فصلنامه بررسی های حسابداری و حسابرسی
پیاپی 111 (بهار 1402)

The adoption of strategic management accounting (SMA) techniques is crucial for effective organizational management. However, the motivation for managers to utilize SMA techniques can be enhanced by creating an innovative culture within the organization. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the influence of an innovative culture on the application of SMA techniques in organizations.

This is an applied and descriptive study.  It employed a questionnaire to collect research data consisting of both general and specialized questions. The general questions comprised six items about the participants' gender, organizational position, education level, age group, work history, and study level, which were all related to the field of strategic management accounting techniques. The second part of the questionnaire contained specialized questions, consisting of five items related to the innovative culture construct, which were based on the theoretical foundations adopted by the researchers. The reliability of the questionnaire was tested using Cronbach's alpha, combined reliability, and the amount of extracted variance. Its validity was tested by comparing the mean square root of the extracted variance of each variable with its correlation with other variables. The results were obtained by analyzing the responses of 212 accounting managers of companies listed on the Tehran Stock Exchange in 2021. Structural equation modeling using partial least squares was used to analyze the data.

The results of the hypothesis test indicated a significant relationship between innovation culture and the application of strategic management accounting techniques. Additionally, this relationship was influenced by various factors such as gender group, educational group, study level groups, organizational position, and age group.

Choosing the right strategy for an organization is a complex and risky task as each strategy creates a distinctive competitive environment. It requires the alignment of organizational strengths and weaknesses with external opportunities and threats. Identifying the most critical and viable strategies that are worthy of resource allocation is crucial for organizations. To achieve their strategic objectives and maintain success, companies must use strategic management accounting techniques. These techniques provide valuable insights and information that enable organizations to make informed decisions, allocate resources effectively, and implement their strategies efficiently. The results of this study demonstrated that innovative culture plays a crucial role in increasing the use of strategic management accounting techniques. As companies adopt new technologies, applying these techniques gives managers advanced tools to make informed decisions. Managers are now more aware of the importance of understanding their organization's culture to gain a competitive advantage over other firms. An innovative culture fosters continuous development, promotes the production of new ideas, and encourages their implementation throughout the organization. The findings of this research can provide valuable insights to managers on acquiring the necessary skills for the survival and growth of their companies.

In the public sector, accounting systems play a crucial role in serving as a means and tool for representation, coordination, and organization, primarily to ensure accountability. Furthermore, financial and accounting reforms transform and implement public policies and reshape the working of public administration. In recent years, many countries have made important efforts to reform and modernize public sector accounting systems, with a trend towards accrual accounting. So, the main purpose of this study is to design obstacle-removal mechanisms for implementing public sector accounting standards by the Grounded Theory.

The required data were collected using two techniques, i.e. unstructured interviews and document analysis. In an attempt to provide an amiable interview environment, tape recording was avoided and notes were taken of significant issues. Interviews were conducted through 25 sessions with Iranian senior managers and academics, in 2020 and 2021. Altogether, we were able to conduct 25 interviews during our visits. Each interview lasted between one and two hours. The interviews encompassed a diverse range of participants, including executive managers, senior and junior government accountants from the Supreme Audit Court of Iran, university professors specializing in auditing, and representatives/members of professional accounting institutions such as the Iranian Association of Certified Public Accountants.

The findings revealed several obstacles that hinder the complete adoption of public sector accounting standards in Iran. These challenges encompass issues such as training in universities; creating an evaluation system; governments’ unwillingness in terms of political will towards full public sector accounting standards implementation; misperceptions of international standards; management attitude; readiness for change; human resources; statutory adjustment; inadequate funding; organizational characteristics of the reporting unit; infrastructures and technology; preventing corruption and reducing administrative violations; increasing efficiency; accepting financial statements in the international system.

In this study, we have utilized the concepts of extended new-institutional theory to investigate the significant obstacles associated with the implementation of public sector accruals in Iran. The findings of this study have revealed a notable resistance towards the implementation of reforms, particularly accrual accounting reforms, at lower levels within the administrative hierarchy of the public sector in Iran. In this respect, the study underpins the view that accrual accounting reforms should be part of a broader public sector reform, and it is crucial to ensure that countries fulfill certain prerequisites before transitioning towards accrual accounting

In light of recent economic trends, organizations face an inevitable need to invest in human resources to maintain their competitive edge. The presence of competent employees with professional knowledge and skills serves as a key factor in creating a competitive advantage for auditing firms. Acknowledging that employees serve as the most vital and fundamental assets of auditing institutions, it becomes imperative to address a fundamental concern within the auditing profession i.e., the inclination of auditors to quit the profession. Referred to as "brain drain," the phenomenon has the potential to pose a significant threat to the overall quality and credibility of the auditing profession. This study aims to investigate and assess the primary factors that impact the intention of auditors to quit the auditing profession in Iran.

This is a quantitative study conducted in 2021. Initially, a comprehensive review of the research literature to extract was conducted to identify the main components contributing to the intention to exit the auditing profession. Subsequently, a research questionnaire was designed using exploratory factor analysis to identify the factors influencing auditors' decision to leave the profession. Finally, a path analysis was done to examine the impact of each factor on auditors' intention to quit the profession. The target population comprised the auditors in auditing firms affiliated with the Association of Official Accountants in Iran, excluding senior supervisors, managers, and partners who may possess distinct reasons for intending to leave the auditing profession despite their expertise and competence. The estimated population size in 2021 was 3,481 individuals, and the sample size was determined to be 346 individuals using the Cochran formula.

According to the statistical analyses carried out in this study, factors such as auditing remuneration, future career prospects, job characteristics, and organizational support have a significant and positive impact on the intention to depart from the auditing profession. However, factors such as adherence to professional ethics by partners and managers, as well as commitment, demonstrate a significant influence on the intention to leave the profession.

This study emphasizes the importance of addressing specific factors to retain skilled and committed professionals in auditing firms and reduce their intention to exit the profession. To effectively mitigate the intention to exit the auditing profession, it is essential to address auditing remuneration under the rates approved by the Iranian Association of Official Accountants, foster a forward-looking mindset, embrace innovative technologies and approaches, cultivate a positive vision for the profession's future, and enhance the work environment and organizational support. These measures, once implemented, lead to an improvement in the quality of audit reports.

The purpose of the present research was to investigate the effect of structural failure on the value relevance of accounting information.

This is a quasi-experimental, post-event, and interdisciplinary study. Various econometric methods including multiple regression analysis with panel data econometric method, endogenous calculation of structural failures, and Wong's test-z were applied to determine the difference between the coefficients of the models. To measure and calculate the structural failure, the endogenous structural failure model proposed by Bay and Peron was used and to measure the value relevance of accounting information, the two variables of profit and book value in both price and return models were used.

The research findings indicated the existence of three valid structural failures during the research period.  Iran's capital market was suffering a structural failure during the time span of 2011, 2012, and 2017. It was also found that when a structural failure occurs, the value relevance of accounting information decreases. The value relevance of accounting information while ignoring structural failure is 16%. This figure reaches 37% if structural failure is taken into consideration. In addition, the findings of the research showed that due to the difference in the coefficients of determining the fitting patterns, the price pattern is more explanatory than the yield pattern in case of structural failure.

According to the achieved results, a structural failure has occurred in the capital market. When structural failure occurs, the value relevance of accounting information decreases. Having considered the structural failures, fitting models show different performances. By applying structural failure, the explanatory power of fitting models increased to more than twice its initial value. Therefore, it can be accepted that the value relevance of accounting information is influenced by structural failure. For this reason, paying attention to the phenomenon of structural failure makes the obtained results to be real and reliable.  It also makes it different from the case where structural failure is not taken into account. The models show different performances while considering the phenomenon of structural failures; hence, just considering accounting variables without structural failure events seems to be the simplification of the problem. This issue leads to an unfavorable effect on the interpretation of accounting information users to predict the results of the future economic activities of companies. Therefore, by ignoring the phenomenon of structural failure, linear models with constant parameters cannot explain the behavior of accounting variables efficiently. In other words, ignoring structural failures is in fact using an incorrect model. According to the results of the research, the price model shows a better explanatory power in studies compared to the yield model in case of structural failure. The research results suggest that increasing the reliability of the results in accounting research requires the implementation of regression and econometric models. The concepts and assumptions of economics and the fitting model based on structural failure should be used similar to the present study.

This study aims to detect the indicators of integrated reports to identify the specific challenges of higher education. This research examines the content of the reports provided by the universities. It is based on the analysis of report contents provided by several pioneer universities in this field. It seeks to identify types of reports prepared in the universities and to designate the types of reports with more informational content to create an important base for moving towards effective integrated reporting. This study uses content analysis to investigate the disclosure of accounting and non-accounting information. Content analysis is empirically valid in corporate, social, ethical, and environmental reports. The study seeks to identify the framework of integrated reporting in universities and the research questions include 1. In general, what kind of reports are prepared in universities? 2. What is the most complete and comprehensive type of report in terms of disclosure of indicators and information content? 3. What are the components and indicators of integrated reporting in universities? 4. Which indicators have the highest frequency among the reviewed reports? The results of this research can be useful for policymakers and legislators who decide to implement and standardize sustainability or integrated reporting in higher education centers. In addition, the results can be valuable for managers and financial managers in universities who wish to follow such new trends. Also, the findings can serve as a learning process for institutions interested in implementing integrated reporting. In addition, the results of the present study are important for other stakeholders, such as students, academics, etc., to encourage universities to address integrated reporting issues in their reporting because this will increase their impact on society. This study was implemented in two phases. Firstly, the texts related to reporting in universities were searched and reviewed, and then a thematic content analysis was done to identify the main topics and themes hidden in the search. This research is designed by exploring the reports submitted by 48 top universities in the field of reporting. These universities prepared 58 different reports based on their needs. The reports include annual, social, impact, financial, and sustainability reports. Purposive sampling was used to select the reports of higher education centers. Therefore, at least 5 top universities from each continent were selected based on the Times Higher Education Impact Ranking Score. In addition, a number of the top universities in the field of reporting, indexed in the GRI database, as well as the reports of universities indexed in the integrated reporting database, were also used to complete the work. The findings indicated that the components of integrated reporting in universities include 130 indicators: 1) an overview of the organization and the environment in which it operates (34 indicators), 2) Governance (7 indicators), 3) Business model (58 indicators), 4) Risks and opportunities (17 indicators), 5) Strategy (8 indicators), 6) Performance (3 indicators), and 7) Basis for preparing and presenting reports (3 indicators). The findings confirmed that universities can officially accept an integrated report by combining and integrating different documents into a comprehensive document and creating a single accountability tool. Also, the results showed that some key elements of the international integrated reporting framework are included in university reports, but often in a scattered and non-homogeneous way. Therefore, the findings can be a good basis for developing integrated reporting to improve the reporting methods of universities and strengthen their accountability.

The purpose of this research is to design and empirically test a model for determining instances of disclosure in the management commentary (MC) in Iran. To the best of its author’s knowledge, this study can be characterized as a practical one for the first time in the world. This piece of research adopted a mixed research method (a combination of qualitative and quantitative data). First, the research model’s disclosure instances were identified qualitatively.  Then, they were tested quantitatively. In the qualitative part, appropriate disclosure instances regarding the six content elements of MC were identified using qualitative content analysis via conducting a review of the extant reporting guidelines and frameworks, MC of companies, and the latest findings of the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) Foundation. In the quantitative part, to localize disclosure instances based on the information needs of the financial reports’ main users, the relevant data were collected through a survey method using a questionnaire from the view of investors and creditors. The investors were individual investors and investment experts working in investment companies, investment funds, portfolio management companies, and brokerages, in 2021. The creditors included lenders to the companies. In this research, the opinions of credit experts of Iranian banks familiar with the MC and also involved in the financing of companies were obtained. In the following, descriptive statistics, demographic variables, and the Kolomogorov-Smirnov test were used. The one-sample Wilcoxon signed rank test and Friedman's test were next used to determine the final disclosure instances and to rank them, respectively. Also, the confirmatory factor analysis technique, based on SEM-PLS, was used to verify the disclosure instances and to evaluate the research model. Consequently, the final research model was presented. Based on the findings of the qualitative part of the research, 88 disclosure instances were identified. Then, following the quantitative part of the research’s tests, the number of disclosure instances of the proposed model of MC in Iran was reduced to 74 disclosure instances. These disclosure instances were classified into six content elements: 1. "business model" with six disclosure instances, 2. "strategy and objectives" with 14 disclosure instances, 3. "resources and relationships" with 15 disclosure instances, 4. "risks and risk management" with 14 disclosure instances, 5. "external environment" with six disclosure instances, and 6. "position and performance" with 19 disclosure instances. Moreover, the disclosure instances of each of these six content elements were ranked based on their relative importance using the Friedman test. Considering the disclosure instances’ comprehensiveness provided by the proposed model, as well as its locality and appropriateness to Iran's environmental conditions, the proposed model by this study can act as an effective guide for regulators including the Iranian Audit Organization and the Iranian Securities & Exchange Organization.  These organizations can use the aforementioned model in establishing regulations and guidelines relevant to the MC’s preparation. Furthermore, these disclosure instances help companies in presenting and disclosing more useful information in the form of voluntary disclosure and also help them in preparing an efficient and effective MC.

Considering the extensive role of the internal audit chief in the internal audit sector, implementing the company's internal controls and improving quality of financial reporting; and since the importance and effect of internal controls on the financial reporting quality and strengthening the ability of independent auditors to rely on financial statements or reduce time to review financial statements, this study aimed to investigate the relationship between internal audit chief rotation with the quality of financial reporting and delay of independent audit report.
In this research, variables of financial reporting quality and the delay of independent audit report were measured respectively by the modified Jones model and the time interval between the end date of the company's financial year and the date of issuing the independent audit report. So, the data of companies listed in Tehran Securities Exchange for 2013-2022 was gathered and analyzed by regression models.
The results of this research indicated that there is a positive and significant relation between internal audit chief rotation and financial reporting quality. In addition, there is a negative and significant relation between internal audit chief rotation and delay of independent audit report.
The result of this research showed that periodic turnover of the internal audit chief can lead to focus on establishing internal controls on financial reporting and subsequently increase the quality of financial reporting. The reason is that a new internal audit chief can be more independent, motivated and have new knowledge, expertise and insights. So he can do his job more effectively. Also having a new internal audit chief who is relatively independent and has the necessary innovation to perform his job and organizational duties can lead to improve the quality of internal controls on financial reporting. So independent auditors rely more on these controls and reduce their content tests about them. Therefore, with the turnover of the internal audit chief, the delay of independent audit report reduces. According to the results of this research, it is suggested to the members of the audit committee of the companies, as the supervisor of the internal audit, to pay attention to the issue of changing the internal audit chief at appropriate intervals in order to improve the quality of the company's financial reporting. It is also suggested to the shareholders, investors, analysts and institutions supervising the capital market to consider the rotation of the internal audit chief and its possible effects on the quality of financial reporting in their decisions. In addition, independent auditors and their clients are advised to pay attention to the issue of changing the internal audit chief and its effect on the necessary amount of content tests to do and complete the audit of financial statements.