This paper reports the results of an investigation into the neutrality of the narrative discussion of financial performance and position, as evidenced in 179 annual reports of UK listed companies. Neutrality of narrative discussion was determined by comparing the average proportions of good and...

The ever‐increasing cost of seeing a graduate training contract through to its successful completion has made the selection decision, and indeed the choice of selection techniques used, increasingly vital. This paper identifies the selection methods currently used by the Scottish accountancy...

The paper analyses the concept of ‘user needs’, which has been widely adopted by official bodies as the basis of a conceptual framework for financial reporting, including the ASB in the UK, following the lead of the FASB in the US. The user needs approach is essentially deductive: if users...

In the UK, the role of the state in accounting regulation has been ambivalent for some decades. On the one hand, confidence has been openly expressed in the system of private sector accounting regulation1 while accounting standards have been granted legitimacy through recognition in company...

The past twenty years have seen a significant increase in the use of derivative financial instruments by companies throughout the world (Berkman and Bradbury 1996; Berkman, Bradbury and Magan, 1997a; Berkman, Bradbury, Hancock and Innes, 1997b; Bodnar, Hayt, Marston and Smithson, 1995; Bodnar, Hayt and Marston, 1996;...

The paper contends that the strategic use of accounting at times of organisational change does not of necessity mean that organisations should adopt new accounting systems ‐ such as activity based costing or throughput accounting. Although not necessarily fully “compatible” with new...

This paper reports the results of an interview programme designed to investigate the processes involved in the production of narrative accounting statements, and specifically the Operating and Financial Review, with a view to identifying the effect such processes might have on the content and...

This is an in‐depth case study using a grounded theory approach to explore managers’ views of ABC as part of the control system in an insurance company. Relevant issues are allowed to emerge from the data rather than imposing a theoretical framework upon them. Hypotheses are derived rather...

The Centre for Social and Environmental Accounting Research has been running Summer Schools since 1992, when the first was arranged as part of the British Accounting Association’s Summer School programme to encourage new researchers to embark on a research career. Whilst the programme has...

During the Corporate Governance Workshop in Bangor on the 19th December 2000, and the March 27th SIG meeting at the 2001 BAA conference, the SIG made some progress in our attempt to design a high level corporate governance course. We wished to do this to establish a clearer focus for and higher...