Masters Dissertations

Permanent link for this collection

https://hdl.handle.net/10292/476
The Masters Dissertations collection contains digital copies of AUT University masters dissertations deposited with the Library since 2007 and made available open access. From 2007 onwards, all dissertations for masters degrees awarded are required to be deposited in Tuwhera Open Theses & Dissertations unless subject to an embargo.

Dissertations submitted prior to 2007 are usually recorded in the AUT Library catalogue where the full text, if available, may be accessed with an AUT password. Other people should request an Interlibrary Loan through their library.

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Browsing Masters Dissertations by Supervisor "Ahmed, Zahir"

Now showing 1 - 4 of 4
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    An exploration of performance measurement systems in global organisations and SMEs: from a contingency perspective
    (Auckland University of Technology, 2009) Lu, Weiqi; Ahmed, Zahir; Northcott, Deryl
    This dissertation presents the results of two in-depth case studies in manufacturing companies, one is US-based global organization, and the other is China-based local firm. At a general level, the research investigates the interaction between organizational context and organizational actions; more specifically, the study investigates the differences of PMS adopted in GOs and SMEs. Contingency Theory as a framework has been used to support the explanation of the differences of PMS adopted in GOs and SMEs. The results of the study indicate that different organizations choose to adopt different PMSs due to their various in strategy, external environment, organizational structure as well as technologies of the organizations.
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    The development of public accountability for universities in New Zealand from 2000 to 2014 – applying Public Accountability Index to universities ‘annual reports’
    (Auckland University of Technology, 2015) Guo, Chenbo; Ahmed, Zahir
    Accountability can prevent peculation of public property and makes the transfer of funds more transparent to citizens. It is relevant to social expectations and attitudes that always change. This study explores the trends in public accountability of New Zealand universities. It applies the Public Accountability Index (PAI) developed by Coy and Dixon (2004) to eight New Zealand universities’ annual reports from years 2000 to 2012 to assess the development of public accountability in this public sector. Coy and Dixon applied the PAI to New Zealand universities for the period 1985-2000. This study extends their study to give an overview of public accountability in New Zealand tertiary education institutions over the last 12 years. This study uses legitimacy theory to explain the trend of public accountability. It finds that the information disclosed in annual reports of universities has changed over the years in terms of format, content, and length. Public accountability improved significantly from 1985 to 1996. However, the overall public accountability remained at the same level from 2000 to 2012. The study concludes that the changes of accountability practices is somewhat motivated by the legislative changes.
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    A Study on Service Performance Reporting of New Zealand Universities
    (Auckland University of Technology, 2019) Zheng, Mingxing; Ahmed, Zahir
    With the purpose to investigate how the service performance reporting has been changed over the last two decades in NZ Universities when New Public Management has been globally embraced by the Public Sector. This paper employed content analysis method to investigate the statement of service performance reports of eight public Universities in NZ. This research found that there is the arrhythmic change in respect to the size and the number of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and the selection of KPIs has experienced dramatic change which is mainly caused by government policies. This research has a significant contribution by testifying how the internal strategies of Universities have been influenced and shaped by government policies and will practically influence the government to make policies. This research is theoretically underpinned by the New Institutional Sociology.
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    Tax audit of transfer pricing cases derived from intangible assets: a study of selected tax court cases in Indonesia
    (Auckland University of Technology, 2013) Muhammadi, Abdul Haris; Ahmed, Zahir; Habib, Ahsan
    In the absence of market forces, transactions between affiliated companies can lead to distortion of the amount of tax that should be paid to government. The OECD introduced the ‘arm’s length’ principle, which uses comparable transactions to overcome that problem. However, identification of comparable transactions, especially for intangible assets, is very challenging. The objective of this research is to investigate how Indonesian tax auditors cope with transfer pricing cases derived from intangible property. Qualitative methodology was deemed most appropriate and a case study approach was adopted. The methods used were document analysis and interviews. A combination of thematic analysis and document analysis was then employed to analyse the data. This study finds difficulties faced by Indonesian tax auditors during the audit of transfer pricing cases derived from intangible property include: a lack of transparency in bookkeeping; limited taxpayer cooperation in providing data and documents; current regulations; and problems related to organisation and human resources. The study also finds that Indonesian tax auditors and tax officials cope with transfer pricing cases derived from intangible assets by using legal bases, e.g. Article 18 paragraph 3 of the Income Tax Law and domestic regulations, contracts entered into among affiliated enterprises, and OECD transfer pricing guidelines as references; and by role specialisation: i.e. tax auditors, heads of district tax offices, the head office of the Directorate General of Taxes, and account representatives all have distinct roles. The study suggests that Indonesian tax auditors perform the following tasks: conduct in-depth analysis of taxpayers being audited, seek evidence of the existence of intangible property owned by taxpayers, classify intangibles, look for evidence of benefits received by taxpayers from intangible property, find comparables for intangible asset transactions, find ‘arm’s length’ prices for intangible asset transactions, verify transfers of intangible property, verify the entitlements of intangible property. Further, the study also finds that the head of the district tax office acts as leader and inspiration for tax auditors in performing audits, and as quality assurance for audit work. Moreover, the study finds that the role the head office of the Directorate General of Taxes commences when the Directorate of Tax Audits and Collections, and the Directorate of Tax Regulations II, coordinate with each other in providing assistance to the tax auditors who carry out transfer pricing audits, and in interpreting transfer pricing rules and regulations. The Directorate of Tax Audits and Collections also coordinates with the Directorate of Tax Objections and Appeals in reviewing decisions of tax courts what are unfavourable to the Directorate General of Taxes. Finally, the study discovers that the account representatives provide support to the tax auditors handling transfer pricing cases in providing data and in-depth analysis on transfer pricing cases, before taxpayers are officially audited by tax auditors.
Dissertations are protected by the Copyright Act 1994 (New Zealand). The dissertation may be consulted by you, provided you comply with the provisions of the Act and the following conditions of use:
  • Any use you make of these documents or images must be for research or private study purposes only, and you may not make them available to any other person.
  • Authors control the copyright of their dissertation. You will recognise the author’s right to be identified as the author of the dissertation, and due acknowledgement will be made to the author where appropriate.
  • You will obtain the author’s permission before publishing any material from the dissertation.