, but not both simultaneously. Recent developments in organization theory suggest that such a choice may be incompatible with the design strategy necessary for organizations experiencing a dynamic and uncertain environment. The author advocates the design of budgeting systems with planned confusion, where traditional budgeting, as a stabilizing process, coexists with zero-base budgeting, as a destabilizing process.

Zero-base budgeting: Prospects for developing a semi-confusing budgeting information system

Abstract This paper argues for the recognition that zero-base budgeting (ZBB) is a destabilizing process which may co-exist in the future with traditional budgeting systems (TBS) to form a semi-confusing information system. The stabilizing and destabilizing features of a semi-confusing information system are explored first. The characteristics of ZBB as a formal budgeting process are examined next to provide a comparative profile of its destabilizing features in a changing environment. Analytically, ZBB characteristics match with the destabilizing properties of a semi-confusing information system and this insight has substantial implications for the future use of ZBB.