This paper explores whether and in what way “dual learning” can develop understanding of the relationship between structure/judgement and explores audit student’s perceptions of the audit profession. Work Integrated Learning (WIL) module, serving as a tool of enabling dual learning, represents the context for this exploration. The study is based on a focus group and individual interviews conducted with students performing their WIL. Our data and its analysis indicates that when in a WIL context, students develop awareness of the use of standards and checklists on the one hand and the importance of discretional judgement on the other. Based on these results, we theorise as to how dual learning manifests itself in students’ experiences and understanding of the relationship between structure and judgement.

Recently, there has been an increased focus on finance as a form of control in corporations. In this paper, we explore financialization as an employee control strategy in a Big Four accountancy firm, and more specifically how it affects the everyday lives of the professionals within the firm. We found financialization involved attempts to transform employees working lives into an investment activity where work was experienced as ‘billable hours’ that are ‘invested’ in the hope of a high future pay-off. Employees sought to increase the value of their investment by skilful manipulation. If wisely managed, this investment could yield significant benefits in the future. We argue that financialization involves active employee participation and is a way of binding other forms of control together.

This chapter aims to investigate how regulatory change affects corporate disclosure. The explanations are based on institutional theory which provides an understanding of how organizations may react to a change in the regulatory framework. By conducting a content analysis, the chapter focuses on the information disclosed in the Management’s Reports prepared by the major Italian listed companies after the enactment of the 2007 law. This law extended companies’ disclosure obligations since management has to disclose information pertaining to risks and uncertainties, performance indicators, environment, and personnel. The new requirements not only lead to an increase in the information to be disclosed, but also to a change in the nature of the disclosed information. In addition to the more traditional financial information, also social, environmental, and strategic information should be provided. The main results of the content analysis allow to formulate some tentative reflections on companies’ receptivity to the 2007 regulatory change.

In this paper the challenges imposed on corporate governance of water services in Italy and Sweden are analyzed and compared. From the comparative analysis we notice that with externalization of services more stakeholders become involved in the provision of the services. These stakeholders have common as well as divergent interests and the challenges thus become to find an alignment of interest among stakeholders in order to secure a sustainable provision of the services. The comparative analysis indicate that such alignment is especially difficult when stakeholders have heterogeneous background (public and private sector).

The growing development of decentralized entities has highlighted the limitations f the traditional annual reports of governments, which do not necessarily capture he financial consequences of subsidiaries, joint ventures and associates. There s a growing tendency to consider consolidated financial statements as essential o support decision-making processes and to ensure higher public accountability. his paper seeks to understand and to explain how the Swiss Federal Government as prepared its consolidated financial statements for the three fiscal years 009–2011.

Focus in this paper is collaboration between different parts of a Region in Sweden. The first aim is from reflexive pragmatism perspective study frameworks and processes in a two years project of a collaboration in the Region. The second aim is too understood and explores these processes in terms of theoretical concepts that seriously consider contradictions, paradoxes and complexities of practice. 

The case in this paper is collaboration in a region where the Regional Council commissioned the Public Health Committee to form sector-integrated health-promoting network together with other units in the region. 

The method used for get the empirical material is a dialogue between “insider”, in the form of project leader, and “outsider”, in form of researcher. Also interviews with staff and project leaders’ diaries were used as empirical material. So, the focus is on what is said to have happened, not what has actually happened. In order to understand this and try to explain what actually happened, we are addressing a comprehensive theoretical framework. 

Some theoretical arias take account of collaboration as a contradicting, complex and dynamic practise. The combined characteristic of these theoretical arias need to be that they begin with the complexity of practice, it´s dynamics and constant emergent character. The reflexive pragmatic approach contains a critical perspective and at same time limiting the number of perspectives that will contribute to developing the practice and concepts that managers can use for future effective collaboration. This is in the paper; structure (the bureaucracy form), complexity theories and sensemaking. The concept of boundary objects and trust helped us to complete the picture of collaboration in practice as ambiguous, paradoxical and as mess – the ontological content of collaboration in practice.

In the political agenda, collaboration is emphasised more than ever due to e.g. the requirement of sustainable societies (economic, ecologically and socially), as expressed in Lisbon Strategy and European Union 2020 strategy which is currently being developed. For this reason, the public sector in Sweden has initiated collaboration between organisations, sectors, departments and various professional roles in order to integrate different factors that are considered of great importance in terms of a sustainable society. A concrete example of the implementation of the Lisbon Strategy on a regional level in Sweden is the development of a regional development programme (RUP), which focuses regionally on local development and how to achieve sustainability in the long term perspective. A project intended to facilitate collaboration in RUP between different sectors on a regional level will take place in Sweden from the year 2008 to 2010. This project is limited to collaboration between sectors that include public health issues and regional

Why does not the teacher staff act as they are told to according to the school management documents? Why are not the latest curriculum and its contents within public schools carried through? Why do not the rational forms of implementation and management, recommended by management literature, work? (Alvesson & Sveningson 2003); Bartunek 2006; Brunsson 2007; Morrison 2002; Pye 2006; Weick & Sutcliffe 2001; Weisly). Furthermore they are used for managing Swedish public School. Managing Swedish public organizations, as for example public schools, has been discussed and there are controversies as to why actions as management models, laws and other regulations do not give the intended results as expected (Scherp and Scherp 2007). The article, with its empirical material and theoretical issue, is meant to give a comprehension and explanation of why logic and contents of management sometimes fail to correspond to logic and contents in practice. To answer questions about implementation and management this article sets out from what actually happens within organizations, and not what is expected to happen. You cannot explain a rule by another one; a rule needs to be explained by its practice.

This paper is the first piece of a jigsaw puzzle in an effort to study the conditions that enable

Swedish principals and preschool leaders to do a good job, create an identity and safeguard

health. The present study is the first step to approach the overarching aim of understanding

how principals’ and preschool leaders’ assignments are interpreted and construed and of who

or what enables or prevents them from doing a good job. The primary aim of this paper is to

narrow down how the assignment (the task)) is interpreted and to identify the markers for how

principals and preschool leaders look upon the chances of doing a good job. These markers

will subsequently form the basis of an in-depth qualitative study we have begin.

Background

The effects of leadership training are disputed in research. Evaluations of participants’ training experiences are commonplace. Studies are seldom made which investigate and problematize the impressions that can be left in their complex practice by training, and which can have an effect on their practical duties and on the leaders’ capacity to deal with leadership in their everyday complexity. 

Empirical material

The 3-year Headmaster Training Course in Sweden which offers 30 Swedish university credits, equivalent to 30 ECTS, comprises approximately 500 headmasters and pre-school leaders. The leaders of the base groups are university staff. During the course the groups meet 6 times, each time containing a different theme. Curiosity dictated that we should ascertain what work and discussions took place within the base groups, how this is experienced, and how it contributes to the participants’ professional development. 

Method

In order to study what happens in the base-group meetings, two of the university base-group staff kept a diary noting down the contents and discussions from each specific session. Recorded interviews were made with 21 participants from 4 base groups. Part of the result of this part of the study has been tested on other base-group leaders from the university (7 people). In order to handle the empirical material we turn to narrative organizational research. The method involves a systematic interpretation of other people’s sense-making of the worlds they experience, here basic group meetings. The interpretation is based on how people create meaning in the experiences of what happens in the groups using perspectives from their everyday complexity as leaders.

Result

Preliminary results show an ongoing frustration related to their perception of having too limited resources to allow them to do a good job as headmasters. Within the base groups they are given the opportunity, together with others in similar situations, to exchange experiences and feelings regarding the complex, tangible, everyday work duties they carry out. The frustration felt by the leaders about the complexity of their workday was dealt with by the participants by taking advantage of common discussions held outside of the organizational hierarchy. Within the base groups they can talk and negotiate with colleagues about their complex workday as leaders in schools and pre-schools. According to the participants, they were able to solve common puzzles, even a health puzzle. The base-group meetings were also perceived as energizing them in their practical role as leaders.

The study will be of significance for the continued structuring of base groups as a support for the education and development of headmasters and pre-school leaders. A questionnaire will now be sent to a random number of participants who have completed the headmaster training course.

Aims and objectives:

If leadership and organization are in constant flux, what are the consequences for the design of headmaster leadership training? 

Background:

What do leaders do, why do they do it the way they do it, and how is what we call organizing done? Starting on the educational design track should begin with a deep understanding of what leadership and organizing mean in practice, but neither with the illusion about what happens, nor the illusion of what should happen. 

Method

Leadership training for headmasters and preschool heads at Linnaeus University in Sweden has been the starting point of testing the ontological approach to organization as flux. As background material we used focus group interviews with the participants after the completion of the course. In our paper, however, we limit ourselves for reasons of space to evaluating an experiment containing a new design of the Whats and Hows of the headmaster leadership course, comprising two groups with 50 participants each. The starting point was the flux of [the] practice. 

Results

The evaluations from both occasions show surprisingly great similarities. In all answers, superlatives are frequent in the assessment of the days of training and their contribution to the participants’ practice.  The evaluations also contain criticism. However, one conclusion is that a course that makes use of the social complexity, flux and organizational becoming has a chance of making an impact on the participants’ practising. Preliminary results also demonstrate that a course which is adapted to the notion of leadership and organization involving flux can also be experienced as meaningful and useful, as has also been confirmed by management research. 

Conclusions

Our conclusion about  management education programs is that  the starting point ought to be a/ an understanding of organizing as social complexity, b/ flux, emergent and organizational becoming, c/ what leadership ‘may be in practice’ ,and d/ participants’ experiences of social complexity and leadership as practising. In addition to including knowledge based on management and organizing as flux (What), the education should also be designed in a way which at least partly resembles the participants’ practice. Thus, the How and What of the course are related to the character of the practice.  The result may have possible effects on the latter, although research shows that this is hard to achieve.  It seems at least that the results are better than if illusions about the practice are allowed to guide the educational contents (What and How). Furthermore, since the practice has the character of flux, parts of the education should also be designed with this in mind (How). Besides, the insight that each participant and each activity is unique, at least in detail and in the long run, should have consequences for the design of the What and How of the training. Academic leadership education with its traditions must incorporate flux and organizational becoming in the choice of literature, lectures, learning situations and examination.  

This article investigates the importance of mergers in the public sector , analysing the case of T oscana Energia—a gas supplier in Italy. T oscana Energia was formed by merging three entities. There was no improvement in financial performance after the merger. Realistic merger benefits include competitive gains and, in this case, a better deal for consumers. P oliticians under pressure to merge should insist on the public sector being the majority owner in utilities. The best merger outcomes are of smaller municipal enterprises.

By combining different aspects of auditing and by focusing on the individual auditor and observing auditors at work, this dissertation explores the auditing concept. It focuses on activities carried out by auditors in local settings and how the macro-level phenomenon of “auditing” is realised in micro-level, day-to-day audit work. In doing this, the following research question is addressed: What does the auditor do? The dissertation includes and discusses certain aspects of auditing. The aspects chosen provide certain opportunities and limitations and are as follows: the audit profession, audit quality, auditing standards, structure versus judgment, the production of comfort, expert systems and trust versus scepticism. The empirical material consists of observations and interviews. The findings suggest that from an auditor perspective auditing includes not only a professional side but also a more commercial side. It appears that auditors combine more traditional tasks such as quality assuring the client’s information and reporting with tasks more directed towards assuring that the client firms’ management is satisfied. The findings also suggests that from an auditor perspective audit quality is about comfort and that making structured judgments seems to be an important action towards reaching a sufficient level of comfort and, hence, to perform high-quality audits. Finally, the findings of this dissertation suggest that much of the “professionalism” in the audit profession lies with the audit firms. Substantial knowledge is “built in” to the audit firm system; an important auditor skill is to be able to operate the system whilst appearance, behaviour and conduct is about adhering to such effort and auditors are influenced by audit firm expectations on how audit work should be done. The consequences of such “audit firmalization”, a concept identified in this dissertation, on the audit profession seem to be an important focus for future research.

This paper describes an exploratory study of whether and in what way ‘double-edged learning’ can develop from understanding the relationship between structure and judgment and thus capture students’ experience of the audit profession. The study is based on a focus group/individual interviews conducted with students performing their work-integrated learning assignments where they interact with auditors. Identifying two themes defined as Perceiving the profession and auditing and Entering into and forming in the audit profession derived from the data, it appears that when positioned within a work-integrated learning context, students develop awareness of the use of standards and checklists on one hand as well as the importance of discretional judgment on the other. Based on these results, we theorise as to how double-edged learning manifests itself in students’ experiences and understanding of the relationship between structure and judgment.

This study explores how auditors’ attitudes toward marketing and their views on the importance of marketing affect how they balance their time spent on marketing and auditing activities. The purpose is to understand how changes in the business environment for auditors affect the relationship between the auditing profession and marketing. The study is based on a survey of 711 auditors in Sweden. The findings suggest that auditors with a positive attitude toward marketing spend significantly more time on marketing activities compared to those with a less positive attitude. Furthermore, auditors who view marketing activities as important spend significantly more time on marketing activities. The study controlled for the number of years as approved or authorized auditor, age of the auditor, and firm affiliation. The results indicate that the theoretical distance between the auditing profession and marketing does not exist in practice to the same degree as it used to. The findings of the study have implications for international auditing theory and practice in illuminating the relationship of marketing and auditing in a wider business context.

Purpose:

The purpose of this paper is to explain how professional and organisational identities influence auditors’ perception of commercialisation in audit firms.

Design/methodology/approach:

The paper is based on a survey distributed to 3588 members of FAR, the professional institute for authorized public accountants, approved public accountants and other highly qualified professionals in the accountancy sector in Sweden, and answered by 374 of the professionals surveyed.

Findings:

Findings of the study indicate that commercialisation in audit firms is a three- dimensional construct consisting of market-, customer- and firm process orientations. The results of the study show that the stronger the auditors’ organisational identity, the more influence it has on auditors’ perception of all three dimensions of the increasing commercialisation of their firm. The increasing strength of that professional identity is shown to be reflected in the perception of their firm to be firm process oriented, while no effect is shown on the other two dimensions of commercialisation (market and customer orientations orientations).

Originality/value:

The paper presents a new conceptualisation and set of measures of audit firms’ commercialisation and shows how professional and organisational identities influence perception.

As change sweeps across the public sector, a huge range of accounting and financial management challenges are created. This textbook analyses the reforms that are being introduced to deal with these challenges and their global impact on the public sector.

Readers are provided with an international overview of government accounting, reporting, management control, cost accounting, budgeting and auditing. In explaining how innovative financial management tools are utilized in the public sector, the authors address a number of emerging issues:

• Harmonization trends in public financial management and International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSASs)
• Financial reporting and consolidated financial statements in the public sector
• Public sector management accounting and control methods
• Financial and performance auditing in the public sector

This concise and accessible textbook will be core reading for public sector accounting and financial management students and will also be required reading for students of public management and administration more generally. Managers, accountants, consultants and auditors working in the public sector will also find the book a useful reference.

The influence of external factors on local government finances, particularly bankruptcies, is much debated. This paper investigates the relationship between regional socioeconomic features and those Italian municipalities that have been declared ?financially destabilized? (i.e. bankrupt). Statistical evidence confirms that municipalities located in regions with particular socioeconomic features are less exposed to financial destabilization. An early model that attempts to predict local fiscal stress is presented.

Globalisation includes international product markets and capital, but also involves internationalisation of corporate governance mechanisms. We propose that internationalisation of governance mechanisms is related to improved performance of the corporation. For example, listing at several stock markets implies pressure to improve information flow and stronger adherence to international standards, which will reduce possibility for slack. Recruiting top managers and board members from an international arena will, among other things, enlarge the market for managerial labour and the market for board members, presumably putting more pressure on present managers and board members, and increase the probability of finding an adequate new manager or new board members. An integrated EU would support the internationalisation of the mechanisms through reducing the transaction costs of Europeanization. An initial test on a sample of listed Swedish corporations indicates that the proposition could be rejected. Two main reasons can be found as an interpretation of the results 1.) that mechanisms with governance functions, such as capital structure and the board have several functions, and that the governance function is not always the most important one, and 2.) that governance mechanisms cannot be analysed in isolation, since they are included in a coherent corporate governance strategy.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate how internationalisation of corporate governance mechanisms influences firm performance.

Design/methodology/approach – The paper is based on the data collected from annual reports of the year 2004, from all 239 Swedish corporations listed on the Stockholm Stock Exchange, on which a quantitative analysis was performed.

Findings – The findings suggest that internationalisation of corporate governance does not have a straightforward influence on firm performance, which can be due to: the fact that mechanisms with governance functions have several functions, of which governance is but one; and the fact that governance mechanisms cannot be analyzed in isolation, since they are included in a coherent corporate governance strategy.

Originality/value – The paper is the first to investigate the corporate governance mechanisms' internationalisation issue.