The Impact of Financial Distress Status and Corporate Governance Structures on the Level of Voluntary Disclosure Within Annual Reports of Firms （Case Study of Non-financial Firms in Indonesia Over the Period of 2009-2011）

The purpose of this research is to examine the impact of financial distress status and corporate governance structures on the level of voluntary disclosure. We apply six independent variables, including the firm＇s financial distress status and five components of corporate governance structures, such as board independence, audit committee independence, institutional ownership, board meeting frequency, and audit committee meeting frequency. This research is carried out by examining the annual reports of 114 non-financial firms listed at the Indonesian Stock Exchange over the period of 2009-2011. To test hypotheses, we undergo two different analyses, including independent samples t-test and Multiple Linear Regression. We find that： （1） The audit committee independence and the audit committee meeting frequency have significant positive impacts on the level of voluntary disclosure; （2） The financial distress status is negatively related to the level of disclosure at various levels of significance; and （3） All the independent variables are simultaneously related to voluntary disclosure.     

Investigating Voluntary Risk Disclosure： The Case of Jordanian Banks

The aim of the study is to investigate whether banks in Jordan are compliant with the International Financial Reporting Standards （IFRS） 7 requirement for mandatory disclosure and to find out the extent to which the banks provide voluntary risk disclosures. To achieve the objectives of the study, we collected data from all 15 banks listed on the Amman Stock Exchange for the year ending December 2013. The findings of the study suggest that there is strong compliance with respect to mandatory risk disclosure, as required by IFRS. However, the results generally signal a need for further improvement in the voluntary risk disclosure area, since most of the banks do not provide adequate information that can be of use to stakeholders. We also suggest future avenues of research into the topic to determine progress.     

Ethics and the Financial and Budgetary Discipline in the Ministry of Defence

This article deals with the relation between ethics and financial and budgetary discipline during economic and social recession in the Czech Republic. We find causes of economic and social recession in the Czech Republic in the loss of democratic and human values. Czech Republic was ranked the 57th place in the Corruption Perceptions index 2013 out of the 177 countries assessed, which is the same result achieved by Bahrain, Croatia, and Namibia. Among the 31 European Union （EU） member states and Norway, Switzerland, and Iceland, the Czech Republic is on the 25th site. Market as well as public sector and public finances should follow unwritten rules of ethics and ethical behavior. Such rules should be followed especially by politicians, officials, soldiers, and businessmen. Do we need ethics in present time？ How is the role of the code of ethics in increasing financial and budgetary discipline in the defence sector？ Is it possible to measure efficiency of the code of ethics for financial and budgetary discipline？ We explain the importance of codes of ethics and formulate essential elements that each code of ethics must contain. Next, we deal with the main rules of both financial and budgetary disciplines. Furthermore, this article offers a comparison of several codes of ethics and describes the main problems in our implementation. In the end, we introduce our draft of Code of Ethics for Economic Service Officer in the Ministry of Defence and talk about possible influences of these codes on the quality of employee＇s performance.     

The web-based financial reporting adopted by the listed companies in the Athens Stock Exchange

Web-based corporate reporting is the provision of financial information through the Internet. Other companies prefer to disclose their financial information in order to satisfy their investors and to attract new ones while others prefer to provide as less information as possible. The purpose of this paper is twofold： first it provides a critical examination of the main reporting criteria followed by the Greek listed companies, in order to point out how many of these companies present these criteria. Second, it considers how the industry sector of the listed companies or their capitalization category is related with their disclosure degree of financial reporting.     

Assumptions Regarding the Development of Selected Europe 2020 Objectives in Terms of Public Finances in the Slovak Republic and the Czech Republic

This paper uses regression analysis and econometric modeling foundations to track public expenditures in the Slovak Republic and the Czech Republic （Fejesova, 2011） and their influences on the development of the following two targets of the Europe 2020 Strategy： to increase the employment of the selected population groups to a predetermined percentage level and to reduce the number of people at risk of poverty. In addition to the selection of monitored indicators, we included other indicators from the social sphere, which are funded by mandatory national public expenditure budgets and which are expected to have a positive development in terms of improving the demographic structure of the country--the unemployment rate and the number of live births.     

An Assessment of the Within-Year Seasonality in the Loan Loss Provisioning Behavior of European Banks

This study aims at assessing whether a significant within-year seasonality exists in the loan loss provisioning behavior of European listed banks observed in the period from 2004 to 2013. Since the accuracy of auditing processes and the level of disclosure requirements in financial reports differ among quarters, during the year, banks may have a leeway to underestimate and postpone the complete provisioning of loan losses in the less regulated and less audited quarters. We hypothesize that those differences are relevant factors which determine non-lower or significantly higher average levels of loan loss provisions in the half-yearly and especially in the annual financial reports than in the interim management statements disclosed in the first and the third quarters of the year. We also investigate the impact of the recent financial crisis and develop a special analysis for the ltalian banks＇ case. The empirical results support our hypotheses, suggesting that, in some cases, a convergence among quarterly levels of auditing processes and disclosure requirements may be needed. Our work contributes to the existing literature by providing additional evidences and considerations on the within-year seasonality in the loan loss provisioning behavior of European listed banks observed in the last decade.     

Some of the Conventional Accounting Concepts That Are Not in Accordance With the Paradigm of Islamic Accounting

This paper discusses some of the conventional accounting concepts, such as historical cost concept, conservatism concept, matching concept, objectivity concept, stable monetary unit assumption, and going-concern assumption, which are not in accordance with the Islamic accounting paradigm due to their divergence with some verses of the Holy AI-Qur＇an, the Hadiths of the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him （pbuh）, and the basic of Zakat calculation. This is a conceptual paper describing some of the conventional accounting concepts that are not in accordance with the paradigm of Islamic accounting. The paper concludes that the historical cost concept can be replaced by： current cash equivalent concept, historical cost and current value concepts （market selling price）, current cost concept, historical cost concept in all （except for Zakat purposes） accounting calculations, current valuation concept, and fair value concept. Conservatism concept must be eliminated if historical cost concept is not used anymore. Matching concept can be replaced by asset-liability approach concept. Objectivity concept can be replaced by Zakat accountability concept. Stability of the monetary unit assumption can be replaced by gold or silver measurement, or Dirham currency, and going-concern assumption must be eliminated.     

Evaluating the Performance of Investment Funds in Turkey

It is important to determine the most appropriate levels of risk and return for small investors. For that purpose, the investment funds are very important tools to create a portfolio for small investors, to deploy the potential risks in optimal proportions, and to direct investors. In this study, the performance of 83 pieces of investment funds will be evaluated which are treated in Turkey dates from January 1, 2010 to December 31, 2012 with performance evaluation methods such as Sharpe, Modigliani （M2） that is based on the standard deviation, and Treynor, T2, Jensen that is based on systematic risk （beta）, and the highest and lowest performance investment funds will be presented. The aim of the study is to examine the success of the investment fund managers whether they could estimate the course of the market well or not regarding time period. The empirical results show that the investors who invest on the funds that have negative risk premium by investing in the investment funds getting under the risk cannot get more excess return than getting the return from the risk-free interest rate as treasury bills. The result implies that it could be said that the systematic and total risks of all investment funds are low and they are not sensitive to the developments in the market, and thus, regarding funds could be called as conservative funds.     

Sustainability： Corporate Responsibility for the Future Classroom

The machinery, equipment, inventory, and other assets of the 21 st century company without people to work them. Corporations, by leave of the accounting profession, have no real economic value continue to omit the value of human. And yet, there is a growing realization that people represent the largest proportion of corporate productive capacity relative to the current assets and fixed assets shown in corporate financial statements. This paper provides research on the top 50 of the Fortune 500 companies which confirm this material deficiency. There is a need to provide stakeholders with a ＂fair＂ knowledge of the value of corporate human capital to provide a higher standard of transparency and accountability in international financial reporting and to provide the basis for research into the sustainability and potential expansion of growth in the world economy. An appropriate standard for the valuation of human capital will provide the knowledge base for effective and efficient investment in human capital. Effective and efficient investment will be particularly valuable for governments and service industries and for those who wish to promote growth in Europe. Indeed, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development （OECD） is questioning the veracity of financial statements which fail to include ＂the most valuable＂ of corporate assets in their financial statements. Recently, the OECD has noted that human capital may be measurable ＂by the output potential of specific competencies＂; ＂the fruits of （corporate） investment＂; the objective measurement of the market ＂rental＂ price of human capital; and lastly, perhaps self-evident when it comes to physical capital, the output potential of corporate investment in their human capital inventory. This paper considers the conditions in the context of literature which reassesses theory and assumptions which have been made on the valuation of human capital. Human capital is a pre-requisite for tangible assets to be productive. The valuation of human capital will trigger the same sort of activity-based analysis of people power as computers brought to cost accounting. The knowledge century analysis of people power will take off when human capital is at last included in the list of assets on the corporate balance sheet.     

Investor Relations （IR） in Business Communication on the Example of Poland

This paper focuses on investor relations （IR） as an element of companies＇ communication with the external environment. It shows the place and role of IR in communication with the general market, and the stock exchange market in particular. The study is illustrated with an example of IR in Poland, a relatively new European Union （EU） member state and an emerging market. As can be seen, IR goes beyond the traditionally understood maintenance of communication with the capital market. It is also shown that the main role of IR ought to be the reduction of investment risk and enhancement of the companies＇ value, which is of particular significance in light of the current globalization of capital markets. It has been found that Polish companies, especially those listed on the Warsaw Securities Exchange （WSE）, commonly rely on IR as a means of communication with the environment. And yet, as the results of the analysis show, the quality of that communication is still far from satisfactory, despite efforts undertaken by various external entities to encourage more focus on the development of IR, or understanding of the company＇s relevant staff of its important role.     

Modem Cost Management in the Transport Company Through the Activity-Based Costing （ABC） Method

Road transport is a flexible mode of transport and its importance in era of globalization increases. Management of road transport companies is, in this turbulent environment, exposed to many technical, legislative, and economic problems. Especially, the growing economic pressure leads to an urgent requirement of the manager and control system improvement. Activity-based costing （ABC） method is a very powerful tool to improve products, services, processes, and market strategies. ABC allows company management to understand what causes costs and how to manage them. Company under this scheme may get a glimpse of how efficiently a company converts the source value. The main objective of our research was to assess the possibility of application of the ABC method in a transport undertaking. ABC method as a fundamentally different view on the cost in the transport business helps to find the reasons of cost and thereby influences their levels to make better use of resources.. New managerial accounting methods aim to show management what information is needed, how and where this information can be obtained, and how they can be useful for the management of the company＇s proper planning, decision-making, and control. Information provided by management accounting is often a key factor in the analysis of alternative ways of solving problems. This article focuses on the transport enterprise management and helps to decide on the use of this method in business practice.     

The Impact of the Environment Management Act （EMA） on the Accountability of Companies in Fiji

This study seeks to explore the impact of the Environment Management Act （EMA） （2005） on the accountability of three companies in Fiji. The study uses a multi-case study approach based on three subsidiaries of a conglomerate. Data collection methods include semi-structured interviews with accountants, internal auditors, and environmental officers, document reviews, and content analysis of annual reports and websites of the respective companies. The findings suggest that the EMA （2005） had some effects in terms of engendering accountability on the companies studied. Further evidence suggests that while this increased accountability has led to disclosures in annual reports and websites, these disclosures are minimal at best; furthermore, they primarily address that the stakeholder group comprised government regulatory authorities. The study provides policy implications on how environmental legislations could be designed to improve the accountability of commercial entities in developing economies. The experience and issues highlighted are also useful to other developing economies who are contemplating in developing their own environmental legislations. This paper is one of the few papers that explore the impact of environmental legislations on accountability in a developing economy context.     

A Study of the Factors Affecting Choice of the Accounting Profession

An accounting professional is called a ＂Certified Public Accountant Financial Advisor （CPAFA）＂ in Turkey and the profession has a notable status in the country. Individuals choosing this profession have to complete a minimum 3-year internship program before becoming members of this profession. They have to pass an exam both to start and finish the internship program. The profession and the reasons for choosing it are highly significant issues. Therefore, the present study was conducted to investigate the factors directing the professional choices of prospective individuals who wish to be CPAFAs and the significance of such factors. Along with these objectives, a nation-wide study was conducted on candidates who took the CPAFA internship exam in periods of 2012-3, 2013-1, and 2013-2 （three periods）. The factors affecting candidates＇ choices to be an accountant professional were gathered under five groups. The factors ＂influence of immediate surroundings＂, ＂prestigious social status of the profession＂, ＂high life-long income potential＂, ＂flexible working hours＂, and ＂future guarantee of the profession＂ had higher factor loadings than other factors.     

Exploring the Vietnamese Environment Accounting With an Introduction About the Green Accounting Information System

Environment is one of the significant factors to the people and our life, because it is fundamentally joined to everything we require for human beings to subsist. Many fields in the society are influenced by the environment. For these reasons, the Vietnamese government issued the Law on Environmental Protection Tax in 2010 to prove this essential matter. Therefore, the organizations have utilized their tools to record the related transactions into the journals for taking an interest in the nature conditions for substantial development. Based on the accounting aspects, Vietnam has no theories about the environment accounting. Hence, this article will provide some basic information and a general picture of the green accounting information system in the environmental condition. Moreover, this paper will analyze the relationship between the environment and company＇s output by applying the environmental management system （EMS） in the accounting system. However, this paper only provides the overall contents about the environment accounting in Vietnam and this limitation will present this problem for further articles.     

Trade Credit in the Crisis： Selling or Financing？

The work investigates the use of trade credit in Italy for reasons of a financial nature. The analysis considers Italian small and medium-sized enterprises （SMEs） and investigates, over the years of 2009-2011： the existence of functional relationships between the incidence of trade receivables and payables and corporate profitability; the existence of interdependencies between trade credit policy and trade debt policy; and the coexistence of interchangeable and complementary conditions between trade debts and bank loans and other sources of funding. To verify the research hypotheses, linear regression models on a yearly basis are used and these models are put under observation over the years of 2009-2011. We can conclude that there are interdependencies between trade credit policy and trade debt policy and that trade credit is a source of flexible way of financing, also available in periods of crisis, which has a positive effect on the profitability of SMEs and can be utilized as a complementary and substitute source of financing to bank loans.     

The Theoretical Perspectives and Managerial Implications of the Balanced Scorecard （BSC） in the Italian Public Utilities

The present work aims to conduct a critical analysis of control systems and tools of performance assessment in local public services companies, with a particular reference to the public transport sector. The interest in this issue arises for various reasons, from the growing economic significance of the sector at a national level, measurable in terms of production value and the number of operators involved, to the spread of outsourcing policies, liberalization and privatization, and the use of the standard cost to establish the level of funding. In the field of public utilities, until a few years ago, the concept of control was intended only in a ＂bureaucratic＂ sense as the capacity to fulfill the formal obligations linked to the strong regulatory context, ignoring aspects that have become fundamental today, such as economy, efficiency, and effectiveness of management. The approach used is deductive and the study ends with the presentation of the possible implications of the use of standard cost and the presentation of an application hypothesis of a balanced scorecard （BSC） for local public transport （LPT）.     

Office Channeling and Its Impact on the Growth of Indonesian Islamic Banking Industry

The purpose of this paper is to analyze that the office channeling policy that based on Bank Indonesia＇s rule No. 8/3/PBI/2006 had an impact on the growth of Islamic banking industry in Indonesia. This research used ordinary least square regression to analyze the impact of office channeling policy on the growth of Indonesian Islamic banking industry. The variable used in this paper is office channeling which is used as a dummy variable, and margin deposit and non-performing financing （NPF） are also used as control variables. The indicators of the growth of Indonesian Islamic banking industry are asset and third-party funds. The result shows that office channeling does not have an impact on the growth of Islamic banking industry which is measured by asset growth and third-party funds growth. According to this result, Bank Indonesia should have an innovative policy to stimulate the Islamic banking industry growth in Indonesia.     

Simulation Models for Evaluation and Selection of Depreciation Policy for Agricultural Companies in the Republic of Bulgaria

In the present paper, the results from research on the influence of criteria （factors） such as depreciation method, materiality threshold, and inflation rate on the selection of depreciation policy are shown. The research has been carried out with the help of specifically devised simulation models. The simulation is realized in accounting for the unevenness of money in time and the profitability of the company, the tax rates for corporate tax, and the inflation rate. The models have been devised after analyzing methodology issues, related to depreciation policy and investigating current practices in its implementation in specific agricultural companies in present-day Bulgaria. It has been determined that there is a clear-cut relation between the profitability of the companies and the materiality threshold and depreciation method chosen. The main conclusion is that when the companies develop their depreciation policy, at ceteris paribus they should select higher materiality thresholds and diminishing balance depreciation methods due to the inequality of money in time, the acceleration of obsolescence, and the inflation processes.     

Analysis of the Critical Aspects of the Generational Turnover in Family Small- and Medium-Sized Enterprises （SMEs）

Family businesses, which aim at surviving today, have to deal with a precise modality： To ensure their continuity, entrepreneurs have to ensure the transfer of leadership from one generation to another inside of them. We do believe that this matter is worth being analyzed, since the succession, from one generation to another, can be considered as a crucial variable in maintaining family small- and medium-sized enterprises （SMEs） over time. Therefore, after investigating the main features, problems, and factors leading to the succession processes, in the second part of this article, an empirical analysis will be carried out, by comparing several European countries on the basis of data from the European Commission. This article contributes to enriching, from a theoretical point of view, the conceptual framework used for investigating the dynamics in the continuity of SMEs. Moreover, empirically, it contributes to the increasing literature on family businesses by comparing several European countries in order to understand what originates the longevity of family SMEs.