Browsing by Author "Perera A"

Now showing 1 - 6 of 6
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    Business strategy and strategic deviation in accounting, finance, and corporate governance: A review of the empirical literature
    (John Wiley and Sons Australia, Ltd on behalf of Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, 2024-03-21) Habib A; Ranasinghe D; Perera A
    We review the empirical archival literature on the consequences of business strategy and strategic deviation on accounting, finance, and corporate governance outcomes. We use Miles and Snow's (Organizational strategy, structure, and process. McGraw-Hill, 1978; Organizational strategy, structure and process. Stanford University Press, 2003) strategy typology that has been quantified using financial statement data by Bentley et al. (Contemporary Accounting Research, 2013, 30, 780). Research has used this strategy score to investigate the consequences of firms following two distinct strategies namely, prospectors versus defenders, on various organisational outcomes. Our survey provides mixed evidence on the relationship between business strategy, financial reporting quality, finance outcomes, and corporate governance including corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities. We offer some suggestions for future research.
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    Does one size fit all? Environmental reporting in New Zealand: the perspective of configuration theory
    (1/01/2023) Perera A
    Purpose: This study aims to examine how different combinations of firm determinants enhance environmental reporting (ER) in New Zealand. Design/methodology/approach: This study collects data from annual and sustainability reports of 145 listed companies in New Zealand. This study uses content analysis to examine the extent of ER and then the fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis (FsQCA) to determine the configurations of determinants of reporting. Findings: The findings reveal ten configurations of determinants showing that ER relies on the existence or non-existence of other firm determinants such as firm size, profitability, ownership and presence of an environment committee (EC). Among ten configurations, ER*∼ROE (ROE denotes return on equity; firms with no profitability but with ECs) stands out, indicating that ER is strongly influenced by the presence of an EC when no profitability exists. Research limitations/implications: The configuration analysis in this study extends the current ER literature. Practical implications: The findings provide insight into the management to look for new paths when they make environmental-related strategies based on the existence and non-existence of firm determinants. The findings also support policymakers considering multiple combinations of criteria when mandating ER to promote better climate risk reporting in New Zealand. Originality/value: Previous studies on determinants of ER mainly use regression analysis to analyse their data. In contrast, the current study uses configuration analysis.
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    Face-to-face delivery this week; online the next: a reflection
    (Emerald, 23/08/2021) Perera A; Rainsbury L; Bandara S
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    Ladder of analytical abstraction: a constructive map for data analysis a case of voluntary reporting of human capital
    (4/05/2023) Perera A; Rainsbury L
    Purpose: This study aims to demonstrate how Carney’s ladder of analytical abstraction is used to examine the motivations of banks for reporting human capital (HC) information. Design/methodology/approach: The authors use semi-structured interviews of senior bank employees at eight large New Zealand banks. They analyse the managers’ views using a constructive mapping of responses applying Carney’s ladder of analytical abstraction. The findings are interpreted from a stakeholder theory perspective. Findings: The authors find that the New Zealand banks report on HC to manage reputation, strengthen employee relationships and achieve competitive advantages. The results suggest that banks engage in opportunistic reporting to distract external stakeholders while advancing their interests. Research limitations/implications: The study will guide researchers in the use of Carney’s ladder of analytical abstraction in analysing qualitative data. Practical implications: This study provides insights for businesses to improve the consistency and quality of HC reporting and ensure that the information needs of broader stakeholder groups are met. Originality/value: Some previous voluntary reporting studies analyse their data using inductive analysis. The authors use Carney’s ladder of analytical abstraction as a framework to guide our inductive analysis.
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    Market Giants vs. Dwarfs: New Zealand’s Perspective on Environmental Reporting
    (DiscoverSys Inc., 2022-06-28) Bandara S; Perera A
    This paper examines New Zealand listed firms’ compliance with Global Reporting Initiative-environmental reporting standards (GRI 300) and the impact of environmental reporting determinants on the level of sustainability reporting. The author collected data from annual and sustainability reports of the top and bottom 30 firms listed on the New Zealand Stock Exchange (NZX). The author then conducted content analysis to measure the extent of each firm’s environmental reporting score. The study findings indicate that large firms report only one-thirds of the relevant information, whereas small firms neither adopt international reporting frameworks nor report on the environment. Additionally, we found that firm size and profitability are positively associated with the extent of environmental reporting in New Zealand, whereas industry-specific differences play a minor role. This study further finds that firms, which explicitly referred to the “Global Reporting Initiatives” or “GRI” terms in their annual or sustainability reports, outperformed in environmental reporting compared with those that did not. This study uses GRI 300 standards to assess the level of environmental reporting of each firm. Finally, the study compares environmental reporting practices between top and bottom-listed firms in New Zealand. The findings emphasize the desirability of making the environment reporting mandatory in all companies to ensure the New Zealand Government’s latest enforcement of climate risk reporting.
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    Strategic Deviation and Corporate Tax Avoidance: A Risk Management Perspective
    (MDPI (Basel, Switzerland), 2024-04-04) Habib A; Ranasinghe D; Perera A
    We examine the association between strategic deviation—defined as the deviation of firms’ resource allocation from that of industry peers—and corporate tax avoidance. By combining the agency perspective with the risk aspect, we argue that managers of firms with high strategic deviation avoid tax compared with those of firms with low strategic deviation. High-strategic-deviant firms who avoid tax are likely to face the risk of compromising firm value. Based on a large sample of 40,168 US firm-year observations for the period 1987–2020, we find evidence supporting our hypothesis. A series of robustness tests validates our main finding. We further provide evidence to suggest that the positive association between strategic deviation and tax avoidance is stronger for deviant firms with high financial constraints, low institutional ownership, firms operating in more competitive markets, and procuring higher auditor provided tax services from incumbent auditors. Importantly, we show that the capital market penalises tax avoidance strategies undertaken by the deviant firms.