Accounting and Management Review | Revista de Contabilidade e Gestão

High-profile corporate scandals based on the agenda-setting theory: analysing developed and emerging countries

Carlos F. Lopes — 2025-11-07

Studies indicate that more developed countries, compared to emerging countries, have more corporate scandals, which seems counterintuitive, contradicting common sense assumptions. Furthermore, we identified a gap in the methodological application of data collection when we found a more comprehensive method. In this sense, this work has two objectives: firstly, propose a method that improves the data collection process based on the agenda-setting theory; and secondly, based on this new method, collect, categorize, and analyze cases of high-profile corporate scandals in developed and emerging countries, comparing and discuss the results. With a sample ranging from 2010 to 2021, that includes Brazil, Canada, South Korea, Spain, India, Italy, and Mexico, and with the preliminary intention of understanding the phenomenon, we used contingency tables, frequency analyses, percentage distribution, and comparative analyses through charts. Our results suggest that emerging countries have more scandals, contradicting the preliminary findings; that no significant difference exists between the scandals of the studied groups; and that the collection model was validated as more comprehensive. The scandals’ profile and their prominent characteristics were also outlined. This study provided valuable insights into the dynamics of corporate scandals in developed and emerging markets. Our study provides insights into corporate scandal patterns in developed and emerging markets, helping investors, regulators, and governments better understand corporate scandal patterns and potentially leading to more transparent and ethical market functioning.

Literacia financeira dos decisores financeiros de Pequenas e Médias Empresas portuguesas

Cátia Andrade — 2025-11-07

The study aimed to evaluate the Financial Literacy (hereinafter referred to as LF) of financial decision-makers in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). And, subsequently, a comparison between the results obtained and those presented by the Report of the Relatório do 1.º Inquérito sobre a Literacia Financeira de Empresários de Micro e Pequenas Empresas e Desafios da COVID-19 em Portugal 2021. The sample consisted of 150 financial decision-makers, with a valid response rate of approximately 38% (57 respondents). The research methodology adopted consisted of applying a questionnaire based on the three pillars of LF, as defined by the OECD, namely: Financial Knowledge, Financial Behavior and Financial Attitudes. The respective survey was carried out between April 21, 2023, and May 31 of the same year. The results obtained revealed that the LF level of the respondents was situated at 69.65%. Likewise, it was found that educational qualifications and turnover are the main factors that influence the level of FL. With regard to the comparison carried out, it was found that there were some differences, attributed to the disparity in the sizes of the samples used in the studies in question.

O impacto da COVID-19 nas demonstrações financeiras das entidades do setor não lucrativo. Caso do distrito de Aveiro

Carla Abade — 2025-11-07

The Non-Profit Organizations (NPO) perform an extremely important role in the communities where they operate. Their survival is vital, since the local governments do not always have the capacity to fulfil the functions performed by the NPOs. The recent COVID-19 pandemic, which occurred between 2020 and 2021, gave a greater relevance to the NPOs, since, in times of crisis, there is a tendency for a greater demand for their services. The literature review points to a decrease in the main activity (sales and services), an increase in government funding, and an increase in alternative revenues. In addition to verifying the NPO accountability compliance between 2019 to 2021, this study aims to verify whether the behaviour of balance sheets, results and variations occurring in the three sources of revenue (sales and provision of services, subsidies/support and other income), in a pandemic context, led to variations as shown in the literature review. This study used a qualitative methodology, using documentary analysis of the NPO accountability of eight municipalities in Aveiro district, covering its geographic dispersion. It is concluded that NPO, in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, recorded an increase in net income, mainly at the expense of the increase in subsidies and donations, since sales and provision of services (essentially “monthly fees”) and other income decreased. This study presents specific data that prove that, in pandemic situations, there are changes in the structure of the various income items, comparing the results obtained by Mendes (2018).

Connecting the accounting past and present: scientific management and office management control

Lee Parker — 2025-11-07

The purpose of this paper is to examine the accounting historiographic relationship between past, present and future as a potential input to the profession’s forward looking decision-making. This is presented as a foundation for better investigating and managing many issues that accounting discipline and profession must address today. The study draws upon the general and accounting historiographic literature analysing the relationships between past, present and future and applies these concepts to the examination of two accounting related case studies. These are first, the history and persistence of scientific management in today’s accounting thought and practice and second, the history and present manifestation of office design and processes with their evidence of ongoing scientific management influence. The study demonstrates the persistence and influence of historical predecessors upon contemporary accounting and management control concepts and practices, even when some of those evident today may appear manifestly new. Scientific management, while developed and championed from the late 19th century to the early 20th century, emerges as continuing its influence on accounting related thought and practice today. Researchers need to account for the historical environment and prior literature that may still significantly condition and explain present day phenomena. Such understanding may need to be incorporated into research designs for examining contemporary issues. The accounting profession can benefit from close attention to historical precedents for issues it is addressing, by way of policy and practice decisions for future accounting concepts, conventions and standards. This may include both more informed critiques of current policies and practices as well as more innovative approaches to future potential solutions. This study offers a focussed analysis of past-present-future interrelatedness and applies it to two accounting and management control related cases affected by such relationships over time. It demonstrates the persistence of historical concepts and practices and their impact on contemporary accounting and management control related phenomena.

Content analysis in local government accounting – a literature review and empirical insights

Martin Quinn — 2025-11-07

This study addresses a gap in local government research by advocating for the adoption of computerised content analysis methods to analyse public service accounting texts. Despite the significant volume of textual data produced by local governments – such as financial statements, budget reports, and policy documents – traditional manual content analysis methods have limited researchers’ ability to harness these resources effectively. By employing tools such as the Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count (LIWC-22) software and custom Python code, this study highlights the potential of computerised approaches to enhance the depth, efficiency, and rigour of content analysis in the public sector. Using annual budget reports from eight Irish local governments as empirical examples, the study applies both standardised and customised analytical techniques to assess textual complexity, readability, sentiment and thematic trends. The findings highlight notable differences in text characteristics between urban and rural local governments and reveal temporal shifts influenced by broader policy initiatives, such as climate action planning. Additionally, the study demonstrates the advantages of combining off-the-shelf tools with tailored programming to achieve more comprehensive insights, particularly in capturing nuanced linguistic patterns. This research illuminates the value of computerised content analysis in public sector accounting research. While focusing on budgetary documents, the methods described have broader applicability to other public sector texts, paving the way for innovative research approaches in public governance and administration.

Handbook of Accounting in Society

Cláudia Teixeira — 2025-11-07

In a captivating style, the Handbook of Accounting in Society, edited by Hendrik Vollmer, takes the reader on a journey through various unconventional perspectives and settings in order to understand the world of accounting, and the contexts in which accounting operates (Hopwood, 1983). This research handbook, published by Edward Elgar Publishing, examines accounting and its impact on society, and vice-versa, via 12 sections with 31 chapters and the contributions of 48 accounting scholars from across several countries, such as the UK, Italy, Australia, Canada, USA, France, Ireland, the Netherlands, and Indonesia.

Exposure Draft 92: tangible natural resources. A critical technical review

David Crowther — 2025-11-07

The treatment of tangible natural resources in financial statements is a matter of concern; hence the publication of this exposure draft. This paper reviews and critiques this. In doing so, it shows that identification and valuation is such assets is far from certain. It argues that general principles are all that can be identified rather than definite approaches. This is because of the uncertainty involved and the differences between organisations. So, it argues for use value rather the historic cost as the basis for recording items. The paper discusses the problems of identifying such resources and of their measurement in arriving at their treatment in financial statements. It then goes on the argue that sustainability and accounting in terms of sustainability are the problem to be addressed for the future, stating that this issue will become more important as time progresses. In doing so, it discusses the issues involved in sustainability and the issues involved in accounting for sustainability. It argues that this will become more difficult as time progresses but needs to be addressed as some of the most basic principles of recording assets and transactions need to be revisited and redefined in the future because of the concern for sustainability.

Editorial

Maria João Major — 2025-11-07

Implementation of public sector accounting reform: the Portuguese case

Margarida Liberato — 2025-11-07

This research aims to analyze the implementation of accounting reform in public administration in Portugal through three studies. The first discusses the adoption of the International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS) in the public sector in developed and developing countries, identifying differences in constraints and stimuli to implementation. Through a systematic review of the literature, it was identified that there are differences between constraints and stimuli in the implementation of accounting standards between developed and developing countries. In developed countries, the lack of training stands out as the main constraint and modernization is a stimulus for the implementation of the reform. In developing countries, the greatest constraint is the limitation of financial resources, with external and internal pressure as a stimulus. The second study analyzes the factors that influence the implementation of accounting reform in central public administration in Portugal and how this implementation affects transparency in organizations. The results, obtained through questionnaires and analyzed using the structural equation model and the application of the comparative qualitative analysis of diffuse sets, show that the most important positive factor is the experience and involvement of the teams, with the involvement of professional organizations being the factor with the greatest negative impact. It was also concluded that the implementation of the accounting reform results in greater transparency in the public sector, effectively achieving one of the main objectives of the reforms driven by IPSAS. Finally, the third study analyzes the impact of the implementation of the management accounting reform on the central public administration in Portugal and how it affects control, transparency, and management reporting within these organizations. The results, analyzed using a structural equation model, show that the reform has a positive effect on increasing the quality of management reporting and the transparency of public administrations, as well as contributing positively to increased control in these organizations.