Profit forecasts are rarely disclosed in the UK except in prospectuses, circulars and during takeover bids. There are few regulations governing the content of profit forecasts. Under stock exchange rules these forecasts must be reported on by both reporting accountants and the merchant bankers...

This paper comprises a review of the literature on materiality in accounting. The paper starts by examining the context in which materiality is relevant, and the problems arising from applying the concept in practice. Definitions of materiality from legal, accounting and stock exchange sources...

Most studies of forecast disclosure do not examine the information disclosed in forecasts, focusing instead on the dichotomous decision to disclose/not disclose a forecast. More recent research has begun to examine the nature of the forecasts disclosed (qualitative vs. non-qualitative; point or...

This 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...

Purpose – This paper reviews prior definitions of the umbrella term ‘clinical governance’. The research question is: do clinical governance definitions adequately distinguish between governance, management and practice functions? Three definitions are introduced to replace that umbrella...

Purpose – Can personality traits of Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) be detected at-a-distance? Following newspaper speculation that the banking crisis of 2008 was partly caused by CEO hubris, this paper analyses the CEO letters to shareholders of a single bank over ten years for evidence of...

Purpose – This paper reviews and critiques prior research on audit committees using a practice-theory lens. Research on audit committees has followed the same trajectory as early research on boards of directors, which has been criticised for its singular theoretical perspectives and...

This paper examines the role of experts from both a United Kingdom and North America perspective. The paper starts by pointing out the important role of expert evidence in assisting the tier of fact. The distinction between accountants as fact witnesses and as expert witnesses is identified. The...

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...