Editorial

Citation

Tsamenyi, M. and Uddin, S. (2011), "Editorial", Journal of Accounting in Emerging Economies, Vol. 1 No. 1. https://doi.org/10.1108/jaee.2011.50901aaa.002

Editorial

Editorial

Article Type: Editorial From: Journal of Accounting in Emerging Economies, Volume 1, Issue 1.

Welcome to the inaugural issue of the Journal of Accounting in Emerging Economies (JAEE).

The JAEE, which is a sister publication to the Research in Accounting in Emerging Economies was developed to provide a platform for debate on accounting issues relevant to emerging economies[1]. This is particularly important given the increasing role that emerging economies are now playing in the global economy. The emergence of the BRIC nations – Brazil, Russia, India and China – as major global economic players is a testimony to this. As a consequence, the field of accounting in emerging economies has increasingly been receiving global attention. This coupled with the significant growth in the accounting academic community in emerging economies, since the 1990s necessitate a dedicated journal focusing on accounting issues in emerging economies.

While the focus of JAEE is on emerging economies, we also believe that contributions in the journal will have wider implications for developed economies. We now live in a globalised world where activities between developed and emerging economies are becoming more integrated; hence, we see the potential for synergy in accounting research between emerging and developed economies.

JAEE has an ambition to provide an authoritative overview of accounting research and progress in emerging economies, and to become the leading accounting journal on emerging economies. The philosophy of JAEE is to publish research papers, which highlight both theoretical, and/or policy, or practical implications. It is our conviction that through an increasing awareness of the real issues and the accounting practices that will be advocated in the articles published in the journal real contributions can be made to the accounting development process of emerging economies.

The objectives of JAEE are:

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  to actively promote dialogue among academics working on accounting issues that have relevance to emerging economies;

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  to provide a platform for academic research to be disseminated to practitioners;

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  to provide a platform for differences or similarities in accounting systems between developed and developing countries to be explored; and

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  to encourage interdisciplinary research between accounting and non-accounting academics and practitioners in development studies to develop practical solutions to some of the challenges facing emerging economies.

JAEE encourages articles that are either empirical or review of current or contemporary debates and could adopt diverse methodological and theoretical approaches. Papers that highlight the policy or practice of accounting in emerging economies are also welcome. We also welcome papers that adopt interdisciplinary approach by exploring the linkage between accounting and other disciplines such as development policy.

The coverage of the journal includes, but is not restricted to:

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  education, training and the role of professional accounting bodies;

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  financial reporting and accounting standards;

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  auditing;

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  corporate governance;

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  management accounting issues;

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  the impact of structural adjustment programmes and international financial agencies on accounting practices;

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  accounting, regulation and privatisation;

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  accounting and accountability issues in the public sector, NGOs, multinational corporations;

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  accounting practices in family businesses;

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  the impact of culture, ethnicity and history on accounting;

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  the role of accounting in socio-economic development and poverty reduction; and

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  theoretical approaches to accounting.

The interesting feature of the first issue, which comprises of four peer-reviewed papers, is that it draws on papers from four different geographic regions – Africa, Middle East, Eastern Europe and Latin America. The four papers adopt a range of methodologies and cover issues that have implications beyond the specific countries or regions that they are from.

The paper by Al-Yaseen and Al-Khadash examines the risk-relevance of fair value income measures under IAS 39 and IAS 40 using a sample of Jordanian insurance companies. The authors argue that the majority of prior studies on the value relevance of fair value accounting were conducted from Western countries and tended to be focused on the banking sector. As a result, the Jordanian and insurance companies' contexts are very interesting. Based on the analysis of risk-related information content of each income volatility measure examined, Al-Yaseen and Al-Khadash conclude that the volatility of income significantly varies with different measures of income. Researchers and capital-markets participants, who are interested in explaining accounting and market risk measures will find the findings reported in this paper particularly useful.

Drawing on data from a sample of Egyptian listed companies, the study by Hassan et al. examines the association between corporate voluntary disclosure and systematic risk. From their analysis, the authors observe a negative relationship between voluntary disclosure level and beta, and this they argue is consistent with predictions of a differential information model and theories about the economic consequences of increased disclosure. Hassan et al. suggest that more voluntary information disclosure about listed companies is preferred to less voluntary information disclosure. The reason for this they suggest is to reduce the perceived riskiness of a company. Overall, the study of Hassan et al. contributes to our understanding of the voluntary disclosure practices of listed companies in an emerging economy context.

The paper by Wanderley et al. examines the role of regulatory accounting in the Brazilian electricity industry. The paper focuses on explaining how regulatory accounting was developed within the electricity sector and how this was used by the regulator in monitoring the performance of the electricity companies and also to set tariffs. Drawing on published information from the regulator, the electricity distribution companies and other government agencies, the authors argue that regulatory accounting played different roles under the different electricity sector reforms implemented in Brazil. During the first reform, regulatory accounting was minimally used mainly because the authorities were unprepared for the privatisation, and were also preoccupied with finding technical solutions to the electricity crisis that Brazil was experiencing at the time. It was only during the second reform that a systematic regulatory accounting system was developed and used by the regulator to set tariffs and monitor the performance of the electricity companies. Overall, the paper makes a significant contribution to our understanding of the interconnection between the development of regulatory accounting and contextual factors.

Finally, the paper by Albu et al. provides an in-depth analysis of International Accounting Standard/International Financial Reporting Standard (IAS/IFRS) implementation in Romania. The analysis is based on both primary and secondary sources of data, and in particular in-depth interviews with various actors. Drawing on institutional and structuration theories, the authors analyse the inter-play between institutions, routines and politics in the Romanian context. The theoretical approach adopted enabled the authors to highlight the complexity of accounting change. By examining the two stages of IAS/IFRS implementation in Romania, the authors conclude that these stages have different outcomes. The first stage was a result of coercive external forces, mainly the influence of the World Bank. Albu et al. argue that the actual implementation of IASs during this period was very limited due to the lack of other change drivers. The second stage on the other hand was accompanied by a change process. This was attributed to more proactive forces that promoted change including Romania's entry into the EU and its economic development, which led to an increase in foreign investment on the Bucharest Stock Exchange. As a result, Albu et al. conclude that users started to require better accounting information, auditors started to demand more information and preparers became better qualified. Overall, this paper contributes to our understanding of IFRS adoption in an emerging economy context.

We believe the four articles summarised above advance our understanding of some of the theoretical and practical issues of accounting development in emerging economies. This first issue and the journal as a whole would not have been possible without the support of the members of the Editorial Advisory Board and the various ad hoc reviewers. We wish to thank them for their dedicated services. We also wish to thank the contributors of the papers in the issue. Finally, we wish to acknowledge the support of the Emerald Editorial Office and, in particular, Zoe Sanders for their assistance in launching the journal.

We hope that the papers published in JAEE will stimulate debates on accounting issues in emerging economies and that the journal will grow to become the premier accounting journal on emerging economies.

Defining emerging economies is difficult. Nevertheless, emerging economies are conventionally characterised by low rates of per capita income, capital formation and value added. Our definition of emerging economies is not only determined by economic figures, but also includes quality of life, governance, transparency and citizen empowerment. Thus, JAEE's geographical coverage includes all countries within the World Bank's lower- to upper middle-income bands (see the World Bank website) as well as some upper-income countries including Middle East, ex-communist countries in Europe and ASEAN countries. These upper-income countries bear similarities with emerging economies in terms of governance, transparency and development of accounting regulations and institutions.

Mathew Tsamenyi and Shahzad Uddin