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This study aims to examine the economic consequences of, and managerial behaviour in response to, the introduction of IFRS 16 Leases. It extends the debt covenant hypothesis to explain why firms reduce the use of operating leases with the introduction.

This study develops a model, based on operating leases as an alternative financing source and the determinants of debt policy, to estimate the effects of gearing on operating lease intensity. High gearing is a proxy to probably closer to the violation of, or expected to violate, the gearing restriction in debt covenants given the retrospective capitalisation of operating leases, when IFRS 16 takes effect.

This study finds that operating lease intensity fell between 2011 (immediately after the first exposure draft leading to IFRS 16) and 2018 (immediately prior to the effective date of IFRS 16). It also finds that gearing affects changes in operating lease intensity over 2011 and 2018, consistent with the debt covenant hypothesis.

The introduction of IFRS 16 is a natural experiment with unique characteristics (the active lobbying behaviour, ex ante evidence on adverse economic consequences, a prolonged standard-setting period, etc.) valuable for accounting research.

A showcase about the relevance of financial reporting for contracting interests of firms and managers and a good reference for accounting standard setters in considering and managing the economic consequences of proposed accounting standards.

This study adds to the limited research on the consequences of accounting standards and documents the ex-post impact on firm leverage ratios and the behavioural aspects of reporting entities.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the implementation of International Financial Reporting Standard (IFRS) 16 in developing countries to enhance asset pronouncements or the quality of opaque accounting information for listed firms’ leasing transactions.

This study designed ordinary least square (OLS) regression models to examine the hypotheses in two ordered tests. The first-order test ascertained the association between fundamental accounting information and earnings or stock prices. Then, the second-order test was nested to add the instrument variable to the first-order one. In addition, the researchers selected 17 Asia-Pacific countries.

First, this study contributes to the fair value of firms’ asset measurements, and the accounting discipline requires adaptive scalability to produce future potential cash flows. Second, it reduces literature gaps between the pros and cons of the opaqueness of assets. In addition, these research arguments would be the referee for reducing information’s opacity. Finally, this study demonstrates the impact of IFRS 16’s implementation on firms’ conservatism levels and entropy’s information quality, requiring the regulators to accommodate these issues.

Due to the implementation of IFRS 16, the authors are neutral about the impacted financial statements and political consequences for these Asia-Pacific listed firms and countries. First, we propose the uniqueness of problematic elaboration since implementing IFRS 16 results in a more pronounced or opaque information quality due to vulnerable complexities in the financial statements. Second, this implementation is associated with hierarchical information and conservatism, producing accounting information entropy or negentropy. However, the hierarchy theory suggests various levels of conservatism that could increase or decrease the information’s quality.

The purpose of this study is to construct and test a new measure of auditor orientation using two audit quality-related tasks.

The sample consists of 66 Dutch and US graduate auditing students. Participants complete two tasks: one involving a lease classification and another, supplemental experiment involving a contingent liability judgment. The purpose is to construct a new measure for rules-based/ principles-based orientation. Rigorous, psychometric testing confirms that parts of tolerance for ambiguity (TOA) and need for cognition (NFC), together, form a new construct the authors identify as auditor orientation. The authors next conduct a main and supplemental experiment with novice auditor participants from both the USA and the Netherlands.

The authors begin with rigorous, psychometric testing using participants from the USA and the Netherlands. The resulting 10-item scale combines parts of TOA and NFC to reflect auditor orientation. The common themes across scale items are high (low) adaptability to complexity and a substance-over-form (form-over-substance) preference for principles-oriented (PO) (rules-oriented [RO]) auditors. Conducting two experiments, results from two distinct tasks confirm our research question; novice auditors classified as RO (PO) are more (less) likely to recommend a more aggressive/client-favorable disclosure judgment.

Auditor orientation (i.e. rules or principles) has a significant impact on the application of rules-based or principles-based standards. How the standards are applied, therefore, influences auditor decision-making and thus audit quality. However, there is a paucity of auditor orientation research to date, including a validated measure. The study contributes a new measure for future research in the related accounting standards and audit quality literatures, while also identifying a potentially important construct in auditor training.

This case study has been prepared after thoroughly studying the Indian wine industry. Secondary data for the value of wine imported in India has been taken from the website of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India. Data for GDP per capita for India has been taken from World Development Indicators, World Bank. Data for revenue generation of top five countries have been sourced from Statista Report on Indian wine market. Fictitious names are used for the Winery (Romaniszyn) and the individual (Harish G.) working there.

This case revolves around accounting complexities for starting a winery in India. A new vineyard comes with the challenge of the gestation period (five years), during which it would not generate revenue. Harish G. was adept at business development and had experience working with an Italian winery. He was unaware of how difficult accounting decisions would be, including determining the quantum of funds required, ascertaining different financial options to purchase assets and meeting cash requirements. He knew he would not be able to generate any sales for five years at the newly formed winery; the grapevines imported from New Zealand took that long to reach maturity. Furthermore, given that Harish was starting a new brand of wine, he also faced constraints with attracting new customers.

This case can be used in teaching undergraduate and postgraduate students in the introductory session of a financial accounting course. It is designed to approach basic accounting concepts, permitting the class to discuss and focus on the principal thought process of starting a real business and accounting for the transactions as and when they occur rather than only on mathematical computations. The objective of this case study is attained by involving the students in recording various accounting transactions and decisions the winery’s management must take over the time from early plantation to bottling of the wine. Every decision assesses the students’ comprehension of accounting concepts by making them analyze and resolve the accounting issues raised.

The purpose of this study is to examine the extent to which using accounting as a multidimensional practice that encompasses technical, social and moral dimensions facilitates the instigation and advancement of a culture of sustainable development.

A qualitative approach was used to analyse the case of Waratah Coal Pty Ltd vs Youth Verdict Ltd – a dispute over a lease to establish a coal mine. The study draws on Carnegie et al.’s (2021a, 2021b) multidimensional definition of accounting and the Carnegie et al.’s (2023) framework for analysis to explore how different parties drew on accounting concepts to support their position over the sustainability of the mining lease proposal.

A multidimensional perspective on accounting appears to have clear transformative potential and can be used to champion a culture of sustainable development. This approach also has broad societal, environmental and moral implications that transcend Western financial metrics. This study shows that relying solely on accounting as a technical practice to pursue economic benefits can result in contested arguments. Overall, this analysis illustrates how the wider public, and notably First Nations communities, might challenge accounting methodologies that marginalise cultural and social narratives.

This paper expands accounting research by demonstrating how fully embracing accounting’s capacities can create a space for hearing multiple voices, including those silenced by Western accounting practices. Specifically, this study presents a unique case in which the authors incorporate the voices and views of those affected by accounting-based decisions.

This study aims to evaluate Islamic bank compliance with the accounting and auditing organisation for Islamic financial institutions (AAOIFI), assess the impact of multiple accounting standards in Islamic banking, examine the need for private accounting standards and assess international financial reporting standards (IFRS) compatibility with Islamic banking and analyse financial leasing accounting in Islamic banking compared to IFRS 16.

A combination of comparative theoretical analysis, physical examination, and semi-structured interviews has been used as a research methodology. These methods are interconnected and complement each other to provide a comprehensive approach to address the research questions.

Islamic banks in various countries show varying compliance with AAOIFI accounting standards. Some fully comply, while others adopt a hybrid approach combining AAOIFI and IFRS. Differences in accounting treatments can result in conflicts, asset inflation and financial statement discrepancies. Challenges and criticisms faced by AAOIFI standards include violating the matching principle and lacking faithful representation. Collaboration among academics, standards-setting bodies and organisers is crucial for guiding the reporting of Islamic financial statements.

The research identifies gaps in implementing Islamic accounting standards and proposes strategies to enhance compliance, improve performance and increase transparency in Islamic financial institutions. It highlights the importance of a harmonised and universally accepted accounting framework for Islamic banking, considering the compatibility between IFRS and Islamic principles.

Social implications have arisen regarding the global acceptance of Islamic finance, which leads to an increase in socially Islamic finance exchange.

This research examines the consequences of using multiple accounting standards in the Islamic banking industry and discusses the need for private accounting standards and compatibility with IFRS.

An intractable effect of revenue and expense recognition based on tax regulation and accounting rules is unresolved and may be manageable only by reducing the value of deferred taxes. Therefore, in this study, the authors examined the relationship between the International Accounting Standard 12 (IAS 12) and deferred income taxes associated with tax and accounting rules.

The authors used a large sample of balanced data from 144 firms across 1992–2019. To mitigate the problem of superfluous results, the authors used the same number of firms and years for pre- and post-IAS 12 periods. The authors employed robust econometric estimations to establish the impact of IAS 12 on deferred tax.

The regression results show that deferred tax assets decreased significantly, whereas deferred tax liabilities increased significantly, in the post-IAS 12 period. These contrasting results imply that IAS 12 implementation has increased conservatism and prudence in financial reporting. However, the authors find that the increase in deferred tax assets post-IAS 12 is value destructive, suggesting that its implementation has unintended consequences. The results are robust to alternative measurements and econometric identification strategies.

While prior studies have explored topics such as deferred tax measurement and the impact of income and expense recognition, the authors specifically analyzed how IAS 12 affects deferred taxes and their effect on the market valuation. The authors find that certain accounting standards may not be relevant to the capital market.

This study aims to explore COVID-19-related accounting disclosures using sociological disclosure analysis (SDA) within the context of the developing economy of Bangladesh.

COVID-19-related accounting disclosures from listed banks’ annual reports have been examined using three levels of SDA: textual, contextual and sociological interpretations. Data were gathered from the banks’ 2019 and 2020 annual reports. The study uses the legitimacy theory as its theoretical framework.

The research reveals a substantial shift in corporate disclosures due to COVID-19, marked by a significant increase from 2019 to 2020. Despite regulatory and professional directives for COVID-19-specific disclosures, notable non-compliance is evident in subsequent events, going concern, fair value, financial instruments and more. Instead of assessing the implications of COVID-19 and making disclosures, companies used positive, vague and subjective wording to legitimize non-disclosure.

The study’s insights can inform regulators and policymakers in crafting effective guidelines for future crisis-related reporting like COVID-19. The research adds to the literature by methodologically using SDA to explore pandemic-specific disclosures, uncovering the interplay between disclosures, legitimacy and stakeholder engagement.

This study represents a pioneering effort in investigating COVID-19-specific disclosures. Moreover, it uses the SDA methodology along with the legitimacy theory to analyze accounting disclosures associated with COVID-19.

After reading and analyzing the case study, the students would be able to understand the critical role of the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS)-compliant accounting principles in facilitating strategic alliances between publicly traded international corporations and emerging companies in informal business environments, design the company’s accounting system to ensure the application of the accounting standards contained in IFRS and understand the accounting process for properly recording a company’s transactions.

This case study deals with Giulia’s decision to take on the proposal of a conglomerate to acquire a 45% stake in her travel agency, Know Cuba First Travel Agency (KCF). Giulia was an Italian entrepreneur based in Havana, Cuba. She has dealt with informal business practices in the Cuban tourism industry. However, Foreign Investments Ltd., a publicly listed company, needs formal accounting if investing in the venture. If Giulia agrees with the proposal, an accounting information system would have to be implemented to comply with the investor’s requirements.

This case study is suitable for financial accounting undergraduate courses.

Teaching notes are available for educators only.

CSS 1: Accounting and finance.

The case is written based on publicly available data from primary sources such as the company’s annual reports, company website and the company’s presentations, as well as from secondary sources comprising newspaper articles, research papers, research magazines, magazine articles, industry reports, research reports, etc. as indicated in the references. The company’s financials and peer data are sourced from the Thomson Reuters Eikon database.

The case examines the financial position of Macy’s, Inc., America’s largest and one of the oldest premier departmental stores, with a consolidated annual turnover of US$18,097m in the fiscal year 2020/2021 (FY, 2021). Over the previous few years, the company had been struggling with decreasing market share and profitability mainly due to increasing competition from online retailers and deep discounters, which was affecting the company’s share price. With the appointment of a new chief executive officer (CEO) in fiscal year (FY) 2017, Macy’s, Inc. undertook several changes to revive its financial health and improve its market share. However, it still registered heavy losses of US$3,944m in the FY 2020/2021, the company’s first time in the past decade. With many retailers filing for bankruptcy, was there more that Macy’s could do to improve the company’s position and regain lost investor confidence? Will its entry into emerging markets play a crucial role in its turnaround?

The case can be used in undergraduate and postgraduate courses such as accounting for managers, financial statement analysis, management accounting, introduction to accounting and advanced financial statement analysis. The case can also be effectively used to understand the primary fundamental analysis of the company that involves understanding the company’s positioning and strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats analysis. The case would also help business management and entrepreneurship students to get a preliminary idea about the change management process. Finally, the case can be used to familiarize students with using Microsoft Excel to build financial analysis worksheets.

Teaching notes are available for educators only.