Ralph W. Adler

Exploring the reliability of social and environmental disclosures content analysis

This paper reports the results of an exploratory study of inter‐coder reliability of annual report social and environmental disclosures content analysis. Using the sentence‐based coding instruments and decision rules from Hackston and Milne (1996), this study reports the co‐agreement levels reached by three coders over five rounds of testing 49 annual reports. The study also provides a commentary on the implications of formal reliability analysis for past and future social and environmental disclosures content analyses, and the complexities of formal reliability measurement. The overall findings suggest that the coded output from inexperienced coders using the Hackston and Milne approach with little or no prior training can be relied on for aggregate total disclosures analysis. For more detailed sub‐category analysis, however, the findings suggest a period of training for the less experienced coders with at least 20 reports appears necessary before their coded output could be relied on.

Improving the quality of accounting students' learning through action-oriented learning tasks

This paper argues that the basis for change in accounting education to more active student involvement is much broader than the need to supply the accounting professions with graduates who possess wider skills and competencies. Active student engagement, in fact, is seen by several educationalists as an essential ingredient to all student learning and the developing of lifelong learning skills. Drawing from our own experiences, the paper illustrates how problem-based and peer-assisted learning tasks can help promote many of the skills and competencies so desired by educationalists, professions, employers and universities alike. The paper also provides student feedback on the effectiveness of these learning tasks in helping to develop those attitudes, skills, and knowledge. Consistent with much of the evidence in the general education literature, and in comparison with more traditional lecture-tutorial based courses, the student feedback overwhelmingly supports the use of action-oriented learning tasks.

Advanced Management Accounting Techniques in Manufacturing: Utilization, Benefits, and Barriers to Implementation

Advanced management accounting techniques were developed to provide information appropriate for decision making in changing internal and external environments. However, studies in the US and UK demonstrated that firms are slow to adopt such techniques. To examine whether and why this reluctance exists, manufacturers? adoption and utilization of advanced accounting techniques, plus perceived barriers to adoption, were examined. Data were collected from 165 New Zealand manufacturing sites, selected as representative of organizations facing major structural reform and environmental change, hence likely candidates for accounting system rejuvenation. Adoption, utilization, combinations of techniques, trends, perceived benefits, and barriers to adoption are discussed.

Student-led and teacher-led case presentations: empirical evidence about learning styles in an accounting course

Educators and employers alike have made repeated calls for developing graduates who are active, interdependent, and independent learners. While the use of business case studies has been a frequently promoted method for achieving this objective, there is a dearth of information about how best to use the case study method, i.e. should the method be student- or teacher-led? The findings from this study suggest that the choice is far from trivial. Teacher-led cases, which were associated with low levels of student involvement in and responsibility for the case study, resulted in poorly balanced learners. According to learning style theory, these students are less capable of carrying out plans and tasks and show less proclivity for becoming involved in new experiences. Such a finding reinforces Libbys (Issues in Accounting Education 6(2), 193–213, 1991) view that the presence of cases is not the panacea to enhancing generic learning skills. Rather, it is how the case studies are used and the level of student involvement that is of vital importance.

The Influence of Business Case Studies on Learning Styles: An Empirical Investigation

Abstract The use of business case studies has been promoted frequently as a method for providing realistic learning scenarios and for developing accounting graduates who are active and independent learners. This article extends a recent study into the use of case studies (Adler et al. 2004, Accounting Education: an international journal, 13(2), 213–229). In the light of evidence that indicated that exposure alone to business case studies did not lead to balanced learning styles, the researchers replicated the study a year later, with two changes. The survey was administered at a later point in the particular accounting course, and the course itself occurred later in the academic year. This gave the opportunity to test for a longer treatment time, with students who had more experience of university study. The results of the second survey confirm and extend those of the first, namely, that a lack of active involvement in cases results in less balanced learning styles. Further, even when students have experienced the benefits of active participation, the suspension of such involvement also leads to an erosion of learning style balance. That is, not only is it important to consider how case involvement occurs, it is also necessary to maintain business case activity. The result of non-involvement is a stronger tendency to acquire information from theoretical bases rather than from concrete experience. The fact that the present survey occurred later in the management accounting programme had no discernible effect on the results.

Translating ideals into practice: an examination of international accounting bodies' calls for curriculum changes and New Zealand tertiary institutions' assessment methods

This paper reveals that the process–oriented learning approaches prescribed for accounting education by various international accounting bodies (e.g., Accounting Education Change Commission), and most recently endorsed by the New Zealand Society of Accountants in its 1994 publication, Admissions Policy, are currently underused at New Zealand tertiary institutions. While reasons for this absence may lie with accounting educators themselves, the New Zealand Society of Accountants also seems partly responsible. In particular, the Societys newly revised admissions policies are silent on the need for process–oriented learning approaches in undergraduate accounting curricula. A greater commitment by the Society to encourage the use of active learning techniques in undergraduate accounting programmes, perhaps by expanding its accreditation review procedures to include the process by which learning occurs, is needed.

Why DCF capital budgeting is bad for business and why business schools should stop teaching it

As educators, we are constantly making decisions about course content. Each year, as we begin our preparations for writing our new or updated course outlines, such questions as what topics to include, modify, or exclude, are contemplated and re-contemplated. When making these decisions, an implicit or explicit decision is made on what is or is not ‘essential.’ Exactly what constitutes an essential topic derives partly from what is mandated, partly from what is institutionalised, and partly from what twinkles or pales ‘in the eye of the beholder.’ Topic mandates primarily come from the professional accounting bodies with which university accounting departments maintain links. These professional bodies exert a strong influence on course content. Any university accounting department that hopes to attain/retain the professional body’s accreditation must show evidence that it is meeting the Body of Knowledge espoused by and generally encapsulated in the professional body’s course outline(s). The obvious consequence is that a substantial amount of the course content is mandated and driven by the professional bodies. Institutionalization serves to guide course content in two main ways. First, educators, either through a process of formal or informal benchmarking, frequently monitor developments in the course topic coverage of their peers and colleagues. Agreement converges around some belief about ‘best practice,’ which is then accepted and adopted into the course content. A second way in which institutionalization occurs is through textbook adoption. When a course textbook is specified, a resulting commitment is made to a set of topics. The fact that there are usually a small number of popular textbooks, featuring a similar set of topics, helps fuel the process of institutionalization. The educator comprises the third influence on course content. The typical educator’s response to the field of accounting’s expanding subject diversity and technical complexity is to add topics to his/her course outlines. Adler and Milne’s (1997) study showed that educators displayed a seemingly irresistible urge to augment course topics. In particular, 50% of the educators they interviewed, and 41% of the educators to whom they sent a mailed questionnaire stated they needed to expand course content. Accounting Education: an international journal Vol. 15, No. 1, 3–10, March 2006

Increasing learner-control and reflection: towards learning-to-learn in an undergraduate management accounting course

The accounting education literature is replete with recommendations that accounting programmes stop relying on knowledge-based approaches to learning and begin developing students who are capable of learning-to-learn. Absent from this literature, however, is a clear description of what learning-to-learn means and practical advice on how it can be implemented in the classroom. This paper seeks to redress these omissions. The first part of the paper sheds further light on learning-to-learn by linking the term with the education literatures well established and extensively researched concept of lifelong learning. The latter part of the paper illustrates how the learning-to-learn approach has been promoted in an undergraduate management accounting course. It is hoped that a description of how the course operates can serve as a guide for those accounting educators who are interested in creating a classroom environment that is conducive to the learning-to-learn approach.

Transfer pricing for world-class manufacturing

Abstract The incorporation of strategic considerations into transfer pricing decisions has been largely overlooked. This paper proposes that the transferred goods position along the product life-cycle continuum, the significance of the process technology used to manufacture the product and the firms diversification strategy for its divisions should be considered when setting transfer prices. A model that links together these three strategic issues with recommended transfer pricing methods is provided. The paper then proceeds to explain the linkages in the model and discusses the models implications for practising managers.

United Nations Decade on Biodiversity: A study of the reporting practices of the Australian mining industry

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to explore the biodiversity reporting practices and trends of the top 50 Australian mining companies before and after the United Nations (UN) declared the period 2011-2020 as the “Decade on Biodiversity”. Design/methodology/approach - Using content analysis and interviews, this study compares the extent and type of biodiversity disclosures made by the Australian Stock Exchange’s top 50 metals and mining companies both before and after the UN’s “Decade on Biodiversity” declaration in 2010. Findings - A significant increase in the amount of biodiversity reporting is observed between the 2010 fiscal year preceding the UN’s declaration and the 2012 and 2013 fiscal years following the declaration. The findings reveal, however, that the extent of biodiversity reporting is quite variable, with some companies showing substantial increases in their biodiversity reporting and others showing modest or no increases. In particular, the larger companies in the sample showed a statistically significant increase in their disclosures on biodiversity in 2013 compared with 2010, while the increase in biodiversity disclosures by smaller companies was not significant. While interviewees spoke about their companies being more open and transparent, the biodiversity information that is being reported would not enable external parties to assess the company’s biodiversity performance. Research limitations/implications - To minimise an organisation’s use of biodiversity reporting as an impression management tool, it is suggested that biodiversity reporting should be more impact based and organisations should provide a report of their activities and their direct and tangible impacts on short-term and long-term biodiversity in and around their operating sites. A possible limitation of the present study pertains to its focus on companies’ voluntary disclosures made in their annual reports and sustainability reports, as opposed to other possible formal or even informal disclosure mediums. Social implications - Australia is one of 17 mega-diverse wildlife countries in the world. Finding ways to support the country’s biodiversity framework and strategy are crucial to this continued status. Due to the mining industry’s significant impact on Australia’s biodiversity, a strong need exists for biodiversity reporting by this industry. Furthermore, this reporting should be provided on a site-by-site basis. At present, the reporting aggregation typically conducted by mining companies produces obscure information that is neither useful for stakeholders who are impacted by the mining companies’ activities nor for policymakers who are vested with responsibility for protecting and sustaining the world’s biodiversity. Originality/value - This study examines the biodiversity reporting and discourse practices of mining companies in Australia and develops a 50-item biodiversity reporting index to measure the biodiversity reporting practices.