浅析企业筹资方式外文原文

1、 TowardsaTheoryofCulturalInfluenceontheDevelopmentofAccountingSystemsInternationallyS.J.GRAYAbstract：Researchhasshownthataccountingfollowsdifferentpatternsindifferentpartsoftheworld.Therehavebeenclaimsthatnationalsystemsaredeterminedbyenvironmentalfactors.Inthiscontext,culturalfactorshavenotbeenfull

2、yconsidered.Thispaperproposesfourhypothesesontherelationshipbetweenidentifiedculturalcharacteristicsandthedevelopmentofaccountingsystems,theregulationoftheaccountingprofessionandattitudestowardsfinancialmanagementanddisclosure.Thehypothesesarenotoperationalized,andempiricaltestshavenotbeencarriedout

3、.Theyareproposedhereasafirststepinthedevelopmentofatheoryofculturalinfluenceonthedevelopmentofaccountingsystems.Keywords:Accountingpolicies;Culture;Financialreporting.IntroductionThispaperexplorestheextenttowhichinternationaldifferencesinaccounting,withspecificreferencetocorporatefinancialreportings

4、ystems,maybeexplainedandpredictedbydifferencesinculturalfactors.Whilepriorresearchhasshownthattherearedifferentpatternsofaccountinginternationallyandthatthedevelopmentofnationalsystemstendstobeafunctionofenvironmentalfactors,itisamatterofsomecontroversyastotheidentificationofthepatternsandinfluentia

5、lfactorsinvolved.Inthiscontextthesignificanceofculturedoesnotappeartohavebeenfullyappreciatedandthusthepurposeofthispaperistoproposeaframeworkwhichlinksculturewiththedevelopmentofaccountingsystemsinternationally.Thefirstsectionofthepaperreviewspriorresearchoninternationalclassificationandtheinfluenc

6、eofenvironmentalfactors.Thesecondsectionaddressesthesignificanceoftheculturaldimensionanditsapplicationtoaccounting.Thethirdsectionproposesaframeworkanddevelopshypotheseslinkingculturewiththedevelopmentofaccountingattitudesandsystemsinternationally,basedonthecross-culturalworkofHofstede.Inthefourths

7、ectionsomecultureareaclassificationsareproposed.Theyhavebeendevelopedonajudgmentalbasis,inthecontextofcombinationsofaccountingattitudesorvalueswhichdetermine(a)theauthorityforandenforcementofaccountingsystems,and(b)themeasurementanddisclosurecharacteristicsofaccountingsystems.INTERNATIONALCLASSIFICA

8、TIONANDENVIRONMENTALFACTORSComparativeaccountingresearchhasprovidedanenhancedawarenessoftheinfluenceofenvironmentalfactorsonaccountingdevelopment.Thisresearchhascontributedtoagrowingrealizationthatfundamentallydifferentaccountingpatternsexistasaresultofenvironmentaldifferencesandthatinternationalcla

9、ssificationdifferencesmayhavesignificantimplicationsforinternationalharmonizationandthepromotionofeconomicintegration.Inthisregardithasalsobeensuggestedthattheidentificationofpatternsmaybeusefulinpermittingabetterunderstandingofthepotentialforchange,givenanychangeinenvironmentalfactors;andthatpolicy

10、-makersmaybeinabetterpositiontopredictproblemsthatacountrymaybelikelytofaceandidentifysolutionsthatmaybefeasible,giventheexperienceofcountrieswithsimilardevelopmentpatterns.Researcheffortsinthisareahavetendedtoapproachtheinternationalclassificationofaccountingsystemsfromtwomajordirections.First,ther

11、eisthedeductiveapproachwherebyrelevantenvironmentalfactorsareidentifiedand,bylinkingthesetonationalaccountingpractices,internationalclassificationsordevelopmentpatternsareproposed.Second,thereistheinductiveapproachwherebyaccountingpracticesareanalysed,developmentpatternsidentified,andexplanationspro

12、posedwithreferencetoavarietyofeconomic,social,political,andculturalfactors.Asregardsthedeductiveapproachtoaccountingclassification,theenvironmentalanalysisbyMuellerprovidesausefulstartingpoint.Muelleridentifiedfourdistinctapproachestoaccountingdevelopmentinwesternnationswithmarketorientatedeconomics

13、ystems.Thesewere:themacroeconomicpatternwherebusinessaccountinginterrelatescloselywithnationaleconomicpolicies;themicroeconomicpattern-whereaccountingisviewedasabranchofbusinesseconomics;theindependentdisciplineapproachwhereaccountingisviewedasaservicefunctionandderivedfrombusinesspractice;theunifor

14、maccountingapproachwhereaccountingisviewedasanefficientmeansofadministrationandcontrol.Whilealloftheseapproacheswereperceivedtobecloselylinkedtoeconomicorbusinessfactors,awidersetofinfluences,forexample,legalsystem,politicalsystem,socialclimatewererecognizedasbeingrelevant,thoughwithoutprecisespecif

15、ication,toaccountingdevelopment.Culturalfactorsreceivednoexplicitrecognition,however,andwerepresumablysubsumedinthesetofenvironmentalfactorsidentified.MuellersanalysiswasadaptedandextendedbyNobeswhobasedhisclassificationonanevolutionaryapproachtotheidentificationofmeasurementpracticesindevelopedWest

16、ernnations.Nobesadoptedahierarchicalschemeofclassificationinanendeavourtoprovidemoresubtletyanddiscriminationtotheassessmentofcountrydifferences.However,similarlytoMueller,noexplicitmentionwasmadeofculturalfactors.Abasicdistinctionbetweenmicroeconomicandmacroeconomicsystemswasmadetogetherwithadisagg

17、regationbetweenbusinesseconomicsandbusinesspracticeorientationsunderamicro-basedclassification.Thisclassificationsystemwasthentestedbymeansofajudgmentalanalysisofnationalfinancialreportingsystemsinfourteencountries.Bywayofcontrast,theinductiveapproachtoidentifyingaccountingpatternsbeginswithananalys

18、isofaccountingpractices.PerhapsthemostimportantcontributionofthistypewasbyNairandFrank,whocarriedoutastatisticalanalysisofaccountingpracticesinforty-fourcountries.Anempiricaldistinctionwasmadebetweenmeasurementanddisclosurepracticesasthesewereseentohavedifferentpatternsofdevelopment.Theempiricalresu

19、lts,usingfactoranalysisappliedtoindividualpractices,showedthatinrespectofthePriceWaterhousedataitwaspossibletoidentifyfivegroupingsofcountries,withChileasasingle-countrygroup,intermsofmeasurementpractices.Thenumberofgroupingsincreasedtosevenwhendisclosurepracticeswereconsidered.Thedisclosuregrouping

20、s,ontheotherhand,couldnotbedescribedplausiblyonasimilarspheres-of-influenceclassificationonaccountoftheirapparentdiversity.Subsequenttotheidentificationofgroupings,NairandFrankattemptedtoassesstherelationshipsofthesegroupingswithanumberofexplanatoryvariables.Whilerelationshipswereestablishedinrespec

21、tofsomeofthevariableswhichincludedlanguage(asaproxyforculture),variousaspectsofeconomicstructureandtradingties,itwasclearthatthereweredifferencesasbetweenthemeasurementanddisclosuregroupings.However,thehypothesesthat(a)culturalandeconomicvariablesmightbemorecloselyassociatedwithdisclosurepractices,a

22、nd(b)tradingvariablesmightbemorecloselyassociatedwithmeasurementpracticeswerenotsupported.Itiscurioustonoteherethatthelanguagevariable,asaproxyforculture,wasperceivedtobeameansofcapturingsimilaritiesinlegalsystemswhichwerethoughttobeparticularlyimportantinthedeterminationofdisclosurepatterns.Thisisq

23、uestionableinitself,butinanyeventnojustificationwasgivenfortheuseoflanguageasaproxyforculture.Fromthisbriefreviewofsomeofthemajorstudiesininternationalclassificationitseemsclearthattodateonlyverybroadcountrygroupingsoraccountingpatternshavebeenidentified.Atthesametime,onlyverygeneralrelationshipsbet

24、weenenvironmentalfactorsandaccountingpatternshavebeenestablished.Thesignificanceofcultureinthecontextofpriorclassificationresearchisfarfromclear.Itmaybethatculturalinfluenceshavebeengenerallysubsumedinthepredominantconcernwitheconomicfactorsbutthishasnotbeenmadeexplicit.Accordingly,theinfluenceofcul

25、tureonaccountingwouldseemtohavebeenlargelyneglectedinthedevelopmentofideasaboutinternationalclassifications.THECULTURALDIMENSIONThesignificanceofcultureininfluencingandexplainingbehaviourinsocialsystemshasbeenrecognizedandexploredinawiderangeofliteraturesbutespeciallytheanthropology,sociologyandpsyc

26、hologyliteratures.Culturehasbeendefinedasthecollectiveprogrammingofthemindwhichdistinguishesthemembersofonehumangroupfromanother.Thewordcultureisreservedforsocietiesasawhole,ornations,whereassubcultureisusedfortheievelofanorganization,professionorfamily.Whilethedegreeofculturalintegrationvariesbetwe

27、ensocieties,mostsubcultureswithinasocietysharecommoncharacteristicswithothersubcultures.Anessentialfeatureofsocialsystemsisperceivedtobetheinclusionofasystemofsocietalnorms,consistingofthevaluesystemssharedbymajorgroupswithinanation.Valueshavebeendefinedasabroadtendencytoprefercertainstatesofaffairs

28、overothers.Valuesatthecollectivelevel,asopposedtotheindividuallevel,representculture;thusculturedescribesasystemofsocietalorcollectivelyheldvalues.Intheaccountingliterature,however,theimportanceofcultureanditshistoricalrootsisonlyjustbeginningtoberecognized.Whiletherehasbeenalackofattentiontothisdim

29、ensionintheinternationalclassificationliterature,HarrisonandMcKinnonhaverecentlyproposedamethodologicalframeworkincorporatingcultureforanalysingchangesincorporatefinancialreportingregulationatthenationspecificlevel.Theuseofthisframeworktoassesstheimpactofcultureontheformandfunctioningofaccountingisd

30、emonstratedwithreferencetothesysteminJapan.Cultureisconsideredanessentialelementintheframeworkforunderstandinghowsocialsystemschangebecausecultureinfluences:(1)thenormsandvaluesofsuchsystems;(2)thebehaviourofgroupsintheirinteractionswithinandacrosssystems.ComplementingHarrisonandMcKinnonsapproachist

31、hesuggestionherethatamethodologicalframeworkincorporatingculturemaybeusedtoexplainandpredictinternationaldifferencesinaccountingsystemsandpatternsofaccountingdevelopmentinternationally.Morespecifically,itisproposedheretoexploretheextenttowhichculturaldifferencesidentifiedbyHofstedescross-culturalres

32、earchmayexplaininternationaldifferencesinaccountingsystems.CULTURE,SOCIETALVALUESANDTHEACCOUNTINGSUBCULTUREHofstedesresearchwasaimedatdetectingthestructuralelementsofcultureandparticularlythosewhichmoststronglyaffectknownbehaviourinworksituationsinorganizationsandinstitutions.Inwhatisprobablyoneofth

33、emostextensivecross-culturalsurveyseverconducted,psychologistscollecteddataaboutvaluesfromtheemployeesofamultinationalcorporationlocatedinmorethanfiftycountries.Subsequentstatisticalanalysisandreasoningrevealedfourunderlyingsocietalvaluedimensionsalongwhichcountriescouldbepositioned.Thesedimensions,

34、withsubstantialsupportfrompriorworkinthefield,werelabelledIndividualism,PowerDistance,UncertaintyAvoidance,andMasculinity.Suchdimensions,whichareexaminedfurtherbelow,wereperceivedtorepresentelementsofacommonstructureinculturalsystems.Figure1showsthecultureareasidentifiedandwithineachgroupanyidentifi

35、ablesub-groups.FIGURECULTUREAREAS(HOFSTEDE)MoredevelopedLessdevelopedMoredevelopedLatinLatinAsianBelgiumColombiaJapanFranceMexicoArgentinaVenezuelaBrazilSpainCostaRicaChileItaiyGuatemalaPanamaAfricanPeruEastAfricaPortugalWestAfricaSalvadorUruguayLessDevelopedNearEasternAsianIndonesiaArabcountriesPak

36、istanGreeceTaiwanIranThailandTurkeyAsian-ColonialYugoslaviaHongKongIndiaSingaporeMalaysiaPhilippinesGermanicAngloNordicAustriaAustraliaDenmarkIsraelCanadaFinlandIrelandNetherlandsGermanyNewZealandNorwaySwitzerlandU.K.SwedenU.S.A.SouthAfricaThepointofreviewingHofstedesresearchhereisthatifsocietalvalu

37、eorientationsarerelatedtothedevelopmentofaccountingsystemsatthesubculturallevel,giventhatsuchvaluespermeateanationssocialsystem,thenitmaybehypothesizedthatthereshouldbeaclosematchbetweencultureareasandpatternsofaccountingsystemsinternationally.FIGURE2CULTURE,SOCIETALVALUESANDTHEACCOUNTINGSUB-CULTURE

38、Inordertoexplorefurthertherelationshipbetweencultureandaccountingsystemsinaninternationalcontextitisnecessarytoidentifythemechanismbywhichvaluesatthesocietallevelarelinkedtovaluesattheaccountingsub-culturallevelasitistheselattervalueswhicharelikelytoinfluencedirectlythedevelopmentofaccountingsystems

39、inpractice.ThisisanadaptationandextensionofthemodelrelatingtotheformationandstabilizingofsocietalculturepatternsproposedbyHofstede.Inthismodel,societalvaluesaredeterminedbyecologicalinfluencesmodifiedbyexternalfactorssuchasinternationaltradeandinvestment,conquest,andtheforcesofnature.Inturn,societal

40、valueshaveinstitutionalconsequencesintheformofthelegalsystem,politicalsystem,natureofcapitalmarkets,patternofcorporateownershipandsoon.Theseinstitutionsreinforcebothecologicalinfluencesandsocietalvalues.Anextensionofthismodelisproposedherewherebysocietalvaluesareexpressedattheleveloftheaccountingsub

41、culture.Accordingly,thevaluesystemsorattitudesofaccountantsmaybeexpectedtoberelatedtoandderivedfromsocietalvalueswithspecialreferencetowork-relatedvalues.Accountingvalueswill,inturn,impactonaccountingsystems.IfHofstedehascorrectlyidentifiedIndividualism,PowerDistance,UncertaintyAvoidance,andMasculin

42、ityassignificantculturalvaluedimensionsthenitshouldbepossibletoestablishtheirrelationshiptoaccountingvalues.Ifsucharelationshipexiststhenalinkbetweensocietalvaluesandaccountingsystemscanbeestablishedandtheinfluenceofcultureassessed.Beforeanattemptcanbemadetoidentifysignificantaccountingvalueswhichma

43、yberelatedtosocietalvaluesitisimportanttounderstandthemeaningofthefourvaluedimensionsidentifiedbyHofstedeandreferredtoearlier.Havingidentifiedsocietalvaluesisitpossiblethentoidentifysignificantlyrelatedaccountingvaluesattheleveloftheaccountingsubculture?Thefollowingaccountingvalues,derivedfromarevie

44、wofaccountingliteratureandpractice,areofferedforconsideration:ProfessionalismversusStatutoryControlapreferencefortheexerciseofindividualprofessionaljudgmentandthemaintenanceofprofessionalself-regulationasopposedtocompliancewithprescriptivelegalrequirementsandstatutorycontrol.UniformityversusFlexibil

45、ityapreferencefortheenforcementofuniformaccountingpracticesbetweencompaniesandfortheconsistentuseofsuchpracticesovertimeasopposedtoflexibilityinaccordancewiththeperceivedcircumstancesofindividualcompanies.ConservatismversusOptimismapreferenceforacautiousapproachtomeasurementsoastocopewiththeuncertai

46、ntyoffutureeventsasopposedtoamoreoptimistic,laissez-faire,risk-takingapproach.SecrecyversusTransparencyapreferenceforconfidentialityandtherestrictionofdisclosureofinformationaboutthebusinessonlytothosewhoarecloselyinvolvedwithitsmanagementandfinancingasopposedtoamoretransparent,openandpubliclyaccoun

47、tableapproach.Itshouldbeemphasizedthatthereisnosuggestionthatthesevaluesarenecessarilytheonlyvaluesinvolved.Whattheydorepresent,however,isanattempttoidentifyvaluedimensionswhichappeartobewidelyrecognized.Whatargumentsaretheretosupporttheseaccountingvaluedimensions?Howdotheyrelatetosocietalvalues?How

48、aretheylikelytoimpactonthedevelopmentofnationalaccountingsystems?ProfessionalismversusStatutoryControlThisisproposedasasignificantaccountingvaluedimensionbecauseaccountantsareperceivedtoadoptindependentattitudesandtoexercisetheirindividualprofessionaljudgmentstoagreaterorlesserextenteverywhereinthew

49、orld.AmajorcontroversyinmanyWesterncountries,forexample,surroundstheissueoftheextenttowhichtheaccountingprofessionshouldbesubjecttopublicregulation/statutorycontrolorbepermittedtoretaincontroloveraccountingstandardsasamatterforprivateself-regulation.Thedevelopmentofprofessionalassociationshasalonghi

50、storybuttheyaremuchmorefirmlyestablishedincountriessuchastheU.S.A.andtheU.K.thaninsomeoftheContinentalEuropeancountriesandinmanyofthelessdevelopedcountries.IntheU.K.,forexample,theconceptofpresentingatrueandfairviewofacompanysfinancialpositionandresultsdependsheavilyonthejudgmentoftheaccountantasani

51、ndependentprofessional.Thisissototheextentthataccountinginformationdisclosuresadditionalto,andsometimescontraryto,whatisspecificallyrequiredbylawmaybenecessary.ThismaybecontrastedwiththetraditionalpositioninFranceandGermanywheretheprofessionalaccountantsrolehasbeenconcernedprimarilywiththeimplementa

52、tionofrelativelyprescriptiveanddetailedlegalrequirements.WiththeimplementationoftheEECdirectivesthissituationisnowchangingtotheextentthatthereissomemovement,ifnotconvergence,alongtheprofessionalismspectrum.TowhatextentthencanprofessionalismbelinkedtothesocietalvaluesofIndividualism,PowerDistance,Unc

53、ertaintyAvoidance,andMasculinity?Itisarguedherethatprofessionalismcanbelinkedmostcloselywiththeindividualismanduncertainty-avoidancedimensions.Apreferenceforindependentprofessionaljudgmentisconsistentwithapreferenceforalooselyknitsocialframeworkwherethereismoreemphasisonindependence,abeliefinindivid

54、ualdecisionsandrespectforindividualendeavour.Thisisalsoconsistentwithweakuncertaintyavoidancewherepracticeisallimportant,wherethereisabeliefinfairplayandasfewrulesaspossible,andwhereavarietyofprofessionaljudgmentswilltendtobemoreeasilytolerated.Therewouldalsoseemtobealink,iflessstrong,betweenprofess

55、ionalismandpowerdistanceinthatprofessionalismismorelikelytobeacceptedinasmallpower-distancesocietywherethereismoreconcernforequalrights,wherepeopleatvariouspowerlevelsfeellessthreatenedandmorepreparedtotrustpeople,andwherethereisabeliefintheneedtojustifytheimpositionoflawsandcodes.Asregardsmasculini

56、ty,however,theredoesnotappeartobeanysignificantlinkwithprofessionalism.Followingfromthisanalysisitmaybehypothesizedthat:Thehigheracountryranksintermsofindividualismandtheloweritranksintermsofuncertaintyavoidanceandpowerdistancethenthemorelikelyitistorankhighlyintermsofprofessionalism.ACCOUNTINGVALUE

57、SANDCULTUREAREACLASSIFICATIONSHavingformulatedhypothesesrelatingsocietalvaluestoaccountingvaluesinternationally,itisevidentthatthemostimportantsocietalvaluesattheleveloftheaccountingsubculturewouldseemtobeuncertaintyavoidanceandindividualism.Whilepowerdistanceandmasculinityarealsosignificanttosomeex

58、tent,masculinityappearstobeofsomewhatlesserimportanceinthesystemofaccountingvalues.Itisnowproposedtohypothesizecultureareaclassificationsinthecontextofcombinationsofaccountingvalues.Forthispurposeitisarguedherethatausefuldistinctioncanbemadebetweentheauthorityforaccountingsystems,thatis,theextenttow

59、hichtheyaredeterminedandenforcedhystatutorycontrolorprofessionameansontheonehand,andthemeasurementanddisclosurecharacteristicsofaccountingsystemsontheother.Accountingvaluesmostrelevanttotheprofessionalorstatutoryauthorityforaccountingsystemsandtheirenforcementwouldseemtobetheprofessionalismandunifor

60、mitydimensionsinthattheyeireconcernedwithregulationandtheextentofenforcementorconformity.Accordingly,thesecanbecombinedandtheclassificationofcultureareashypothesizedonajudgmentalbasis.Inmakingthesejudgmentsreferencehasbeenmadetotherelevantcorrelationsbetweenvaluedimensionsandtheresultantclustersofco