This dissertation is concerned with a primary and two secondary research issues. The primary issue pertains to the existence of a two-stage auditor switching decision process; that is the auditor change and the auditor selection stages. The two secondary issues concern the relative influence of variables within their respective decision stages. External auditors are engaged not only to comply with the Corporations Law requirement and Australian Stock Exchange membership conditions but also to reduce the degree of information risk assigned by financial statement users to financial statements prepared by auditee management. The decision to switch auditors may cause financial statement users to assign a higher degree of information risk to financial statements, i.e., the indirect costs of switching auditors. A substantial increase in these indirect costs may have occurred as the average rate that Australian publicly listed companies switch auditor has increased in recent years. However, prior research has provided inconsistent and inconclusive evidence with regard to the variables that influence auditees to switch auditors. To avoid mis-perceptions by financial statement users about the newly appointed auditors' attestation of the financial information prepared by auditees, a greater understanding is needed of the auditor switching decision process to assist in mitigating these indirect costs of switching auditors. In prior research the underlying suggestion why auditees switch auditors is the development of a mis-match of audit services demanded to the services supplied by the incumbent auditor. To overcome this mis-match, auditees after deciding to change auditors then select a specific audit firm that offers suitable services and possesses suitable characteristics. A suggested reason for the inconsistent findings of prior research is that there are two decision stages (auditor change and auditor selection) in the auditor switching decision process and past studies have examined, intentionally or otherwise, different decision stages. From a two decision stage perspective, there are three additional explanations for the inconsistent findings of prior research. These explanations are 1) the inappropriate use of surrogate measures for the decision stage studied, 2) the misuse of the terms auditor change, auditor selection and auditor switching, and 3) the inappropriate research methodology and instrument design employed. This absence of a 'shared agreement' among researchers about the two-stage auditor switching decision concept and misuse of terms may have confused not only researchers but also survey participants and readers of auditor switching literature thus contributing to the inconsistencies in prior evidence as well as perpetuating the inconsistent results where the readers are the future researchers. A review of the literature identified five characteristic variables of the incumbent and replacement audit firms that influence the auditor switching decision. Four variables (disagreements between auditees and auditors that result in, or are caused by, the issuance of a qualified audit report and recommendations from three external sources) in addition to the five incumbent auditor characteristics were found to influence only the auditor change decision. In addition to the five replacement auditor characteristic variables, a further five variables, involving audit firm image creation or other promotional activities, have been found to influence the auditor selection decision stage. A primary and two secondary problems regarding the auditor switching decision process are addressed (1) How and to what extent does the impact of the five auditor characteristics on Australian auditees' decisions to change auditors (to terminate the incumbent auditor's appointment) differ from that on auditees' decisions to select the replacement auditor? (2) How and to what extent are the nine variables used by Australian auditee management in the decision to change auditors (to terminate the incumbent auditors appointment)? (3) How and to what extent are the ten variables used by Australian auditee management in the decision to select a replacement auditor? The provision of evidence to support the two-stage auditor switching decision process may be achieved by jointly examining and identifying significant differences in the perceived influence of auditor characteristics across the two decision stages and a comparison of their rank order of influence within each stage. Three empirical models are constructed to investigate these three research questions. Using the MANOVA (within-subjects) design, the first model is to analyse each respondent's perception of the level of influence of each of the five auditor characteristic variables across the two decision stages. The second and third empirical models are using an one-way ANOVA design to test the influence of each of the respective independent variables (i.e., nine variables for the change decision and ten variables for the selection decision) on the respective dependent variable (i.e., the change decision or the selection decision). Fifty-three usable responses were received from Australian companies identified as voluntarily switching auditors for the reporting year ended 1990 and/or 1991. The data collected for analysis were provided by company executives of these companies. The major findings of this study are: 1) Two of the five auditor characteristics, 'level of audit quality' and 'suitability of non-audit services', differed significantly in their level of relative influence across the two decision stages. Furthermore, there was some support in the results for a perceived difference in the influence of a third auditor characteristic, 'size of audit fees', across both stages. 2) Significant differences were perceived in the level of influence of variables on the auditor change decision stage. The six most influential variables were the higher audit fees, the auditor's offices were not located near the auditee's geographically dispersed offices, the incumbent auditor's lack of industry specialisation, a higher audit quality was not provided, the non-audit services offered were unsuitable, and director's recommendations. 3) In the auditor selection decision stage, significant differences were perceived in the level of influence of variables. The six most influential variables were the lower fees, the recommendations of business colleagues, a higher quality audit can be provided, the suitability of range of non-audit services, the closeness of the auditor's offices to the auditee's geographically dispersed operations, and the availability of industry specialisation. 4) A comparison of the rank order of influence of auditor characteristic variables within each decision stage found variances exist for two variables 'closeness of auditor's offices to the auditee's operations' and 'the level of industry specialisation' across the two stages. 5) The significant difference in the level of influence of characteristics of the incumbent and replacement auditors in the first finding suggests that auditors are not perceived as providing homogeneous services. Furthermore, from the significant difference in these auditor characteristic variables within each decision stage in the second and third findings imply that the auditor characteristics of an auditor are not perceived as homogeneous. The following major conclusions are drawn from this study. The evidence from these major findings support the existence of a two-stage auditor switching decision process. The results also show that auditor switching decision makers' perceptions of the variables that influence auditor switching vary across the two decision stages and with the auditor change and auditor selection decisions. Finally, because the characteristics of the auditors vary in their perceived influence across both stages and within each decision stage, these variances suggest the auditor characteristics supplied are perceived to be heterogeneous. This perceived heterogeneity permits audit firms to differentiate their services offered and requires auditees to employ a two-stage auditor switching decision process.

Today's business environment is characterised by organisational dependence on information and communication technology. At the same time, this reliance on information technology and systems (IT/IS, hereafter IT) has given rise to concerns about how to evaluate IT investment initiatives. Issues such as the popular 'productivity paradox' and the broader 'value for IT money' (e.g., Brynjolfsson and Hitt 1998; Davern and Kauffman 2000) debate have further fuelled the extensive research in the area of IT investment and assessment. However, a review of current literature reveals a number of differences between IT investment assessment literature and traditional capital budgeting literature, particularly in the way that the entire decision making process is rarely discussed in IT investment decision making research. Instead, much attention has been focused on project justification or evaluation alone. Thus, it was argued for this research that an emphasis on the entire decision making process - from IT planning and analysis to post-implementation evaluation - is important, as potential organisational and other contextual variables that may not be apparent at the evaluation stage, can be better identified and appreciated. Another theme that this research seeks to investigate is the applicability and practicability of current IT decision making theories and evaluation methods discussed in the literature. Considering the breadth and depth of existing research in this area, IT investment decision making is, however, still seen as problematic today (e.g., Mahmood and Mann 2000). In particular, the literature reports a polarisation of empirical evidence towards the use of either over-optimistic or over-pessimistic forecasts of IT performance and return on investment (e.g., Irani et al. 1997). Thus, the usefulness of these theoretical models and techniques cannot be seen as clearly established. As a result, no single theory or technique can be said to be unequivocally successful in helping firms to evaluate IT investment opportunities and to identify where IT value lies. This discrepancy between the desired and the actual outcomes of IT investment decision making highlights a possible gap between what is offered in theory by researchers and what is used by practitioners. Gaining an understanding of the underlying issues associated with this gap is important, as its existence raises questions about the veracity of recent theoretical developments in IT investment decision making methodology. Hence, the research problem investigated in this research is: What is the level of applicability and practicability of the current theories and techniques relevant to IT investment decision making and evaluation, as observed in large Australian companies? To address the research question, this research was conducted by two studies. The first study adopted a survey methodology to establish the specific decision making content and process involved in IT investment. The collected data from this part of the research were used for both descriptive and inferential statistics analysis purposes. The second study consisted of three convergent interviews, which examined the significant institutional contexts that might influence the decision outcome, further adding meaning to the findings of the first study. The key findings of the research are that the planning, evaluation, and post-implementation evaluation activities for IT investments have not been performed widely and consistently. Although sophisticated evaluation methods have been developed over the years, they do not appear to have provided a satisfactory answer to improve IT decision making practice. It appears that the underlying problem with IT investment decision making cannot be explained by the inadequacy of the adopted evaluation techniques alone, and answers must also lie elsewhere. Two potential problem areas were found to be organisations' unenthusiastic attitude towards IT, and a general lack of applicability and practicability of current decision making and evaluation theories. The unenthusiastic attitude towards IT is explained by several factors as identified in this research. Particularly, they were related to: (1) difficulty with forecasting future business needs, (2) lack of time for sufficient IT planning, (3) performance of past IT investments leading to IT conservatism, (4) IT being generally seen as operating costs, (5) budgetary constraint, (6) competitors' imitation leading to undifferentiated or similar technology/process, (7) technologies fast becoming obsolete, and (8) organisation complexity, power structure, and existing policy and procedures all making change difficult. It was suggested that without fundamentally changing the way technology is perceived and treated by the business community, the value of IT will continue to be questioned and IT investment decision making will continue to be difficult. The lack of applicability and practicability of contemporary decision making and evaluation theories was also found to be significant, with very few organisations considering them to be useful. Four key factors impeding adequate system planning and evaluation were also uncovered: (1) business necessity remains a main IT driver, (2) IT is accepted as a cost of being in business, (3) users' IT needs must be met responsively, and (4) IT is inherently difficult to evaluate with any accuracy. As a result, organisations were often found to adopt the following evaluation strategies: (1) situational, rather than systematic evaluation, (2) a cost-management approach to evaluation, often resulting in the use of an excessive discount rate or cost of capital, (3) waiting for the technology in question to mature before investing. The contribution of this research is that it has both theoretical and practical significance. The theoretical significance of this research arises from insights into the existing body of theory and further, from theorising about the decision making practices as adopted by large Australian companies. At the same time, this research also serves as a practical reference for the development of decision making practice and policy. Only with a clear understanding of the important aspects involved in IT investment decision making, can organisations define and approach their investment tasks more successfully.

This study investigated the use of competencies for human resource management in seven Australian companies. Despite advocacy for the use of competencies by Government Committees and Task Forces (For example Carmichael (1992), Mayer, (1992) and Karpin, 1995), and the existence of competency standards for eighty per cent of the Australian workforce, the competency approach has not been widely adopted. A review of the literature indicated that the term competency had several meanings with different implications for its use depending on the meaning. The study looked at how individuals have defined the term and applied the approach to human resource management practices. Interviews were conducted with Human Resource and Training managers, and operative staff in companies using competencies. How they defined the term, described the rationale for using competencies, and applied competencies to selection, training, performance appraisal and remuneration were determined. Case studies were written for each company to describe their particular application of competencies. Competencies were found to be defined in several ways by those interviewed. Some advantages of using competencies in human resource management applications were found. The amount of work involved in introducing the competency approach was described as a reason why competencies have not been more widely adopted.

Accounting for goodwill and identifiable intangibles is one of the most controversial issues in financial reporting. It has been on the agenda of the Australian Accounting Standards Board, the US, UK, and the International Accounting Standards Boards, and the Full High Court of Australia. The Australian Securities and Investments Commission has also placed accounting for intangibles in its Media Releases directed at specific companies. Evidence suggests that the materiality of goodwill and identifiable intangible assets in corporate statements of financial position for a large number of companies is the reason for the considerable attention given to goodwill and identifiable intangibles. The present study has two objectives. First, it analyses the Australian market perception of goodwill and identifiable intangibles as assets in the determination of the market valuation of companies. Second, it investigates whether the market perceives goodwill and identifiable intangibles as wasting resources when valuing Australian firms. In order to achieve these objectives, the analysis initially develops and estimates a model (the asset-based model) that uses financial position statement items to explain the market value of companies' equity. This model examines the association between reported goodwill and identifiable intangible asset values and companies' market values. Given Ohlson's (1993) argument that companies' market value might be better explained by a model that includes a stock concept of value and a flow concept of earnings, a second model (the asset and income-based model) that incorporates an income variable into the initial model, is then developed and estimated. This model examines the association between the goodwill and identifiable intangible amortisation expense and companies' market values. Evidence suggests that there is a statistically significant negative association between equity market values and write-offs of goodwill, confirming the market perception of write-offs of goodwill as a wasting resource when valuing companies. Evidence also suggests that there is a statistically significant negative association between equity market values and write-offs of identifiable intangibles, at least for the total sample of the present study, providing limited evidence of the market perception of identifiable intangibles as wasting resources when valuing companies. However, the negative and inconsistently significant association between equity market values and write-offs of identifiable intangibles on an annual basis suggests that the relationship may be more complex than traditionally analysed / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

This thesis reports on a study that examined customer accounting (CA) in Australian companies. The broad aims of the thesis are to develop an understanding of the organisational role played by CA practice and the role accounting plays in providing information about a firm's customer base. Three empirical phases have been undertaken in the study. The first phase involved exploratory interviews with accountants and marketers from a number of Australian firms. The second phase comprised an in-depth case study that involved the development of a segmental customer profitability analysis in a major Australian telecommunications company. The third empirical phase involved the administration of a survey questionnaire to chief accountants and marketing managers from a number of large Australian companies. A number of significant findings are reported and include: (1) A level of CA practice has been observed that is reasonably in line with what was anticipated based on the minimal previous academic interest in this area. (2) There appears to be a potential for further CA development in Australian companies. (3) The interview findings identified 'short-term tactical decisions' and 'focus attention on maximising customer value' as the two most important organisational roles CA may play. (4) CA systems were found to provide important information for marketing resource allocation decisions, customer retention decisions, customer service management decisions and customer pricing decisions. (5) The main barriers to CA implementation identified during the segmental CPA case study and exploratory interviews concerned information technology and data acquisition problems. This finding was supported by the results of the survey questionnaire phase of the study where in addition to these two barriers, 'other competing organisational priorities' was rated highly as an impediment to CA system development. (6) Some support was found for the proposed relationships between CA and the contingent factors of company size, customisation, and organisational structure. (7) Limited support was found for the proposed positive association between CA systems and competition intensity and marketing orientation. (8) No support was found for the proposed relationships between perceived environmental uncertainty, organisational strategy, organisational performance and CA systems. (9) Customisation was the only contingent factor found to have a significant impact upon the potential of CA to aid management.