Manzurul Alam

Accounting for economic development in the context of post-colonialism: the Fijian experience

This paper presents a study of change in the operations and accounting practices within the Fijian Development Bank (FDB). These changes in practices cannot be understood outside the complex historically constituted contradictions and related tensions in Fijian society. The Bank is faced with the (impossible) task of reconciling a history of colonisation and racial discrimination with the forces of globalisation and drive for economic development. The establishment of profit-centres at Branch level and insistence on profit-driven, commercialised loan and repayment policies contrast with the communal culture of its indigenous people. The contradictions and tensions outside the Bank are evident within. The analysis attempts to make explicit the socio-historic specificity of the contradictions and raises questions about the meaning of development and the nature of development banks.

Strategic Governance and Management Accounting: Evidence from a Case Study

This paper seeks to establish if top management (the board) of a firm should extend its overview of the governance process to the execution of strategy (i.e., strategic governance) and, if so, does the management accounting information system (MAIS) have a role in facilitating this strategy execution process. This study investigated the role of the board and MAIS in strategic governance by examining a company with a public record of both successful governance and integrated strategic management accounting processes in a high‐risk industry. The analysis demonstrates that boards should go beyond the minimum conformance (compliance) requirements of the governance‐regulatory legislation and assume ultimate responsibility for strategy execution and enterprise performance. However, while management accounting techniques, processes and reports were found to be used extensively in strategic governance to integrate the policy‐management interface in numerous conformance–performance domains, the traditional role of the management accountant was found to be limited in terms of their role in such governance. The study demonstrates that a more strategic governance role offers the management accountant a way back into senior management by using the routines of management accounting to socialize the board and curb any opportunism that may arise.

Organisational change and innovation in small accounting practices: evidence from the field

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the nature of context specific issues and challenges facing small accounting practices (SAPs) in Australian regional and rural centres. It is argued that these firms face a dynamic and continuously changing environment which requires strategic responses on the part of SAP owners. The paper explores how SAPs accommodate and respond to their contextual environment, and in turn, shape that environment.Design/methodology/approach – This paper adopts a qualitative case study research approach involving the review and analysis of the prior literature and relevant archival documents, and semi‐structured interviews with the key SAP owner/managers.Findings – The findings suggest that SAPs adopt innovative strategies and structures. The SAPs in this study were generally found to be resilient and dynamic in responding to the changes in their contextual environment. Significant differences between SAPs were also found, particularly on how they addressed contextual unc...

Resource allocation and empowerment practices: Evidence from disability support services

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to explore the implications of empowerment practices within the disability support service (DSS) sector in New Zealand. The DSS framework is designed as part of the public sector reform process to promote empowerment for people with disabilities so that they can lead independent lives in their communities. Design/methodology/approach - Taking a qualitative and interpretive approach to fieldwork, this research seeks the actual lived experiences of the disabled as recipients of services offer by the state. Findings - The empirical evidence suggests that a concept such as empowerment can be problematic, because it can be perceived as a manipulative strategy where empowerment principles may be only notionally applied when services are offered by following managerialist principles. Originality/value - This paper adds to the understanding on relationships between service design, resources, and empowerment practices. Implementation of empowerment principles, however, depends on resources to create a support structure at the community level and an atmosphere where there is choice and flexibility for people with disabilities to access essential services.

Contributing barriers to corporate social and environmental responsibility practices in a developing country: A stakeholder perspective

Purpose The purpose of this study is to explore the contributing barriers to corporate social and environmental responsibility (CSER) practices. In particular, this study focuses on non-managerial stakeholders’ perceptions of the barriers to CSER practices in a developing country context. The study also investigates the current initiatives undertaken by the different stakeholders, such as government, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and regulators. Design/methodology/approach The study takes a qualitative approach, undertaking semi-structured in-depth interviews with 26 participants from NGOs, the media, regulatory authorities, government departments, shareholders, trade union leaders and customers. Findings The views of stakeholder groups were analysed to identify the contributing barriers to CSER practices. The findings of the study reveal that corruption and politics, lack of coordination, lack of government initiatives and unsatisfactory implementation of laws are perceived as the major barriers that hinder CSER practices in Bangladesh. The study also found a lack of awareness amongst various stakeholder groups regarding the influential role CSER plays in promoting sustainable development. The current initiatives undertaken by various stakeholders to improve CSER practices were limited but growing. Research Limitations/implications The study utilises the stakeholder theory to examine the role of stakeholders, rather than managers, in relation to CSER practice in Bangladesh. The findings may provide impetus for mitigating CSER barriers in a developing country context. Originality/value This study is one of the few engagement-based studies to explore the non-managerial stakeholders’ views on CSER in a developing country context.

Do stakeholders or social obligations drive corporate social and environmental responsibility reporting? Managerial views from a developing country

Purpose - – The purpose of this study is to explore senior managers’ perception and motivations of corporate social and environmental responsibility (CSER) reporting in the context of a developing country, Bangladesh. Design/methodology/approach - – In-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted with 25 senior managers of companies listed on the Dhaka Stock Exchange. Publicly available annual reports of these companies were also analysed. Findings - – The results indicate that senior managers perceive CSER reporting as a social obligation. The study finds that the managers focus mostly on child labour, human resources/rights, responsible products/services, health education, sports and community engagement activities as part of the social obligations. Interviewees identify a lack of a regulatory framework along with socio-cultural and religious factors as contributing to the low level of disclosures. These findings suggest that CSER reporting is not merely stakeholder-driven, but rather country-specific social and environmental issues play an important role in relation to CSER reporting practices. Research limitations/implications - – This paper contributes to engagement-based studies by focussing on CSER reporting practices in developing countries and are useful for academics, practitioners and policymakers in understanding the reasons behind CSER reporting in developing countries. Originality/value - – This paper addresses a literature “gap” in the empirical study of CSER reporting in a developing country, such as Bangladesh. This study fills a gap in the existing literature to understand managers’ motivations for CSER reporting in a developing country context. Managerial perceptions on CSER issues are largely unexplored in developing countries.

Management control systems in inter-agency collaboration: a case study

This paper explores the nature of management control systems in an inter-agency collaborative arrangement. A Western Australian case study (the PECN project) highlights strategies for successfully providing services to people with highly complex needs, which could not be achieved by siloed attempts by individual agencies. This paper makes a significant contribution by providing evidence on multiple control systems which combine both horizontal and vertical controls to achieve better outcomes. The authors found strong evidence of trust-based relationships among the agencies which appeared to have a positive effect on inter-agency working.

Measuring Financial Condition Of Urban Local Government: A Study Of Municipalities In Bangladesh

ABSTRACT:Studies on local governmental financial conditions are focused on developing tools for detecting and avoiding potential financial problems. These studies are confined mostly in self-governed local government entities in the western world. This research seeks to measure financial conditions of local government organisations in Bangladesh. Municipalities, one of the two types of urban local government, play an important role in providing a range of services and carrying out certain socioeconomic objectives in Bangladesh. Using financial data from a representative sample of 72 municipalities, this research measures and compares municipal financial conditions of local government municipalities in Bangladesh. A composite index of eleven indicators was developed under four dimensions, viz., short term solvency, budgetary solvency, service level solvency and long term solvency by following the relevant literature on local government financial conditions as well as keeping consistency with data availability. This composite index was applied to measure the financial conditions of the three classes (Class I, II and III) of municipalities in Bangladesh for a period 2007 to 2015. Results obtained indicate that there are differences across these three types of municipalities in their overall financial conditions as well as in their short term, long term and service level solvencies. The index measure explains the financial and operational strengths and weaknesses of municipalities, a clear understanding of which is necessary for improving their performance on sustainable basis. The result of this research is likely to have implications for devising policies for making municipalities more effective organizations. While, the findings will help municipal management to focus their operations to improve their financial and service performance, policy makers at the central level will find it as a useful tool in devising policies for equitable distribution of resources among municipal organizations.

The Mediating Role of Corporate Governance and Corporate Image on the CSR-FP Link: Evidence from a developing country

This study advances research on corporate social responsibility (CSR) through investigating the CSR-firm financial performance (FP) link. It develops a model based on legitimacy and institutional theories and considers two important intervening variables – corporate governance (CG) and corporate image (CI). The CSR practices are supposed to affect the CG codes and principles in different contexts, especially in developing countries. Empirical results, based on a sample of 155 firms in a developing country, support the link between CSR and FP; however, the effect is indirect while CG and CI fully mediate this link. The findings indicate that the CSR engagements help better governance practice and improve CI through establishing good internal controls and monitoring that ultimately enhance FP. The implications are valuable for academics, managers, and policy makers who are interested to measure the impact of intervening variables on the CSR-FP relationship.

Resource allocation and service design in local government: a case study

Purpose – Following the introduction of the New Zealand Local Government Amendment Acts (1996, 2002), some significant changes have taken place in resource allocation and service design of local government organizations. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effect of local government reforms on budgetary processes and service design in a New Zealand local government entity. Design/methodology/approach – The paper adopts a qualitative case study research involving semi-structured interviews with the key informants to understand the evolving role of resource allocation the study investigates the budgetary processes in a metropolitan city council. Findings – The traditional role of budget has changed to a more active and visible instrument in explaining the effectiveness and efficiency in the use and allocation of resources. Budgets have been given a central role in the management of local government finances. The reform process in New Zealand has enabled local government organizations to organize...