Department of Accounting
Permanent URI for this collection
Browse
Recent Submissions
Item Essays in Donor Funded Interventions and the Activities of A Professional Accountancy Organisation in Ghana(University of Ghana, 2019-07) Fosu, R.A.The effect of donor-funded interventions has been a subject of long standing debate over several years of donor support. This thesis focuses on donor-funded interventions and the activities of a professional accountancy organisation in Ghana. Specifically, the thesis explores and analyses how donor-funded interventions have influence the activities of a professional accountancy organisation in Ghana as well as soliciting the perceptions of stakeholders about the outcomes of the interventions. The present thesis adopts a mix of qualitative and quantitative approaches; conducted interviews with key actors in the implementation of the interventions and administered questionnaires to selected stakeholders of the professional accountancy organisation. Thematic analysis was used in the analysis of the data collected through interviews with the respondents, while regression and structural equation modelling technique were used to analyse the quantitative data. The empirical results show a general acknowledgement among the respondents of the positive effect of the intervention on the activities of the professional accountancy organisation (PAO). However, the biggest challenge encountered in the implementation of the funded intervention is the counterpart funding provided by the PAO. Furthermore, continual professional development (CPD) quality, exams quality and tuition quality are key drivers of a credible professional qualification. Thus, an improvement in these drivers leads to an enhancement of the credibility of a professional qualification. This result is novel because to the best of the author’s knowledge; this is the first time a study has empirically tested this construct. Third, donor funded training interventions improved the competencies and organisational commitment of the respondents. The thesis makes several contributions to the accounting literature: First, the thesis enriches the accounting literature by providing a drive for a renewed attention by scholars on the activities of professional accountancy organisations which hitherto has overly University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh iv focused on international accounting firms. Second, soliciting the perceptions of key stakeholders is important at addressing the long held view by scholars that evaluations of donor interventions often do not take into account wider stakeholder feedback. Furthermore, the findings from the thesis are relevant in shaping future donor policies aimed at improving the effectiveness of funded interventions. In conclusion, this thesis generates important public policy considerations. Donors and implementing agencies of intervention programmes should take into account the financial state of local accountancy bodies in future donor projects. This is because counterpart funding places a lot of stress on the finances of these bodies which sometimes leads to difficulties in programme execution. Also, the information communication technology (ICT) infrastructure of most developing countries is not well developed to support such interventions which are mostly ICT based. This poses a challenge to the successful implementation of donor projects. Furthermore, project designs should be sensitive to local circumstances of PAOs, as projects may fail to achieve the intended outcomes if the local circumstances are ignored.Item Essays in Donor Funded Interventions and the Activities of A Professional Accountancy Organisation in Ghana(University of Ghana, 2019-07) Fosu, R.A.The effect of donor-funded interventions has been a subject of long standing debate over several years of donor support. This thesis focuses on donor-funded interventions and the activities of a professional accountancy organisation in Ghana. Specifically, the thesis explores and analyses how donor-funded interventions have influence the activities of a professional accountancy organisation in Ghana as well as soliciting the perceptions of stakeholders about the outcomes of the interventions. The present thesis adopts a mix of qualitative and quantitative approaches; conducted interviews with key actors in the implementation of the interventions and administered questionnaires to selected stakeholders of the professional accountancy organisation. Thematic analysis was used in the analysis of the data collected through interviews with the respondents, while regression and structural equation modelling technique were used to analyse the quantitative data. The empirical results show a general acknowledgement among the respondents of the positive effect of the intervention on the activities of the professional accountancy organisation (PAO). However, the biggest challenge encountered in the implementation of the funded intervention is the counterpart funding provided by the PAO. Furthermore, continual professional development (CPD) quality, exams quality and tuition quality are key drivers of a credible professional qualification. Thus, an improvement in these drivers leads to an enhancement of the credibility of a professional qualification. This result is novel because to the best of the author’s knowledge; this is the first time a study has empirically tested this construct. Third, donor funded training interventions improved the competencies and organisational commitment of the respondents. The thesis makes several contributions to the accounting literature: First, the thesis enriches the accounting literature by providing a drive for a renewed attention by scholars on the activities of professional accountancy organisations which hitherto has overly focused on international accounting firms. Second, soliciting the perceptions of key stakeholders is important at addressing the long held view by scholars that evaluations of donor interventions often do not take into account wider stakeholder feedback. Furthermore, the findings from the thesis are relevant in shaping future donor policies aimed at improving the effectiveness of funded interventions. In conclusion, this thesis generates important public policy considerations. Donors and implementing agencies of intervention programmes should take into account the financial state of local accountancy bodies in future donor projects. This is because counterpart funding places a lot of stress on the finances of these bodies which sometimes leads to difficulties in programme execution. Also, the information communication technology (ICT) infrastructure of most developing countries is not well developed to support such interventions which are mostly ICT based. This poses a challenge to the successful implementation of donor projects. Furthermore, project designs should be sensitive to local circumstances of PAOs, as projects may fail to achieve the intended outcomes if the local circumstances are ignored.Item Ethics in Accounting Education and Practice in Ghana(University of Ghana, 2019-07) Onumah, R.M.Reports of unethical attitudes involving members of the accounting profession have increased in recent times. The reported ethical infractions occurring globally have resulted in the collapse of corporate bodies in developed and developing economies. Accounting educators and professional accounting bodies have been partly blamed for their failure to adequately prepare graduates through education and training. Others have blamed the ethical failures on the personal attributes of ethics (PAE) of accountants and organisational attributes of ethics (OAE) in the working environment together with other factors. The objective of this study has been to investigate the effect of ethics education interventions, personal attributes of ethics and organisational attributes of ethics on ethical attitudes of accountants (EAA) using evidence from Ghana, a developing country in sub-Saharan Africa. The study further examines ethics curriculum design of university and professional accounting programmes in Ghana. The study employed quantitative and qualitative research approaches. The first three objectives were addressed quantitatively whilst the fourth objective adopted a qualitative approach using interviews to answer the research questions. The study surveyed 77 accounting instructors from universities and 340 professional accountants. Thirteen key administrators including deans, heads of accounting departments (HoADs), senior officials and council members of the Institute of Chartered Accountants, Ghana (ICAG) and of the National Accreditation Board (NAB) were further interviewed. The principal component analysis was used to generate scores in measuring the study variables. The ordinary least square (OLS) estimation was used in the analysis of quantitative data. The results of the study reveal a positive and significant relationship between ethics related courses (ERC), method of teaching ethics (MTE), method of ethics intervention (MEI) and objectives of ethics courses (OEC). The results also show a positive and significant relationship between experience gained on the job and ethical attitude. The study further reveals that individual PAE and OAE in themselves are not sufficient in influencing ethical attitudes; rather they collectively combine to positively and significantly influence EAA. Additionally, faculty initiatives, industry demand, international benchmarking and modernisation are the drivers of ethics in the curriculum of universities and professional accounting programmes in Ghana. Finally, it was observed that the design of ethics in the curriculum of accounting programmes in Ghana is motivated by the desire to preserve the economy, the desire the desire to avoid corruption and by the dynamism of the business environment, globalisation and sustainability. The study has implications for the adoption of ERC, MTE and MEI in the development of ethics curriculum. Besides, the type of institution is key in the desire to achieve objectives set for making ethics interventions.Item An Investigation into Board Structures, Intellectual Capital and Performance of Banks in Africa(University Of Ghana, 2018-07) Asare, N.This study examines the relationships between board structures, intellectual capital and the performance of banks in Africa. Specifically, the study draws insights from the resource-based view and signalling theories to hypothesize that the relation of board structures to performance of banks is contingent on intellectual capital; that relationship between intellectual capital and performance of banks is non-linear; and that the disclosure of intellectual capital in corporate annual reports is dependent on intellectual capital performance. Using annual data of 366 banks from 26 African countries from 2007 to 2015; the study estimates; intellectual capital measures using the intellectual capital performance (Value Added Intellectual Coefficient) and intellectual capital disclosure score; growths in bank performance using net interest margin, risk-adjusted return on assets and insolvency risk; board structures using board size, board independence and board gender diversity. The system GMM and OLS-PCSE estimation strategies are used to estimate panel regressions. The key findings of this study are as follows; there is a significant negative relationship between value added intellectual coefficient and board independence; value added intellectual coefficient also has a significant positive relationship with net interest margin and risk-adjusted return on assets. Furthermore, the interaction of board independence and value added intellectual coefficient, board size, and capital employed efficiency have significant positive influences on risk-adjusted return on assets and insolvency risk respectively. Thus, intellectual capital partly mediates and moderates the relationship between board structures and bank performance. The results of the non-linear models indicate that the relationship between net interest margin and insolvency risk on one hand and value added intellectual coefficient is non-linear, u-shaped and inverted u-shaped respectively. The study also indicates that there is a significant positive relationship between intellectual capital disclosures and value added intellectual coefficient. The study’s findings provide evidence of the extent to which board structures have been instituted to support investments in intellectual capital as a means of improving the performance of banks in Africa. However, the relationship between intellectual capital and performance of banks can be non-linear in some dimensions; the relationships are not perennially linear. There is some evidence in this study to support the resource-based view and signalling theories in the context of Africa’s banking sector.Item Environmental Accountability Practices and Performance of Mining Firms in Ghana(University Of Ghana, 2019-03) Tackie, G.Environmental issues have increased among firms especially those operating in environmental sensitive industries (ESI) such as the mining industry. This concern has led to a greater incentive for studies into environmental and social impacts, particularly as these are seen by some to have a commercial advantage. The essence for firms to report on their social and environmental impacts is a demonstration of their environmental accountability to their key stakeholders. Environmental accountability practices (EAP) entails a firm’s mandatory and voluntary actions and inactions to either reduce its negative impacts or to improve the living conditions of the local communities where it operates. Is there a commercial imperative for mining firms’ EAP? How can we validate the alignment of their responsibility to report on their environmental actions with their responsibility for their environmental actions? Do mining firms’ EAP translate into their environmental performance (EP) or firm performance (FP)? Or rather, is their EAP driven by their level of performance? Is EP part of the EAP composition or it is an outcome that mining firms seek to achieve or it is both a composition and an outcome? To answer these questions, the entire study employs a mixed research approach. The first two objectives of the study employed quantitative research methodology whiles the remaining two objectives were achieved using qualitative research approaches. The study employed the use of surveys and interviews to investigate the environmental accountability practices of 61 predominantly large-scale mining firms in Ghana. Principal component analysis was used to generate composite scores in measuring the three key variables. The study employed multiple regression ordinary least square (OLS) estimation technique for analysis. The study also applied structural equation methodology based on partial least squares path modelling technique to assess the moderating-mediating effect of EP on the EAP-FP link. Documentary analysis was used to examine the reporting practices of purposively sampled eight dominant gold mining firms, using their annual reports covering 2008 to 2017. Finally, based on interview data, the study analyses the state of environmental accountability in Ghana’s mining industry from the perspectives of multiple stakeholders. The results of the study revealed a positive and significant relationship between EAP and FP, as well as between EAP and EP. The results also showed a positive and significant relationship between FP and EP. The moderation-mediation analysis revealed that EP is a more significant predictor of EAP of mining firms in Ghana. In the presence of EP, EAP is also able to drive FP although the effect size was trivial. The study recommends that mining companies should improve on their environmental management system (EMS). EMS is a significant driver of EAP which positively impacts on EP, eventually translating into improving FP with the potential of creating value for mining firm’s stakeholders. Firms in ESIs must give premium to practices that promote environmental accountability even when such practices have the tendency of negatively affecting the bottom line significantly. The negative effects of not being environmentally accountable far outweighs the positive effects of engaging in it. Mining companies must strengthen their engagement with indigenes, and not only local elites, and ensure alignment between accountability efforts and the immediate needs of the local communities. Government should adequately resource the regulatory bodies in order to strengthen their monitoring and enforcement activities. Regulatory compliance is a major driver of EAP in the mining industry. Government’s efforts at combating illegal mining activities should be seriously encouraged and supported by all stakeholders, particularly community partners. One significant contribution of this study is the development of a scale for measuring EAP, EP and FP of mining firms. This scale can be applicable to research in other environmentally sensitive industries such as plastic waste management.Item Management Accounting and Supply Chain Performance of Healthcare Institutions in Ghana(University Of Ghana, 2018-06) Nartey, E.This work analyzes the contingency effects of supply chain integration (SCI), information sharing (or knowledge exchange), supply chain (SC) risk and uncertainty and management accounting system (MAS) design on hospital SC performance in Ghana. Increasingly seen as crucial in the management accounting (MA) literature over the past three decades has been the design and implementation of effective MASs that extend beyond organizational boundaries for the management and performance of relationships in the inter-firm exchanges domain. Such studies have become one of the most important and critical areas for the CEOs and executive leaderships of hospitals in their efforts to improve operational efficiency at minimal costs. However, while the relationship between several SCM contextual factors and MAS information, and the impact of SCI on SC performance have been extensively examined, virtually no study had empirically examined in a single comprehensive study, the SCM-performance impacts of MAS design. The underdevelopment of such studies is even more pronounced in service oriented organizations. In addition, the literature on MAS-SCM relationships had emphasized the design of MAS in the transaction context which in most cases results in misaligned control. Transactions costs economics (TCE) although provides insights on the MAS organizations should install to achieve fit, the actual observed patterns of MAS use and the contextual factors that underpin MAS design in the inter-firm exchanges domain are not fully explained by the theory. Hence, TCE tends to ignore the dimensions of internal fit (i.e. internal integration) of the SC. Given this void, a survey of management accountants drawn from 237 public and private hospitals in Ghana was used to test the contingency effects of these relationships on hospital supply chain aggregate performance using hierarchical factorial structures. Whereas the results partially support the presence of the selection and mediation fit, the moderating form of fit was fully supported by the sample data. Also, internal integration was only supported by the moderation fit model. However, level of information (or knowledge) exchange was not supported by the selection fit model although it was fully supported by the moderation fit model and partially supported by the mediation model. This finding suggests that choices of the MAS information characteristics to facilitate SCM decisions among hospitals in Ghana is either excessive or insufficient. However, the findings suggest that optimal choices of MAS design in the inter-firm exchanges domain to enhance SC operational performance can be explained by contingency theory. Consistent with several prior studies, it can be theorized that SCI as well as level of knowledge exchange and SC risk and uncertainty have contingency effects in the design of MAS in the inter-organizational domains in healthcare context. Hence, they could be considered as added external variables in the MAS-contingency paradigm. The study’s key contribution is the development and testing of a novel theoretical model of the relationship between the selection, mediation and moderation fit models that link SCI, level of information sharing, and SC risk and uncertainty and MAS design on hospital SC performance. It also offers Ghanaian hospital managers the usefulness of the MAS-contingency framework in enhancing hospital SCM decisions.