Accounting research in emerging economies has been growing significantly over the last two decades due to the increasing recognition of the roles that accounting systems play in these environments. Globalization of capital markets and competition; the emergence of international accounting standards and structural adjustment programmes have all brought accounting issues in emerging economies to the fore. Research papers in the current volume have highlighted the implications of the aforementioned issues. The papers have examined various issues including the adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) and International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSASs), management accounting change in the context of public sector reforms, corporate reporting disclosures, auditing, etc. The papers published in this volume have provided us the opportunities to further engage with wide ranging empirical and theoretical issues that will have policy implications and also generate future academic debates. Overall, the volume advances debate on the role of accounting reforms in areas such as accounting standards, disclosures, and corporate governance in both the public and private sectors in emerging economies. We believe the audience will find the papers interesting and insightful in terms of theoretical development, practices, policy implications and future research directions.

Accounting research in emerging economies has grown over the last two decades. This is partly due to the increasing realisation that accounting has a central role to play in the development of these economies. Accounting can contribute to enterprise development, governance improvements and promote foreign direct investment. In addition, the increasing integration of the world economy has led to a significant interest in understanding accounting systems in emerging economies. The articles in the volume contribute immensely to our understanding of how accounting functions in emerging economies. The papers have examined various issues including the adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), internet financial reporting, the impacts of ownership concentration and board characteristics on firm performance, governance practices of firms, corporate social responsibility and environmental accounting, related party transactions, budgetary practices, activity-based costing, and females and the accounting profession. The papers have provided wide ranging empirical and theoretical issues that will have policy implications and also generate future academic debates. Overall, the volume advances debate on the role of accounting in different forms of organisations in emerging economies. We believe the audience will find the papers interesting and insightful in terms of theoretical development, practices, policy implications and future research directions.

Governance is very much a current concern in the public interest. The global economic recession, from which we are just emerging, has highlighted failures in governance and regulation with much blame being laid at the feet of regulators and demands for perpetrators to be sanctioned accordingly. A key to managing the prevention of future financial crisis is concerned with the recognition and regulation of a truly global market for finance, trade, labour etc. and accepting that there are different perspectives from different parts of the world. Published in association with the Social Responsibility Research Network, Volume 2 in this new and exciting series recognises these issues and takes a global interdisciplinary perspective to the matter of governance in the business environment. Contributions range from the UK, Portugal and Belgium to Brazil, Japan, China and Malaysia, and topics of investigation include: governance and the management of global markets; governance mechanisms of strategic alliances in the Japanese car industry; multinational corporations and democratic governance; market governance to governance in the market - a return to old order; and a socio-legal framework for governance.

"This thematic volume covers issues such as Executive compensation and corporate governance with special reference to Bangladesh; leading companies in India; Fraudulent Financial Reporting; Non-financial performance measures and performance relationship in the Bangladeshi manufacturing firms; Fair value accounting usefulness and implementation Obstacles; Funding organisations: the conflict between the creative versus scientific approach of allocating funds in New Zealand; and more.

The objective of "Research in Accounting in Emerging Economies" is to raise the level of interest in the specific problems of accounting in emerging economies; and increase awareness of real issues, so that accounting in these countries will not just be seen as a matter of copying what is done in the industrialized countries. "RAEE" is intended to provide an authoritative overview of accounting research and progress in emerging economies.

The African context provides a unique environment for accounting research: the stage of economic and market development is low, corruption is rife and politics often meddles in corporate affairs. Such an environment can affect the nature of accounting and indeed the manner in which accounting is used, which makes accounting research in Africa important and interesting. The 10 papers in this volume were presented at the inaugural African Accounting and Finance Association (AAFA) in 2011 and are based on data from Ghana, Mauritius, Nigeria, Uganda and South Africa. Motivated by the AAFA vision, this special volume provides a source of rich data for academics, practitioners and policy makers with interest in accounting research in Africa to draw upon to inform accounting debate and help provide better understanding of accounting in Africa and beyond.