Editorial
Article Type: Editorial From: Accounting Research Journal, Volume 28, Issue 3
Welcome to issue 3 of volume 28, published in 2015, of the Accounting Research Journal. Since the last general issue in July 2015, I am pleased to report an addition to our editorial advisory board. Following from the success of the special issue in forensic accounting, I am pleased to welcome our guest editor Professor Wm. Dennis Huber to a position on the editorial advisory board.
This issue comprises a general issue, and the topics are accounting-related.
Dr Jacqueline Birt (University of Queensland, Australia), Teng Zhou and Associate Professor Michaela Rankin (both Monash University, Australia) investigate the value relevance of the various components of expenditures on exploration and evaluation in the Australian extractives industry. The industry is one of the largest in Australia, and their research has impact globally, as it informs the international approach to standard setting due to the interest of the IASB through IFRS 6.
Exploration for the Evaluation of Mineral Resources first issued in 2004. See their paper “The Value Relevance of Exploration and Evaluation Expenditures”.
In another topical paper, “Remunerating Non-Executive Directors with Stock Options – Who is Ignoring the Regulator?”, Dr Michael Seamer and Dr Adrian Melia (Newcastle Business School, Australia) examine the controversial practice of remunerating company executives with stock options. Using meticulously collected data to measure corporate governance strength, their findings highlight that both the existence and independence of the remuneration committee as critical in ensuring non-executive director remuneration practices comply with regulator recommendations.
Dr Mahfoudh Abdul Karem Al-Musali and Professor Ku Nor Izah Ku Ismail (University Utara Malaysia) examine corporate governance from the perspective of board effectiveness in “Board Diversity and Intellectual Capital Performance: The Moderating Role of the Effectiveness of Board Meetings”. The authors measure diversity in this instance according to educational level and nationality of directors and they do not find compelling evidence to link board diversity and intellectual capital performance in the context of banks in the Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Arab Emirates region.
The fourth paper, “The Effects of Comprehensive Income on Investors’ Judgments: An Investigation of One-Statement vs Two-Statement Presentation Formats” was submitted by Drs Ning Du, Kevin Stevens and John E. McEnroe (all from DePaul University, Chicago). Their paper investigates the difference in effects between reporting of net income and other comprehensive income, either in one continuous or in two separate, but consecutive, statements. Their research asserts that there is limited understanding about the differential effects of these two formats on nonprofessional investors’ judgments.
In the final paper for this issue, Dr Chunwei Xian (Northeastern Illinois University) submitted to the Journal, the paper “Book-tax differences: Are they affected by equity-based compensation?” on behalf of her co-authors Dr Fang Sun (City University of New York) and Dr Yinghong Zhang (University of Central Oklahoma). All three authors are early career researchers, and the Journal is pleased to be able to support the research of our emerging scholars. Their paper investigates the moderating effect of equity-based compensation on the association between tax planning and book-tax differences and on the association between earnings management and book-tax differences. Their study reports two key findings: first, book-tax differences are more likely arise from tax planning activities when corporations reward their CEOs with more equity-based compensation. Second, there appears to be a negative moderating effect of equity-based compensation on the relationship between book-tax differences and discretionary accruals. The negative moderating effect indicates that equity incentives effectively deter opportunistic behaviors by executives to increase personal benefits and sacrifice shareholder wealth.
In more general news, our publisher Emerald surveys our authors from time to time regarding their experience with the Journal. At the time of writing, we have an average turnaround of 60 days, and of course, the average means that some authors experience longer delays. However, on the whole, we received positive feedback from authors regarding their direct communication with the Journal, so I would also like to thank my team comprising co-editor Associate Professor Azizul Islam and editorial assistant Ms Elizabeth Marsland for their contribution to enhancing the experience of our authors and reviewers and the Journal’s overall success.
Associate Professor Azizul Islam has now decided to step away from the position as co-editor, so there will be more news regarding the editorial team in the near future. In the meantime, please note that Emerald has moved to publishing four issues of the Journal each volume (currently three). This is certainly great news for our current and prospective authors, as we have a significant pipeline of accepted papers and the extra issue will allow speedier access to published work.
Ellie (Larelle) Chapple - Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Australia
