Accounting and Auditing http://lists.repec.org/mailman/listinfo/nep-acc Accounting and Auditing 2026-06-22 Financial Reporting Quality, Audit Quality, and Firm Performance: Evidence from Pakistani Listed Firms https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:129173&r=&r=acc This study examines the impact of financial reporting quality on firm performance, with external audit quality serving as a mediating factor in an emerging market context. Although prior literature acknowledges the importance of financial reporting transparency and audit integrity, limited attention has been given to their combined influence, particularly in developing economies characterized by relatively weak governance structures and regulatory enforcement mechanisms. Grounded in Agency Theory and Signaling Theory, the study proposes that high-quality financial reporting reduces information asymmetry and agency costs, thereby improving firm performance. Furthermore, external audit quality strengthens the credibility of financial disclosures and enhances their positive effect on organizational outcomes. The study adopts a mixed-methods approach by combining a comprehensive literature review with empirical financial analysis. Data were collected from 11 publicly listed companies operating across different sectors in Pakistan over the period 2015–2025. Firm performance was measured using Return on Assets and Return on Equity. Financial reporting quality was proxied through total accruals, calculated as the difference between net income and operating cash flow. Audit quality was assessed through audit firm size, distinguishing between Big Four and non-Big Four audit firms, as well as audit fees. Firm size, leverage, and total sales were incorporated as control variables. The findings reveal a complex relationship among financial reporting quality, audit quality, and firm performance. Firms characterized by lower accruals, reflecting higher earnings quality, generally demonstrated stronger financial performance, particularly when audited by reputable audit firms. However, the results also indicate contextual variation, as some high-accrual firms reported favorable performance outcomes, suggesting that industry characteristics, corporate governance practices, and macroeconomic conditions may influence the relationship. The mediating role of audit quality was especially evident where high audit standards enhanced transparency, credibility, and stakeholder confidence. Khan, Muhammed Umar Audi, Marc Financial Reporting Quality, Audit Quality, Firm Performance, Earnings Quality 2026 累積差額調整税 (CDAT): 累積差額のリアルタイム管理に基づく消費課税の設計仮説 https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:129552&r=&r=acc This paper proposes the Cumulative Difference Adjustment Tax (CDAT) as a design hypothesis that preserves the core principles of the Value Added Tax (VAT)—the suppression of cascading and the taxation of final consumption—while seeking to mitigate its operational burdens. While the current VAT is a highly developed system, it carries structural challenges, including the temporary holding of tax by businesses, refund delays, fraudulent refunds, and the administrative burden of filing and review. CDAT addresses these burdens by recording the tax portion directly in a Treasury Clearing Account without passing through the seller, by continuously managing each business's cumulative difference, and by embedding automatic offsetting as the standard process and immediate settlement as an optional operation by the business. The paper compares CDAT with related institutions, examines tax revenue equivalence under a simplified closed model, analyzes concrete cases including capital investment, exports, mid-course exit, long-term transactions, and B2C transactions, and considers technical implementation with a distributed ledger as the standard specification. In conclusion, CDAT is presented not as an immediate replacement for the current VAT but as a verifiable design hypothesis that, under explicitly stated assumptions, may achieve equivalent cumulative tax revenue outcomes. The further development of fraud detection mechanisms, the specification of transition paths, the legal examination of international consistency, and the quantitative analysis of economic impact remain subjects for future research. Azuma, Akihiro Value Added Tax; Consumption Tax; VAT Reform; Cumulative Difference Adjustment Tax; Real-Time Tax Administration; Distributed Ledger; Input Tax Credit; 付加価値税; 消費税; インボイス制度 2026-04-22 example-project: A Reproducible Empirical Research Template https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osf:socarx:yx7af_v1&r=&r=acc An open-source teaching hub and template suite for reproducible empirical research, primarily targeting empirical business researchers in accounting and finance. Pairs with companion repositories project-template (the research pipeline) and overleaf-template (the LaTeX manuscript). Weisbrod, Eric 2026-06-02 Evolving Roles and Strategic Influence of CFOs within Modern Management Control Systems: A Systematic Literature Review https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-05624443&r=&r=acc Management control systems (MCSs) are of paramount importance as they enable managers to achieve organizational objectives, and comprehensively oversee performance. Within the domain of MCSs, the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) assumes a pivotal role, acting as a bridge between decision-makers who rely on MCSs for resource oversight and its traditional responsibilities as both an accountant and the leader of the financial and strategic divisions of the firm. Although there has been quite a scientific debate about the CFO's role and MCSs in the last decade, the discourse at the intersection of these two research fields is still scarce and fragmented. Therefore, the present manuscript aims to review the current literature on the interplay between MCSs and CFOs, as well as the evolution of their roles. Drawing on a systematic literature review of 53 peer-reviewed articles, retrieved from the Scopus database and assessed through content analysis, this manuscript underscores how modern MCSs have transformed the CFO's position from a primarily accounting-focused role into that of a strategic partner. Additionally, it emphasizes the CFO's dual role as both a user and shaper of MCSs, illustrating how the reciprocal influence between these two elements facilitates organizational adaptability to today's changing environment. Furthermore, the present manuscript provides a theoretical framework and a research agenda that could offer valuable insights to both academics and practitioners. Edoardo Borlatto Elisa Ballesio Elisa Truant Laura Broccardo Financial Executive, Management Accounting, Strategy, Corporate sustainability, Management Control Systems, Chief Financial Officer, CFO 2026-04 Beyond financial inclusion: understanding the global risks and consequences of formal account inactivity https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:128973&r=&r=acc This article explores financial inclusion and the increase in formal account inactivity. It examines the formal account inactivity problem, how it delays the benefits of financial inclusion, the risks posed by formal account inactivity and solutions to reduce formal account inactivity. It was argued that countries with a high level of financial inclusion, in terms of formal account ownership, will reap the benefits that accompany financial inclusion which includes poverty reduction, stimulating entrepreneurship, increased financial security, reduced economic inequality, improved wellbeing and increased economic growth. However, these benefits may not be realized if there is an increasing number of inactive formal accounts. Ozili, Peterson K financial inclusion, inactive formal accounts, account inactivity, digital financial inclusion, mobile money account, bank account, risk, dormant account 2026