Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to address the question of whether two early Australian public accounts committees were established for the purpose of legitimating governments of the time. Design/methodology/approach – The paper addressed these issues through a study of the...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine whether the use of commercial-in-confidence arrangements within the public sector allows the deliberate manipulation of accounting figures to generate support for the privatisation agenda. Design/methodology/approach – A case study is...

Purpose – This study aims to critically analyse the independence of the internal audit function through its relationship with management and the audit committee. Design/methodology/approach – Results are based on a critical comparison of responses from questionnaires sent out to Australian...

Purpose – Increased awareness regarding environmental issues has encouraged organisations to use environmental management accounting (EMA), which has been said to deliver many benefits to users, including an increase in innovation. There is, however, little evidence to consubstantiate this...

Purpose – This paper aims to provide a stakeholder analysis of the environmental management strategies and a two-dimensional (economic and environmental) performance of an Australian energy company that seeks environmental excellence. Unlike the dominant largely positivistic studies which seek...

Purpose – The aim of this paper is to examine the process of change in an Australian not-for-profit organization, from a cash-based to an accrual-based accounting system. Its particular focus is the relationship between the image portrayed by accrual accounting adoption and the technical...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the impact of small business managers' objectives and preferred methods of communicating on the communications aspect of accountants' advisory relationship with small business. Through exploring and reporting on these issues, the paper seeks to...

Purpose – This paper aims to present an examination of the characterisation of accounting and accountants in popular music. Some authors have considered the place of accounting in popular culture and the social perceptions of accounting and accountants. This research aims to advance this work...