Search results

1 – 10 of 768
Article
Publication date: 1 October 2007

B.W. Steyn‐Bruwer and W.D. Hamman

This study investigates overtrading, which is the result of an expansion rate that is too high in relation to a particular business’s structure. It often results in cash flow…

Abstract

This study investigates overtrading, which is the result of an expansion rate that is too high in relation to a particular business’s structure. It often results in cash flow problems. The phenomenon of overtrading is described in a case study on Profurn. In this study, a ratio was developed that can be used to identify companies in an overtrading position. Selected variables were tested by means of the Kruskal Wallis test in order to pinpoint variables that can discriminate successfully between companies that are overtrading and ones that are not. Overtrading occurred in 15.5% of the company years of listed South African companies between September 1989 and December 2005. Of the 35 variables tested, 31 were found to be able to discriminate statistically between company years in which overtrading occurred as opposed to ones in which it did not occur. These variables can therefore be used to profile companies that overtrade.

Details

Meditari Accountancy Research, vol. 15 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1022-2529

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 April 2003

B.W. Steyn and W.D. Hamman

In this article, modifications are suggested for the current format of the cash flow statement, which is prescribed by AC 118, in order to address ambiguities and improve…

Abstract

In this article, modifications are suggested for the current format of the cash flow statement, which is prescribed by AC 118, in order to address ambiguities and improve comparability. This redefinition of activities, together with the alteration of the layout, leads to a better explanation of the cash‐generating function of an enterprise. The authors argue that the separation of the cash flow for the maintenance of the existing resource base and the cash flow for the expansion thereof, is essential information in a model for the prediction of the future cash flow generation of a company. The resultant increase in the accessibility, reliability and utility of cash flow reporting should enhance users’ economic decision making and liberalise financial information. The modifications proposed in the article can therefore assist standard setters to improve financial reporting.

Details

Meditari Accountancy Research, vol. 11 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1022-2529

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 April 2003

B.W. Steyn and W.D. Hamman

This article assesses the state of cash flow reporting by listed South African industrial companies in order to evaluate whether the users of financial statements can accept them…

Abstract

This article assesses the state of cash flow reporting by listed South African industrial companies in order to evaluate whether the users of financial statements can accept them as being reliable and use them as a tool to compare the operating performance of various companies. As the cash flow statement has been in use since 1989, it was envisaged that compliance would be high. However, it was found that there are several companies that deviate from some of the requirements of AC 118 regarding cash flow statements.

Details

Meditari Accountancy Research, vol. 11 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1022-2529

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 April 2005

B.W. Steyn Bruwer and W.D. Hamman

A relatively simple way to analyse a company’s financial status is to examine the positive or negative signs of its cash flow patterns and to link certain characteristics to…

Abstract

A relatively simple way to analyse a company’s financial status is to examine the positive or negative signs of its cash flow patterns and to link certain characteristics to selected cash flow patterns. In this article, the frequencies of cash flow patterns in South African listed industrial companies are examined for a single financial period, as well as for three different cumulative periods, ending in 1993, 1996 and 2002 respectively. Mature companies, i.e. those with positive cash flow from operating activities, negative cash flow from investing activities and negative cash flow from financing activities, were identified as the most frequently occurring pattern during the selected periods. The study shows that the mature companies had the highest median amongst the more regular cash flow patterns, for the net profit percentage, for the cash flow from operating activities before the payment of dividends as a percentage of sales and for dividend payout. The study also reveals that companies in their growth phase had the highest medians for investment outflow, for sales growth and growth in total assets, for accounts payable and inventories. Start‐up companies had the highest medians for inflow from financing activities and for total debt to total assets.

Details

Meditari Accountancy Research, vol. 13 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1022-2529

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 October 2008

P. de Jager

Empirical accounting research frequently makes use of data sets with a time‐series and a cross‐sectional dimension ‐ a panel of data. The literature review indicates that South…

1341

Abstract

Empirical accounting research frequently makes use of data sets with a time‐series and a cross‐sectional dimension ‐ a panel of data. The literature review indicates that South African researchers infrequently allow for heterogeneity between firms when using panel data and the empirical example shows that regression results that allow for firm heterogeneity are materially different from regression results that assume homogeneity among firms. The econometric analysis of panel data has advanced significantly in recent years and accounting researchers should benefit from those improvements.

Details

Meditari Accountancy Research, vol. 16 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1022-2529

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 April 2001

M. Shotter

To the extent that management accounting is based on neo‐classical economics, all decision‐making is assumed to be rational, aimed at utility or profit maximisation and all…

Abstract

To the extent that management accounting is based on neo‐classical economics, all decision‐making is assumed to be rational, aimed at utility or profit maximisation and all circumstances influencing decisions are accepted as stationary. The approach excludes all social, cultural or historical considerations and is based on perfect information that is freely available. Neo‐classical economics further assumes that minimum government intervention, which is regulated by competition, will result in maximum benefit for society as a whole. This paper aims to determine the extent to which management accounting theory has been based on these limiting assumptions and finds that emerging management accounting theory is increasingly based on alternative, more liberating foundations. This situation is in contrast to management accounting education in South Africa, which remains almost entirely based on neo‐classical economics.

Details

Meditari Accountancy Research, vol. 9 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1022-2529

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 12 June 2019

Ngxito Bonisile, Kahilu Kajimo-Shakantu and Akintayo Opawole

Anecdotal evidence indicates that there is a backlog in the pre-tertiary school infrastructure in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. The purpose of this paper is to assess…

Abstract

Purpose

Anecdotal evidence indicates that there is a backlog in the pre-tertiary school infrastructure in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. The purpose of this paper is to assess the adoption of alternative building technologies (ABT) for pre-tertiary educational infrastructure delivery with a view to providing empirical evidence that could guide policy responses towards its wider adoption.

Design/methodology/approach

The study adopted a mixed methodology approach. This comprises a triangulation of a questionnaire survey and interviews. In total, 100 participants were randomly selected from 182 built environment professionals namely quantity surveyors, architects and engineers (electrical, mechanical, civil and structural) from the Department of Roads and Public Works (DRPW), who are currently involved in the Eastern Cape School Building Program (ECSBP). The questionnaire survey was supplemented by semi-structured interviews conducted with four top government officials (three from the Department of Education (DoE) and one from DRPW) who were also part of the questionnaire survey. Data collected were analyzed using descriptive statistics and phenomenological interpretation respectively.

Findings

The key findings showed that the level of adoption of ABT for pre-tertiary school infrastructure in the Eastern Cape province is primarily influenced and explained by perceptions that ABT offers inferior quality products compared to the conventional method, and limited awareness of its benefits.

Research limitations/implications

The study provides useful insights into the implications of the limited awareness of ABT as a an alternative technology for educational infrastructure delivery and policy responses towards its wider adoption and environmental sustainability.

Originality/value

Empirical evidence from this study indicates that the main motivation for the adoption of ABT is the limited government’s budget to cope with school infrastructural backlog, while environmental sustainability benefit is only secondary. Nonetheless, the realization that the backlogs in the provision of school infrastructure has resulted from sole reliance on the use of the conventional method is an indication of the potential that the adoption of ABT holds for minimizing of the backlog.

Details

Management of Environmental Quality: An International Journal, vol. 30 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1477-7835

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 21 June 2018

Nigel Purves and Scott J. Niblock

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship of financial ratios and non-financial factors of successful and failed corporations in the USA. Specifically, the…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship of financial ratios and non-financial factors of successful and failed corporations in the USA. Specifically, the authors provide evidence on whether financial ratios and non-financial factors can be jointly included as indicators to improve the predictive capacity of organisational success or failure in different countries and sectors.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper utilises a mixed method exploratory case study focussing on listed corporations in the US and Australian manufacturing, agriculture, finance and property sectors.

Findings

The financial ratio findings demonstrate that (with the exception of the failed Australian manufacturing sector) the integrated multi-measure (IMM) ratio approach consistently provides a higher classification rate for the failed and successful groups than those provided by an individual measure. In all cases the IMM method scored higher for US companies (with the exception of the failed Australian property sector). The findings also show that irrespective of the country location or sector, non-financial factors such as board composition and managements’ involvement in organisational strategy impact on a corporation’s success or failure.

Practical implications

The findings reveal that non-financial factors occur prior to financial ratios when attempting to predict organisational success or failure and the IMM approach enables a more thorough examination of the predictive ability of financial ratios for US and Australian organisations. This intuitively indicates that when combined with financial ratios, non-financial factors may be a useful predictor of corporate success or failure across countries and sectors.

Originality/value

Sound internal processes and the identification of both financial ratios and non-financial factors can be utilised to improve the reliability of financial failure models, enable corrective and preventative steps to be implemented by management and potentially reduce the costs of failure for US and Australian organisations.

Details

Journal of Strategy and Management, vol. 11 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1755-425X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 12 October 2012

Daniël Coetsee and Nerine Stegmann

The purpose of this paper is to examine the profile of accounting research in the two academic accounting research journals in South Africa (Meditari Accountancy Research and SA

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the profile of accounting research in the two academic accounting research journals in South Africa (Meditari Accountancy Research and SA Journal of Accounting Research) during the ten‐year period from 2000 to 2009.

Design/methodology/approach

The archival research method is applied, which analyses existing data (in this case the articles published in the South African (SA) accounting research journals) to come to research conclusions. The research method used to analyse the related articles in the SA accounting research journals is based on various international studies. The following dimensions are assessed: authorship; research field; the nature of the research; and research methods. Authorship is classified by institution, and the top seven authors by relative contribution are also identified. Both empirical and theoretical work are classified separately in different research methods.

Findings

These different dimensions provide a broad‐based review of the current profile of accounting research in South Africa.

Research limitations/implications

Other refereed academic articles in the field of accounting have been published in non‐accounting specific SAPSE‐approved journals. These articles are also excluded from the scope of this research since the journals in which they are published have not been established by accounting academics specifically.

Practical implications

The motivation for doing this research is to identify the current profile of accounting research in South Africa that could be used as a basis for future research‐related development.

Originality/value

Knowledge of the profile of accounting research in South Africa could provide opportunities for scholars to expand identified research areas and explore methods that are currently under‐developed in the South African accountancy research field. The paper also acknowledges the contributions by the most prolific authors in the identified journals.

Details

Meditari Accountancy Research, vol. 20 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2049-372X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 6 July 2015

Nigel Purves, Scott James Niblock and Keith Sloan

The purpose of this paper is to explore the relationship of non-financial and financial factors to firm survival, provide evidence of factors related to financial success and…

1642

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore the relationship of non-financial and financial factors to firm survival, provide evidence of factors related to financial success and distress for prominent Australian agricultural firms, and improve the predictive capacity of financial failure models.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper utilizes mixed method exploratory case studies across four Australian agricultural firms (two successful and two failed) listed on the Australian Securities Exchange.

Findings

The authors found that the use of an Integrated Multi-Measured approach provided a higher classification rate for the failed group than those provided by an individual measure. We also discovered that non-financial factors associated with the agricultural organizations studied impacted their success or failure. These factors included managements’ involvement in organizational strategy and the composition of the board of directors. It was also apparent that management decision-making approaches may become frozen, or at best restricted, in the face of impending failure, dependent upon the stress level within the organization and the management skill base.

Practical implications

The cases studied indicated that non-financial factors of failure occurred prior to any financial predictors, intuitively indicating a relationship between non-financial and financial factors in Australian agricultural firms.

Originality/value

The identification of financial and non-financial factors and sound internal processes which distinguish successful and failing firms can be utilized for the development of an early warning predictor of organizational success or failure.

Details

Agricultural Finance Review, vol. 75 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0002-1466

Keywords

1 – 10 of 768