Gregory Jones

NSW Local Council investment exposures

Gregory Jones et al. — Tue, 21 Aug 2012 18:10:17 PDT

The decline in the sub-prime market in the United State of America in 2007 -2008 andthe corresponding decline in the market values of other financial investments has hada significant financial impact on many of the individuals and organisations whoparticipated in aggressively promoted investment schemes. The New South Wales(NSW) Local Government Councils was one such group of organisations impacted bythe decline in value of these types of investments. At the end of the 2006-2007financial year local councils in New South Wales had invested $590 million dollars instructured financial products such as collateralised debt obligations (CDO). By theend of January 2008, six months later, the market value of these investments dropped$200 million (34%) to $390 million. In response to the decreasing value of the localcouncil investments the NSW State Government commissioned a review of thefinancial exposures of NSW local councils in structured financial products. Thereview found that while acting within the parameters of the Local Government Act(1993), local councils had pursued high return high risk investment strategies. Thispaper reviews and evaluates financial investment exposures of the local councils inNSW and the resulting mix (unqualified/qualified) independent audit opinions issuedon their general purpose financial reports. This paper will contribute to the literatureon the wide spread impact of the 2008 global financial crisis as well as the quality ofLocal Government council financial report audits.

Education Implications of the Changing Role of Accountants: Perceptions of Practitioners, Academics and Students

G. Jones et al. — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 23:17:09 PDT

This paper investigates the premise that the role of accountants has changed in recent times, and considers the implications for future accounting education. A review of the current literature was undertaken to determine the contemporary understanding of accounting roles and the possible impacts of this on the skills needed by accounting graduates to be successful in the workplace. The literature review also considered personal characteristics that are expected to be beneficial to the accountants of the future. A pilot survey was undertaken to ascertain the different perceptions of three participant groups in relation to the changing role of accountants and the efficacy of university education in preparing students for graduate employment. These groups consisted of accounting academics and students within the University of Wollongong, and practitioners from the surrounding area. Results were analysed using parametric statistics to develop an overall picture of the sample, and non-parametric statistics to discern differences in perceptions between the target groups. The preliminary findings indicate that there is a difference in these perceptions, with practitioners being the group that most strongly believe that accounting education providers need to adapt their programs to meet the expanding requirements of the profession. However, academics are more concerned with the need to provide the essential skills for a well-rounded education, and a foundation for the development of lifelong learning.

The Value of Incorporating Emotional Intelligence Skills in the Education of Accounting Students

Greg Jones et al. — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 23:17:08 PDT

The tasks and skills that are required of accounting practitioners in today’s global business environment have changed significantly since the early 1990s. No longer are accounting practitioners required merely to undertake the tasks necessary for information provision, such as bookkeeping, data analysis and tax preparation. Instead, they are now in a more encompassing position which has extended their roles into information facilitation, thus repositioning accountants as knowledge professionals rather than accounting technicians. This in turn suggests a need for a greater emphasis on incorporating components of emotional intelligence in accounting education. However, as accounting students are generally not aware of this expanded role, those who are attracted into accounting courses may not possess the appropriate aptitude that would provide a good foundation for developing the skills now required in the professional accounting environment. Therefore, it is important that the teaching of accounting should incorporate strategies that enable students to understand and the need for developing these necessary, but often missing, competencies. This paper reports on two independent studies conducted at an Australian university which suggest that incorporating emotional intelligence skills into the education of accounting students, by providing a variety of learning environments and tasks, may be beneficial to accounting graduates as they seek employment.

Concept Mapping to Enhance Student Learning in a Financial Accounting Subject

Helen J. Irvine et al. — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 23:17:07 PDT

The purpose of this paper is to raise awareness of the potential of concept mapping as an aid to enhancing students’ understanding of the interrelationships between financial accounting concepts. The paper integrates student learning literature with an actual case study of a concept mapping exercise. Concept maps prepared by students are described and analysed, as is student feedback on the effectiveness of the exercise in increasing their understanding. While this is a first attempt at concept mapping, it shows promise of providing students with a deeper understanding of subject matter and a greater appreciation of the linkages between various financial accounting concepts and modes of delivery in the subject. Further studies of the refinement and application of concept mapping to accounting courses at tertiary level have the potential to add value to existing accounting education literature. Concept maps can assist accounting students in developing positive attitudes to life-long learning and in becoming self-directed learners, by enabling them to integrate new knowledge into the framework of their existing conceptual understanding. Future attempts will need to integrate improvements in technique on the part of teachers. The benefits of concept mapping will increase as students gain more practice in thinking conceptually. While concept mapping is a well accepted and widely used technique in other discipline areas at all levels of education, little or no research has been reported on its use by accounting educators. This paper addresses that gap.

Concept mapping to enhance student learning in a financial accounting subject

H. J. Irvine et al. — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 23:17:06 PDT

Local government investing: a form of gambling?

Graham D. Bowrey et al. — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 23:17:05 PDT

Currently in the state of New South Wales (NSW) local government councils have the authority to invest ratepayers‟ money. At the end of 2006-07 financial year local councils in NSW had invested $590 million dollars in structured financial products such as collateralised debt obligations (CDO). Six months later the market value of these investments dropped $200 million to $390 million. In the light of these significant losses the NSW state government commissioned a review of the financial investments of NSW local councils to be undertaken. The Review, Cole Report, published in 2008 found that while acting within the parameters of the Local Government Act (1993), local councils had pursued high return high risk investment strategies. This paper reviews and evaluates how the local councils in NSW, identified by Cole as having a high level of financial exposure to investments such as CDOs, have disclosed their financial investments in their 2007-08 financial reports and the type of audit opinion issued on their general purpose financial reports. This paper will contribute to the literature on the 2008 global financial crisis as well as literature on Local Government council financial report audits.

Preparing accountants for today’s global business environment: The role of Emotional Intelligence in accounting education

G. E. Jones et al. — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 23:17:04 PDT

The tasks and skills that are required of accounting practitioners in today’s global business environment have changed significantly since the early 1990s. Accounting practitioners are no longer merely required to undertake the tasks necessary for information provision, such as bookkeeping, data analysis and tax preparation. Instead, their roles are now extended to encompass information facilitation, thus repositioning them as knowledge professionals rather than accounting technicians. This includes a greater emphasis on the components of emotional intelligence. However, accounting students are generally not aware of this expanded role. Thus students who are attracted into accounting courses may not possess the appropriate aptitude that would provide a good foundation for developing the skills currently required in today’s global accounting environment. Therefore, it is important that the teaching of accounting should enable students to develop these necessary, but often missing, competencies. This paper reports on two independent studies conducted at an Australian university which have suggested that promoting emotional intelligence by providing a variety of learning environments and tasks may be beneficial to accounting graduates.

The link between emotional intelligence and graduate qualities: implications for accounting education

Gregory Evan Jones — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 23:17:03 PDT

This research highlights the graduate qualities that universities expect students to develop by the time they complete their undergraduate degree and emerge from university. It focuses on the Faculty of Commerce at the University of Wollongong, and in particular the School of Accounting and Finance. It considers the relatively new concept of emotional intelligence (EI) and how enhancing EI development in students may assist in achieving improvement in the graduate quality outcomes for students. This research develops the link between the types of skills that are required by accounting practitioners and the graduate qualities students are expected to have developed by the time they leave university. It then suggests how enhancing EI skills can promote development of the types of skills the students are likely to need to be successful in the working environment. This has been achieved by reviewing the current literature relating to the roles undertaken by accounting practitioners together with traditional and contemporary descriptions and measures of intelligence. This review suggests that providing students with the opportunity to enhance EI may promote graduate qualities and improve success in the working environment. The research initially develops an understanding of the variety of graduate quality descriptions, and then highlights the present opportunities for students to improve their skills by evaluating the subject outlines for accounting and finance majors to see if there is a concerted approach to promoting graduate qualities. A survey of EI levels of academics in the Faculty of Commerce was conducted to determine the level of understanding of EI, factors that may influence EI, and the teaching implications for promoting EI is then presented. The results have demonstrated that the skills necessary to be successful in the working environment, due to the enhancement of the accounting role, include a large number of EI elements. Factors that may improve EI levels for individuals comprise exposure to a variety of experiences, and teaching from real world situations. There was no evidence found to suggest that EI is affected by gender, but alternatively the research suggested that EI might be adversely affected by working for prolonged periods in the one environment, with variety of experience improving EI.