... POSITIVE ACCOUNTING THEORY, POLITICAL COSTS AND SOCIAL DISCLOSURE ANALYSES: A CRITICAL LOOK* ABSTRACT This paper critically reviews the literature seeking to establish evidence for a positive accounting theory of corporate social disclosures. It carefully traces through the original work of Watts and Zimmerman (1978) showing their concern with the lobbying behaviour of large US oil companies during the 1970s. Such companies were argued to be abusing monopolists and likely targets of selfinterested politicians pursuing wealth transfers in the form of taxes, regulations and other ‘political costs’. Watts and Zimmerman’s reference to “social responsibility” is shown to be a passing remark, and most likely refers to “advocacy advertising”, a widespread practice amongst large US oil companies at that time. Subsequent literature that relies on Watts and Zimmerman to present a case for social disclosures is shown to extend their original arguments. In the process, concern over the “high profits” of companies is shown to diminish, and the notion of political costs is so broadened that it blurs with other social theories of disclosure. Consequently, the positive accounting based social disclosures literature fails to provide distinct arguments for self-interested managers wealth maximising. This paper also shows that the empirical evidence gathered to date in support of a positive accounting theory of social disclosures largely fails in its endeavour. * The author would like to thank...
Words: 11604 - Pages: 47
...136 Positive Accounting Theory and Science JCC Journal of CENTRUM Cathedra ™ Positive Accounting Theory and Science by M. Humayun Kabir Senior Lecturer, Faculty of Business Auckland University of Technology, Auckland, New Zealand Abstract This paper examines the development of positive accounting theory (PAT) and compares it with three standard accounts of science: Popper (1959), Kuhn (1996), and Lakatos (1970). PAT has been one of the most influential accounting research programs during the last four decades. One important reason which Watts & Zimmerman (1986) have used to popularize and legitimize their approach is that their view of accounting theory is the same as that used in science. Thus, it is important to examine how far accounting has been successful in imitating natural science and how the development of PAT compares with the three standard accounts of science. This paper shows that accounting could not emulate the success of natural science. Further, the methodological positions of PAT conform to none of the standard accounts of science. Rather, PAT contains elements of all three. Finally, this paper identifies some methodological gaps in PAT. Keywords: Positive Accounting Theory, Philosophy of Science, Methodological Controversies Acknowledgements I would like to thank two anonymous reviewers of the journal for their helpful comments. Earlier versions of this paper benefited from comments from Lee Parker of the University of South Australia, Keith...
Words: 9637 - Pages: 39
...Critical Perspectives on Accounting (1996) 7 , 409 – 435 RECONSIDERING THE ‘‘SOCIAL’’ IN POSITIVE ACCOUNTING THEORY: THE CASE OF SITE RESTORATION COSTS DEAN NEU AND CYNTHIA SIMMONS University of Calgary This paper seeks to challenge the hegemony of positive accounting theory explanations of managerial behaviour. We argue that the decontextualized perspective of positive accounting theory is limiting and that changing the perspective offers a more complete explanation of behaviour. Starting from the notion of social relations developed by Marx, we reinterpret positive theory variables as proxies for a subset of the social relations in which managers are embedded. From this perspective, a more inclusive explanation of behaviour can be obtained by considering the entire web of social relations that influence behaviour. To demonstrate the ‘‘cash value’’ of a social relations perspective, accounting for site restoration costs is used as an illustration. The results are consistent with a broad social relations perspective. ÷ 1996 Academic Press Limited Introduction ‘‘[I]t is clear there is a relation between firm’s accounting choice and other firm variables, such as leverage and size and the signs of the relations are mostly consistent across studies. Positive accounting research guided the search for empirical regularities and provided explanations for them. To date, there are no systematic alternative sets of explanations for those regularities articulated and tested...
Words: 13164 - Pages: 53
...centered on determining whether the solicited bids provided a fair premium for HFC shareholders. On the other hand, the governance decision required the board to balance its fiduciary responsibility against the original mandate of Milton Hershey to support the Hershey School in perpetuity. The fiduciary responsibility is relatively simple compared with satisfying a broad array of constituents, including the Hershey community, HFC employees, and Pennsylvania’s attorney general. In addition to this teaching note, we provide a variety of teaching supplements to support a discussion of the complex issues presented by the case: • Video footage of the Hershey community and key players in the case • Excel spreadsheets for key case exhibits • Excel spreadsheets for key teaching-note exhibits • Projection-ready copies of case exhibits • Projection-ready copies of teaching-note exhibits All these materials reside on a single CD with a menu format. The videos are particularly useful in bringing to life the stakeholder issues through the statements of Bill Alexander and Richard Zimmerman. Alexander was a successful entrepreneur serving on the trust’s board, and Zimmerman, a...
Words: 7381 - Pages: 30
...Journal of Business Ethics (2009) 88:351–366 DOI 10.1007/s10551-008-9968-9 Ó Springer 2008 Determinants of Corporate Social Responsibility Disclosure Ratings by Spanish Listed Firms Carmelo Reverte ABSTRACT. The aim of this paper is to analyze whether a number of firm and industry characteristics, as well as media exposure, are potential determinants of corporate social responsibility (CSR) disclosure practices by Spanish listed firms. Empirical studies have shown that CSR disclosure activism varies across companies, industries, and time (Gray et al., Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal 8(2), 47–77, 1995; Journal of Business Finance & Accounting 28(3/4), 327–356, 2001; Hackston and Milne, Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal 9(1), 77–108, 1996; Cormier and Magnan, Journal of International Financial Management and Accounting 1(2), 171–195, 2003; Cormier et al., European Accounting Review 14(1), 3–39, 2005), which is usually justified by reference to several theoretical constructs, such as the legitimacy, stakeholder, and agency theories. Our findings evidence that firms with higher CSR ratings present a statistically significant larger size and a higher media exposure, and belong to more environmentally sensitive industries, as compared to firms with lower CSR ratings. However, neither profitability nor leverage seem to explain differences in CSR disclosure practices between Spanish listed firms. The most influential variable for explaining firms’ variation...
Words: 9772 - Pages: 40
...Seventh Edition Accounting for Decision Making and Control Jerold L. Zimmerman University of Rochester To: Conner, Easton, and Jillian ACCOUNTING FOR DECISION MAKING AND CONTROL, SEVENTH EDITION Published by McGraw-Hill, a business unit of The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., 1221 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020. Copyright © 2011 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Previous editions © 2009, 2006, and 2003. No part of this publication may be reproduced or distributed in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written consent of The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., including, but not limited to, in any network or other electronic storage or transmission, or broadcast for distance learning. Some ancillaries, including electronic and print components, may not be available to customers outside the United States. This book is printed on acid-free paper. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 DOW/DOW 1 0 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 ISBN MHID 978-0-07-813672-6 0-07-813672-5 Vice President & Editor-in-Chief: Brent Gordon Vice President of EDP: Sesha Bolisetty Editorial Director: Stewart Mattson Sponsoring Editor: Dick Hercher Marketing Manager: Sankha Basu Editorial Coordinator: Rebecca Mann Project Manager: Erin Melloy Design Coordinator: Brenda A. Rolwes Cover Designer: Studio Montage, St. Louis, Missouri Production Supervisor: Sue Culbertson Media Project Manager: Balaji Sundararaman Compositor: MPS Limited, A Macmillan Company...
Words: 209552 - Pages: 839
...Seventh Edition Accounting for Decision Making and Control Jerold L. Zimmerman University of Rochester To: Conner, Easton, and Jillian ACCOUNTING FOR DECISION MAKING AND CONTROL, SEVENTH EDITION Published by McGraw-Hill, a business unit of The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., 1221 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020. Copyright © 2011 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Previous editions © 2009, 2006, and 2003. No part of this publication may be reproduced or distributed in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written consent of The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., including, but not limited to, in any network or other electronic storage or transmission, or broadcast for distance learning. Some ancillaries, including electronic and print components, may not be available to customers outside the United States. This book is printed on acid-free paper. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 DOW/DOW 1 0 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 ISBN MHID 978-0-07-813672-6 0-07-813672-5 Vice President & Editor-in-Chief: Brent Gordon Vice President of EDP: Sesha Bolisetty Editorial Director: Stewart Mattson Sponsoring Editor: Dick Hercher Marketing Manager: Sankha Basu Editorial Coordinator: Rebecca Mann Project Manager: Erin Melloy Design Coordinator: Brenda A. Rolwes Cover Designer: Studio Montage, St. Louis, Missouri Production Supervisor: Sue Culbertson Media Project Manager: Balaji Sundararaman Compositor: MPS Limited, A Macmillan Company...
Words: 209552 - Pages: 839
...Qklhokn 1 Accounting Theory Paper-8 M. Com. (Final) Directorate of Distance Education Maharshi Dayanand University ROHTAK – 124 001 2 jktuhfr foKku Copyright © 2004, Maharshi Dayanand University, ROHTAK All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means; electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the written permission of the copyright holder. Maharshi Dayanand University ROHTAK – 124 001 Developed & Produced by EXCEL BOOKS PVT. LTD., A-45 Naraina, Phase 1, New Delhi-110028 Qklhokn 3 Contents Chapter 1 Accounting-An Intoduction Chapter 2 The History and Evolution of Accounting Thoughts 23 Chapter 3 Approaches to Accounting Theory 56 Chapter 4 Accounting Postulates, Concepts and Principles 88 Chapter 5 Income Concepts 107 Chapter 6 Revenues, Expenses, Gains and Losses 139 Chapter 7 Valuation of Assets 158 Chapter 8 Liabilities and Equity 177 Chapter 9 Depreciation Accounting and Policy 192 Chapter 10 Inventories and their Valuation 238 Chapter 11 Financial Reporting 277 Chapter 12 Specific Issues in Corporate Reporting 302 Chapter 13 Harmonization of Financial Reporting 323 Chapter 14 Accounting for Price Level Changes 339 Chapter 15 Human Resource Accounting 397 Chapter 16 Financial Engineering:...
Words: 237072 - Pages: 949
...Fundamentals of Network Security John E. Canavan Artech House Boston • London http://www.artechhouse.com Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Canavan, John E. Fundamentals of network security / John E. Canavan. p. cm.—(Artech House telecommunications library) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 1-58053-176-8 (alk. paper) 1. Computer security. 2. Computer networks—Security measures. I. Title. II. Series. QA76.9.A25 C364 2000 005.8—dc21 00-050810 CIP British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data Canavan, John E. Fundamentals of network security.—(Artech House telecommunications library) 1. Computer networks—Security measures I. Title 005.8 1-58053-176-8 Cover design by Yekaterina Ratner Microsoft ® screen shots reprinted by permission from Microsoft Corporation. Netscape Communicator browser window © 1999 Netscape Communications Corporation. Used with permission. Netscape Communications has not authorized, sponsored, endorsed, or approved this publication and is not responsible for its content. Permission to reproduce screen shots from the PGP and Sniffer products has been provided by Network Associates, Inc. Network Associates, PGP, Pretty Good Privacy Sniffer, and Distributed Sniffer System are registered trademarks of Network Associates, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the U.S. and/or other countries. MIT screen shots used with permission. Qualcomm's Eudora screen shots used with permission. Copyright © 2001 ARTECH HOUSE, INC. 685 Canton Street...
Words: 95027 - Pages: 381
