`Watson addresses some of the most pervasive myths related to small business performance in an engaging manner, capturing the nuances of these important issues. His review of the definitions of business failure and study of the differences those definitions make for research outcomes is particularly striking and useful for policy makers, researchers, and educators. This book helps us think more deeply about the variety of motivations, approaches, and outcomes that make up the world of small business.' - Patricia Greene, Babson College, US `John Watson is my type of researcher. His scholarly career has been devoted to finding out what actually happens to small businesses, based on looking in detail at their performance and the factors influencing their performance. This frequently means that sacred cows have been sent to abattoir. The most notable of these is that most small business closures are "failures". They are not, and Watson makes this point with clarity. This book further develops this insight. It then moves on to derive a better understanding of important policy issues such as the extent and relevance of financial constraints in small firms, and the role that governments might play in relaxing such constraints. Policy makers take note.' - David Storey, Warwick Business School, UK The performance of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) has been a subject of continual interest to both researchers and practitioners. This enlightening book investigates the pitfalls which have affected the assessment of SME performance in much of the past research. In this book, John Watson dispels a number of myths that have become part of the SME landscape - including that SMEs suffer from excessively high failure rates; that female-owned SMEs under-perform male-owned SMEs; and that SME growth (particularly for female-controlled SMEs) is severely limited by a lack of external funding. Making extensive use of both cross-sectional and longitudinal data, this book will appeal to research students interested in entrepreneurship and SMEs, teachers of entrepreneurship courses and policymakers. Advisors to the SME sector will also find that the material presented provides them with a good background understanding of performance in this sector.

Within the performance measurement theme, this book contributes a new decision-oriented perspective to evaluate the efficiency of organizations. This perspective defines an efficient organization as the one which attains the rationality in the operating process to generate its desired values. From this angle, the book identifies the pitfalls regarding the input-output specification in bank efficiency assessments using Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) models. It introduces the Decision-oriented Performance Measurement framework grounded in management rationality concepts as a solution to avoid these pitfalls. For empirical evidence, the book presents a goal-oriented DEA efficiency analysis of German savings bank sector.

This alert provides auditors with an overview of recent economic, industry, technical, regulatory, and professional developments that may affect how auditors conduct audits and other engagements. An entity's internal management can also use this alert to address areas of audit concern. Updates include: Economic and Industry Developments Legislative and Regulatory Developments Audit and Attestation Issues and Developments Revenue Recognition New Lease Standard Accounting for Financial Instruments Recent AICPA Independence and Developments

This book brings together, for the first time, studies of the professionalisation of accountancy in key constituent territories of the British Empire. The late nineteenth century was a period of intensive activity in terms of both imperialism and professionalisation. A team of expert contributors has examined profession-state engagements between Britain, on the one hand and Canada, South Africa, Australia, Nigeria, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, India and Kenya, and the other with a view to assessing how the organizations of accountancy in the colonies was affecting the metropolitan profession and state agents- and vice versa. Their contributions highlight the peculiarities of the professionalization processes in variant social, economic and political environments linked together by the relays of empire, prompting reflection on both the common and disparate dynamics involved. This book has numerous objectives, including giving historical insight and focus on countries that provide contrasting and variant examples of the uptake of the "British model", and broadening the appeal of accounting history and professionalisation as a taught subject in university accounting departments.

This CAPE Accounting Multiple Choice Practice book is an invaluable exam preparation aid for CAPE Accounting students. This book provides excellent practice for the multiple choice questions from Paper 1 of the CAPE examination, and has been specially written to help CAPE Accounting students improve their Paper 1 exam score.

BPP Learning Media's unique Passcards make the best use of your revision time. They summarise key topics to jog your memory and are packed with exam and assessment targeted guidance. Their innovative card format helps you revise at a glance. They are part of a market leading suite of materials BPP Learning Media has produced to help support students.

This book investigates the issues raised by the vast array of accounting standards and technical rules which have marked the recent history of accounting. It is argued that the accounting profession is beset by an inferior and incomplete notion of quality in its work which emphasises compliance with processing rules, rather than the correspondence with commercial phenomena necessary to make financial statements reliable guides for human activity.

eBook available with sample pages: 0203380622

One of the prime purposes of accounting is to communicate and yet, to date, this fundamental aspect of the discipline has received relatively little attention. The Routledge Companion to Accounting Communication represents the first collection of contributions to focus on the power of communication in accounting. The chapters have a shared aim of addressing the misconception that accounting is a purely technical, number-based discipline by highlighting the use of narrative, visual and technological methods to communicate accounting information. The contents comprise a mixture of reflective overview, stinging critique, technological exposition, clinical analysis and practical advice on topical areas of interest such as: The miscommunication that preceded the global financial crisis The failure of sustainability reporting The development of XBRL How to cut clutter With an international coterie of contributors, including a communication theorist, a Big Four practitioner and accounting academics, this volume provides an eclectic array of expert analysis and reflection. The contributors reveal how accounting communications represent, or misrepresent, the financial affairs of entities, thus presenting a state-of-the-art assessment on each of the main facets of this important topic. As such, this book will be of interest to a wide range of readers, including: postgraduate students in management and accounting; established researchers in the fields of both accounting and communications; and accounting practitioners.

Essentials of Forensic Accounting Essentials of Forensic Accounting is an authoritative resource covering a comprehensive range of forensic accounting topics. As a foundation review, a reference book, or as preparation for the Certification in Financial Forensics (CFF(R)) Exam, this publication will provide thoughtful and insightful examination of the key themes in this field, including: Professional responsibilities and practice management Fundamental forensic knowledge including laws, courts, and dispute resolution Specialized forensic knowledge such as bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization, and valuation Through illustrative examples, cases, and explanations, this book makes abstract concepts come to life to help you understand and successfully navigate this complex area.

This study considers some of the factors which led to the emergence of accounting in the structure and practices of industrial relations in one particular company over a substantial period of time. It addresses the question as to the roles accounting numbers and systems were called upon to play in the conduct of industrial relations. The book also examines the effects of accounting practice and discourses upon industrial relations and explores the nature of a reciprocal type of influence. The research is based upon the Manchester engineering firm of Hans Renold and focuses on the decision to introduce a profit-sharing scheme within the company in 1920. The study examines the origins of this managerial initiative and its subsequent performance over a 10 year period.

A presentation of classical asset pricing theory, this textbook is the only one to address the economic foundations of financial markets theory from a mathematically rigorous standpoint and to offer a self-contained critical discussion based on empirical results. Tools for understanding the economic analysis are provided, and mathematical models are presented in discrete time/finite state space for simplicity. Examples and exercises included.

Written by two leading experts, this is a compact guide to the key tools and methods necessary to carry out cost-benefit analysis (CBA). The authors use modern economic tools to obtain general equilibrium cost-benefit rules that can be used to evaluate small projects, as well as large and even mega projects. Intertemporal issues like discounting, the shadow price of capital, and the treatment of risk are covered, and a state-of-the-art summary of available methods for the valuation of unpriced commodities is also included. In addition, the book provides detailed expositions of the marginal cost of public goods (MCPF), the marginal excess burden of taxes (MEB), and second-best evaluation rules, and shows how these concepts are interrelated. The importance of undertaking due diligence in evaluations is highlighted. This is an excellent toolkit for graduate students learning about the principles of CBA, and is a useful guide for government officials and policymakers.

One of the prime purposes of accounting is to communicate and yet, to date, this fundamental aspect of the discipline has received relatively little attention. "The Routledge Companion to Accounting Communication" represents the first collection of contributions to focus on the power of communication in accounting.

The chapters have a shared aim of addressing the misconception that accounting is a purely technical, number-based discipline by highlighting the use of narrative, visual and technological methods to communicate accounting information. The contents comprise a mixture of reflective overview, stinging critique, technological exposition, clinical analysis and practical advice on topical areas of interest such as:

• The miscommunication that preceded the global financial crisis
• The failure of sustainability reporting
• The development of XBRL
• How to cut clutter

With an international coterie of contributors, including a communication theorist, a Big Four practitioner and accounting academics, this volume provides an eclectic array of expert analysis and reflection. The contributors reveal how accounting communications represent, or misrepresent, the financial affairs of entities, thus presenting a state-of-the-art assessment on each of the main facets of this important topic. As such, this book will be of interest to a wide range of readers, including: postgraduate students in management and accounting; established researchers in the fields of both accounting and communications; and accounting practitioners.

BPP Learning Media is an ACCA approved content provider. Our suite of study tools will provide you with all the accurate and up-to-date material you need for exam success.

There is growing interest in the history of accounting amongst both accounting practitioners and accounting academics. This interest developed steadily from about 1970 and really took off in the 1990s. However, there is a lack of texts dealing with major aspects of accounting history that can be used in classrooms, to inform new researchers, and to provide a source of reference for established researchers.The great deal of research into cost and management accounting in Britain published in academic journals over the last twenty years including the authors' own contributions makes The History of Cost and Management Accounting an essential contribution to the field.

Understanding the financial motivations behind white collar crime is often the key to the apprehension and successful prosecution of these individuals. Now in its second edition, Criminal Financial Investigations: The Use of Forensic Accounting Techniques and Indirect Methods of Proof provides direct instruction on the "how to" aspects of criminal financial investigations, taking readers through the different approaches used in gathering evidence and demonstrating how to present circumstantial evidence to a judge or jury in a simple and convincing manner. Simplifying how the financial pieces fit together, this text: Presents the logic and reasoning involved in constructing a financial criminal investigation Describes the requirements for legal acceptance of forensic accounting investigations Includes relevant examples of the step-by-step processes involved in financial investigations Explores the pitfalls-and how to avoid them-in financial investigating Contains two investigations with step-by-step procedures from initial inquiry to case completion-for use as term or topical assignments or to promote class discussion New Chapters in the Second Edition: What Is a Financial Investigation? Indirect Methods in Tax Investigations Unique Aspects of Criminal Tax Investigations Innovative Applications Written by a former Special Agent with the Criminal Investigation Division of the U.S. Internal Revenue Service, this volume sets out a successful methodology enabling readers to identify, pursue, and successfully prosecute financial white collar crime.

Assurance, risk and governance: An international perspective provides a comprehensive reference for students of assurance practices and practitioners. The book explains the technical functioning of assurance processes at an advanced level using a principles-based approach aligned with International Standards on Auditing. This is complemented by a review of the leading academic research to provide readers with an easy-to-understand overview of the latest developments in external audit and related assurance services.

An introduction to the fundamentals of accounting and how it is used that will help students apply accounting as a usable, everyday business tool. It adopts an intuitive, informal approach to describe basic principles - what they are, why they exist and how they are used - to help students see the connections between different parts of accounting and the rest of the business world. Written by an award-winning teacher and former management accountant, it encourages students to engage with the material by using questions and worked examples to test knowledge and understanding as they read. It includes a glossary of financial terms that is a useful guide to the language of business. Part of the Cambridge Short Introductions series of concise, authoritative guides to core subjects in business and management.

The development of generic skills (often referred to as 'soft skills') in accounting education has been a focus of discussion and debate for several decades. During this time employers and professional bodies have urged accounting educators to consider and develop curricula which provide for the development and assessment of these skills. In addition, there has been criticism of the quality of accounting graduates and their ability to operate effectively in a global economy. Embedding generic skills in the accounting curriculum has been acknowledged as an appropriate means of addressing the need to provide 'knowledge professionals' to meet the needs of a global business environment. Personal Transferable Skills in Accounting Education illustrates how generic skills are being embedded and evaluated in the accounting curriculum by academics from a range of perspectives. Each chapter provides an account of how the challenge of incorporating generic skills in the accounting curriculum within particular educational environments has been addressed. The challenges involved in generic skills development in higher education have not been limited to the accounting discipline. This book provides examples which potentially inform a wide range of discipline areas. Academics will benefit from reading the experiences of incorporating generic skills in the accounting curriculum from across the globe. This book was originally published as a themed issue of Accounting Education: an international journal.

Public relations experts and crisis management personnel have done an excellent job over the years of drawing attention to the grand scope of risks associated with crisis. Particularly in the present challenging economic conditions, organizations have become aware of the costs of crises and are willing to put forth effort and resources in crisis prevention. In this book, the editors and contributors offer significant insight into the critical considerations of crisis preparation as well as the importance of anticipation and pre-crisis planning. Pre-crisis planning has been a part of crisis management ever since scholars and practitioners began researching it. This book presents some of the most detailed and thorough insights published to date and serves as an example of where future research can go.

This updated Ninth Edition of Accounting Theory: Conceptual Issues in a Political and Economic Environment continues to be one of the most relevant and comprehensive texts on accounting theory. Authors Harry I. Wolk, James L. Dodd, John J. Rozycki provide a critical overview of accounting as a whole as well as touch on the financial issues in economic and political contexts, providing readers with an understanding of how current United States accounting standards were derived and where we might be headed in the future. Readers will find learning tools such as questions, cases, problems and writing assignments to solidify their understanding of accounting theory and gain new insights into this evolving field.

"Once again, Bragg has turned his discerning eye and formidable talents on a topic and the results are outstanding. Both those new to the business and the long-established entrepreneur will benefit greatly when he joins forces with E. James Burton to produce this outstanding work."
--Mary S. Schaeffer, Editorial Director "Accounts Payable Now & Tomorrow"

"I use the tips and practices found in this book] all through the year. They are clear, direct, and efficient-which, in turn, improves our company and our bottom line. I recommend this book] to anyone wanting to improve their own bottom line."
--D. R. Drum, CIO, CSO Engineering/Accounting, Dragon Moon Productions

"Eminently accessible, this book is a must-read for the entrepreneur, both new and established alike. Organizationally, the work flows smoothly and logically in a way that is valuable for the start-up as well as the veteran needing a refresher on specific aspects of the small business accounting/financing picture. I found particularly useful the rich resourcefulness that Messrs Burton and Bragg brought to the table in compiling the essential checklists for every conceivable corner of the entrepreneur's financial realm from fraud prevention to financing options. As a small business owner myself, I was well pleased with the real-world guidance and instant 'useability' this book offers."
--David Struthers, JDFacilitator/Trial Lawyer

"This book is essential for any small business owner, manager, or accountant's business tool kit. This easy-to-read book distills complex subject matter into meaningful and understandable information and is a great refresher course for those deeply involved in the accounting and financial matters of a small business. The book contains many examples that can be used immediately in daily operations to improve the quality of information for better decision making. The book provides those involved in small business the framework to manage what they measure."
--Jim Bologa, CFODaticon, Inc.