Strengthening the Role of Financial Disclosure in the Governance of Superannuation Funds. This project will provide evidence about the usefulness of superannuation fund financial reports and whether funds are disclosing unbiased measures of their financial position and performance. This evidence will directly assist regulators in their deliberations in reforming accounting standards and other disclosure regulation governing superannuation fund financial reporting. Such reforms are necessary to e ....Strengthening the Role of Financial Disclosure in the Governance of Superannuation Funds. This project will provide evidence about the usefulness of superannuation fund financial reports and whether funds are disclosing unbiased measures of their financial position and performance. This evidence will directly assist regulators in their deliberations in reforming accounting standards and other disclosure regulation governing superannuation fund financial reporting. Such reforms are necessary to ensure that all Australians in superannuation funds have access to relevant, reliable and comparable financial information to facilitate full accountability of superannuation fund trustees and informed decision making by stakeholders, and in turn, enhance the security of superannuation savings and maximise retirement incomes.Read moreRead less
Protecting Australia’s brand assets and stakeholder interests. International accounting standards have recently been harmonised to allow firms to recognise the value of purchased brands on their balance sheets, subject to an annual test to verify that value has not been impaired. There are no widely accepted methodologies with which to undertake such tests, despite the requirement for the balance sheet to provide a true and fair view of financial position. This research will develop three approa ....Protecting Australia’s brand assets and stakeholder interests. International accounting standards have recently been harmonised to allow firms to recognise the value of purchased brands on their balance sheets, subject to an annual test to verify that value has not been impaired. There are no widely accepted methodologies with which to undertake such tests, despite the requirement for the balance sheet to provide a true and fair view of financial position. This research will develop three approaches to calibrate brand impairment and draw lessons from applying them over a three year period. The outputs are twofold: first, a suite of detailed methods for accountants, auditors and financial analysts to measure and diagnose brand value; second, several key indicators that can be used to monitor signs of brand impairment.Read moreRead less
The predictive, behavioural and economic forecasting performance of alternative credit risk and bankruptcy models: a global study. This study empirically evaluates a range of "new age" credit risk models using a large global sample of failed firms and bond ratings data. The study will provide a substantive body of empirical evidence to assist regulators, creditors, investors and other users assess the merits, strengths and limitations of alternative risk modelling approaches.
Extended reporting and assurance for not-for-profit organisations. This project aims to improve the relevance and reliability of extended reporting now being required of not-for-profit organisations (NFPOs). Society is increasingly demanding that NFPOs disclose additional information beyond financial information, as evidenced by the service performance reporting and integrated reporting initiatives. These reporting initiatives better align the reporting with the mission of NFPOs: to achieve outc ....Extended reporting and assurance for not-for-profit organisations. This project aims to improve the relevance and reliability of extended reporting now being required of not-for-profit organisations (NFPOs). Society is increasingly demanding that NFPOs disclose additional information beyond financial information, as evidenced by the service performance reporting and integrated reporting initiatives. These reporting initiatives better align the reporting with the mission of NFPOs: to achieve outcomes that are beyond financial returns. This project aims to evaluate and to aid the development and implementation of these extended reporting responsibilities and mechanisms that increase the quality and credibility of the information. This would improve the relevance of the information produced by NFPOs and increase confidence in extended reporting.Read moreRead less
Self-defined measures of financial performance and CEO pay. This project aims to investigate measures of financial performance used to reward executives that do not comply with accounting standards. Such measures are sometimes presented as performance measures to external stakeholders and this can have important implications for organisational governance. This project expects to generate new knowledge by identifying the way decision about performance and its measurement are linked, and the inf ....Self-defined measures of financial performance and CEO pay. This project aims to investigate measures of financial performance used to reward executives that do not comply with accounting standards. Such measures are sometimes presented as performance measures to external stakeholders and this can have important implications for organisational governance. This project expects to generate new knowledge by identifying the way decision about performance and its measurement are linked, and the influence of external auditors in this process. The expected outcomes from this project will will include empirical evidence that significantly improves our understanding of the choices firms make in reporting to stakeholders, as well as determining executive compensation.Read moreRead less
Financial performance, uncertainty and corporate investment decisions. It is well understood that the provision of financial reports to external stakeholders impacts their decision making. Yet the extent to which externally reported financial measures such as earnings can resolve uncertainty, and their influence on corporate investment decisions is largely unknown. This project identifies how disaggregation of earnings into market-, industry- and firm-specific components explains differences in ....Financial performance, uncertainty and corporate investment decisions. It is well understood that the provision of financial reports to external stakeholders impacts their decision making. Yet the extent to which externally reported financial measures such as earnings can resolve uncertainty, and their influence on corporate investment decisions is largely unknown. This project identifies how disaggregation of earnings into market-, industry- and firm-specific components explains differences in the quality of financial information, and the implication for accounting standards regulating the reporting of periodic performance. It applies the resulting insights to identify an uncertainty reduction role for financial reporting, and the way in which information contained in earnings impacts investment decisions. Read moreRead less