Yang, Shuo. / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2010. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 47-51). / Abstracts in English and Chinese. / Title Page --- p.i / Thesis/Assessment Committee --- p.ii / Table of Contents --- p.iii / List of Tables --- p.iv / Abstract (English) --- p.v / Abstract (Chinese) --- p.vi / Chapter Chapter 1 --- Introduction --- p.1 / Chapter Chapter 2 --- Background Literature --- p.6 / Chapter 2.1 --- Divestiture Literature --- p.6 / Chapter 2.2 --- Conservatism and Investment Efficiency Literature --- p.9 / Chapter Chapter 3 --- Hypothesis Development --- p.13 / Chapter 3.1 --- Conservatism's Effect on Divestitures through Debtholders Channel --- p.14 / Chapter 3.2 --- Conservatism's Effect on Divestitures through Equityholders Channel --- p.16 / Chapter 3.3 --- Conservatism and Disclosure of Use of Proceeds from Divestitures --- p.18 / Chapter Chapter 4 --- Sample Selection --- p.22 / Chapter Chapter 5 --- Research Design --- p.27 / Chapter Chapter 6 --- Empirical Results --- p.34 / Chapter 6.1 --- Univariate Analysis --- p.34 / Chapter 6.2 --- Timely Loss Recognition and Selling Firm Market Reaction to Divestiture Announcement --- p.40 / Chapter 6.3 --- Timely Loss Recognition and Selling Firm Post-divestiture Performance Change --- p.41 / Chapter 6.4 --- Timely Loss Recognition and Non-disclosure of Use of Proceeds --- p.42 / Chapter Chapter 7 --- Sensitivity Tests --- p.43 / Chapter Chapter 8 --- Conclusions --- p.45 / References --- p.47 / Appendix A Accounting Treatment of Disposal of Assets and Special Items --- p.52 / Appendix B Examples of Divestiture Announcements --- p.56

O interesse sobre o conhecimento da carga tributária efetiva das empresas e sua mensuração é cada vez maior, em razão principalmente do crescimento da mobilidade internacional do capital e da mão-de-obra, decorrente do contínuo avanço do processo de globalização. Este trabalho tem por objetivo verificar se existem divergências significativas entre o enfoque fiscal e o contábil na mensuração da carga tributária média efetiva. A questão de pesquisa tratada é - existem divergências significativas entre o enfoque fiscal - macrodados - e o contábil - microdados - na mensuração da carga tributária média efetiva? A pesquisa bibliográfica abrangeu artigos e estudos de publicações técnicas e científicas nacionais e estrangeiras. O método adotado para a realização do estudo foi o hipotético-dedutivo. Quanto às teorias que serviram de base para o estudo, foram consideradas a teoria da incidência tributária e a teoria econômica, no que corresponde às finanças públicas, e a teoria contábil no que se refere aos princípios de mensuração de receitas, despesas, ativos e passivos para formulação dos modelos propostos - mensuração contábil da carga tributária média efetiva das empresas com base na DVA - Demonstração do Valor Adicionado e na DRE - Demonstração do Resultado do Exercício. Foi utilizada uma população de empresas do banco de dados da revista Melhores & Maiores, da Editora Abril, as quais apresentaram DVA no período de 2001 a 2005. A metodologia adotada incluiu pesquisa bibliográfica, documental e empírica, com estatísticas descritivas e aplicação dos testes estatísticos para verificação quanto à confirmação ou não da hipótese. Para tal, partindo-se da amostra total, fez-se necessário o tratamento dos dados, eliminando-se as empresas com prejuízos anuais durante o período citado, bem como aquelas que apresentaram valor adicionado líquido ou distribuição de tributos menor ou igual a zero, e ainda as empresas que não informaram separadamente os impostos incidentes sobre as vendas. As conclusões demonstraram que a carga tributária mensurada com base na DVA - modelo contábil mais similar ao fiscal -, e DRE é significativamente diferente em relação à realizada com base no modelo fiscal propriamente dito. A comparação entre a mensuração com base no modelo contábil, considerando os microdados da DVA, e a baseada na DRE também mostra que são significativamente diferentes entre si, em todos os anos do período analisado. Além disso, subsidiariamente, quando se compara a carga tributária entre os ramos econômicos - comércio, indústria e serviços -, nota-se que, com referência ao comércio e à indústria, um ramo não apresenta diferença significativa em relação ao outro, mas ambos, no que se refere à DRE, apresentamse significativamente diferentes com relação a serviços em todos os anos, porém, no tocante à DVA, somente em alguns deles. A pesquisa apresenta limitações, que não a invalidam, pois o conjunto de empresas que compõem a amostra não representa o universo das empresas tributadas no Brasil, e demonstrações financeiras apresentadas podem não ter uniformidade na adoção dos padrões contábeis. Assim, não se pode dizer que as conclusões deste estudo podem ser estendidas ao conjunto de empresas brasileiras, mas sem dúvida isto não significa que os modelos contábeis aqui propostos não possam ser utilizados pelas empresas e pelos órgãos governamentais responsáveis pela política tributária no Brasil. A importância desta pesquisa reside em demonstrar que a contabilidade pode ser utilizada como um instrumento relevante ao entendimento dos efeitos do sistema tributário sobre os diversos agentes econômicos, contribuindo assim para questionamentos e discussões visando ao aperfeiçoamento da gestão empresarial e pública no que concerne à carga tributária. / The interest in the companies\'effective tax burden as well as its measurement is more and more greater, mainly due to the fact the international mobility of capital and labor has been growing, as a result of the globalization constant progress. This study aims at verifying if there are significant disagreements between the tax approach and the accounting approach when it comes to the measurement of the effective average tax burden. The research question examined is - are there any significant disagreements between the tax approach (macro-data) and the accounting approach (micro-data) in the measurement of the effective average tax burden? The bibliographical research comprised papers and studies on national / foreign technical and scientific publications. The method employed in order to perform the study was the hypothetical-deductive one. Relating to the underlying theories for the study were used the tax incidence theory and the economic theory, with regard to the public finance and the accounting theory was used with regard to the measurement principles of revenues and expenses, assets and liabilities to formulate the proposed models - accounting measurement of the company\'s effective average tax burden based on DVA (Added-Value Demonstration) and DRE (Income Statement). A studied population of companies was taken from the \"Melhores & Maiores\" magazine database, published by Abril. These companies presented DVA, from 2001 to 2005. The methodology employed included bibliographical, documental and empirical research with descriptive statistics and statistical tests application for verifying if the hypothesis would be confirmed or not. To get this, starting from the total sample, it was necessary the data treatment, eliminating the companies that presentd net added value or distribuition to the government of taxes with values smaller or equal zero, and also the companies did not inform separately the taxes incident on the sales. The findings showed that the tax burden measured on the basis of the DVA - the accounting model most similar to the government one - is significantly different from the measurement on the government model. The comparison between the measurement based on the accounting mode, consideringl the micro-data from the DVA and the DRE ones, also shows that they are significantly different during all the years of the period in analysis. In addition to that, when comparing the tax burden by economic classes - commerce, industry and services, we can say that relating to the commerce and industry, they are not significantly different, but both commerce, and industry, are significantly different with respect to services, all years in relation to the DRE, but only in some years concerning the DVA. The research presents limitations that do not invalidate it, as the set of companies that constitute the sample does not represent the universe of the set of companies in Brazil; beside this, relanting to the financial demonstrations presented it is possible they do not have uniformity in the acceptance of the accounting patterns. Thus, it is not possible to say that the conclusions of this study may be extended to the whole set of Brazilian companies, but doubtlessly this does not mean that the accounting models proposed here can not be used by the companies and by the government units responsible for the tax politics in Brazil. The importance of this research lies in the demonstrating that the accounting practices may be used as a relevant tool in the understanding of the effects of the tax system on the various economic agents, thus contributing to discussions that target the improvement of the business and public management regarding tax burden.

<p> The overriding presence of informal sector businesses has exacerbated the problem of tax revenue generation in the economies of most developing countries. Business owners in the informal sector have negative opinions and attitudes against taxation and they are unwilling to pay taxes. This has created a gap in knowledge as researchers explore the activities of the informal sector in the economies of developing countries. The purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to explore and analyze the reasons informal sector business owners have negative opinions and attitudes against taxation. Research participants were drawn from informal sector businesses in the La Nkwantanang Madina Municipal Assembly in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana. The study explored the behavior modification and behavior economic theories to determine why informal sector business owners are ambivalent in their taxpaying obligations. The research questions were answered by interviewing 6 business owners from the informal sector with the aim of drawing up inferences about their perceptions on taxation. Some of the key findings from the study were that taxpayers have negative remarks about their interactions with tax officials because tax agents do not respect and provide the best customer service, agents misuse tax money, taxpayers do not see any benefit for paying taxes, and they are not even sure about how their tax money is used. The findings from the study present stark implications for tax officials to pursue their tax collection activities with utmost care and honor, to gain respect and confidence from the informal sector taxpayers by eliciting positive behaviors of tax obligations from that sector, as well as influencing tax policy for informal sector businesses in developing countries. The recommendations from the study will spiral future research agenda to expand current knowledge about informal sector business owner&rsquo;s perceptions and attitudes towards taxation, and to develop an informal sector taxation model to assist tax administrators in developing nations about a more congenial way to handle informal sector business owners.</p><p>

The purpose of the research is developing an understanding of the effect that International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) had, if any, on Canadian Publicly Accountable Enterprises (PAEs), specifically their external financial reporting compared to Canadian Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (Canadian GAAP). The focus of this research is the analysis of reported financial ratios of Canadian Banking companies for the year ended December 31, 2010, which will be tested for the statistically-significant differences between Canadian GAAP and IFRS. The research is designed to examine what impact on liquidity, leverage, profitability, and cash flows the change from Canadian GAAP to IFRS has, if any. Overall, the results indicated that there are no statistically significant differences between IFRS and CGAAP means and medians of financial ratios. However, the IFRS conversion did cause significant differences of the leverage ratios under IFRS and CGAAP. The statistical differences were found between medians of IFRS and CGAAP of equity ratios and means of equity’s and debt ratios. The outcomes of the investigation will be useful for Canadian public companies (specifically in the banking industry), investors, stockholders, and other lenders, all of whom rely on financial ratios for various purposes such as credit decisions and debt monitoring. In addition, the United States Government and enterprises in the United States will be able to learn from Canadian experience and make informed decisions about any future changes to accounting standards.

Healthcare has recently begun a push towards more lean practices and management. Healthcare accounting, in an effort to reflect business practices, must change to accurately reflect reality. This research seeks to explore how healthcare providers improve their accounting systems to keep up with an ever-changing lean environment. By examining both healthcare and accounting literature, this comprehensive literature review seeks to answer the question, “How does healthcare accounting adapt to lean philosophies?”.

Many business decisions which use accounting information are made under conditions of uncertainty and are biased, in part, on relative gains and losses. Therefore, accounting settings appear to be a particularily appropriate setting to test the predictions of prospect theory. To date, little accounting research has been conducted which has used prospect theory as its theoretical foundation. Using a discount period decision under risk, practicing accountants were asked to indicated he likelihood of making an inventory payment. The results of the study provide limited support fo prospect theory propositions. It also is interesting that the perceptions of and ethical conflict by subjects significantly impacts the likelihood assessments made by the subjects.

No description available.

India is one of the largest developing countries in the world. Although many issues and phenomena arising from its transitional economy are worthy of research from an accounting perspective, the Indian accounting market is a field that remains relatively unexplored in the extant literature. One of the institutional features of India is that while it is mandatory for public sector companies and banks to have joint auditors, their appointment is voluntary for other companies. In a thesis motivated by this and other institutional features and the absence of related accounting and auditing studies conducted in an Indian setting, I examine the relations of auditor type and firm ownership with the types of auditor opinions issued under the joint audit requirement. Using a sample of 1,142 firm-year observations from the major Indian stock exchanges from 2006-2008, I develop an auditor opinion model to examine the relations between firm ownership, auditor type and auditor opinions under the joint-audit requirement that applies in India. Companies’ self-selection bias for auditors is also considered and corrected using the Heckman 2-step method. Based on the empirical results, I report as follows. First, Big 4 auditors are more likely to issue modified opinions than local Indian auditors. Second, the Indian government assumes a supervisory role rather than a collusive role and the joint-audit requirement is associated with a higher level of auditor reporting quality. Finally, companies audited by joint auditors are more likely to receive modified opinions than companies audited by a single auditor. The findings provide evidence of the importance of understanding the pattern of auditor opinion in India and the incentives of joint auditors, as well as the influence this pattern has on auditor reporting quality in a transitional economy.

It is well documented in cross-country research that institutions, both economic and political, affect the reporting behavior of auditors and audit services. These findings are based on the assumption that institutions vary across countries but are more homogeneous within a country. However, cross-country research suffers from the problems of country-specific cultures, accounting rules, and regulations, and can be criticized for the use of small sample sizes, potential endogeneity, and the correlation of omitted variables. This study overcomes these problems by engaging in within-country research. Specifically, this study examines how variations in the institutional environment within China affect auditor reporting behavior. Since the initiation of the open door policy in the early 1980s, China’s institutional environment has, from both the economic and political perspectives, undergone different development stages that have moved east to west across the provinces. This thesis takes advantage of these special institutional characteristics in China to test the influence of institutions on auditor reporting behavior within a single country. Based on the NERI Index (2001) of Marketization (NIM) (Fan and Wang, 2003), I classify China’s 30 provinces into “good” and “poor” institutional regions. In poor regions, the local economy is more influenced by local governments, and suffers from an underdeveloped credit market and a poorer legal environment. Taking into account the close relationship between local governments and local government-owned companies, the absolute power of resource allocation by governments, and the low litigation risk, I hypothesize that auditors in poor institutional regions tend to be lenient to local government-owned companies by issuing them with more unqualified initial and subsequent audit opinions. I collected 8,039 firm-year observations from the Chinese stock market, the results from which provide evidence to support the hypotheses. This study extends the previous research of Chan, Lin and Mo (2006) by revealing that the lenient reporting behavior of local auditors toward local government-owned companies is more prevalent in regions with a poor institutional environment. The findings of this thesis have rich implications for policy-makers and regulators in China. One implication is that institutional improvement is a key factor in the creation of a quality audit profession, even when uniform national auditing regulations have been established.

The excessive cost of the transitioning from the Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) to the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) is a vital business challenge. Based on the transaction cost economics (TCE) theory, the purpose of this qualitative single case study was to explore strategies that some of the organizational financial professionals use to minimize excessive transition costs from GAAP to IFRS accounting systems. Data were collected from 3 financial professionals of a corporation located in the west coast region of Northern California using semistructured interviews, besides reviewed public records, and studies of developed countries that adopted IFRS. Using the thematic analysis approach, 4 themes emerged, (a) strategic planning and strategy, (b) strategies formulation, implementation, and evaluation, (c) contract negotiation and enforcement, and (d) information system and project cost. The findings of this study could add practical knowledge of focused and consistent actions to IFRS adoption strategies, which could give priority to reducing the costs of the transaction from implementing GAAP to IFRS in local firms' financial reporting. The implications for positive social changes could include the potential to enhance knowledge of financial reporting, motivate investments, increase economic resources, and improve local employment growth.