Russell Craig

Firm‐specific determinants of intangibles reporting: evidence from the Portuguese stock market

Purpose – This paper seeks to identify factors that influence the voluntary disclosure of intangibles information in annual reports of Portuguese listed companies.Design/methodology/approach – An index of the voluntary disclosure of intangibles is constructed based on analysis of the Management Report and Chairmans Letter of all 56 companies listed on Euronext Lisbon at 31 December 2003. Several hypotheses about associations between that index and eight firm‐specific variables are tested.Findings – The voluntary reporting of intangibles is found to be influenced significantly by size, ownership concentration, type of auditor, industry and listing status in univariate analysis; and by size, industry, type of auditor, and ownership concentration (and listing status to a lesser extent) in multivariate analyses.Research limitations/implications – This study focuses on annual reports only, and is cross‐sectional. The use of content analysis and the subjective judgment involved in constructing the index cannot...

Corporate Accounting Disclosure in ASEAN

This article analyses corporate annual report disclosure practices in five ASEAN countries: Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines and Thailand. The purpose is twofold. First, to ascertain the extent, pattern and nature of corporate disclosure in ASEAN. Second, to reveal whether existing disclosure requirements would be conducive to accounting harmonisation in the ASEAN region. Data sources are the annual reports of 145 public companies listed on ASEAN stock exchanges, and disclosure requirements in companies legislation and stock market regulations. A disclosure checklist and a model are used to analyse disclosure practices. The results reinforce and extend extant international studies of disclosure practices. They are thought likely to benefit those seeking to operate public companies in ASEAN and those contemplating accounting harmonisation in ASEAN.

The transformational leader as pedagogue, physician, architect, commander, and saint: Five root metaphors in Jack Welch's letters to stockholders of General Electric

We analyse the corpus of CEO letters to stockholders that were signed by a widely revered business leader, Jack Welch, during his tenure as CEO of the General Electric Company [GE], 1981—2000. Our discussion is located within theory pertaining to transformational leadership. We examine Welchs language from the standpoint of how transformational leadership can be conceived as a rhetorical artefact of one-sided dialogue emanating from a powerful leader. We give particular attention to the saturation of Welchs discourse with metaphors, and argue that metaphors illuminate how transformational leadership and the accompanying construct of charisma manifest themselves in practice. Five root metaphors that heightened Welchs persuasive and rhetorical impact on his audience are identified and discussed: Welch as pedagogue , physician, architect, commander and saint . We advocate greater awareness of the rhetorical techniques employed by transformational leaders in attempts to broker compliance with their views.

Risk-related disclosures by non-finance companies: Portuguese practices and disclosure characteristics

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to assess the risk-related disclosure (RRD) practices in annual reports for 2005 Portuguese companies in the non-finance sector. Design/methodology/approach - The paper conducts a content analysis of a sample of 81 companies (42 listed and 39 unlisted). In considering corporate governance effects, the sample is reduced to the 42 listed companies that are required to disclose a corporate governance report. Findings - Implementation of IAS/IFRS and the European Unions Modernisation Directive in 2005 did not affect the quantity and quality of RRD positively. Disclosures are generic, qualitative and backward-looking. Public visibility (as assessed by size and environmental sensitivity) is a crucial influence in explaining RRD: companies appear to manage their reputation through disclosure of risk-related information. Agency costs associated with leverage are important influences also. In listed companies, the presence of independent directors improves the level of RRD. Research limitations/implications - Content analysis does not allow readily for in-depth qualitative inquiry. The coding instrument is subject to coder bias. Information about risk can be provided in sources other than annual reports. The study is confined to one year/one country and pre-dates the global financial crisis (GFC) (2008) and the implementation of IFRS 7 (2007). Originality/value - The results point to the desirability of enhancing accountability by mandating further disclosure of substantive and relevant risk-related information in company annual reports. The RRD observed are shown to be explained by a confluence of agency theory, legitimacy theory and resources-based perspectives.

Accountability of accounting educators and the rhythm of the university: resistance strategies for postmodern blues

This paper conducts a wide-ranging and critical interpretative review of the accountability of university accounting educators. The ‘idea’ of the university is reviewed briefly. Particular attention is given to analysing the implication of accounting and auditing in the ravaging of universities; and to the effect of the market model on what we teach, how we teach and how we ought to discharge our accountability, as educators, to society. We explore the implications of regarding ‘university accountability’ as ideograph and persuasive definition and draw upon Whitehead (1929/1957) to propose a re definition of the descriptive meaning of ‘university accountability’. Whereas the principal focus is discipline-specific (accounting education), the central thesis and the themes pursued have strong relevance for university educators in all disciplines. We reflect upon four interrelated contemporary issues affecting accounting educators: globalization, market force hysteria, metaphor and the university as a market-driven business, and Internet technology. We contend that accounting education should focus less on technical menus and more on social critique; argue that the response of accounting educators to the pedagogical demands of the Internet age has been inadequate; and profess the view that accounting educators might better discharge their accountability by adopting an approach to curriculum development and education which is akin to critical action learning.

The deployment of accounting-related rhetoric in the prelude to a privatization

This paper addresses the discursive struggle surrounding the privatization of Canadian National Railway (CN). It analyses aspects of the way in which accounting language, concepts and information were deployed by Paul Tellier, CEO of CN in the two and a half years prior to the formal announcement, in February 1995, that the Canadian Government intended to privatize CN. Particular focus is applied to the text of Telliers articles in CNs monthly internal employee newspaper. The paper highlights the potential for accounting to be implicated in constructing a “privatization mentality” and in persuading employees to accept a change in organizational orientation and culture. The study finds that the language and technical features of accounting were exploited in the prelude to privatization to help sustain the economic wisdom of a privatization decision.

Scholarship in university business schools – Cardinal Newman, creeping corporatism and farewell to the “disturber of the peace”?

This paper was stimulated by the chilling vision of the corporate university described by Moore and touted by numerous others. It exposes the ways in which Newman’s The Idea of a University will be abrogated and transformed by corporate universities. Fundamental issues are raised about the nature and purpose of universities and about the roles of its professors and schools of business, especially in a world characterized by “the triumph of the market”. An urgent plea is proferred for broader debate about the place of Corporate Universities in business higher education.

Risk reporting practices by companies in the non finance sector: evidence from Portugal

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to assess the risk-related disclosure (RRD) practices in annual reports for 2005 Portuguese companies in the non-finance sector. Design/methodology/approach - The paper conducts a content analysis of a sample of 81 companies (42 listed and 39 unlisted). In considering corporate governance effects, the sample is reduced to the 42 listed companies that are required to disclose a corporate governance report. Findings - Implementation of IAS/IFRS and the European Unions Modernisation Directive in 2005 did not affect the quantity and quality of RRD positively. Disclosures are generic, qualitative and backward-looking. Public visibility (as assessed by size and environmental sensitivity) is a crucial influence in explaining RRD: companies appear to manage their reputation through disclosure of risk-related information. Agency costs associated with leverage are important influences also. In listed companies, the presence of independent directors improves the level of RRD. Research limitations/implications - Content analysis does not allow readily for in-depth qualitative inquiry. The coding instrument is subject to coder bias. Information about risk can be provided in sources other than annual reports. The study is confined to one year/one country and pre-dates the global financial crisis (GFC) (2008) and the implementation of IFRS 7 (2007). Originality/value - The results point to the desirability of enhancing accountability by mandating further disclosure of substantive and relevant risk-related information in company annual reports. The RRD observed are shown to be explained by a confluence of agency theory, legitimacy theory and resources-based perspectives.

The preparedness of companies to adopt International Financial Reporting Standards: Portuguese evidence

Abstract This paper uses ordinal regression, structural equation modelling, and multivariate analysis techniques to investigate the preparedness to adopt IFRS that was exhibited by listed Portuguese companies in August 2003. We find the level of preparedness was significantly associated with company size, commercial internationalization, audit by a ‘Big 4’ accounting firm, and profitability. Our findings will help to indicate the pre-conditions that are likely to spur lagging companies (and countries) to prepare to implement IFRS.

Guidelines for CEO‐speak: editing the language of corporate leadership

Purpose – The paper highlights the strategic importance of being alert to the power of the language and words used by CEOs in their various communications – their CEO‐speak.Design/methodology/approach – The paper employs a close reading analysis of several contemporary examples of one of the most significant genres of CEO‐speak – the CEOs annual letter to stockholders.Findings – Four perspectives important for understanding corporate strategy are highlighted: the importance of CEO‐speak as a linguistic marker of CEO narcissism; the revealing nature of metaphors chosen by CEOs; the potential rhetorical potency that arises from the way CEO‐speak is framed; and the significance of cultural keywords.Research limitations/implications – Case examples, such as the close readings in this article, possess the strength of specific instance detail and interpretation, and the ostensible weakness arising from interpretation of small samples. But such research may provide for a reframing of conceptual perspectives and...