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The supervisory authority of the Bank of England derives from tradition and statute. The interplay of these two factors can be analysed by applying a formalist/anti‐formalist model. In this paper this has been developed to explain the regulatory cycle and the reasons why anti‐formalism has been adopted. Evidence of recent events in the banking industry has been used to support the argument and explain the actions of the Bank of England.

The published annual report and accounts of a company are regarded as a main source of information for making investment and other decisions. One assumption used by readers of such accounts is that the financial statements reflect transactions which have been made at arm's‐length. However, the presence of related parties may mean that free market dealings do not exist. In this case the accounts are, at best, misleading and, at worst, fraud may have been perpetrated. Although a number of countries have issued accounting standards which require companies to disclose certain information in respect of related party transactions, this had not occurred in the UK by the summer of 1995. A proposal had been issued by the Accounting Standards Committee (ASC), but this received severe criticism and could not be amended before the ASC was disbanded. Its successor body, the Accounting Standards Board (ASB) has issued its own proposals, taking into account some of the earlier criticisms. The proposals attempt to define related parties, the transactions which are entered into and the disclosures which should take place. The most recent proposals have also received severe criticism mainly because of the additional work entailed for companies and their auditors in relation to the possible benefits to be gained by the users. An examination of the new proposals reveal that there are some definitional problems and that it is far from certain that the disclosures will do more than alert the reader to the presence of related party transactions, nor is it certain that the disclosures will provide information which is useful for sophisticated decision making and it would be naive to believe that such disclosures would prevent fraud.

This paper questions the adequacy of the current financial reporting regulatory system to deal with corporate financial information disclosed on the Internet. The results of a research study made on the FTSE 100 companies Internet sites are used to discuss company practices and the issues arising. The paper outlines the key problems and suggests alternative approaches to regulating this new frontier for financial reporting.

The topic of employee reporting has attracted the interests of practitioners and academics in recent years, particularly in relation to the annual published financial ducuments, known as an Employee Report, used by a number of companies. The practice of giving financial information to employees can be traced back to the last century, although its more popular use dates from the Second World War.

The interim report was introduced by the Stock Exchange in 1964 and, despite its importance, remains lightly regulated. Despite the lack of regulatory pressures there have been significant changes in practice and one has been the appearance of the auditors’ review report. Compares various features of the interim reports of 138 companies for 1992 and 1997. Demonstrates the changes which have taken place over that period and seeks to explain the variables which are most closely associated with the presence of an auditors’ review report. Finds that it is the larger companies which are most likely to publish an auditors’ review report. There is also evidence that the presence of auditor involvement is not associated with delay in the issue of interim reports, but is associated with the voluntary disclosure of additional information. Suggests that the practice of publishing an auditors’ review report is likely to increase and that it is appropriate for the Auditing Practices Board to issue relevant guidance on the subject.

The regulations concerning preliminary profit announcements are contained in the Listing Rules of the Stock Exchange. The disclosure provisions are modest and there is no requirement for the document to be audited. There have been criticisms concerning the ambiguity of the auditors’ involvement and the timing of the release of information for a number of years. Amendments introduced in 1993 have done little to resolve the matter. As an empirical study of 148 randomly selected listed companies, seeks answers to the following three questions: Does the audit status have any relationship with the size or type of company? Is the audit status associated with the timing of the release of information? Is the audit status associated with the voluntary provision of additional financial statements? Concludes that there is considerable variety in company practice and that the Stock Exchange should take action to dispel the ambiguities concerning auditors’ involvement with preliminary profit announcements.

Purpose – Although it is acknowledged that the dissemination of financial information to stakeholders is a communications process, the main focus of prior research has been on the documents themselves rather than the context in which the information is generated, selected and disseminated. This paper remedies this deficiency by drawing on communication theory to construct a substantive model of the annual financial reporting exercise. Design/methodology/approach – A longitudinal study employing grounded theory was conducted in a non‐market corporate in the U.K. This involved documentary analysis, non‐participant observation and in depth interviews. Findings – The research identified three distinct functions of financial reporting which are formed through the inter‐action of four major determinants: producers' objectives, stakeholders' objectives, the political determinant, the environmental determinant. The level of satisfaction of producers and stakeholders with the perceived function of the annual corporate report leads to an aftermath. This may be either a reinforcement aftermath or it may be a destabilizer aftermath that will necessitate changes in the four determinants. Research limitations/implications – The study was conducted in a non‐market corporate in the UK and caution should be used in attempting to generalize to market corporates. Originality/value – The substantive model offers a diagnostic framework to further explore the nature and dynamics of the annual financial reporting exercise with the evidence of an aftermath being a key finding from the research.

The objective of the first article in this series, which covered the key findings of the EITB's two year study on employee relations training for managers, was to set out a basic agenda for the eighties. The two subsequent articles dealt with specific approaches and products arising from those findings which are now part of the EITB's programme of action in this field. In this, the final article, we discuss other issues arising from special studies undertaken during the course of the project and the implications these have for the future development of ER training ideas and materials.

Empirical evidence suggests that many triggers influence poor cost performance in highway projects, whereas previous studies about the cost overrun triggers stem from a positivist standpoint supported by conventional statistical techniques, thus disregarding the sophisticated interactions and overall dynamics of the triggers. This study contends for a paradigm shift in investigating and understanding cost overrun triggers by adopting a holistic perspective through the lens of system thinking. This study aims to contend for a paradigm shift in investigating and understanding cost overrun triggers by adopting a holistic perspective through the lens of system thinking.

Semi-structured interviews with industry stakeholders in Nigeria were conducted buttressed by textual data from literature sources and project documents. Data analysis based on a developed data compatible coding framework and causal relations from textual data sources was used to develop a causal loop diagram depicting the interactions of the triggers which were validated by experts.

The analysis of the causal loop diagrams (CLDs) allowed identification of action points used to suggest changes for improved cost-effective highway project delivery. Among the suggested interventions are ensuring the provision of adequate funding prior to contract award will result in timely delivery of projects and indeed delivering key projects at the contractual agreed budget. This can be achieved through ensuring strict adherence to the provisions of Section 4 (2) (b) of the Nigerian Public Procurement Act, 2007 which stipulates that no contract should be awarded if funds are not available from the onset.

The study was limited to only highway infrastructure projects in Nigeria and as such caution must be taken before using the outcome of the study to other context within Nigeria and beyond.

From a practical point of view, the causal model demonstrates that this study is capable of being used to make pragmatic decisions regarding policy leverages about improving cost performance in highway projects provision in the Nigerian highway infrastructure sector of the construction industry. Moreover, it will aid a clear understanding of the key influencing triggers of cost overrun by the relevant stakeholders within the highway sector of the industry.

The hybrid-based approach applied in the development of CLDs in this study is expected to provide new insight into understanding the linkages, interactions, feedbacks and processes among the key cost overrun triggers and suggesting leverages for cost performance improvement within the philosophy of system thinking.

Extensive research towards identifying the attributable cost overrun factors globally has been conducted predominantly from a survey-oriented perspective, which disregard the contextual basis on which these triggers manifest. This study aims to explore the driving factors of cost overrun in highway projects, specific to the Nigerian context.

The research used a context-based approach to seek project stakeholders’ perspectives on the key drivers of cost overrun in highway projects in Nigerian. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with client, contractor and consultant organisations involved in the provision of highway infrastructure projects in Nigeria. The collected data was analysed using a developed coding framework grounded on a case study approach, principles of inductive thematic analysis and saliency analysis to identify the key drivers.

Findings from the analysis identified triggers from macroeconomic, societal, leadership and project management perspectives with synergistic relationships with each other based on prevalence and significance. Among the key triggers is a delay in work progress, political instability, adverse weather, social issues, delay in progress payment to contractors and modification of project scope. In conclusion, the triggers of cost overrun in highway projects are contextually driven by the complex nature of the project management, societal, macroeconomic and leadership triggers specific to the Nigerian context.

The research was limited to only highway infrastructure projects in Nigeria. Furthermore, the findings are based on a small sample size, and thus, caution must be taken before applying the outcome of this study in a generalised way to other contexts.

Practically, the stakeholders i.e. client, contractors and consultants should acknowledge the contextual circumstances in which each of the triggers takes place, which will aid in developing pragmatic measures and make the right decisions towards addressing these triggers during any highway construction project in Nigeria and enhance the chances of project success.

The context-based approach applied in this study is expected to provide a new insight in understanding the triggers of cost overruns, especially in highway projects in Nigeria and indeed other developing countries with similar governance characteristics