Sujatha Perera

Diffusion of transfer pricing innovation in the context of commercialization--a longitudinal case study of a government trading enterprise

This paper examines the diffusion of transfer pricing as an innovation in a government trading enterprise as it moved from protected monopolistic status to commercialization. Using data from semi-structured interviews and documentation, the paper draws on theories of transfer pricing choice and diffusion of innovation to analyse and explain events surrounding the introduction, abandonment and reintroduction of transfer pricing in the case organization over the ten year period from 1991 to 2000. The study demonstrates the importance of multiple theories and perspectives in understanding how and why management accounting innovations diffuse or not, as well as the importance of focusing on the secondary stage of innovation adoption and on organizational values, norms and past experiences as they affect secondary adoption. The study also provides support for the role of transfer pricing as an accounting mechanism to effect cultural and strategic change in organizations and for the reciprocal relationship between transfer pricing and organizational strategy over time.

Performance Measurement Practices in Small and Medium Size Manufacturing Enterprises in Australia

Abstract This study examines the use of financial and non-financial performance measures in small and medium size manufacturing enterprises (SMEs) in Australia. The paper argues that SMEs in general make greater use of financial than non-financial measures of performance, and also non-owner managed firms make greater use of formal measurement systems than owner-managed firms. This study is based on data collected in 2004 from a survey of 86 manufacturing SMEs and semi-structured interviews conducted with managers in eight SMEs in Western Sydney metropolitan area in Australia. The data were analysed using two sample t-tests, regression analysis and chi-square test. The study found that SMEs place a greater reliance on financial measures of performance, although with increase in size there is a tendency to make more use of non-financial measures. Also, SMEs with non-owner managers make greater use of multiple performance measures than those with owner managers. It also reveals that for planning, control, and decision making purposes, SMEs use information generated from performance measurement systems (PMSs) to varying degrees. Time and resource constraints were noted by the respondents as the main factors that inhibit effective use of PMSs.

Coercive Policy Diffusion in a Developing Country: The Case of Public-Private Partnerships in Sri Lanka

Abstract Over the last two decades, public-private partnership policy has been adopted in developing countries to a lesser degree than in industrialised countries. This paper argues that this policy has been diffused to developing countries like Sri Lanka with coercion from international aid-granting organisations through conditionalities attached to financial assistance. It details the country-specific challenges faced by Sri Lanka in responding to conditionalities as it has sought to implement this policy. Drawing on policy diffusion theory the paper develops a framework to be used in analysing the issues under investigation.

Board involvement in corporate performance: evidence from a developing country

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to provide insights into the understanding of the relationship between board involvement and corporate performance within the context of developing countries. Design/methodology/approach – A number of aspects related to board involvement, including board’s shareholdings, frequency of board meetings, availability of independent board committees, board size, CEO duality, and CEO is being a promoter, were examined in order to explore their influence on corporate performance measured in terms of earnings per share. The study mainly draws on agency theory, and is supplemented by resource dependence and stewardship theories. Multiple regression analysis is utilized to analyze the data gathered from a sample of 212 publicly listed companies in 20 industries in the Colombo Stock Exchange in Sri Lanka. Findings – Among the aspects of board involvement considered, board’s shareholdings, board meetings frequency, independent committees, and CEO duality showed a positive influen...

Management controls for minimising risk in public-private partnerships in a developing country: Evidence from Sri Lanka

Purpose The purpose of the study is to examine the use of management controls by a public partner to minimise risks associated with a public-private partnership (PPP) in a developing country. Design/methodology/approach Using case study method, management controls used in a power project formed as a PPP are examined based on data gathered from semi-structured interviews and documentary analysis. Findings The study reveals that the public partner of the PPP used multiple controls depending on the nature of risks in different phases of the project. While bureaucratic control was the predominantly used control pattern throughout the three phases (namely, selecting, building and operating) of the PPP, trust-based controls also played an important role. Market controls on the other hand played, somewhat, a nominal role, particularly in the selecting phase of the project. The study also highlights the problematic nature of forming PPPs in developing countries despite the various benefits associated with such organisational arrangements. Additionally, the study provides insights into how certain contextual features of developing countries affect the way in which controls are applied. Practical implications The insights provided in this paper would be beneficial to policy makers, in developing countries in particular, when making decisions in relation to implementation, management and risk control of PPPs. Originality/value This study makes an original contribution to the existing literature on PPPs by examining the way in which management controls are used to minimise risk in a PPP in a developing country.

The Role and status of accounting and accountants in an Australian Government Trading Enterprise : a stakeholder approach

This paper uses a stakeholder approach to examine how the role of accounting and the status of accountants changed over a 30 year period (1970 to 2000) in a major Australian government trading enterprise. Data are gathered from semi‐structured interviews with organizational participants and documentation. The study provides support for the importance of stakeholders in shaping organizational processes and practices, including accounting practices, and for the effects of changes in stakeholder constituency and agenda on such practices. The study also provides evidence of the roles accounting and accountants may play in implementing a stakeholder agenda, including both instrumental and symbolic roles, and how the status of accountants may rise and fall commensurate with those roles.

The impact of contextual changes on management accounting practices: evidence from a government trading enterprise in Australia

This paper examines the way in which management accounting practices in a government trading enterprise (GTE) changed in conjunction with the changes in the organisations goals, structure and culture when the organisation was undergoing public sector reforms. Data for the study were gathered from multiple sources including semi-structured interviews and documentary analysis. The study reveals that change in the public sector environment in the late 1980s and 1990s stimulated significant reform efforts in the case study organisation but with varying outcomes. While some of the resulting changes evolved slowly but steadily, others were implemented with some difficulty. Certain reforms failed to take root and were completely abandoned. The study also suggests that the traditional culture of the organisation and the dynamic nature of the structural changes, to a large extent, subdued the effective adaptation of management accounting practices.

The role of accounting in corporate governance in a developing country: institutional political economy perspective

Conceptualisation of corporate governance in mainstream accounting research seems to be based on the assumption of pure economic type governance which is characterised by control systems and political neutrality. This study examines institutional and socio-political dynamics of the role of accounting in corporate governance in a government-owned commercial bank in a developing country. Using data from semi-structured interviews and document analysis, the study draws on the theory of institutional political economy to examine the socio-political and institutional complexities associated with using accounting as a mechanism of governance. Findings reveal that although the bank meticulously complied with various professional and regulatory requirements in internal and external reporting in response to normative, coercive and mimetic pressures, such compliance was mainly to gain legitimacy, appearance and societys support, rather than to enhance good governance. Further, the paper clearly demonstrates the political complexity of corporate governance in developing countries and how accounting becomes less effective within such political complexities.