Does Practice Make Perfect? The Effect of Online Formative Assessments on Students’ Self-Efficacy and Test Anxiety

This study investigates the potential of voluntary online exercises – online formative assessments (OFAs) – to increase self-efficacy and decrease test anxiety. The results make educators aware of an unfavourable change in students’ self-efficacy and test anxiety throughout the semester. However, this study also provides accounting educators with a solution to this problem. More specifically, this research proves that students who use OFAs experience an increase in self-efficacy, and those students also tend to experience lower test anxiety. Students confirm these favourable effects based on their experiences with the OFAs. The results demonstrate how OFAs support accounting students to increase their self-efficacy and decrease their test anxiety.

Blondeel, E., Everaert, P., and Opdecam, E. (2023). Does Practice Make Perfect? The Effect of Online Formative Assessments on Students’ Self-Efficacy and Test Anxiety. The British Accounting Review, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bar.2023.101189.

New publication in Accountancy & Bedrijfskunde

On May first 2019, the new Belgian corporate law, “Wetboek van vennootschappen en verenigingen” (WVV) replaced the former “Wetboek van Vennootschappen” (W.Venn.). In this study, we focus in-depth on one specific novelty: the replacement of the former “Private Company with Limited Liability” (BVBA) by the “Private Company” (BV). Earlier, Belgium had voluntarily chosen to apply many of the stringent European regulations to the former BVBA. The BV now ends this phenomenon of “goldplating”. Although existing literature gives a profound justification to include less stringent regulation in corporate law, there is a gap in the literature when it comes to the impact on practice. This research reveals important insights for practitioners by means of a qualitative (interviews) and quantitative (database) study. In doing so, we conclude that the new BV, although much more flexible, does not differ fundamentally from its predecessor.

Read our full article here: Van BVBA naar BV: what’s in a name? . (article written in Dutch)

Reference: Waeye, D., Maussen, S., & Everaert, P. (2022). Van BVBA naar BV: what’s in a name? Accountancy & Bedrijfskunde 2022(2): 20-38.

New publication in the Journal of Accounting and Public Policy

Following up on their previous publication in Radiotherapy and Oncology (Defourny et al., 2019), the authors now report the policy implications of their interdisciplinary costing project, in which they estimated the cost of radiation treatments at the national level.

Defourny, N., Hoozée, S., Daisne, J.-F., Lievens, Y., forthcoming. Developing time-driven activity-based costing at the national level to support Belgian policy recommendations for radiation oncology. Journal of Accounting and Public Policy.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaccpubpol.2022.107013

New publication in Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal

Organizations pursuing a hybrid mission balance multiple objectives without singling out the financial objective as the dominant one, they. Based on a case study undertaken at a luxury hotel chain, this study investigates how a control package that fosters staff’s basic psychological needs can be designed to the persistence of such a hybrid mission.

Bouten, L., Hoozée, S., forthcoming. Hybridity in a hotel chain: designing a package of controls to sustain a hybrid mission. Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal.
https://doi.org/10.1108/AAAJ-06-2020-4622

Vacancy for a Ph.D. student in management accounting and control

We are looking for a PhD student in management accounting and control. During 4 years, you will conduct academic research in preparation of a doctoral dissertation in which you study managerial behavior in the field of (management) accounting and control. For a limited percentage of your time, you will assist in the teaching activities of the department. You will assist in the internal and external services of the department. Starting date: 01/09/2022.

More information

New publication in Management Accounting Research

Inspired by Maarten Vansteenkiste’s plenary presentation at an EIASM conference organized by our department, Evelyn Van der Hauwaert, Sophie Hoozée, Sophie Maussen and Werner Bruggeman draw on self-determination theory to explain the relationship between enabling performance measurement and managerial performance. As predicted, survey data from 186 Belgian managers confirm that autonomous work motivation mediates the relationship between enabling performance measurement systems and managerial performance through satisfaction of the three basic psychological needs (autonomy, competence and relatedness).

Van der Hauwaert, E., Bruggeman, W., Hoozée, S., Maussen, S., forthcoming. The impact of enabling performance measurement on managers’ work motivation and performance. Management Accounting Research. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mar.2021.100780

Harmonising public sector accounting laws and regulations of the EU member states: powers and competences

This paper analyses the powers and competences of the EU to standardise public sector accounting of the member states and to take other EU action in the field of public sector accounting. We argue that public sector accounting forms part of the administrative organisation of the member states that is not a core EU competence. EU initiatives such as the European Public Sector Accounting Standards project, which aim to increase transparency and comparability, therefore need to follow the rules set out for administrative matters in general. The study reveals on the one hand that EU actions are essentially limited to voluntary cooperation and influences of other policy areas. But on the
other hand, it shows that they do not need to be limited to the initiatives currently driven by Eurostat.

Karoline Helldorff and Johan Christiaens. International Review of Administratieve Sciences, 2021.
https://doi.org/10.1177/00208523211060007

Ignace De Beelde elected to the Board of the European Accounting Association

Ignace De Beelde has been elected to the Board of the European Accounting Association as the National Representative for Belgium.

The European Accounting Association (EAA) aims to link together the Europe-wide community of accounting scholars and researchers, to provide a platform for the wider dissemination of European accounting research. Besides fostering PhD students and junior researchers, another objective is to improve research in order to ensure the development and the promotion of accounting as well as the improvement of the teaching skills.
Since its establishment in 1977, the EAA has had a major impact on the accounting research community throughout Europe. The EAA has established a secure and developing series of networks that bring together all accounting researchers interested in a wider European concept of their subject and research interests.

http://www.eaa-online.org