Abstract. This article complements the 1993 report by the AAA International Accounting Section's Committee on Research Methodology. It focuses on seemingly paradoxical observations and conflicting findings reported in the international accounting literature. The purpose of this article is to stimulate our collective intellectual curiosity with the hope that it will motivate future researchers to search for explanations of the observed unexplained phenomena. Although the development of a framework for the systematic investigation of the unexplained observations is beyond the scope of this article, I offer a conjecture that might be considered in such an examination. Résumé. L'article qui suit est un complément au rapport 1993 du comité sur la méthodologie de recherche de la division de la comptabilité internationale de l'AAA. Il est centré sur les observations paradoxales en apparence et les résultats conflictuels à première vue exposés dans les publications de comptabilité internationale. L'auteur a pour but de stimuler notre curiosité intellectuelle collective dans l'espoir que cette sensibilisation incite les futurs chercheurs à s'intéresser aux explications possibles des phénomènes énigmatiques qui sont observés. Bien que l'élaboration d'un cadre de référence destiné à l'analyse systématique des observations inexpliquées dépasse le projet de l'auteur, ce dernier propose une hypothèse intéressante dans la perspective d'un tel examen.

Abstract. This paper analyses the theoretical explanations for the not‐for‐profit ( nfp ) organization phenomenon, distinguishes between those organizations and profit entities, clusters NFPs on two dimensions, and suggests an accounting framework that is consistent with both the economic nature of NFPs and the nature of the giving decision. Résumé. L'auteur analyse les explications théoriques du phénomène de constitution d'organismes sans but lucratif (OSBL), établit la distinction entire ces organismes et les entreprises à but lucratif, regroupe les OSBL sous deux aspects différents, et suggère une grille comptable adaptée à la nature économique des OSBL ainsi qu'à la teneur du choix philanthropique.

Abstract. This report provides an overview of submissions to the Contemporary Accounting Research from its inception until 59 days prior to the end of my term as editor. A total of 615 articles, notes, comments and discussions has been submitted. Breakdowns by month of submission, topic, research method, number of authors and affiliated institutions as well as by country of author's residence, at the time of submission, are provided and some trends are calculated. The contribution to the advancement of Accounting Knowledge during the period analyzed can be judged by reviewing the first five volumes of the Journal and therefore is not addressed in this report. Résumé. Les lecteurs trouveront dans le rapport qui suit un tour d'horizon des articles qui ont été soumis à le revue Recherche comptable contemporaine , depuis sa création jusqu'à 59 jours avant que ne s'achève mon mandat à titre de rédacteur. Au total, 615 articles, notes, commentaires et études nous ont été soumis. Ces documents sont ventilés en fonction du mois de présentation, du sujet traité, de la méthode de recherche, du nombre d'auteurs et des institutions affiliées ainsi qu'en fonction du pays de résidence des auteurs au moment de la présentation, et certaines tendances sont dégagées de cette analyse. Il suffit de parcourir les cinq premiers volumes de ladite revue pour en apprécier la contribution à l'avancement des connaissances en comptabilité au cours de la période soumise à cette analyse, et c'est pourquoi le sujet n'est pas davantage approfondi dans le rapport qui suit.

Teaching accounting, Work load, Effectiveness, Smallest Space Analysis

Abstract Reviews the book "Financial Accounting: A Canadian Casebook With Multiple-Subject Cases," by L.S. Rosen.

Abstract The article presents a case study on the effect of risk on the use of financial statements by investment decision-makers. The results of a study supported the hypothesis of a positive relationship between the declared use of financial reports by investors, as well as an assumed, theoretical, partial ordering of investments according to risk. Broad ranking in terms of major types of investments were found, including the highest degree of use which occurred with securities and loans not guaranteed by the government and not traded on the stock exchange.

[This article relates the efficiency of nonprofit organizations to the composition of their board of trustees. Following arguments by Fama and Jensen (1983a, 1983b) and Williamson (1983), we conjecture that nonprofit organizations are more efficient if their board of trustees have a larger proportion of outsider trustees rather than insider (employee) trustees since the former are presumed to have a greater incentive to monitor the organization and the latter are presumed to have a greater incentive to consume perquisites. This conjecture is tested empirically for a sample of 72 charities with a specific health focus, with respect to both the technical and allocative efficiency of the organization. Technical efficiency indices were derived by using data envelopment analysis (DEA) under various assumptions concerning the industry production technology, including the assumption that charity outputs are not substitutable for each other. These indices are reasonably well measured since the data included information on volunteer labor, a necessary input for charity services. To test the conjecture that the technical efficiency of the organization is affected by the composition of the board of trustees, the estimated indices of technical efficiency were regressed on the board's proportion of insider trustees and the organization's debt-value ratio. The conjectured relationship was not confirmed by the data. As an additional test, the proportion of insider trustees was replaced by the ratio of insider-trustee remuneration to total labor remuneration, the argument being that the greater the relative remuneration received by the insider trustees, the more capable they might be in appropriating perquisites of all types. As before, the results did not confirm the conjectured relationship, leading us to conclude that the technical efficiency of nonprofits is not affected by the composition of the board of trustees. To determine the relationship, if any, between the allocative efficiency of the organization and the composition of the board of trustees, charity costs were multiplied by the technical efficiency index so that any remaining cost inefficiencies are allocative in nature. This adjusted cost was then regressed on the proportion of insider trustees on the board (or the proportion of insider-trustee remuneration) and the organization's debt-value ratio. The conjectured relationship between allocative efficiency and the composition of the board of trustees was also not confirmed by the data.]

Abstract ABSTRACT: This paper presents the results of a mail questionnaire survey of 500 university chief financial officers. The survey attempted to assess the demand for and importance of nine social items of information to universities as investors. Despite the available literature which suggests a growing demand by universities for external corporate social responsibility reporting, the authors advance the tentative conclusion, based on their analysis of 292 usable returns, that university investors may not be a strong source of demand for information about social responsibility.

Abstract B & C have raised a number of important points regarding our original paper. Many of the issues were addressed in the original paper so that our response to them here necessarily has been some- what repetitious of the previous discussion. Nevertheless, we are grateful to B & C for pointing out some potential difficulties in applying the technique, for emphasizing the need for validation before the technique can be of practical value, and for giving us the opportunity to clarify and expand upon numerous issues which possibly were not dealt with satisfactorily in the original paper.