Browsing by Author "Everingham, Geoff"
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- ItemOpen AccessAccounting for the financial instruments listed on the South African futures exchange in the context of the International Accounting Standards Committee conceptual framework(1997) Baker, Shannon Bruce; Everingham, GeoffThe objective of this study was to evaluate the views of both preparers and users of financial statements on a number of issues related to South African Futures Exchange (SAFEX) financial instruments. These issues related to the perceptions of the SAFEX market price as a measure of fair value for financial reporting purposes, as well as perceptions of the International Accounting Standards Committee (IASC) asset and liability definition. These were formulated into the hypotheses set out in chapter 1. The objectives of the study were achieved by a literature search related to financial instruments and SAFEX, as well as empirical data collection through the use of postal questionnaires and the evaluation thereof.
- ItemOpen AccessAn analysis of the quality of environmental disclosures in the annual financial statements of selected South African companies and a suggested environmental reporting model(1994) Dewar, Nichola Jane; Everingham, GeoffEnvironmental damage has become of widespread concern, so much so that some companies are disclosing environmental information in their annual reports, the traditional medium for communication to shareholders and other users. There is no recognised reporting model or framework for the reporting of environmental information. As a result, these disclosures are often ad hoc, and objective determination of their quality is extremely difficult. Furthermore, to the writer's knowledge, no survey of environmental disclosures has been conducted in South Africa. The objectives of this dissertation included the determination of an appropriate environmental reporting model, based on the critical review of the accounting legal and economic literatures. The reporting model suggested is that of compliance with legal environmental standards, with certain additional financial information. An existing disclosure index, enabling the objective measurement of environmental disclosure quality, was extended and adapted to the South African situation. Analysis of the index scores revealed an improvement in the quality of environmental disclosures over a five year period, and that disclosures are not influenced by a company's total assets or the presence of international shareholders. Analysis of index scores on a group basis revealed that disclosures are not made as a result of a top-down approach. However, companies in similar industries in a group tended to have almost identical disclosures. Comparison of the results of the South African survey with a similar American one, revealed a significant disparity between disclosure scores for the oil, paper and steel industries. This disparity is exacerbated by the difference in time period of at least 15 years, and suggests that the difference in disclosure quality is possibly as a result of the disparity in content and enforcement of legal environmental standards. With the opening up of international markets to South African business, producers may no longer be able to ignore international environmental standards, and the poor quality of South African disclosures may well prove unacceptable. Without more effective legal environmental standards, there will be little progress towards improved environmental disclosures.
- ItemOpen AccessThe application of AC 122 to research and development, in the pharmaceutical industry : conceptual issues and implementation concerns : a case study(1998) de Waal, Margaret Suzanne; Everingham, GeoffResearch and development spending has become increasingly important over the last two decades. Despite this, the South African business community has largely ignored the South African accounting standard for research and development costs, AC 122, issued in 1994. A review of the comments received from a number of respondents to the exposure draft to AC 122 and it's international equivalent, lAS 9 (revised), suggests that the implementation difficulties associated with AC 122 are the major reason for the apparent lack of acceptance of AC 122 by the local accounting profession and industry. This research attempts to identify these implementation concerns, specifically in relation to the pharmaceutical industry, so as to provide guidance for implementing AC 122 in this industry. From an analysis performed of AC 122 and the responses of a number of members of the local and global business community, three main implementation problems associated with AC 122 were identified. These are (a) the appropriate allocation of R & D costs between research costs and development costs, (b) implementing the requirement to capitalise development costs, and (c) determining the most appropriate method and time period for amortising a development asset. The identification of these problems also highlighted that AC 122 is deficient in implementation guidance and requires the exercise of an unusually high level of subjective judgement. This study illustrates that it is possible to develop guidelines for overcoming the problems identified in the pharmaceutical industry. This research also provides an approach for similar research in other R & D intensive industries. However, the time and cost of performing such an exercise is likely to limit the industry approach to accounting for R & D costs. The research led to the conclusion that the accounting standard for research and development costs in South Africa is difficult to apply consistently in practice, and requires amendment if it is to obtain the support of the accountancy profession and commerce.
- ItemOpen AccessThe audit expectation gap in Eritrea(2005) Tekleab, Ermias Estifanos; Everingham, GeoffIncludes bibliographical references (leaves 178-184).
- ItemOpen AccessEmployee reporting : investigating the demand for information amongst employees in the Western Cape(1993) Struckmann, Philip Bernhard; Everingham, GeoffEmployee reporting is a concept which gained increasing popularity in Europe from the late 1970's, and a similar trend appears to be emerging in South Africa. This growth highlighted the paucity of research in this area, particularly in the South African context. This study therefore undertook to conduct a detailed review of prior research and existing theories of employee reporting. Based on the outcome of the review, a research design was constructed, to test, on an exploratory basis, the nature and extent of the demand for information amongst employees at a company in the Western Cape. The results indicated that a strong demand for information does exist, and that this demand is affected by a number of considerations, most notably the job level, age and education. In this respect, the results tended to confirm the findings of prior research elsewhere. It was however also noted, that the employees' choices and decisions appeared to be influenced by the socio - political conditions in South Africa, which resulted in employees attaching greater importance to their employer's involvement in society than has been the case in studies elsewhere.
- ItemOpen AccessThe impact of volatility on the pricing efficiency of the South African futures exchange market(2001) Williams, Julian Christopher; Everingham, Geoff; Barr, GrahamBibliography: leaves 181-184.
- ItemOpen AccessThe information content of cash flows versus accrual-based income numbers(2006) Carolin, John; Everingham, GeoffWord processed copy. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 115-123).
- ItemOpen AccessAn investigation into the adequacy and usefulness of financial risk disclosures in listed South African banks(2000) West, Craig; Everingham, GeoffThe proliferation of financial instruments in recent years has renewed the interest in financial risk disclosure and reporting. South Africa in particular has been exposed not only to the increased variety of derivative products, but has recently been re-entered to the world economy. This has created a need to review the standard of reporting by South African companies. Companies Within the financial services sector have been most impacted by these recent changes. As these companies deal in products that create and transfer risk, their financial risk reporting must be clear and detailed for the user to understand the various exposures to these risks.
- ItemOpen AccessAn investigation into the harmony of accounting practices by listed companies on leading stock markets(2006) Mbuyi, Etienne; Everingham, GeoffIncludes bibliographical references
- ItemOpen AccessMachine learning for corporate failure prediction : an empirical study of South African companies(2004) Kornik, Saul; Everingham, Geoff; Greene, JohnThe research objective of this study was to construct an empirical model for the prediction of corporate failure in South Africa through the application of machine learning techniques using information generally available to investors. The study began with a thorough review of the corporate failure literature, breaking the process of prediction model construction into the following steps: * Defining corporate failure * Sample selection * Feature selection * Data pre-processing * Feature Subset Selection * Classifier construction * Model evaluation These steps were applied to the construction of a model, using a sample of failed companies that were listed on the JSE Securities Exchange between 1 January 1996 and 30 June 2003. A paired sample of non-failed companies was selected. Pairing was performed on the basis of year of failure, industry and asset size (total assets per the company financial statements excluding intangible assets). A minimum of two years and a maximum of three years of financial data were collated for each company. Such data was mainly sourced from BFA McGregor RAID Station, although the BFA McGregor Handbook and JSE Handbook were also consulted for certain data items. A total of 75 financial and non-financial ratios were calculated for each year of data collected for every company in the final sample. Two databases of ratios were created - one for all companies with at least two years of data and another for those companies with three years of data. Missing and undefined data items were rectified before all the ratios were normalised. The set of normalised values was then imported into MatLab Version 6 and input into a Population-Based Incremental Learning (PBIL) algorithm. PBIL was then used to identify those subsets of features that best separated the failed and non-failed data clusters for a one, two and three year forward forecast period. Thornton's Separability Index (SI) was used to evaluate the degree of separation achieved by each feature subset.
- ItemOpen AccessThe manipulation of headline earnings by companies listed on the JSE Securities Exchange South Africa(2006) Ruddy, Traceyann; Everingham, GeoffIncludes bibliographical references (leaves 93-102).
- ItemOpen AccessPostretirement benefits other than pensions : recommendations based on a study of relevant standards, conceptual frameworks and current trends(1998) Pollitt, Joanne; Everingham, GeoffThe FASB began work in the area of postretirement benefits other than pensions (hereafter OPEB) in the early 1980's. It was to be a long, involved process, culminating in the issue of SF AS 106 in 1990. It was commented at the time that "the proposed standard on non-pension postretirement benefits has been argued to be the most significant accounting change since the adoption of depreciation and the total impact of the standard on corporate profits has been estimated at between $200 billion and a trillion dollars" (Espahbodi et al, 1991 , pp 325). It was SFAS 106 and the well-documented effects thereof that heralded the development of other international accounting standards dealing with OPEB. There is currently little guidance in South Africa as to how OPEB should be both accounted for and disclosed in financial statements. Although AC 305 has been issued, this is merely a guideline and compliance therewith is not compulsory. There is currently some confusion as to whether AC 116, dealing with pensions, applies to other postretirement benefits. In light of this, this thesis aimed to propose an acceptable method of accounting for OPEB in South Africa bearing in mind the possible reactions of management to the disclosure of an OPEB liability and the needs of users of financial statements, who in understanding the complex issues surrounding the provision of postretirement benefits will need extensive disclosures. The TASC's harmonisation process also has to be considered as a South African pronouncement should be consistent with any standards issued by the TASC. In order to achieve this objective, a literature review was conducted on the conceptual frameworks that have been issued by the FASB, TASC, TCAEW, CTCA and the AARF. This was done so as to ensure that OPEB do in fact meet the definitions of liabilities and the recognition criteria as contained in the various frameworks. The exposure drafts and accounting standard issued by these accounting bodies were then considered so as to determine whether they were in conformity with the conceptual frameworks upon which they are based and to highlight any differences between the accounting treatments and disclosures in the various countries.
- ItemOpen AccessThe pricing of audit services in South Africa : an analytical study(1995) Msibi, Derrick Thembinkosi Vusumuzi; Everingham, GeoffThe pricing of audit services is a complex function of many variables. Prior research has proposed various approaches and models to identify some of these factors. This paper provides a description of one such model. Studies based on this model, or modifications of it, have been performed in Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, India, Ireland, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore, the United Kingdom and the United States of America. This thesis reports the findings of a similar study of 104 companies over the period 1991- 1992 conducted in South Africa. The analysis indicates that there is an approximately linear relationship between audit fee and a company's total assets or sales. In addition, management advisory services, number of reports in addition to those required by the Companies' Act, the level of inventory and. debtors in relation to total assets and audit delay, are significant determinants of audit fees. Unlike overseas studies, audit firm size, auditor specialisation, the number of consolidated subsidiaries and audit risk as measured by gearing, liquidity and profitability do not affect the level of audit fees. Whilst the influence of auditee size and complexity have been found to be the most consistent predictors of audit fees, there is an apparent lack of consistency in other variables. These findings are largely consistent with international research and indicate a growing influence of the internationalisation of auditing practice.
- ItemOpen AccessThe relationship between annual earnings and share returns on the JSE Securities Exchange(2005) Kornik, David; Everingham, GeoffThis research study investigates whether the relationship between accounting earnings and share returns observed predominantly in New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”) studies also holds on the modern-day JSE Securities Exchange (“JSE”). Since the JSE is a relatively small stock exchange in comparison to the NYSE, with substantially different characteristics, the nature of the relationship may differ between the two exchanges. The study finds empirical evidence that this relationship between earnings and share returns is the same. As on the NYSE, accounting earnings disclosures in South Africa are found to have significant information content. Evidence is obtained which shows that accounting earnings do capture a significant portion of the information reflected in share returns, although they are not a timely source of information.
- ItemOpen AccessA review of disclosure in the annual financial reports of life insurance companies in South Africa(1999) West, Darron; Everingham, GeoffThe globalisation of the South African economy and the recent corporate activity involving South African life insurance companies has renewed interest in financial reporting by these companies. There has been little development in guidance on reporting for long term insurers in South Africa since 1994 when AC121 "Disclosure in the Financial Statements of Long-Term Insurers" was published. South African life insurance companies have also fared poorly in recent Excellence in Financial Reporting surveys. Revisions to the reporting requirements of life insurance companies in the United Kingdom and Australia provide scope for the examination of the usefulness of the financial statements of life insurance companies in South Africa, by investigating the extent and adequacy of disclosure (as proxies for usefulness) by such companies in terms of local and international benchmarks.
- ItemOpen AccessSegmental reporting disclosures in South Africa : requirements versus needs(1991) Hemus, Christopher David; Everingham, GeoffSegmental reporting (breaking down information in financial statements between different business activities and different geographical areas) is mandatory for certain companies in South Africa in terms of the disclosure requirements of AC 115. Such requirements are similar to those contained in other international accounting statements and include the disclosure of turnover, total assets, and operating profit for each industry and geographical segment within which a company operates. The users of financial statements need segmental information to assess the risk, profitability and return of a company, especially when various components of the company differ significantly in rates of growth, profitability and risk. This study investigates users' needs for segmental information and relates these needs to the requirements of AC 115.
- ItemOpen AccessTapping accounting with a hammer : a radical examination of accounting in the light of Nietzsche(1991) Molteno, Donald Barkly Leatham; Everingham, GeoffThis thesis argues that Accounting can never hope to be a value-free communicative medium grounded in and reflecting an external and knowable reality. Friedrich Nietzsche showed that we can only grasp the "real world" by means of useful fictions conditioned by our own perspective on the world. Any attempt to describe the world will always be distorted by the various contingent social, economic and political circumstances which influence our perspectives. Nietzsche's views on language are referred to, in seeking to demonstrate the inability of any language to communicate without communicating preconceived notions about reality. The thesis explores the assumptions upon which the mainstream perspective of accounting has based its world-view and attempts to show its limitations, both as a theory of Accounting and as a method of research, and shows the ideological bias inherent in it. Alternatives are suggested to replace or complement those of the mainstream in an attempt to create an awareness of the fact that the mainstream's way of seeing the world can never be privileged over other ways.
- ItemOpen AccessThe use and perceived usefulness of IAS 29 general price level information in Zimbabwe(2003) Levy, Malcolm; Everingham, GeoffHyperinflation, as defined in IAS 29, was identified in Zimbabwe in November 1999. Accordingly, the standard, and its General Price Level adjustments, was adopted for financial years beginning on 1st January 2000. However, there has been much resistance to the implementation of the standard, which is considered to require the provision of costly, meaningless information that is not used by anyone in the investment process. This study attempts to determine the use and perceived usefulness of IAS 29 in Zimbabwe and to identify the significant problems and weaknesses in the restatement process that have caused this. The study found both the use and perceived usefulness of IAS 29 General Price Level information to be extremely low. The major reason cited for this was the lack of user understanding. The other major problems related to the perception of inconsistent methods and assumptions in the restatement process, as well as the use of the CIP, accused of being manipulated by government, as the basis of restatement. These issues need to be addressed by the Institute of Chartered Accountants, in consultation with the other accounting regulatory bodies, before the use and perceived usefulness of the IAS 29 General Price Level information can improve. Further, the study indicates that, whilst the preparers of financial information are extremely undecided as to the manner in which the accounting regulatory bodies in Zimbabwe should proceed, the analysts using such information are very much in favour of retaining the disclosure of inflation adjusted figures in some form, until such time as the inherent usefulness of the information is either proved or disproved.