Access to this document was granted through an Emerald subscription provided by 405387 [] For AuthorsIf you would like to write for this, or any other Emerald publication, then please use our Emerald for Authors service information about how to choose which publication to write for and submission guidelines are available for all. Please visit www.emeraldinsight.com/authors for more information. About Emerald www.emeraldinsight.comEmerald is a global publisher linking research and practice to the benefit of society. The company manages a portfolio of more than 290 journals and over 2,350 books and book series volumes, as well as providing an extensive range of online products and additional customer resources and services.Emerald is both COUNTER 4 and TRANSFER compliant. The organization is a partner of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and also works with Portico and the LOCKSS initiative for digital archive preservation. AbstractPurpose -This study aims to report the extent of voluntary carbon emission disclosures by major Australian companies during the years 2006 to 2008. This paper provides contemporary data and explanations about carbon emissions reporting in Australia. Additionally, the paper aims to determine the variables that explain the extent of carbon disclosures. Design/methodology/approach -The carbon disclosure score is measured directly from individual companies' annual reports and sustainability reports. A checklist is established to determine the breadth and depth of the information related to climate change and carbon emissions incorporated in these publicly available reports. Findings -The overall carbon disclosure score has increased significantly over the authors' research period. Furthermore, regression results show that larger firms with higher visibility tend to make more comprehensive carbon disclosures. Overall, the authors' results indicate that the legislation of the National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting Act (the NGER Act) in 2007 may have enhanced the voluntary carbon emission disclosures in 2008, even though the NGER Act was not operative until the 2009 financial year. From a theoretical perspective, the findings of the paper are consistent with legitimacy theory. Originality/value -Previous studies examining environmental disclosures in Australia are based on a time period prior to widespread public discussion and interest in climate change and carbon emissions. By investigating voluntary disclosures made by large Australian companies around the time that the mandatory emission reporting scheme was introduced, this paper investigates whether the prominence of discussion and impending operation of the mandatory environmental disclosures have led to a greater extent of voluntary carbon disclosures. The findings can help regulators draft appropriate legislation that targets industries and specific practices where disclosure is of greatest importance to relevant stakeholders. In addition, an understanding of who and why entities disclose carbon gas emission information can ...

This article examines preparers' consolidation judgments and how they are impacted by the precision of accounting standards (substance-overform versus rules-based). The examination is performed via two laboratory experiments in a consolidated accounting setting. In Experiment 1 it was found that when subjects used a substance-over-form accounting standard they justified their consolidation judgments on case specific information rather than on different interpretations of the phrase 'capacity to control'. In Experiment 2 it was found that when subjects used a rules-based standard, incentives were found to impact on accountants' consolidation judgments and more aggressive judgments were made through their assessments of case specific information. Comparison of the judgments made in Experiment 1 with one of the treatment groups in Experiment 2 enabled a comparison to be made of consolidation judgments of subjects under both substance-over-form and rules-based accounting standards. While both groups had the same incentive not to consolidate, marginally significantly more subjects using the rules-based standard did not consolidate than subjects using the substance-over-form standard. This finding is contrary to anecdotal claims that the imprecision of substance-over-form standards may be less effective in stopping biased financial reporting than rules-based standards.

When the Cyprus economy was booming in the 1990s, key issues emanating from sound corporate governance, such as accountability, transparency and effective independent boards were not deemed important. However, largely as a result of the Cyprus stock exchange collapse of 2000, this view changed. In September 2002, due to the collapse, the Cyprus Stock Exchange implemented a Corporate Governance Code predicated largely on Anglo-Saxon principles of corporate governance. Copyright (c) 2006 The Authors; Journal compilation (c) 2006 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

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International accounting standards are deliberately designed to be principles-based (i.e. 'substance over form'). With Australia's recent adoption of international accounting standards, a relevant question is, do principles-based accounting standards lead to biased financial reporting? The present paper describes a study that analysed the consolidation judgements of senior accounting officials from Australian listed companies. Participants made consolidation judgements based on AASB 1024 "Consolidated Accounts". Although AASB 1024 is not identical to IAS 27 "Consolidated and Separate Financial Statements", there are many similarities and both follow a principles-based approach. In aggregate, the present study finds that principles-based accounting standards do not necessarily lead to biased financial reporting. Copyright (c) The Authors Journal compilation (c) 2007 AFAANZ.