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Bridging the Gap Between Accounting Education
and Accounting Practice:
The Case of the University of Botswana
-- Lillian Wally-Dima
Some researchers have criticized university accounting education programs for focusing more on the teaching of technical accounting and not on emphasizing skill development. The aim of this research is to identify the knowledge subjects and skills needed for a relevant university accounting program. The views of accounting practitioners and accounting educators in Botswana are sought and data are collected using a questionnaire. The findings suggest that the traditional accounting subjects are very important for a relevant accounting program, but the program is inadequate as it does not emphasize other learning activities which are considered very important for the development of an accountant. The core skills identified are computer technology and business decision making, while risk analysis and oral communication skills are not adequately developed by the current program of the University of Botswana.
© 2011 IUP. All Rights Reserved.
Challenges of Reporting Intangible Assets
in Financial Statements
-- Shigufta Hena Uzma
The recent financial crisis highlights the tradeoff between ‘reliable’ and ‘relevant’ accounting and has sparked off an incessant debate. The pursuit of measuring ‘reliability’ vis-ŕ-vis ‘relevance’ persistently comes under the focus of this study. This paper examines the inclusion of intangible assets in the financial statements and the challenges in balance sheet approach of reporting with fair value. Since the measurements are relatively unreliable, there is a need to verify whether they conform to the relevance of intangible assets and also the extent to which the disclosure of intangible assets can be capitalized in the balance sheet. Therefore, it is imperative that unanimous approach of valuation of intangible assets is to be structured under the fair value accounting. This paper seeks to project ‘future earnings’ associated with intangible assets, particularly in reference to brands, in the balance sheet.
© 2011 IUP. All Rights Reserved.
A Critical Study of Shareholders’ Wealth Creators and Destroyers
in Different Sectors of Indian Manufacturing Industry
-- Shurveer S Bhanawat
In the present paper, an attempt has been made to measure the shareholders’ wealth in terms of Economic Value Added (EVA) for different sectors of Indian manufacturing industry. The top five wealth creator and wealth destroyer sample units have been identified on the basis of five-year average amount of EVA generated by them during 2003-04 to 2007-08. The mean EVA generated by the Indian manufacturing industry during the study period is 929.14 cr. The cement industry showed very high fluctuations in EVA generation during the study period, while the FMCG industry reported consistency in the amount of EVA generation over the five-year span. ANOVA results show that there is no significant difference in the mean values of EVA of different sectors of Indian manufacturing sector. Hence, it can be concluded that the mean value of EVA of the selected sample units represent the mean value of the Indian manufacturing industry.
© 2011 IUP. All Rights Reserved.
A Survey-Based Assessment of Progress
in the Implementation of Risk-Based Internal Audit in Indian Banks
-- Vijay Kumar Khanna
In the backdrop of increasing attention paid to the management of risks in banking by regulators world over, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) proposes to switch over from traditional transaction-based annual inspection of banks to Risk-Based Supervision (RBS). The risk-based approach to supervision aims at differentiating banks in accordance with their risk profiles and introduces a flexible approach to deciding the quantum of supervisory attention and application of supervisory tools. As a corollary to RBS, banks were advised to migrate toward an internal inspection/audit corresponding to the RBS framework. Risk-Based Internal Audit (RBIA) was introduced formally with the release of a Guidance Note by RBI in 2002 calling upon banks to gradually switch over from traditional transaction-based internal inspection/audit to RBIA. RBIA has been implemented in Indian banks for over eight years now. However, in so far as the progress of implementation of RBIA in Indian banks is concerned, there are no reliable sources/ studies, and the literature on RBIA in the Indian context is scanty. This survey study assesses the progress made by banks in implementing RBIA as per the RBI guidance note, as also the organizational preparedness of banks in terms of policy framework, infrastructure, quantity and quality of audit personnel, IT support, etc. The study reveals that banks in India have adopted a staggered approach toward the implementation of RBIA and that the progress has been uneven amongst banks. The formation of a task force of senior executives and development of a board approved RBIA policy were spread over the years 2001-2009. All banks in India have implemented RBIA of branches, but many of them have not covered other activities/locations which form a major part of their business activities. In relation to the RBI guidance note, there are some significant gaps in the RBIA process adopted by banks. These have been identified by the researcher and suggestions have been made to the banks and RBI for improving the implementation and effectiveness of RBIA.
© 2011 IUP. All Rights Reserved.
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