Rowena Sinclair

Measuring performance in the third sector

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to set the scene for this special issue by synthesising the vast array of literature on performance measurement to examine what constitutes performance measurement, and why it is important for the third sector. It also analyses key issues of performance measurement and introduces the papers that comprise this special issue of Qualitative Research in Accounting & Management. Design/methodology/approach – This paper takes the form of a literature review. The authors draw on extensive research on performance measurement from a diverse range of disciplines to identify and explore key definitions, opportunities and challenges with performance measurement in the third sector. Findings – Economic/financial efficiency approaches, programme theories, strategic and participatory approaches all present opportunities and challenges when measuring performance in the third sector. The papers in this special issue demonstrate the manner in which different organisations have dealt w...

Bridging the gap between academia and standard setters

Purpose This commissioned paper reviews literature outlining reasons for a perceived gap between academics and standard setters as policy makers. The aim of this paper is to emphasise how academics and standard setters can collaborate on accounting and audit research and assist standard setters to act in the public interest. Design/methodology/approach The approach is primarily a literature and document review of relevant issues, summarising New Zealand’s standard setting arrangements, providing examples of successful policy-changing research, and making recommendations on future research topics. Findings Despite the long-held views of a gap between academic researchers and standard setters, increasingly standard setters utilise research and request input from academics in their deliberations. Standard setters can increase the likelihood of relevant research by promoting critical issues for research and connecting their practitioner networks with academics. Academics can bridge the gap by selecting topics of mutual interest and by communicating their findings extensively and well. Practical implications Increasing collaboration should lead to better accounting and audit standards. Originality/value This paper highlights matters of concern in the New Zealand standard setting environment where there is a strategic objective to undertake research.

Components of quality in distance education

As distance education has become popular with students, educational institutions have seen it as a chance to increase their quality/quantity trade-off. This gives rise to the potential for ‘digital diploma mills’. However, distance education students have the freedom to move and will if the quality, in their eyes, deteriorates. Potential students therefore need a reliable indicator of quality that enables them to navigate the huge number of distance education courses available.

Decision-Usefulness and Stewardship As Conceptual Framework Objectives: Continuing Challenges

While, since 2006, the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) has held decision-usefulness to be the primary objective of financial reporting, constituents have consistently called for stewardship/accountability to be a second objective. Such strong lobbying has led the IASB to amend the objectives of financial reporting by increasing the prominence of stewardship, favoured by many European constituents. However, these two objectives have different theoretical bases and the potential users have different needs. Two different objectives should result, at times, in different presentation and measurement. The purpose of this paper is to project the implications if the IASB prioritizes dual objectives (decision-usefulness and stewardship) for general purpose financial reporting of both monetary and non-monetary information. We analyse specific potential conflicts in extant financial reporting standards. A potential solution to the IASB’s dilemma is to balance constituents’ demands by explicitly acknowledging which users’ needs are being pursued and why.

Perspectives of Accountability in Charities in New Zealand

This study identifies three perspectives of accountability in charitable organizations: agency, stewardship, and stakeholder in relation to the availability of financial information. To examine current accountability practices, 75 interviews and informal conversations were undertaken with participants in charities in New Zealand. Many of the interviewees operated under some form of stewardship milieu. They regarded the need to discharge accountability by providing financial information as a low priority. Education may provide a way to resolve this issue by advancing stakeholders’ perspectives of accountability. This could result in reduced support for charities that do not uphold a certain standard of financial information.