Accountancy and Finance
With internationally recognised undergraduate and postgraduate qualifications, diverse research expertise, strong links with industry and recognition by a number of international associations and institutes, Otago has proven excellence in Accountancy and Finance education and research.
First taught at Otago in 1912, Accountancy is the oldest discipline in the School of Business. Together with Finance it is now part of the newest School of Business Department, the Department of Accountancy and Finance, established 2011.
With more than 20 academic staff and around 1300 students majoring in Accountancy or Finance, the Department is one of the largest in the School of Business.
For further information go to the Department of Accountancy and Finance.
Recent Deposits
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Securities Class Actions as Disciplinary Mechanisms: Debt Financing, Political Lobbying and Innovation
This thesis examines the role of securities class actions (SCAs) in corporate governance. Three empirical chapters are presented examining the relationship SCAs have with debt financing, lobbying and firm innovation. Chapter ... -
Equilibrium Asset Prices and Variance Risk Premia
This thesis studies equilibrium asset prices and variance risk premia (VRP) with three classes of models: consumption-based (Chapter 2), production-based (Chapter 3) and demand-based (Chapter 4) asset pricing models. In ... -
Microfinance Institutions’ Transparency, Governance and Risk in Sub-Saharan Africa
Several microfinance crises (e.g., in 2010 in India) and the Centre for the Study of Financial Innovation (2014) survey results have identified some of the major challenges facing the microfinance industry. Over-indebtedness, ... -
Process-based theory of value: a naïve approach to the axiomatic foundations of statistical activity cost analysis (SACA)
This thesis revisits the axiomatic foundations of Statistical Activity Cost Analysis (SACA). This entails discussing the applicability of Representational Theories of Measurement to accounting with the view of revising ... -
Essays on Skewness
This thesis is devoted to the study of the higher-moment risk, in particular, the skewness risk. In Chapter 2, we provide an exact formula for the skewness of stock returns implied in the Heston (1993) model by using a ... -
Design Appropriateness of Strategy Map Frameworks, Relations Underlying Early-stage Business Models, and Narrative Tests
The objectives of this research are threefold: i) assessing the design appropriateness of a strategy map framework, considering an organization’s unique strategic context, ii) identifying the types of relations existing ... -
Stock and Bond Returns, Insider Trading and Debt Covenant Violation Disclosures
This thesis investigates the effectiveness of debt covenant violations in applying disciplinary pressure onto management to protect bondholder wealth. By examining price behaviour for both bonds and stocks around debt ... -
The Impact of Risk Factors and Regulatory Change in the Returns of European Energy Utilities
This thesis examines the risk factors affecting the returns of European energy utilities. Since 1996, European energy utilities have been impacted by changing commodity dynamics and European Union (EU) -induced policy ... -
Motivation and Satisafction at Work: a study of information technology professionals
This study examines the job satisfaction, motivation, pay satisfaction and performance of information technology (IT) professionals. Situated in a large organisation, this study uses expectancy theory, adapting Nadler and ... -
Time to call noise control? The determinants of non-GAAP earnings disclosure in New Zealand and IFRS adoption
I hand-collect non-GAAP earnings disclosures made by New Zealand firms to consider whether the characteristics of disclosers are consistent with informative or opportunistic (turning up the noise) disclosure incentives. I ... -
Modeling the Dynamics of Correlations Between International Equity Volatility Indices
I show that volatility indices are more volatile than equity indices, and correlation is higher during periods of high market uncertainty. In this thesis, I consider correlation between volatility markets around the world. ... -
Non-Audit Services, Earnings Management and Debt Covenant Violation
The purpose of this study is to examine whether non-audit fees are associated with earnings management in a debt covenant violation context.I argue that management engages in earnings management in response to debt covenant ... -
The Wealth Effect of NZX 2003 Compulsory Compliance: An Event Study
In response to a global move towards more strictly regulated corporate governance, the NZX established the Code of Best Practice in 2003. In addition to several guidelines for good corporate governance, two compulsory ... -
Gender, family responsibilities and career success in the New Zealand accountancy profession
This study contributes to an understanding of the causes, consequences and complexities of gender inequity in career success (high levels of status and salary) in the New Zealand accounting profession. Sixty-nine (twenty-seven ... -
The Wages of Sin: Social Norms and CEO Compensation
This study provides evidence of the effects of social norms on CEO compensation in regard to “Sin” stocks – specifically companies involved in alcohol, tobacco and gaming. Consistent with Sin stock CEOs commanding a higher ... -
CEO Power and Rigged Compensation in New Zealand
This thesis examines whether, or not, powerful Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) in New Zealand are able to rig their own pay. Using a sample consisting of all eligible firms listed on the NZX from 1997 to 2012. I investigate ... -
Efficiency, Risk Premiums and Information Diffusion in Futures Markets: International Evidence
My thesis investigates three major issues related to futures markets namely, market efficiency, risk premium, and information diffusion in futures. This thesis makes a significant contribution to the existing literature ... -
Modeling VXX Price
We study the VXX Exchange Traded Note (ETN) that has been actively traded on the New York Stock Exchange in recent years (Whaley, 2013). We confirm the puzzling phenomenon of the significantly negative returns of the VXX ... -
Agency Conflicts and the Cash Flow Sensitivity of Cash in Australia
This thesis investigates the primary influences of cross-sectional variation in the cash flow sensitivity of cash in Australian firms over the period 1994-2013. Financial constraints are found to significantly increase the ... -
Decomposition of Sovereign Credit Risk: International Evidence
This thesis examines to what extent systemic, systematic and idiosyncratic risk drive sovereign credit risk and how these risk components vary over time during the pre-Global Financial Crisis (GFC), GFC and post-GFC periods. ...