Siriyama Kanthi Herath

Board characteristics and corporate value: evidence from Thailand

Purpose – This paper aims to examine the influence of corporate board structure on corporate value.Design/methodology/approach – The data were collected on a sample of 245 Thai non‐financial listed companies to examine the effect of board structure on firm performance.Findings – The results show that neither independent directors nor grey directors are the significant determinants of improving firm value.Research limitations/implications – This research was confined to 245 Thai non‐financial listed companies. It would be useful to replicate it using larger samples under different country settings.Practical implications – The findings provide guidance to top managers in deciding the Board structure as corporate value is also grounded in corporate board structure.Originality/value – The paper provides far reaching implications for corporate managers about the relationship between Board characteristics and corporate value.

Influence of ownership structure and corporate performance precrisis: evidence from Thailand

This study examines the effect of ownership structure on corporate performance of Thai non-financial firms between 1993 and 1996. The ownership structure is considered as: 1. concentrated ownership, 2. different types of concentrated ownership and 3. managerial ownership. It adopted Market Returns (MR) and accounting ratios as measures of performance. It reports that there is a positive association between concentrated ownership and firm performance. The results show that different types of concentrated ownership have positive relationships to performance measures. It, however, does not find any evidence to support the existence of a non-linear relationship between managerial ownership and firm performance.

Standard costing in Japanese firms: Reexamination of its significance in the new manufacturing environment

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to review literature on standard costing in Japanese manufacturing environment. It examines the changes in the manufacturing environment in Japan that has lowered the significance of standard costing in Japanese firms and investigates the current level of its applicability in Japanese firms.Design/methodology/approach – The paper systematically categorizes the relevant literature and reviews it methodologically.Findings – The paper finds that standard costing is still being used by a large number of firms both in developing and developed countries. Overall, the research suggests that the importance of standard costing has not declined to such a low level despite the technological changes. In Japan standard costing is still used for different purposes despite its apparent weaknesses.Research limitations/implications – This is not an empirical investigation of standard costing in Japanese manufacturing firms.Originality/value – The paper will be useful to researchers, ...

Improving efficiency and accountability: a case study on outsourcing strategies in higher education in Sri Lanka

Less developed countries (LDCs) have given increasing emphasis to reduce the role of the government and to reform public sector management by adopting business-like management practices. Public sector reforms in Sri Lanka have been an interesting strategic initiative in the attempt to achieve enhanced efficiency, effectiveness and accountability. Privatisation is one major form of such reforms. This research reports the findings of a case study on outsourcing at a university. Motivations for outsourcing include cost reductions and budgetary constraints, expected improvement in service quality, lack of skilled staff and government regulations. Some limitations of outsourcing are lack of mutual understanding between the user and contractor, lack of awareness of users on the level of service, monopoly of the service, increased costs and reduced employee motivation. The research concludes that through careful management and partnership with outsourcing companies, universities can achieve improved levels of service and cost savings from outsourcing.

Mission statements and company financial performance revisited

The purpose of this research was to explore the components in the content of mission statements and investigate the impact of such statements on company performance. Both qualitative and quantitative approaches were used to explore the mission statements and their impact on performance respectively. Data were obtained from the companies listed in Colombo Security Exchange in Sri Lanka. The results revealed that self-concept, concern for survival, and company products and services are predominant in the contents of mission statements. Moreover, considerable attention is paid to include a staff/employee component in the contents of current mission statements. Finally, it was found that the presence of a mission statement has no impact on company performance. Therefore, managers must be aware that these dominating components when crafting their mission statements.

A framework for analysing the roles of management control systems in creating competitive advantage

The purpose of this paper is to highlight the importance of the roles of management control systems in creating competitive advantage and present a framework for its measurement. A literature review was conducted on management control systems, competitive strategy, budgetary control systems and competitive advantage. Various components of management control systems were explored. Based on the insights gained, a conceptual framework for the measurement of the roles of management control systems in creating competitive advantage is presented. The paper presents a conceptual framework of competitive advantage using management control systems. The development of a framework for assessing the roles of management control in creating competitive advantage is an attempt to contribute to a relatively less explored area. This research is expected to motivate researchers to work in this area. This framework will be beneficial to researchers and practicing managers in identification of opportunities for improvements in management control systems and gaining and sustaining competitive advantage. This paper explores research in a less explored area and offers a framework to help researchers and practitioners in providing a direction for creating and sustaining competitive advantage.

Adoptability of Japanese management practices in Sri Lankan industry

The effectiveness of Japanese management practices (JMPs) is often referred to as a major reason for Japans economic miracle. In recent years, several countries also have achieved remarkable results by adopting some JMPs in their manufacturing organisations. Through the overview of an Indian experience, this paper attempts to examine how Sri Lankan industrialists can benefit from adopting JMPs in their organisations. It is suggested that JMPs, if properly adopted, can accelerate industrial development in Sri Lanka by contributing effectively towards achieving low cost, superior quality and high productivity.

Why Not Accounting and Finance: An African American Perspective.

ABSTRACT The authors investigated the role of influence factors and information sources why African Americans choose or do not choose a career in accounting or finance. The most important factor was career-based occupational growth. Students were more deeply influenced by information on the universitys website than any other media source. The findings will provide useful insights for the universitys administrators, and accounting and finance professional bodies in formulating strategies to promote accounting and finance careers.

A review of advanced pricing agreement recommendations

This paper is centred on the advanced pricing agreements (APAs). The increasing globalisation has created many challenges for multinational enterprises (MNEs) and among these are taxation and accounting related issues. Transfer pricing issues have become a major international taxation issue in recent years as MNEs can easily manipulate their transfer prices to avoid taxes. Tax avoidance by multinational companies has become a serious problem for many governments. The aim of this paper is to examine the use of advance pricing agreements (APAs) in transfer pricing and to explore the recommendations suggested by scholars in using past performance to benchmark transfer prices.

Understanding international financial reporting standards (IFRS): a review and evaluation of IFRS research

This paper is centred on the research related to international financial reporting standards (IFRS). IFRS are of great usefulness for countries which do not have a national standards setting body as the preparation of accounting standards involves considerable cost and, it would not be economical for each country to have a separate standard setting process. This research is expected to serve as a guide in understanding the standards reported within the IFRS. The major purpose of this research is to survey the IFRS-related research literature published during the period from 2000 and 2009. The survey suggests that a wide range of topic areas has been covered by the selected research studies. This learning can be incorporated in revising curricula related to international financial reporting.