Prior research regarding reporting and accountability by local governments in several countries has questioned the value of traditional annual reporting and the level of accountability to the public. This article reports on comparable research for local governments throughout Canada. The disclosure index methodology is used to evaluate the quality and quantity of information published in the annual reports and in the financial statements of Canadian local governments in 2003 with a comparison in 2005. Although all municipalities published audited financial statements, less than one-third of municipalities published a comprehensive annual report in 2003. The results show an overall low disclosure index with significant improvements in 2005 compared to 2003 and significant differences across the country. The results, largely consistent with previously published international studies, raise questions about local government accountability and about the conceptual framework for local government reporting. RAPPORT ANNUEL ET REDDITION DE COMPTES DES MUNICIPALITÉS CANADIENNES : UNE ÉTUDE EMPIRIQUE RÉSUMÉLes e´tudes pre´ce´dentes portant sur la reddition de comptes des administrations locales de plusieurs pays et sur les informations qu'elles publient ont remis en question la valeur des rapports annuels traditionnels et du niveau de reddition de comptes a`la collectivite´. Les auteurs font e´tat de donne´es comparables pour les administrations locales de l'ensemble du Canada. Ils appliquent la me´thodologie de l'indice d'information pour e´valuer la qualite´et la quantite´des informations publie´es dans les rapports annuels et les e´tats financiers des administrations locales canadiennes en 2003 comparativement a`2005. Bien que toutes les municipalite´s aient publie´des e´tats financiers audite´s, moins du tiers des municipalite´s ont * We gratefully acknowledge financial support from CGA-Canada and helpful guidance and comments from two anonymous reviewers.

This study examines impediments to small business development as they relate to the enterprise support network. In order to identify sources of dissatisfaction, 10 small business owners were brought together for a focus group discussion. Subsequently, another 90 small businesses were surveyed by telephone, in an effort to explore the perceptions of the focus group further. A high level of satisfaction was expressed with the counsel of professional advisors, but low regard for the fit between government programs and the needs of small business. Those companies which could not name any government programs that had been beneficial were likely to be smaller organizations. Also, firms not using the services of outside professionals tended to have fewer employees, as did the firms which did not prepare business plans. Further, companies with staffs of two to four showed substantially lower levels of satisfaction with their bank relationship than did any other companies, both in level of support received and their financing arrangements. Résumé La présente étude porte sur les obstacles reliés au réseau d'aide à l'entreprise qui empêchent l'expansion des petites entreprises. Pour établir les causes d'insatisfaction, l'équipe a réuni un groupe de discussion formé de 10 propriétaires de petites entreprises. Puis, pour approfondir les perceptions de ce groupe, elle a sondé par téléphone 90 autres entreprises de même taille. Il en ressort une haute satisfaction du recours aux services des conseils professionnels, mais un décalage entre les programmes gouvernementaux et les besoins de la petite entreprise. Les très petites sociétés sont généralement incapables de désigner un seul programme gouvernemental qui leur aurait été bénéfique. Par ailleurs, celles qui ne consultent pas à l'externe tendent à avoir un personnel très réduit, tout comme celles qui n'élaborent pas de plans d'entreprise. Enfin, les sociétés employant de deux à quatre personnes se sont déclarées moins satisfaites que les autres de leurs relations avec leurs banquiers, en ce qui concerne l'aide et les modalités de financement.

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In fall 2003, students from two U.S. universities and a Canadian university participated in an ethics project. One solution to overcome the obstacles to ethics discussions among students who are geographically separated is the use of email as a mode of communication. As a basis for their discussions, the students used the accounting ethics vignette titled “The Error” from the Ar thur Andersen Business Ethics Program. This ar ticle repor ts on the results of the analysis of U.S. and Canadian students' responses to pre- and postquestionnaires concerning the alternatives available to the character in the ethics scenario before and after their written email discussions and group repor ts. The students did have significant changes in their responses after their discussions of the character's alternatives. It also repor ts the students' responses to a project feedback questionnaire concerning the students' perceptions of the importance of ethical training and discussions.

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