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The purpose of this paper is to investigate and identify threshold concepts that are the essential conceptual content of finance programmes.

Conducted in three stages with finance academics and students, the study uses threshold concepts as both a theoretical framework and a research methodology.

The study identifies ten threshold concepts in finance that are clearly endorsed by finance academics. However, the extent to which students are explicitly aware of the threshold concepts in finance is limited.

As well as informing further research into the design and delivery of finance programmes, the findings of the study inform the use of threshold concepts as a theoretical framework and a research methodology. The study does not explore the bounded, discursive, reconstitutive and liminal aspects of threshold concepts. Implications include the lack of recognition of more modern concepts in finance, and the need for input from industry and related disciplines.

The threshold concepts in finance provide the starting point for finance educators in the design and delivery of finance programmes. In particular, the threshold concepts in finance need to be made more explicit to students.

Using the threshold concepts in finance as well as the other findings of this study to inform to finance curriculum design and delivery is likely to achieve better quality educational outcomes for finance students as well as better prepare them for professional finance roles.

The finance curriculum is under researched and for the first time this study identifies the threshold concepts in finance to inform the design of finance programmes.

This study aims to investigate climate finance literature to understand whether and how research in this area is explored from an accounting perspective.

This study conducts a meta-analysis and narrative review of climate finance.

The issue of climate finance has received increasing attention in recent years because of international negotiations on climate change. The volume of literature examining climate finance has grown, particularly from a finance perspective. The literature analysed is diverse, using unique methodological and theoretical differences and providing insights into the effectiveness of policies and the impact of climate finance on capital markets, economic growth and the green economy. However, in spite of growing concerns regarding the accounting and reporting issues in climate finance, little attention has been paid to this topic from an accounting, accountability, audit or corporate disclosure perspective.

This study contributes to climate finance research by integrating insights from a dispersed and emerging body of literature by conducting meta-analysis and narrative review. Meta-analysis enables us to map the development of this specific literature and how it has changed over the years, whereas a narrative review serves as a basis for identifying research gaps and developing avenues for future research in accounting, accountability, audit and corporate disclosure.

Academic institutions are under increasing pressure to show that their research output has impact. As this concept is easier to quantify in science-based disciplines, this chapter reviews how one interprets what “impact” is in finance. It suggests how best to incorporate it into academic research through the use of a simple to understand impact ratio. It provides an overview of the leading academic publications and their role in this process. It asks how impact within finance is understood, appreciated and subject to critique. It concludes that academics should demonstrate how they can facilitate the development of capital markets through evidence-based policy and enhancing capital market efficiency.

The purpose of this paper is to analyze which key financial factors are appropriate for measuring a credit rating score for family firms. In the recent literature, there exists a vast number of studies which evaluates performance differences between family and non-family firms (NFF). However an analysis with regards to a distinction between credit rating scores of family-orientated businesses compared to their counterparts in Austria has not been examined so far.

In order to bridge this research gap, an empirical model based on Moody’s credit rating methodology is used to address these issues. Therefore, the relevant data were taken from the 600 largest, both listed and non-listed, companies of Austria. The statistical measurements refer to a comparison of the means resulting from quantitative rating categories (profitability, leverage structure, liquidity development and firm size).

The results of this empirical research show that family firms achieve better values in profitability, leverage structure and liquidity development based on credit rating scores. Only firm size represents no significant differences between family and NFF.

This study will contribute to the existing literature in the academic area of family business research and offers a framework for future empirical analysis in this field. Furthermore, this paper provides important information that will help both family and NFF accomplish their financial strategies related to credit rating transitions.

The authors investigate the 2008-2009 short-sales ban in Korea, one of the most comprehensive and restrictive short-selling bans worldwide. The purpose of this paper is to examine: whether the ban stopped a destabilizing effect, if there was any, of short-selling activities; whether the ban improved or deteriorated the informational efficiency or the price discovery process of the stock market; and whether the ban had any impact on market liquidity.

Multiple regression; vector autoregression analysis; and generalized autoregressive conditional heteroskedasticity analysis.

The authors find no evidence that short-sales have a market-destabilizing effect and thus, restricting short-selling has a market-stabilizing effect. On the contrary, the short-selling ban is associated with an increase in return volatility and a deterioration of the price discovery process, particularly for the stocks without derivatives traded on them. The authors also find evidence of a liquidity decrease for short-sale intensive stocks. However, the evidence is inconclusive as to whether the market efficiency and liquidity changes are solely the result of the short-sales ban or the compound effects of both the ban and the concurrent progress of the financial crisis.

The literature does not provide a conclusive view on the effects of short-sales or restrictions thereof on the stock market. Also, the existing research on recent worldwide shorting bans often lack empirical scope (e.g. 32 stocks for UK; three weeks for USA). In contrast, the short-sales ban in the Korean stock market, one of the most comprehensive and restrictive short-selling bans worldwide, lasted for eight months for all the listed stocks and is still in effect for financial stocks. The authors find no evidence that short-sales have a market-destabilizing effect and thus, restricting short-selling has a market-stabilizing effect.

The main objective of this study is to examine whether firms follow the financing hierarchy as suggested by the Pecking Order Theory (POT). The External Funds Needed (EFN) model offers a financing hierarchy that can be used for examining the POT. As far as the EFN considers growth of sales as a driver for changing capital structure, it follows that shall firms plan for a sustainable growth of sales, a sustainable financing can be reached and maintained. This study uses data about the firms listed in two indexes: Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA30) and NASDAQ100. The data cover quarterly periods from June 30, 1999, to March 31, 2012. The methodology includes (a) cointegration analysis in order to test for model specification and (b) causality analysis in order to show the generic and mutual associations between the components of EFN. The results conclude that (a) in the majority of the cases, firms plan for an increase in growth sales but not necessarily to approach sustainable rate; (b) in cases of observed and sustainable growth of sales, firms reduce debt financing persistently; (c) firms use equity financing to finance sustainable growth of sales in the long run only, while in the short run, firms use internal financing, that is, retained earnings as a flexible source of financing; and (d) the EFN model is quite useful for examining the hierarchy of financing. This study contributes to the related literature in terms of utilizing the properties of the EFN model in order to examine the practical aspects of the POT. These practical considerations are extended to examine the use of the POT in cases of observed and sustainable growth rates. The findings contribute to the current literature that there is a need to offer an adjustment to the financing order suggested by the POT. Equity financing is the first source of financing current and sustainable growth of sales, followed by retained earnings, and debt financing is the last resort.