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Not‐for‐profit organisations often have accounting problems in the recognition of donations where donors impose restrictions on how funds are spent. The specific receipts which cause most problems relate to grants made ‘in advance’, grants received for a specific purpose, and capital grants. This article investigates whether some of these restricted receipts must be recorded as income in the income statement; whether others must be recorded directly against a fund, or whether unused funds must be recorded as a liability. This article discusses these problems and the principles of accounting standards already issued specifically for not‐for‐profit organisations in some countries. This article also presents the results of an empirical study done in South Africa which has a bearing on the recognition of certain restricted receipts. Recommendations are made on the most appropriate way for not‐for‐profit organisations to record receipts in advance, receipts for specific purposes and capital grants in their accounting systems.

Not‐for‐profit organisations often experience accounting problems when dealing with the restrictions that donors impose on how the organisations may spend funds. Part of the accountability and stewardship that the managements of not‐for‐profit organisations assume is adhering to the wishes of donors and reporting compliance with restrictions. Fund accounting is a general phenomenon among not‐for‐profit organisations. The use of different funds usually stems from the restrictions imposed by donors, and funds are used to account for restricted resources. Separate funds are often used to separate restricted funds from other funds in these organisations, and to present information to the users of financial statements, indicating that the organisation has indeed complied with donor‐imposed restrictions. This article discusses the principles of some accounting standards already issued specifically for not‐for‐profit organisations in the United States of America, Canada, the United Kingdom and Australia, and presents the results of empirical research on how donor‐imposed restrictions could be recorded in the financial statements of not‐for‐profit organisations.

The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of socio-cognitive mindfulness on resilience, stress and thriving among middle managers in higher education at two separate periods during the COVID-19 pandemic. In Study 1, the authors examined how socio-cognitive mindfulness predicted perceived stress and whether the relationship between mindfulness and perceived stress was mediated by resilience. In Study 2, the authors replicated the first study and further hypothesized that the link between mindfulness and thriving was also mediated by resilience.

The authors conducted cross-sectional correlational studies to test the hypotheses using data from 163 middle managers in higher education early in the pandemic in Study 1 and 204 middle managers a year later in Study 2.

Study 1 findings showed socio-cognitive mindfulness predicted perceived stress, and that resilience fully mediated this relationship. In Study 2, socio-cognitive mindfulness did not predict perceived stress, but it did predict thriving, and that relationship was fully mediated by resilience.

This research is the first to address how socio-cognitive mindfulness directly impacts perceived stress and thriving and its impact through building resilience. To date, few studies have focused on stress in higher education middle managers or addressed the importance of building socio-cognitive mindfulness and resilience to thrive amid ongoing challenges. Implications of the pandemic's influence on the results are also addressed.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether there is a global divergence or convergence with regard to the ethics of corporate governance.

Regional perspectives on the ethics of corporate governance from four regions, namely, Africa, Asia, Continental Europe and North America are first briefly introduced and characterized in terms of distinctions between the ethics of governance and the governance of ethics, internal and external corporate governance, and shareholder and stakeholder orientations to corporate governance. Thereafter these regional perspectives are compared in order to determine whether there is a global divergence or convergence with regard to the ethics of corporate governance amongst these four regions of the world.

There are four factors that potentially may have an impact on the ethics of corporate governance, namely, patterns of ownership, the prevailing view of the role of the firm in a society, cultural and societal norms, and socio‐political priorities. The influence of these factors makes a global convergence on the ethics of corporate governance neither likely nor desirable.

Not all regions of the world were included in this comparative study. Regions that need to be included in future studies are Latin America, Central Asia and the Middle East.

The main finding, namely, that a global convergence on the ethics of corporate governance is neither likely nor desirable, should be taken into consideration by promoters of global corporate governance standards.

Based on regional perspectives from Africa, Asia, Continental Europe and North America, the paper provides a global perspective on the question of whether there is global divergence or convergence with regard to the ethics of corporate governance amongst these four regions of the world.

The principles, regulations and directives associated with corporate governance constitute a view of the role, responsibilities and obligations of corporations within a given society. Identifying the ethics of a specific corporate governance regime entails making explicit the moral responsibilities and obligations of corporations in society as well as the ethical values associated with these responsibilities and obligations. In order to make meaningful global comparisons between the ethics of corporate governance regimes, a number of vital distinctions need to be made. The purpose of this paper is to introduce and discuss three such distinctions.

Conceptual clarifications and distinctions are considered with regard to three pairs of related concepts: the ethics of governance and the governance of ethics; external and internal corporate governance; and shareholder and stakeholder orientations in corporate governance.

The conceptual distinctions that have been considered are vital for making useful comparisons between the ethics of different corporate governance regimes around the world. Neglecting these conceptual distinctions can lead to misunderstanding and confusion in the global discourse on the ethics of corporate governance.

The paper provides a theoretical framework for comparing four regional perspectives on the ethics of governance, namely from Africa, Asia, Continental Europe and North America. It also provides a framework for any other global comparative study on the ethics of corporate governance.

The paper provides a conceptual framework for making global comparisons with regard to the ethical underpinnings of corporate governance regimes. It thus assists in creating a framework for a global discourse on the ethics of corporate governance.

The purpose of this paper is to review the developments in South African corporate governance since the end of apartheid, with a view to identifying themes and points of convergence and/or divergence with other models.

The paper presents a critical review of South African corporate governance in the context of political and economic developments. Where relevant, aspects of corporate governance theory (in particular the stakeholder and shareholder debate) are considered in the South African context.

South African corporate governance can be seen to broadly follow Anglo‐American examples with the notable exception of the stakeholder approach of the two King reports. This approach emphasises the responsibilities of companies to various stakeholders and encourages stakeholder engagement as an integral element of company strategy. There has not, however, been any substantial incorporation of stakeholder interests into formal corporate governance structures such as board structure and financial reporting.

The ongoing consideration of corporate governance developments in South Africa is important for its continued development in the country and the region.

A review of South African corporate governance is timely given the probable release of the third King report in 2009, together with new company legislation.

Sustainable development and the enhancement of justice and security globally are predicated on the existence of sufficient and appropriately deployed assets. Mindful of this, and of the misuse of both public and private wealth, UN Sustainable Development Goal 16.4 (SDG 16.4) seeks to ‘…significantly reduce illicit financial … flows’. This chapter critiques how this aim of SDG 16.4 has been operationalised. We argue that the choice and placement of the term ‘illicit’ is crucial: it can relate to the finances, the flows, or both, as well as to the people involved, as facilitators or protagonists, and is expansive enough to encompass criminal, unlawful and ostensibly legal but illegitimate or harmful assets, acts and actors. Moreover, this chapter explores why the movement of assets is significant, within and between jurisdictions, and how these transfers and transactions impact on sustainable development and can worsen inequalities. Our attention is on the conceptualisation, measurement and operationalisation of illicit financial flows (IFFs) in particular and the corresponding implications for available policy responses in the form of situational interventions as a more plausible route to understanding and reducing IFFs in the context of promoting SDG 16.4.

Although the intention of the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) is not to permit choices in the accounting treatment of similar transactions and events, International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRSs) still contain various choices of accounting treatment. Different accounting alternatives for similar transactions limit the comparability of financial information. Certain accounting policies result in differences in recognition, measurement and disclosures. This article identifies 16 such accounting policy choices and presents the descriptive empirical results on which accounting policies were in fact chosen by a sample of 157 South African listed companies, in cases where IFRSs allow a choice between alternative accounting policies. Disclosure of accounting policies is necessary for the users of financial statements to enable them to compare the financial statements of various entities in making economic decisions. The research also found a lack of disclosures relating to chosen accounting policies in limited cases.

According to generally accepted accounting practice, the objective of financial statements is to provide useful information to the primary user groups of such statements, regardless of the size of the entity. The primary users of the financial statements of SMEs are the owners, South African Revenue Services (SARS) and bankers. The recognition, measurement and disclosure requirements of full IFRSs do not result in cost‐effective and useful information being provided to the users of the financial statements of SMEs (non‐listed companies, close corporations and other small entities, irrespective of their legal form), because these users do not need the extensive and complex information provided in general purpose financial statements. Consequently, an accounting standard is required to differentiate between general and limited purpose financial statements. The International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) issued an exposure draft (ED 222) on IFRS for SMEs in February 2007. These stipulated modifications relating mainly to relaxed disclosure requirements and are more applicable to medium‐sized entities. According to a survey among preparers of financial statements in June 2007, these developments may not be adequate for the purposes of smaller entities, irrespective of their legal form. Accordingly, the study recommends that a formal, separate set of simplified differential reporting standards be developed for smaller entities.

Entrepreneurs choose a particular way of life with the dual aim of maximising profit and gaining a sense of self‐satisfaction. In these endeavours, entrepreneurs typically live with the threat of competition and the risk of business failure, while attempting to do their best within the limitations of their resources. This qualitative study first examines existing theories of ethics and ways of applying business ethics and thereafter investigates entrepreneurs’ actual experiences by means of in‐depth interviews and the use of phenomenology. It finds that entrepreneurs are not guided by any specific code of conduct, and must decide for themselves what is right. It describes the entrepreneurial business ethic, some of the types of dilemmas that they experience and the methods that they have developed to deal with the dilemmas.