UCD RePEc Archive Collection
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This archive collects full text open access versions (post-prints) of journal articles, conference papers, working papers and other research outputs from University College Dublin and sends them to RePEc and its services.
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- PublicationWomen in the ProfessionAt the 1984 Annual Dinner of the Leinster Society of Chartered Accountants, Mr. R. Hickok, Chairman of the "Future Issues" committee of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), outlined 14 issues facing the accounting profession in the US. One of these issues was that "the upward mobility of women in public accounting needs to be strengthened. There is a high probability that women will constitute more than half of the accountancy profession within two decades ..." Is this comment likely to be valid in relation to the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Ireland (lCAI)?
169 - PublicationIrish Published Accounts under ScrutinyPublished accounts are subject to more scrutiny than ever before due to increased interest in, and understanding of, accounting issues by financial analysts, business commentators and the financial press. Discussion of accounting issues in national newspapers and business magazines is now commonplace. The goodwill debate, brands accounting and off balance sheet financing are some of the more recent controversial issues. Apart from significantly increased regulation following implementation of the EC Fourth Directive and 20 years of standard setting, there is a movement to encourage voluntary disclosures and improved financial reporting; events such as the Published Accounts Award organised by the Leinster Society of Chartered Accountants are part of this movement. The recent publication of “A Survey of Irish Published Accounts” is the first independent assessment of accounting and disclosure practices of Irish companies. The survey was launched by the Minister for Industry and Commerce, Mr. Desmond O'Malley, T.D. on April 24th last at a reception in University College Dublin. The Minister welcomed the survey and said that “it provided a comprehensive body of information which can be used to judge compliance with standards, to identify problem areas in standards and to develop best practice”. He went on to say that the Irish accountancy profession would find the survey a valuable resource document when contributing to the deliberations of the international accounting standards committee, FEE, and other international organisations.
205 - PublicationDisclosures in Profit Forecasts: Evidence from UK Takeover Bids(1995-05)This paper analyses the content of 250 profit forecasts disclosed during 701 takeover bids for public companies listed on the London Stock Exchange in the period 1988 to 1992. Two variables measure disclosure; one based on the number of items disclosed and one based on the number of assumptions disclosed in the forecasts. Hypotheses are tested to assess whether there is a significant association between disclosure and three levels of independent variables: Takeover-context variables (forecaster/party to the bid; type of bid; value of bid); forecast-related variables (circumstances of making the forecast; forecast horizon; period of the forecast) and firm-specific variables (size; leverage; management ownership; substantial shareholdings, financial advisors; auditors / reporting accountants; listing status; industry; nationality). Negative binomial regression was used in estimating a model explaining disclosures in forecasts . For both number of items disclosed and number of assumptions disclosed, and in all regression models, type of bid, circumstances of making the forecast and the period of the forecast were significant. Disclosures in forecasts were significantly greater during contested bids, in voluntary forecasts and in longer period forecasts. Significantly more assumptions were disclosed by target forecasters and in longer horizon forecasts. Significantly more items were disclosed where the percentage management ownership was lower. Thus, the takeover-context variables and forecast-related variables appeared to be most relevant in determining disclosures in forecasts. Firm-specific variables had less explanatory power in the models.
242 - PublicationCorporate Governance Practices in Irish Companies(1997)
; This research analyses corporate governance practices as disclosed in the annual reports of Irish companies. In particular the paper investigates: Independence of boards; Separation of the role of chairman and chief executive; Presence of board sub-committees; Women on boards. The study is based on a sample of 84 Irish quoted and commercial semi-state companies. Significant improvements were found in corporate governance practices compared with similar earlier studies. Most Irish companies comply with the Cadbury Committee recommendations. Nonetheless there is some evidence of non-compliance. There is evidence that women continue to be under-represented on boards of Irish companies.2634 - PublicationElectronic Mail as a Pedagogical Tool to Teach International Accounting(1997-10)
; This paper reports on the use of electronic mail (e-mail) as a pedagogical tool in accounting instruction. E-mail has potential significance as a teaching tool particularly from its ability to link students internationally. It is therefore of particular interest in teaching international accounting. It provides a low-cost, relatively easy-to-implement approach to enhance instruction of comparative international accounting regulation and practices. However, application of e-mail to many other classroom situations is discussed. E-mail was used as a means of accounting instruction in a joint international accounting project between students at University College Dublin and at The University of Texas at Arlington. The project, a joint comparative study of Irish/UK versus US accounting practices, was conducted entirely by e-mail. The paper reports how e-mail expanded the learning experiences of students working together internationally. This paper establishes the feasibility of using e-mail as part of students' learning experiences. Further research is underway to measure specific learning improvements attributable to e-mail as a method of instruction and to examine whether e-mail has potential as an effective teaching tool.226 - PublicationEmployment and remuneration of Irish chartered accountants : evidence of gender differencesLiterature on gender based salary differentials has proliferated in recent years but there have been few studies on salary differentials in the accounting profession. This paper examines factors influencing remuneration of Irish chartered accountants. Responses to the Leinster Society of Chartered Accountants (LSCA) annual salary survey in 1995 and 1996 were analysed. Employee-related and employer-related factors influencing remuneration were examined including Gender, Work experience, Level of responsibility, Employment contract and Size and Industry. Gender was a significant explanatory variable in explaining differences in salaries paid to employees working in non-audit businesses. Gender, however, was not found to be significant in explaining differences in salaries paid in audit practices. As partners in auditing firms are not included in this research (because partners do not earn a salary) this finding must be interpreted cautiously.
Scopus© Citations 8 927 - PublicationEmployment and remuneration of Irish chartered accountants: evidence of gender differencesLiterature on gender based salary differentials has proliferated in recent years but there have been few studies on salary differentials in the accounting profession. This paper examines factors influencing remuneration of Irish chartered accountants. Responses to the Leinster Society of Chartered Accountants (LSCA) annual salary survey in 1995 and 1996 were analysed. Employee-related and employer-related factors influencing remuneration were examined including Gender, Work experience, Level of responsibility, Employment contract and Size and Industry. Gender was a significant explanatory variable in explaining differences in salaries paid to employees working in non-audit businesses. Gender, however, was not found to be significant in explaining differences in salaries paid in audit practices. As partners in auditing firms are not included in this research (because partners do not earn a salary) this finding must be interpreted cautiously.
453Scopus© Citations 8 - PublicationA comparative analysis of required financial disclosures in US, UK and international accounting standards(1999)
; This paper explores the extent to which there are significant differences in disclosure requirements under US, UK, international accounting standards. Previous research into international disclosure diversity has focused on an analysis of disclosure practices in different countries rather than on disclosures required by regulations in different countries. Financial disclosures required by UK professional regulations and by International Accounting Standards (IASs) are summarised and classified using Barth and Murphy’s (1994) categorisation by purpose of disclosure and by category and subject. US, UK and international required disclosures are compared and areas of divergence are highlighted. Although differences in required disclosures between the three regulatory regimes are evident from the analysis, these differences are not significant in the multivariate models tested. A notable difference is greater required disclosures in the UK/IASs concerning entity structures (business combinations, consolidations, segmental reporting etc.).A greater proportion of US required disclosures address risks and potentials and assess returns. A much greater proportion of UK/IASs disclosures related to items recognised in accounts. The Financial Accounting Standards Board is currently examining the issue of disclosure effectiveness in the US. By highlighting areas of diversity in required disclosures in the US, UK and internationally this study will add insights to this discussion of disclosure effectiveness.2272 - PublicationNational networks of corporate power : an Irish perspectiveThis paper maps the network of interlocking directorships formed by the boards of the top 50 financial and 200 non-financial companies in Ireland. The Irish network is compared with those in ten countries, based on the same sample size and selection criteria as used in this paper, using the methods and theory of Social Network Analysis (SNA). Fundamental to the paper is the idea that the network of interlocking directorates is in some way structured, and not the result of random processes. Irish boards were found to have a relatively loose connected network structure which is sparser and less dense than those of other countries. This is reflected in the relatively low percentage of multiple directors and the relatively fewer number of directorships per multiple director. In general, indigenous Irish public companies tended to be central in the network, while a disproportionately large number of foreign and private companies were isolated on the periphery. However, a number of foreign-owned companies were central to the network - in particular, those which started as indigenous Irish companies which were subsequently taken over. When account is taken of the nature of the Irish economy and business in comparison with that of the ten other countries, it is seen that the opportunities for company interlinking at board level in Ireland are relatively fewer. However, within these constraints, there is a thriving network of corporate power in Ireland.
1059Scopus© Citations 13 - PublicationVoluntary disclosure of profit forecasts by target companies in takeover bidsThis paper examines factors influencing voluntary forecast disclosure by target companies, whether good/bad news forecasts are disclosed and the influence of forecasts on the outcome of hostile bids. Disclosure was significantly more likely during contested bids. In agreed bids, probability of forecast disclosure was greater the shorter the bid horizon. In contested bids, forecasts were more likely where there were large block shareholdings, for larger targets and for targets in the capital goods industry. There was a clear tendency to disclose good news forecasts. A significant positive association between forecast disclosure and increase in offer price was found.
Scopus© Citations 42 1984