فصلنامه بررسی های حسابداری و حسابرسی
پیاپی 110 (زمستان 1401)

The cash flow statement is a financial statement that helps significantly in decision-making about organizations’ financial flexibility. Although providing this financial statement is arbitrary as specified in the public sector’s accounting standard no. 1, no standard has been introduced about how to present this financial statement. Current research has sought to establish a suitable model for the cash flow statement of reporting units of the public sector, considering the diversity of users of financial statements in the public sector, their informational needs, and the distinction between these needs and the private sector.

This research is applied research considering the objective and descriptive-survey research considering the nature and data acquisition method. The research area includes all the administrative bodies included in Article 219 of the Law on Fifth Program of Iran’s Development that somehow utilize Iran’s general budget. Various relevant questionnaire models were established after the interviews with experts and comparative research. Next, these models were distributed among accountants, accountant assistants of administrative bodies, and university professors, which were then collected and analyzed. Context analysis was utilized in this research for analyzing conducted interviews, while statistical methods and SPSS software were used to analyze distributed and collected questionnaires.

Results of the generalization test of three divisions of operating, investment, and financing activities were approved significantly. Next, the significance of their existence in the internal structure was determined by testing other questionnaire items. In the test for observations distribution symmetry, Kolmogorov–Smirnov test has been utilized for the data normality test in this research. The chi-square single variable test illustrates the chi-square goodness of fit test. Following this table, the level of significance of the chi-square of all hypotheses is less than the 5% error level. In the Kruskal–Wallis test, the distribution of research observations was not symmetric. Hence, the Kruskal–Wallis test has been used to analyze research hypotheses among respondents’ three occupational categories. Mann–Whitney test allows the comparison between outcomes of two independent groups. For ordinal-qualitative data in a study, it is better to use the Mann–Whitney test, which is an asymmetric test equivalent to the two-sample independent t-test.

The general categories of the private sector’s cash flows statement can be applied to the public sector. However, in the details and structure of each category, according to the test results of the items, the internal structure of the categories is suggested. Considering data analysis results and research findings, it is concluded that the main three divisions of cash flow statements in the private sector can be applied to the public sector’s reporting units. Also, the suggested model can be proposed for presenting cash flow statements in the public sector’s reporting units based on findings resulting from analyzing questionnaire items’ response. The said model can then be used by the public sector’s Accounting Standards Committee in audit organizations and the Islamic Republic Iran Ministry of Economic Affairs and Finance to establish standards relevant to the public sector.

Companies operating in global markets that prepare their financial statements based on international accounting standards adopted the fair value approach a few years before the start of the 2008 financial crisis as part of the new regulations of international financial reporting standards. However, there are still debates about the role of IFRS and reliance on fair value accounting in weakening the stability of the financial system. In other words, fair value accounting is at the center of discussion regarding the causes and consequences of recent financial crises. One of the ways to deal with such issues is through value relevance studies. These studies focus on the role of key accounting figures, such as book value of equity and net profit, in supporting and validating company valuation in various circumstances. Therefore, the main purpose of this research is to investigate the impact of investment companies' exposure to fair value accounting on changing the valuation roles of key accounting items in financial crises.

Considering its data collection method, this is a descriptive-correlational study. It is an applied study, carried out using the Ex-Post Facto approach. In this research, according to the type of data, the multiple regression method with panel data was used. The data needed for testing the hypotheses were extracted from the text of the audited financial statements of the companies and the stock exchange websites. Since studies are considered to be based on event-type value relevance, short-term intervals are much more effective, especially in the economy of Iran, where variables such as exchange rates are very influential on stock pricing. Based on this, the period of this research includes eight interim financial reporting periods from 21/06/2019 to 21/06/2021. The first four periods were considered as the ones before the crisis and the next four as the time of the crisis. According to the available information of 76 firms during eight seasons, the firm is limited to 608 firms-courses.

In line with the research question, three hypotheses were designed. The evidence obtained to examine the first hypothesis indicated that in companies with the least amount of exposure to fair value accounting, the earnings number has an increasing content of information compared to the equity book value. In this type of investment company, it is usually difficult to estimate the net value of assets and it is associated with measurement error. The evidence of the interaction effect between the number of assets reported with fair value and the equity book value showed that this factor does not have a significant effect on the valuation role of the book value of equity. This is while the coefficient of earning is negative and significant and indicates a less positive relationship between market value and earning (i.e. reducing the role of earning valuation) in the case of companies that are more exposed to fair value accounting. The estimation results of the second model, designed in line with the second hypothesis, implied that the result of the interaction of crisis with key accounting items is both positive and significant. Accordingly, during a financial crisis, the relationship between the value of earnings and the equity book value is strengthened. However, the increase in the value of the variable coefficient of earning in interaction with the crisis is greater than the coefficient of the equity book value. Based on the achieved results, during a crisis, investment companies can realize profit by selling shares, and the faster this happens, the better companies realize the remaining unrealized profits caused by the growth of prices during the boom. By realizing a profit, they prevent the decrease of their portfolio value during the recession. Also, investment companies with more potential to receive cash profits from investable companies during the recession can still be positively valued regardless of the decrease in the daily value of the portfolio due to falling prices. The result of the interaction of the simultaneous occurrence of the financial crisis and fair value accounting on the value relevance of the equity book value indicated the weakening of this relationship, and in the case of earning, it showed the strengthening of the relationship. Therefore, if both the influencing factors of the financial crisis and the level of exposure to fair value accounting are simultaneously considered, the value relationship weighting system of companies that are more exposed to fair value accounting and are in a financial crisis will be changed in favor of earning value relationship. In other words, for such companies, the book value of equity is reduced from the value relationship and the value relevance of earning is added. Accordingly, the findings of the empirical models indicated that: 1) companies that are more exposed to fair value accounting have a lower earning value relevance, 2) During a financial crisis, the equity book value and especially the net earnings increase, and 3) More exposure to fair value accounting during the financial crisis reduces the value relevance of the equity book value and increases the value relevance of earning.

If both the financial crisis and the level of exposure to fair value accounting are considered at the same time, the value relevance weighting system of firms that are more exposed to fair value accounting and are experiencing a financial crisis changes in favor of value relevance of earning. In other words, for this group of firms, the value relevance of the equity book value is reduced and the value relevance of earning is added. Therefore, the exposure of financial statements to fair value accounting should be considered as an influencing factor when studying the valuation roles of key accounting items, i.e. book value of equity and earnings, especially when companies are facing financial crises.

Managers' efficiency in using corporate resources is reflected in the information presented in the financial reports. The conservatism level in preparing financial reports is a criterion through which the quality of financial reporting can be measured. Managers can have conservative or less conservative (progressive) reporting based on ability according to the authority assigned to them and based on the theoretical framework of financial standards. Research has shown that if other factors remain stable, capable managers adopt conservative reporting by meeting the expectations of stakeholders and improving the firm's performance. That is because firms with high accounting conservatism are faced with fewer regulatory constraints, better internal governance quality, efficient contract utilization, minimization of agency costs, and minimization of taxes or legal costs. Since high-ability managers have unique skills and expertise to improve firm performance, negotiate auction deals in a better way, and more precisely estimate the variation in future firm performance, they can predict future losses better and incorporate to a timely reporting. However, the use of conservatism also depends on factors such as the size of the firm or the amount of financial leverage. This is because the level of complexity of the firm can be one of the most important factors in the managers' election. Therefore, deciding the level of conservatism may be a result of the size of the firm or the amount of its financial leverage rather than the ability of the management. In larger firms, disclosure of the information is more, and as a result information asymmetry is less. These firms have lower tax and legal demands and more regularity and uniformity and debt contracts usually include precise conditions, the violation of which leads to the imposition of costs on the firm, and after that managers with a high ability to serve the interests of the company apply lower levels of conservatism in large and leveraged firms. Therefore, firm size and financial leverage can moderate the relationship between managers' ability and conservatism. According to this, the main goal of this research is to examine managerial ability effects on conservatism emphasizing the role of firm size and financial leverage in Tehran Stock Exchange listed companies.

The research hypotheses, made using 125 firms in six years from 2015 to 2020, were statistically tested based on multivariate regression models. To measure the ability of the management, the model of Demerjian et al. (2012) and the firm's adjusted performance industry considering were utilized. Conservatism was calculated based on accrual and market criteria.

The results indicated that along with any increase in managerial ability, the extent of conservatism increases as well. Moreover, managers with high ability employ lower levels of conservatism in large and leveraged firms.

The achieved findings indicated that high-ability managers apply conservatism to benefit firms and their stakeholders. First, capable managers use their unique skills and expertise to report conservatively based on efficient contracts. Second, they apply conservatism to prevent some consequences such as losing reputation and future jobs. In addition, decision-making about conservatism depends not only on managerial ability but also on organizational characteristics. Therefore, the influential factors of size and financial leverage must be considered by investors, creditors, auditors and other stakeholders in assessing managerial ability along with assessing the level of conservatism in financial statements or while making efficient contractual arrangements with managers’.

This study seeks to highlight the importance of research collaborations and examine their status among accounting researchers in Iran. It also tries to study the existing barriers to achieving effective research collaborations among Iranian accounting researchers at both national and international levels.

In the first section of this research, various aspects of research collaboration, including its advantages and challenges, were discussed through a comprehensive review of articles published in Iranian and international accounting journals. In the second section and by analyzing the content of articles published in five top Iranian accounting journals, the status of research collaboration between Iranian accounting researchers was investigated from various aspects. Finally, by surveying Iranian accounting researchers, their attitudes regarding existing barriers to achieving effective research collaboration at both national and international levels were investigated.

The literature review indicated that the most important advantage of the research collaboration of accounting researchers with each other was taking advantage of complementary skills. In 82% of the articles published in international accounting journals, the extent of contribution to the research was the basis for deciding on the order of the authors' names. However, our investigations showed that in the articles published in five top Iranian accounting journals, regardless of the amount of contribution of each author, the names of faculty members were included as main authors (i.e., the first author/corresponding author) in the articles, and the names of the students were considered as the authors with the least contribution. Examining the identity of the authors of articles published in five top Iranian accounting journals showed that the most common type of research collaboration belongs to research teams consisting of a student and supervisors. It seems that most of these articles were extracted from students' theses and it was likely that there was no voluntary collaboration between them. In addition, only eight percent of the articles published in five top Iranian accounting journals were written by faculty members without the contribution of any students. Also, only one percent of these articles were written by students without the contribution of any professor. The obtained results indicated a strong dependence of Iranian accounting students and faculty members on each other in publishing articles. Finally, the results achieved from the conducted survey of Iranian accounting researchers showed that the most important barriers to achieving an effective research collaboration at the national level include "lack of motivational policies for the most successful research teams" and "lack of economic advantages in case of focusing only on research".

Considering the relatively low awareness of Iranian accounting researchers about achieving an effective research collaboration, this research can encourage Iranian accounting researchers to form effective research collaborations by highlighting its advantages and identifying the barriers to achieving it. It also can play a role in improving the quantity and quality of articles by Iranian authors to be published in international accounting journals via increasing effective research collaborations among Iranian accounting researchers.

Shareholders' protection is an interdisciplinary issue and has become one of the ideals of every legal and economic system, receiving the attention of various regulatory, monitoring, and executive authorities. Considering the separation of ownership and control in companies, shareholder protection seems to be far from such ideals. There are basic concerns and challenges in this regard. One of the controversial issues is developing a composite index that can show the level of shareholder protection. This study aims to formulate a composite index at the level of companies in the emerging market of Iran.

The statistical technique of discriminant analysis was used to measure the weight of the combined index; 166 listed companies were separated into two groups of companies. Among them, 83 companies had the feature of shareholders protection and the rest did not. The composite index was developed accordingly. The results were strengthened based on year and industry separation. The reliability of the proposed composite index was also tested.

The results proved the proposed composite index of shareholder protection to be highly reliable. The index was able to classify Iranian companies into groups of protection and non-protection of shareholders with considerable accuracy. The criteria of related party transactions had the highest weight and the disclosure rating had the lowest weight in the proposed composite index. In addition, supplementary tests for the composite index were conducted based on the year and industry. Also, due to the use of different criteria, the findings proved the proposed composite index to include the results of individual criteria. The results of the covariance test of the proposed composite index with one-dimensional criteria indicated that the changes in the composite index with individual variables were in the same direction, which increased the reliability.

According to the findings, shareholder protection relies on the opportunistic motives of managers and controlling shareholders. The result is consistent with the Agency Theory. Moreover, changing the measure of shareholder’s protection from individual indicators to composite one leads to improve of theoretical foundations by expanding the scope of analysis. Based on theories and evidence, the agency problem makes it difficult to regulate the behavior of managers (or controlling shareholders) in line with the interests of the company. It seems that the agency problem even leads to the expropriation of minority shareholders. Also, based on information asymmetry, managers prefer to limit the provision of information about their operations to shareholders and secure their interests. The proposed index can be useful for policymakers and investors to classify companies into two groups of protected stocks and non-protected ones. It can help them with decision-making procedures, too.

Auditing plays an important role in improving the financial reporting process and promoting the efficiency of the capital market. Good audits require continuous improvement of auditors' work quality. To maintain and continuously improve audit quality, it is very important to identify factors that reduce audit quality. The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of time pressure, work-family conflict, and role ambiguity on audit quality reduction behavior mediated by work stress. Time (budget) pressure occurs when a firm allocates an inadequate amount of hours in which auditors are required to complete specified procedures. Role ambiguity means a lack of access to sufficient information to perform jobs adequately or unclear performance evaluation methods. Role ambiguity is a source of conflicts, low productivity, and disengagement. Work-family conflict occurs when the pressures from the work and family domains are mutually incompatible, and as a result, participation in the family role becomes more difficult due to participation in the work role. Work stress is the stress caused or worsened by work when a person perceives the work environment in such a way that his or her reaction involves feelings of an inability to cope. Quality reduction behavior includes actions taken by an auditor during an auditing task. Actions that reduce the effectiveness of the collected audit evidence.

This is an applied and descriptive study. The required data were collected by the distribution of questionnaires among 273 auditors. It was conducted in the spring of 2022. Data analysis was performed using structural equation modeling (SEM) and SmartPLS version 3 and SPSS version 26 software.

According to the research findings, all three independent variables (time pressure, role ambiguity, and work-family conflict) have a positive and significant effect on work stress. Therefore, it could be argued that in auditing: (1) Time pressure increases job stress by reducing the efficiency and effectiveness of auditors, (2) Role ambiguity increases job stress by creating career confusion, and (3) Role conflict experienced by auditors increases their job stress. Also, time pressure and work stress have a positive and significant on audit quality reduction behavior. But in contrast, role ambiguity and work-family conflict do not have a direct effect on audit quality. Considering work stress as a mediating variable, time pressure had a partial mediating effect (direct and indirect effect). Role ambiguity and work-family conflict had a full mediating effect (indirect effect). Finally, since auditing is a hard and stressful career, in this research, some of the main factors influencing audit quality reduction behavior such as time pressure, role ambiguity, work-family conflict, and work stress were investigated.

All three independent variables affect work stress and audit quality. Therefore, management of these three variables along with work stress in auditing firms can play an important role in improving audit quality. Also, by conducting successful auditing principles, auditors can minimize the effects of audit quality reduction behavior.

Decision-making refers to a set of mental activities that occur when creating different solutions or choosing between them. One of the dimensions of decision-making is wise decision-making. Wise decision-making is based on people's thinking, and internal characteristics referred to as more deliberate decisions. The purpose of this research is to present a conceptual model of wise decision-making in the field of auditing.

Research methodology is part of developmental research in terms of result, exploratory-applied analysis in terms of purpose, and qualitative in terms of work implementation method. The statistical community included experts in the field of auditing and partners and managers of the Iranian Certified Public Accountants and the Securities and Exchange Organization, selected as participants in the research using a targeted sampling approach. The data were collected by semi-structured interview method. In order to obtain the reliability and validity of the data, the present study used two methods reviewing the participants and non-participating experts.

The primary category is wisdom-based decision-making, which is based on the two dimensions of intrinsic meditation and external meditation, and according to causal conditions, background conditions, and intervening conditions, strategies have been developed, and the final model has been presented based on it.

This study can be a good commencement to consider the wisdom or knowledge of auditors and a practical method for auditors to make wise decisions.