The Evolution of Consolidated Financial Reporting in Australia: An Evaluation of Alternative Hypotheses

This book, first published in 1988, aims to provide evidence on the voluntary adoption of a particular type of financial statement – the consolidated financial statement – in what may be characterized as relatively high agency cost situations. This study examines an accounting method choice not under the assumption that it will be made opportunistically but under the assumption that it will be negotiated ex ante as part of the firm’s optimal contract structure.