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1 – 10 of 20This paper aims to identify the knowledge and practice gap in accounting education and propose an alternative teaching method to align accounting education to meet the needs of…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to identify the knowledge and practice gap in accounting education and propose an alternative teaching method to align accounting education to meet the needs of the practical world.
Design/methodology/approach
A total of 500 questionnaires were circulated among four stakeholders (academics, accounting students, accountants in business and accountants in practice) and received an overall usable response rate of 27%.
Findings
It was found that to reflect the current accounting practices, accounting students should be exposed to accounting specific experiential learning and industry specific training at an early stage of their academic education. Universities and professional institutes can work together to develop a curriculum to create an elite league of accounting professionals.
Practical implications
The insights of this study would provide guidance to educators on how to develop an advance experiential learning structure for students that reflects the current accounting practices and technologies involved.
Originality/value
This study contributes to the existing literature by means of providing an alternative teaching method for undergraduate accounting degree program.
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Alessandra Lardo, Katia Corsi, Ashish Varma and Daniela Mancini
Considering the growing interests in managerial and accounting issues related to blockchain technology (BT), the study aims at identifying the main research venues in this…
Abstract
Purpose
Considering the growing interests in managerial and accounting issues related to blockchain technology (BT), the study aims at identifying the main research venues in this specific field. In particular, the purpose is to understand the spatial and temporal production and distribution of research documents, highlighting the most relevant topics, the most influential authors and research.
Design/methodology/approach
This research carries out a bibliometric analysis of 189 research documents in the business, management and accounting areas. Data collection and refining is carried out from the Scopus database. The data analysis is based on a hybrid literature review approach using a descriptive bibliometric method, data analysis visualization (through VOSViewer software) and thematic analysis.
Findings
Results indicate that research studies focused on BT and accounting have been growing exponentially over the last three years, with authors who previously focused on generalist themes, and are now facing more specific issues. Through cluster analysis, the authors propose the framework of accounting domain and blockchain technology (ADOB) to systematize and visualize the map of current studies about the BT in the accounting domain.
Research limitations/implications
The analysis highlights some aspects less investigated at the first research stage in the field of BT and accounting, such as the growing need of new accounting and control processes to address the practical issues of BT implementation and the need for education and training to stimulate a proper use of BT by accountants and practitioners.
Originality/value
This study is the first to adopt a bibliometric and thematic analysis to investigate BT in the accounting domain. The authors provide significant insights that could guide and foster the use of BT for accountants and practitioners, defining future research lines and a research agenda for academic researchers.
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This paper aims to review the research on accounting professionalisation in China to develop insights into how the research is developing, offer a critique of the research to date…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to review the research on accounting professionalisation in China to develop insights into how the research is developing, offer a critique of the research to date and outline future research directions and opportunities.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper adopts a methodological approach of systematic literature review, as suggested by Tranfield et al. (2003) and Denyer and Tranfield (2009), to identify, select and analyse the extant literature on the Chinese public accounting profession. In total, 68 academic works were included in the review process.
Findings
This paper finds that the extant literature has produced fruitful insights into the processes and underlying motivation of accounting professionalisation in China, demonstrating that the Chinese experience has differed, to a large extent, from the hitherto mainly Anglo-American-dominated understandings of accounting professionalisation. However, due to the lack of common theoretical vernacular and an agreed upon focus, the extant literature illustrates a fragmented and contradictory picture, making attempts to accumulate prior knowledge in the field increasingly difficult.
Research limitations/implications
This paper focusses only on research published in English. Consequently, the scope of review has been limited as some works published in languages other than English may be excluded.
Originality/value
This paper provides one of the pioneering exercises to systematically review the research on accounting professionalisation in China. It explores significant issues arising from the analysis and provides several suggestions for furthering the research effort in this field.
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Tatiana Garanina, Mikko Ranta and John Dumay
This paper provides a structured literature review of blockchain in accounting. The authors identify current trends, analyse and critique the key topics of research and discuss…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper provides a structured literature review of blockchain in accounting. The authors identify current trends, analyse and critique the key topics of research and discuss the future of this nascent field of inquiry.
Design/methodology/approach
This study’s analysis combined a structured literature review with citation analysis, topic modelling using a machine learning approach and a manual review of selected articles. The corpus comprised 153 academic papers from two ranked journal lists, the Association of Business Schools (ABS) and the Australian Business Deans Council (ABDC), and from the Social Science Research Network (SSRN). From this, the authors analysed and critiqued the current and future research trends in the four most predominant topics of research in blockchain for accounting.
Findings
Blockchain is not yet a mainstream accounting topic, and most of the current literature is normative. The four most commonly discussed areas of blockchain include the changing role of accountants; new challenges for auditors; opportunities and challenges of blockchain technology application; and the regulation of cryptoassets. While blockchain will likely be disruptive to accounting and auditing, there will still be a need for these roles. With the sheer volume of information that blockchain records, both professions may shift out of the back-office toward higher-profile advisory roles where accountants try to align competitive intelligence with business strategy, and auditors are called on ex ante to verify transactions and even whole ecosystems.
Research limitations/implications
The authors identify several challenges that will need to be examined in future research. Challenges include skilling up for a new paradigm, the logistical issues associated with managing and monitoring multiple parties all contributing to various public and private blockchains, and the pressing need for legal frameworks to regulate cryptoassets.
Practical implications
The possibilities that blockchain brings to information disclosure, fraud detection and overcoming the threat of shadow dealings in developing countries all contribute to the importance of further investigation into blockchain in accounting.
Originality/value
The authors’ structured literature review uniquely identifies critical research topics for developing future research directions related to blockchain in accounting.
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Tanja Wolf, Michael Kuttner, Birgit Feldbauer-Durstmüller and Christine Mitter
Academic interest in role changes of management accountants (MAs) has increased during the past two decades. Role changes imply identity reconstructions as they do not only…
Abstract
Purpose
Academic interest in role changes of management accountants (MAs) has increased during the past two decades. Role changes imply identity reconstructions as they do not only require an external legitimacy, but professionals have to internalize a new role script. Thus, this paper aims to contribute to a comprehensive understanding of the ongoing changes concerning MAs by providing an identity perspective.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper systematically reviews the literature on the changing role of MAs from an identity perspective, based on a conclusive sample of 64 articles.
Findings
This review identified several external factors such as professional associations and educational institutions as well as organizational and individual factors that impact MAs’ identity and act as change drivers. MAs’ identity is linked with their image in the public and within the organization and is challenged by increasing demands, conflicting expectations and technological progress. Hence, the literature sample illustrates a fragmented and contradictory picture regarding the changes of MAs’ identities and roles and displays that the idea of a simple movement from one identity to another is misleading. Furthermore, the identity perspective offers new issues for management accounting research, practice and education such as nested identity, multiple or desired identities.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to review the literature of MAs’ changing identities and roles from an identity perspective. This perspective enables a novel focus on internal views, perceptions and internalized meanings of MAs connected with their role instead of exclusively debating changed external behavior expectations.
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Marian Crowley–Henry, Shamika Almeida, Santina Bertone and Asanka Gunasekara
Skilled migrants' careers are heterogeneous, with existing theories capturing only some of their diversity and dynamic development over time and circumstance. This paper aims to…
Abstract
Purpose
Skilled migrants' careers are heterogeneous, with existing theories capturing only some of their diversity and dynamic development over time and circumstance. This paper aims to draw out the multilevel (macro, meso and micro levels) influences impacting skilled migrants' careers by using the lens of the intelligent career framework. Furthermore, structuration theory captures the agency of skilled migrants facing different social structures at and across levels and explains the idiosyncratic nature of skilled migrants' careers.
Design/methodology/approach
Following an abductive approach, this paper examines the career influences for a sample of 41 skilled migrants in three different host countries. Individual career stories were collected through qualitative interviews. Important career influences from these narratives are categorised across the intelligent career competencies (knowing why, how and whom) at the macro, meso and micro levels.
Findings
Findings illustrate the lived reality for skilled migrants of these interrelated multilevel career influences and go some way in elucidating the heterogeneity of skilled migrants' careers and outcomes. The interplay of individual agency in responding to both facilitating and challenging social structures across the multilevels further explains the idiosyncratic nature of skilled migrants' careers and how/whether they achieve satisfying career outcomes. Some potential policy implications and options arising from these findings are suggested.
Originality/value
By considering multilevel themes that influence skilled migrants' career capital, the authors were able to better explain the complex, relational and idiosyncratic shaping of their individual careers. As such, the framework informs and guides individuals, practitioners and organisations seeking to facilitate skilled migrants' careers.
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Mary Margaret Crowdle, Olivia McDermott and Anna Trubetskaya
This study aimed to bridge the gap between the financial measurement of process improvement ideas and Lean Six Sigma measurements. It was required to increase employee engagement…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aimed to bridge the gap between the financial measurement of process improvement ideas and Lean Six Sigma measurements. It was required to increase employee engagement in process improvement initiatives.
Design/methodology/approach
Through both a practical and theoretical application of the Design for Lean Six Sigma methodology, the researcher was able to design a process and a benefit measuring methodology that was acceptable by finance and aligns with the benefits expected from the elimination of the Lean wastes.
Findings
The project found that benefit measurement methodology is not understood by most employees, which leads to a lack of engagement in working on improvements. The result of the study was a model for employees to identify and quantify these benefits. This has resulted in a model for cost-benefit analysis aligning financial costs with non-value add waste costs and cost of poor-quality costs resulting in increased process improvement ideas and activity.
Research limitations/implications
While this study was limited to one company, applying this methodology could benefit any company experiencing the same difficulties.
Originality/value
This is one of the first studies to try and cost the benefits of LSS projects both from an organisational and generic viewpoint.
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Daria Arkhipova, Marco Montemari, Chiara Mio and Stefano Marasca
This paper aims to critically examine the accounting and information systems literature to understand the changes that are occurring in the management accounting profession. The…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to critically examine the accounting and information systems literature to understand the changes that are occurring in the management accounting profession. The changes the authors are interested in are linked to technology-driven innovations in managerial decision-making and in organizational structures. In addition, the paper highlights research gaps and opportunities for future research.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors adopted a grounded theory literature review method (Wolfswinkel et al., 2013) to achieve the study’s aims.
Findings
The authors identified four research themes that describe the changes in the management accounting profession due to technology-driven innovations: structured vs unstructured data, human vs algorithm-driven decision-making, delineated vs blurred functional boundaries and hierarchical vs platform-based organizations. The authors also identified tensions mentioned in the literature for each research theme.
Originality/value
Previous studies display a rather narrow focus on the role of digital technologies in accounting work and new competences that management accountants require in the digital era. By contrast, the authors focus on the broader technology-driven shifts in organizational processes and structures, which vastly change how accounting information is collected, processed and analyzed internally to support managerial decision-making. Hence, the paper focuses on how management accountants can adapt and evolve as their organizations transition toward a digital environment.
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The objective of this paper is to review and analyze the existing literature on computerized accounting education (CAE) in educational institutions across the Gulf Cooperation…
Abstract
Purpose
The objective of this paper is to review and analyze the existing literature on computerized accounting education (CAE) in educational institutions across the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries and to suggest a research agenda for the future.
Design/methodology/approach
The author employs a structured literature review (SLR) approach to analyze CAE research published in the GCC between 1981 and 2021.
Findings
The current study has focused mainly on education in the field of computerized accounting (CA); however, very few research studies have focused on CAE. The author recognized two key topics: the broad concept of CA and the identification of software programs used to teach CA courses.
Research limitations/implications
A future study might extend to address the gap in the knowledge of graduate students’ theoretical concept in accounting with CA program across higher-educational institutions (HEIs) in the GCC.
Practical implications
The broad topic analyzed by the author leads to highlight the growing need for students’ practical skills in CA, particularly in the GCC, and to give suggestions for future research. This study also provides a kind of advice to educational institutions to implement an appropriate CA program for CA courses.
Originality/value
Currently, there is a lack of SLR on CAE. Findings on the broad topic analyzed in the current study have been addressed by agreeing on a critical assessment of present research and future research goals.
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Dorina Nicoleta Popa, Victoria Bogdan, Claudia Diana Sabau Popa, Marioara Belenesi and Alina Badulescu
The purpose of this work is twofold. First, looks to identify the main homogenous groups of companies after environmental, social, economic and governance (ESEG) disclosures…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this work is twofold. First, looks to identify the main homogenous groups of companies after environmental, social, economic and governance (ESEG) disclosures, non-financial statement and earnings per share (EPS), and second investigates the connection between variables.
Design/methodology/approach
Using financial and non-financial information from annual reports of private listed companies, the authors performed two-step cluster analysis (TSCA) in the first stage of the research, followed by parametric, nonparametric correlation analysis, as well as regression analysis based on panel data, in the second stage.
Findings
Results of TSCA revealed a cluster of companies with good financial and non-financial outcomes and a cluster of companies with poor performance. The performance dynamics showed a slight improvement during the period for few companies and composition analysis of clusters by industries through Kruskal–Wallis test highlighted differences between clusters, only for 2017. The main findings confirm a direct, although weak in intensity but statistically significant correlation between ESEG disclosure index, its sustainability component and financial performance (FP), valid for the entire period. Also, the results showed a direct link of low intensity to average, but statistically significant between the non-financial statement and EPS, valid only for 2017 and 2018.
Research limitations/implications
The results indicate mixed findings which invites further in-depth research. Limits of the study can be found in selected indicators and the short period of time analyzed. However, the practical implications are worth considering from the perspective of finding new managerial tools that can better shape the relationship between ESEG disclosures and FP.
Practical implications
ESEG Dindx can be an instrument for managers that can optimize the link between the FP of companies and its sustainable development.
Social implications
ESEG Dindx measures the disclosure degree of ESEG information by the companies listed on Bucharest Stock Exchange (BSE). The main findings of the work confirm a direct, although weak in intensity but statistically significant correlation between ESEG disclosure index, its sustainability component and FP, valid for the entire period.
Originality/value
This study adds value to the existing literature by the proposed research framework, design of ESEG Dindx and the way correlations between variables were investigated.
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