International trade finance is concerned broadly with all aspects of the post-production financing of international trade transactions. Thus, it includes methods of international settlement, the documentation of international trade, risk management techniques, short- and long-term lending and...

This study estimates a variable cost model of the UK water industry. From this variable cost function, estimates of economies of scale and economies of capital utilisation and capacity utilisation are made. The data used in the study consists of 20 English and Welsh water companies. The results...

Systems theory and agency theory were employed as the theoretical bases for a study of lobbying and the International Accounting Standards Committee (IASC) during the years of the Core Standards Programme, 1993-98. External parties made use of formal and informal channels to lobby the IASC. The...

International trade in financial services is a topic of some importance both to the financial services sector itself and in international trade negotiations. Unfortunately, intrinsic problems in defining and measuring trade in services, combined with a lack of data in many countries, have made...

By focusing on the dynamics of action inquiry strategies, this paper has framed the way in which the process is characterised and the potential of this approach for applied management research. The relationship between improved knowledge through action and improved action through reflection is...

Purpose - The paper aims to trace the development of attitudes towards financial reporting solutions for entities not subject to the European Union (EU) Regulation. This Regulation mandated application of IFRS for the group accounts of listed companies for financial years beginning 1 January...

While concentration measures are a good indicator of market structure, the link with competitiveness is more complex than often assumed. In particular, the modern theory of industrial organisation makes no clear statement regarding the impact of concentration on competition - the focus of this...

On 16th April, 2002, the authors gave oral evidence to the House of Commons Treasury Committee Inquiry into Financial Regulation of Public Limited Companies which was set up following the collapse of Enron. This paper is adapted from the written submission to the Committee on which their oral...

The principles-based U.K. regulatory framework for auditor independence (Chartered Accountants Joint Ethics Committee 1996), which was adopted in 1997, identifies threats to independence in fact, independence in appearance, and the safeguards that control these threats. These principles are...

The central research question addressed in this paper is‘How do companies and their auditors resolve important audit issues?’ In-depth interviews are conducted with the audit partners and finance directors of a varied group of six major UK listed companies who had recently experienced audit...