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Behavioral research in accounting deals with the behavior of accountants. As such, it uses accounting subjects. Accounting subjects are very difficult to come by because of the nature of the accounting environment. First, professional accountants operate in a pressured environment in which they have little or no time to participate in behavioral research. Second, professional accountants operate in an environment of high service charges and have little or no interest in participating in behavioral experiments free or for a token remuneration. Third, professional accountants are usually inaccessible because behavioral researchers have few or no opportunities for contacts within a CPA firm. Finally, professional accountants operate in the real world in which they perceive behavioral research as too abstract to have practical value for them to participate in. Given the difficulties in getting accounting subjects, behavioral researchers often lament that the pool of available accounting subjects is very small. As such, they cannot rely on conventional research strategies that assume, among other things, normal distribution and homogeneity of variances. In this paper, we suggest a broad range of research strategies including sampling, design, measurement, and analysis to deal specifically with a very small pool of available accounting subjects. We cite some prior behavioral accounting studies and refer to some statistic textbooks deemed best for the application of these research strategies. Our suggestions should benefit anyone doing behavioral research in accounting.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the academic performance of students in their first full year of accounting at Monash University to determine the variability in the marks in the second accounting subject that can be explained by performance in the first. Monash University has a number of campuses in Australia and internationally, and analysis is also undertaken on the variability by campus.

Data for this paper are obtained from the end of semester marks in the first and second accounting subject. The variability in the marks is analysed using the co‐efficient of determination.

The findings show there is some relationship between the marks obtained in first two accounting subjects, however the results show that the variability in the marks in the second subject that can be explained by the knowledge in the first subject accounts for between 25 and 28 per cent. The analysis by campus also shows wide discrepancy.

The results of this paper have implications for academics teaching the first two introductory subjects and students.

While the advantage of prior knowledge is well documented, this paper provides more insight on the conflicting research findings on the value of the prior knowledge of the first accounting subject on the second. It also provides a statistical measure of that accounts for the variability. The paper also examines the results of students in the first and second accounting subject at various campuses as very little prior research has addressed this issue.

This study aims to examine whether accounting knowledge is associated with a decision maker's tendency to ignore value added information in wealth measurement and distribution decisions.

A between‐subjects laboratory experiment was employed. Subjects prepared accounting reports that measured and distributed an entity's wealth based upon given accounting data. Accounting knowledge was measured as: a discrete variable by classifying subjects into high‐, low‐ and no‐accounting knowledge groups, and a continuous variable by classifying subjects on the number of accounting courses completed.

Findings provide empirical evidence that high levels of accounting knowledge interferes with a decision maker's ability to incorporate value added information (versus accounting profit) in wealth measurement and distribution decisions.

This experiment used subjects from the USA where the production and disclosure of a value added report is not mandated. The results should be tested in a country where the statement of value added is routinely produced, disclosed and audited.

This study shows the dysfunctional effect of accounting knowledge which appears to hinder performance in wealth measurement and distribution decisions.

This is the first attempt to explain why decision makers may ignore value added information in wealth measurement tasks and distribution decisions by focusing on the role of knowledge structures.

This study aims to investigate two issues inherent in accounting judgements: the directional influence of uncertainty expressions and how they might positively or negatively affect accounting judgements and the foreign-language effect (FLE), which refers to the reduction of judgement bias that occurs when an accounting judgement is made in one’s foreign language. This study examines both issues in the context of accounting judgements made in Chinese and English languages.

This study conducted two experiments. The first experiment applied a 2 × 2 between-subject research design, and the second experiment adopted a 2 × 2 within-subject approach.

The overall results revealed that directionality biases existed in the exercise of accounting judgement in subjects’ native and foreign languages. However, when the language was switched from the subjects’ native tongue to a foreign language, overall directionality biases are reduced.

This study suggests that the use of native and non-native languages can have unintended consequences on accounting judgements. However, because of the limitations of using students as proxies for professionals and applying self-assessed language scales, the literature would benefit from future research that extends the subject profile to professional accountants and that assesses language skills more objectively.

This study contributes to the literature on cross-lingual accounting, both theoretically and methodologically. It also extends the FLE theory to an accounting context, providing insights on how language is involved in judgements concerning uncertainty expressions.

The unavailability of practitioners is one of the disturbing realities that often prevent the use of experimental methods in accounting research. The availability of pragmatic alternatives to accounting practitioners demands that researchers explore such alternatives fully before conducting expensive experiments with practitioners. However, the use of students as surrogates for non‐students has been a controversial issue and this has led to an under‐utilization of the experimental method in management accounting research. Recent research has warned that relying solely on practitioners as subjects in experimental methods may result in “negative externalities”. The purpose of this paper is to inquire in to the feasibility of using student subjects in behavioral accounting research so that better judgments can be made about the benefits and dangers of using students in experiments.

The paper relies on a review and synthesis of the literature on the student surrogate debate.

The paper shows that accounting students may be adequate surrogates for practitioners in many decision‐making experiments.

The paper demonstrates that maintaining the experimental realism of a study and replications are more important than the type of subject when generalizing results.

The paper provides an analysis and synthesis of literature that will enable researchers to make sound judgments about the selection of subjects for experiments.

This paper aims to elaborate the concepts of boundary subjects and boundary objects in constructing and communicating relevant accounting facts for managing product development (PD). Boundary subjects as reflective actors benefit effective accounting enactment, by building a shared understanding about different actors’ roles and information needs, and by helping to respond to these needs with new boundary objects.

The paper uses a longitudinal interventionist case study of a machinery manufacturer. The focus of this case study was the production ramp-up phase at the end of a PD program. Different actors’ needs were first collected and elaborated by interventionist researchers (boundary subjects). Then accounting prototypes (boundary objects) provided new means of communication.

The findings show that dealing with boundaries is crucial in accounting development. The role of boundary subjects was fundamental in the process of choosing, constructing, elaborating and communicating accounting facts. During this process, accounting prototypes integrated new accounting facts, the boundary subjects mitigated the boundaries and the boundary objects focused and restricted communication about accounting facts.

The paper tests the pragmatic constructivism approach by examining accounting enactment under uncertainty and ambiguity. The study refines pragmatic constructivism in terms of boundaries, boundary subjects as actors and boundary objects.

The intentional use of boundary subjects and objects as communication platform could push a more active inclusion of business controllers as active business partners.

The paper contributes to the literature on accounting development by highlighting the use of boundary subjects and boundary objects as fundamental mechanisms in constructing and communicating accounting facts.

During the 1990s the value to an intending professional accountant of undertaking a period of liberal (general) studies was promoted internationally by a number of individuals and organisations, including the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) and the New Zealand Institute of Chartered Accountants (the “Institute”). The Institute significantly changed its admissions policy for Chartered Accountants in 1996 and one change was to require four years of degree level study with a compulsory liberal studies component. This study surveys the perceptions of New Zealand accounting practitioners on the impact of this compulsory liberal component. The results of this study demonstrate that there is little support from accounting practitioners for IFAC’s claim that liberal education “can contribute significantly to the acquisition of professional skills”, including intellectual, personal and communication skills. In addition, the majority of respondents did not perceive any improvements in the professional skills of the staff that had qualified under the Institute’s current admissions policy. However, any perceived improvements were mainly attributed to the Institute’s admissions policy change. Notwithstanding the lack of support for the assertion that liberal education develops professional skills, there is a strong belief by respondents in the value of liberal education for intending professional accountants.

This paper reports on the introduction of a scheme based on the principles of Supplemental Instruction into the accounting curriculum at the University of New South Wales, Australia. Supplemental Instruction is argued to have a number of benefits which complement the traditional faculty facilitated lectures, tutorials and seminars. The scheme was introduced into the first course in accounting with a view to improving student performance, reducing withdrawal rates, and encouraging the development of communication and interpersonal skills. Qualitative and quantitative data was collected in order to understand how students perceived the scheme, and what effect the scheme had on student performance. The results suggest that the scheme has had a positive impact on student performance. In providing this account, we hope to assist accounting academics identify subjects where Supplemental Instruction might be of benefit to students, and the issues to consider when tailoring the program to the specific needs of the subject.

In Australia, the public sector represents a significant component of the Australian economy and is a major employer across all states and territories. A constant stream of public sector management reforms has occurred over the last decade. These reforms include accrual accounting and budgeting, whole of government reporting, privatisation and contracting out to name a few. This would suggest that accounting graduates applying for positions at government agencies would benefit from some knowledge of these significant reforms. This paper aims to examine the perceptions of accounting academics as to barriers to public sector accounting (PSA) education in Australia and identify strategies for making the accounting curriculum more public sector inclusive.

Two data collection methods were employed in order to attain a comprehensive picture of the state of PSA education in Australia. Telephone interviews were undertaken with accounting academics across a carefully selected range of universities. This selection ensured representation across the core accounting units to gain an indication of the extent of public sector coverage in the core accounting subjects. In‐depth face‐to‐face interviews were then conducted at five universities across five states of Australia to probe further issues that emanated from the telephone interviews.

The findings suggest that in general, there is very limited teaching of PSA in Australian universities' accounting degree programs. Of the universities studied where issues regarding the public sector are emphasised, this is mainly due to a few academics who have a research interest in the public sector and so extend this interest into their teaching and the curriculum.

There are a number of strategies identified to achieve greater coverage of PSA in the curriculum. However, the findings suggest that unless the professional accounting bodies require PSA to be included in courses as part of the accreditation process, then it will be difficult to achieve significant improvement in the nature and extent of public sector exposure. Most interviewees argued that a key factor in increasing public sector coverage would be ensuring that the textbook writers for the core accounting units included more PSA examples.

The public sector in general, and PSA education is a neglected area of research. This study is significant as it highlights that although major public sector reforms have occurred in Australia and worldwide, this has had little impact on the accounting curriculum taught to students.

This study aims to explore the engagement between accounting and music in the social and relational construction of accountability. The authors conceive this construction as a dynamic and recursive interplay between the giving of different accounts and the responses that these accounts provoke. The authors investigate the emotional dimension of this interplay, as it is also triggered by music, feeding back into how accountability is constructed and evolves over time.

This study relies upon a historical analysis of archival and secondary sources about the main music concert organized in 1913 by the founder of “Accademia Chigiana”, one of the leading music academies in Italy. The concert celebrated the first centenary of the birth of Giuseppe Verdi, a worldwide famous Italian music composer, and icon of Italian national sentiment.

This study shows that music and accounting were profoundly intertwined in the social and relational construction of accountability for the 1913 concert. Accountability evolved through different accounts, also linked to music, and the complex emotional reactions these accounts provoked in the audiences, citizens, media and institutions, leading to always further responses and accounts in the ongoing construction of accountability.

This study extends prior literature on the chameleonic nature of accountability, as well as on its relational and emotional dimensions. The study shows that accountability is relationally constructed and evolves over time through the giving of accounts and the emotional reaction they provoke from others, feeding into further responses and accounts of the accountable subject. The authors show how the chameleonic nature of accountability permeates not only the accounts and the relations of accountability but also the subjects giving and demanding the accounts: these subjects change as chameleons through their interactions and emotions, feeding into the dynamic construction of accountability. The authors also show how arts, like music, can participate in the chameleonic nature of accountability and of its subjects, precisely by engaging with their emotional reactions and responses.