A Conceptually-Based Empirical Analysis on Quality Differences Between UK Annual Reports and US 10-K Reports

The International Accounting Standards Board （IASB） and the Financial Accounting Standards Board （FASB） stress the importance of high-quality ＇financial reports. From a scientific point of view, however, major methodological drawbacks can arise when trying to arrive at a comprehensive assessment and evaluation of the decision usefulness of financial reports. In this conceptually-based exploratory study, the authors construct a 33-item index aimed at operationalizing decision usefulness in terms of the fundamental and enhancing qualitative characteristics laid out in the conceptual framework （CF） of the IASB （2010）. Using a matched-pairs sample design, which includes 70 UK annual reports and 70 US 10-K reports for 2010, the results of test-retest and inter-rater reliability tests show that these multiple items, which were based on items used in previous research, can be measured in a reliable manner. At the same time, the results of an exploratory factor analysis indicate that the IASB qualitative characteristics cannot be measured separately when the 33-item index is applied. At an aggregate level, the results of paired-sample t-tests reveal that UK reports score on average higher than US 10-K reports, which suggests that the overall quality of UK reports is better. The findings of this study add to the existing literature on the empirical evaluation of the effects of international accounting standards, showing that, as compared with 10-K reports, UK annual reports provide more information on topics such as corporate social responsibility （CSR）, corporate governance, and annual bonus schemes. On the other hand, US reports outperform UK reports with respect to the content of fair value information, cash flow statements, off-balance financing, and audit reporting.     

矩形立体仓库环境监测的WSN节点三维部署研究

将无线传感器网络应用在仓库环境监测时,实际可行的节点部署方案比较匮乏。针对普遍使用的矩形立体仓库,提出一种对仓库进行三维网格有限剖分后来部署节点,达到对整个仓库单重完全覆盖目的的部署方案,为无线传感器网络在仓储监测系统中的工程应用提供了有效可行的节点部署方案。     

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.     

Forensic Accounting and Fraud： Capability and Competence Requirements in Malaysia

The 2011 Global Economic Crime Survey instituted by PricewaterhouseCoopers （PwC） confirms the economic crime in Malaysia to be on the increase and, therefore, requires immediate attention to stem the tides. In anticipation of the challenges occasioned due to a shift from the modified cash basis to the accrual basis of accounting, the Malaysian State＇s determination to move from a developing nation to a developed nation, and to be ranked among the first 10 in 2020, this paper presents the need for forensic accountant and auditor capability （i.e., mindset and skills） on forensic accountant and auditor competence （i.e., task performance fraud risk assessment （TPFRA）） in the Malaysian public sector. It also draws the attention of the users of public sector accountants and auditors to the understanding of fraud mechanisms and how to deal with fraudsters. The population of this study comprised the accountants and auditors in the office of the Accountant General and Auditor General of Malaysia. The objective of this paper is to investigate the competence requirements of accountants and auditors in the effective and efficient utilization of capability requirements, which have the potentials to usher in the best global practices in fighting fraud in the Malaysian public sector.     

Ethical Awareness： Do We Need to Teach Accounting Ethics？ The Case of Bahrain

Based on the premise that ethics education leads to creation of the required （acceptable level of） ethical awareness, the general streamline of accounting ethics literature is strongly in favor of teaching adequate, efficient, and effective accounting ethics. This paper takes the position that this premise must be checked in an educational setting in which accounting ethics education lacks the characteristics of being adequate, efficient, and effective. Accordingly, a questionnaire with two parts was distributed to accounting students about to graduate from the University of Bahrain （UoB）. The first part is an exploratory investigation consisting of 21 variables/questions. The second part is an experimental investigation consisting of 13 hypothetical accounting cases representing various ethics violations. The general tendency by an accounting student based on the two parts indicates that he/she holds an acceptable level of ethical awareness, despite the fact that accounting education programs lack an adequate, efficient, and effective approach to teaching accounting ethics.     

Financial Decision-Making： The Roles of Intuition,Heuristics, and Impulses

This paper will add to an evolving new paradigm for financial decision-making by exploring the important roles that intuition, heuristics, and impulses play as a bridge between how the conscious and unconscious can work together more effectively in making better decisions. Historically, the roles of financial/accounting theory and cognitive psychology have been extensively studied and documented in attempting to explain individual financial decision-making. More recently, neuroscience has made substantial contributions to learning how prospective financial decisions and outcomes affect brain activity and observed decision-making behavior. The evidence from neuroscience indicates that up to 90% of our decisions are initiated at the unconscious level, which is only beginning to be investigated in a systematic manner. Integrating these findings from multiple disciplines, including recent contributions from neuroscience, has many implications, not only with respect to personal and corporate financial decisions and how markets work, but also as an essential component in the tool box of the general decision maker.     

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.     

The Participatory,Payable, Profitable,and Potent （4p＇s） Insured Education System Model （IESM）＂ Analyses of Frequency and Variance by Categories （One-Way ANOVA）

The biggest problem in the world as well as in Turkey is to increase efficiency of human capital, which can only be achieved by educating all people in accordance with their capacities and demands. And, the biggest problem in education is finance. In order for everybody to have education, there is a need to develop a finance system which will help overcome the financial problems faced by households or individuals. For this purpose, the participatory, payable, profitable, and potent （4p＇s） insured education system model （IESM） is developed. This paper focuses on principles of the IESM and the analyses of frequency and variance by categories （one-way ANOVA）.     

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.     

State Auditing With the Investment in Public Sector： Case of Vietnam

In Vietnam, in the current period, public investment plays an important role in the improvement of technical infrastructure systems, economic and social development of motivation to promote national development. However, the question is how to ensure that these sources of funds are used most effectively in terms of limited resources. In this article, the author would like to emphasize the critical role of the state auditor which is not only in the transparency of information, in enhancing the trust of the citizens, but also in providing important and reliable information to the public sector agencies, units, investors, and people in the society. From that, it could help to serve the management and administration of revenues and expenditures of the state budget as well as reasonably and efficiently using financial resources and assets. In case of perfectly conducting those tasks, they will contribute the power to the economy, fight corruption as loss or waste, and detect and prevent violations of law; improve the efficient use of the budget, the money, and property of the state; and serve effectively for the operation of the National Assembly and People＇s Councils at all levels of the implementation and monitoring function to decide important issues of national and local governments. With the above information, these matters in Vietnam will be solved through this paper that consists of five parts： （1） the basics about the current public investment in Vietnam; （2） the role of state auditing in improving performance management and monitoring of investment; （3） the limitations of state auditing in public investment; （4） many solutions to promote the role of state auditing in improving the effective investment activities; and （5） conclusion.     

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.     

Forensic Auditing Techniques and Fraudulent Practices of Public Institutions in Nigeria

Public institutions are charged with the responsibility of providing essential services for the welfare of the citizens by manipulating the economy＇s financial flow through public expenditure, taxation, and so on. The reliance on public institutions to provide public services in Nigeria has resulted in disappointing results, because chief executives of the institutions take less interest in the degree of its success, and this accounts for the high level of fraudulent practices in such institutions. This study, therefore, examined the relationship between forensic auditing and fraudulent practices in Nigerian public institutions. To achieve this purpose, some hypothetical statements were made and a review of relevant literature was explored. The population of the study consisted of the general managers and accountants of 12 public institutions in Nigeria. The data generated were statistically tested with the Pearson Product-Moment Correlation Coefficient. The findings suggest that both the proactive and reactive forensic auditing techniques have a negative significant relationship with fraudulent practices in Nigerian public institutions. Based on the above, it was recommended that： （1） The Economic and Financial Crime Commission （EFCC）, the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission （ICPC）, and other anti-corruption bodies in Nigeria should have, in their payroll, internal forensic auditors to supplement the duties of the internal auditors; （2） Forensic auditors should regularly undergo training and development programs to acquaint them with relevant knowledge and skills for effective forensic auditing; and （3） Forensic auditing should be made mandatory for public institutions by regulatory authorities rather than being voluntary.     

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.     

Application of International Public Sector Accounting Standards in Vietnam in Current Conditions

The objective of improving the state accounting system is to build a state accounting system based on a single and complete database which is applied uniformly across all public authorities and agencies from central to local. Such an accounting system must ensure a reliable and smooth flow of information among all the entities that take part in the preparation, allocation, execution, and finalization of the state budget. In order to improve the quality of financial information, to harmonize, and to develop accounting profession globally, the trend of international economic integration requires the standardization of accounting legislative framework among countries and first of all, the harmonization and unification of the preparation, presentation, and disclosure of financial information. Financial statements of each business in the private sector and financial statements of the government in the public sector in different countries should be transparent and presented in accordance with the accounting standards and principles and in line with international practices so that the financial information will be able to be compared and evaluated. Therefore, financial statements of each entity in the public sector and the consolidated financial statements of public sector entities issued by the government in different countries must be prepared and presented in a unified form to suit the international public sector accounting standards. Accordingly, with the application of the interview method in research, the main objective of this article is to focus on searching for the bases and consideration for the application of international public sector accounting standards in Vietnam in current conditions. This article consists of eight sections： （1） what are international public sector accounting standards？ （2） accounting entities of the public sector; （3） the limitations of current public sector accounting in Vietnam; （4） financial information to meet the requirements of state management and to comply with international practices; （5） the advantages of applying international public sector accounting standards in Vietnam; （6） the difficulties and challenges of applying international public sector accounting standards in Vietnam; （7） learning experiences from other countries; and （8） conclusion.     

Triangulation Approach to Costing in Higher Education Institutions

This study presents a triangulation approach to the investigation of costing possibilities in Greek higher education institutions. The historical data contained in the financial statements of universities provide the expenditures of the latter. These expenditures are then re-determined with the use of independent variables （Jacobian determinants）, as well as with activity-based costing （ABC） and interviews, in order to obtain certainty of accuracy of the calculations and an indication of the cost of educational services, which can help determine magnitudes and improve the long-term planning of university resources. The above process can be used to create cost drivers and cost pools for the new financial burden of academic departments （cost centres） and to calculate the cost per student for each department. This information does not function at variance with or as a substitute for traditional accounting systems but in parallel （or supplementally）, providing administrators with more comparative data and a clearer picture of a university＇s economic operations which will facilitate its decision planning. Thus, it can provide higher education institutions with a decision-making tool for the following tasks： （1） allocation of national and community funds to university departments; （2） financing of textbooks, food, and accommodation; and （3） determining the optimum number of new enrolments.     

Value-Added Tax （VAT） on Selected Financial Transactions

This paper deals with the approach to imposing value-added tax （VAT） on financial transactions. The VAT is a highly harmonized consumption tax within the European Union （EU）. VAT operational rules have been set down by the relevant directive of the Council of the EU. Under the directive, it is possible to select either exemption or taxation of financial transactions. Only the first option is permitted in the Czech Republic. Pros and cons of both models are described, in particular, the problems with determining the difference between financial transactions and other similar performance that must always be subject to tax. Potential lower VAT revenue or tax base assessment, as appropriate, seems to be crucial in the case of the taxation of financial transactions.     

University-Business Cooperation in Education： Real and Perceived Performances

The purpose of this paper is to describe and demonstrate the validity of a methodology to distinguish, in the performances of high education institutions （HEIs）, real from perceived performances. The extension of accountability to the evaluation of educational programs involves significant topics concerning the gap between perceived and real performances. It means that, since many actors such as teachers, students, and external stakeholders are involved in the process, the research on methodologies to distinguish subjective from objective parameters is still on the floor. Debate about performance evaluation in this collaboration is still in progress particularly as it concerns the proposal of several parameters and indexes to quantify the topic and reduce the subjectivism in the assessment and the gap between real and perceived performances. After describing and discussing an evaluation model based on three interdependent typologies of indexes, this will be tested in two Tempus projects having the purpose of activating Ph.D. and masters courses. The results encourage deepening researches in this direction and disseminating this methodology and extending and enriching the validation process.     

The Relationship Among Ethical Climate,Job Satisfaction,Organizational Commitment,and External Auditor＇s Turnover Intention

This study attempts to examine the relationship among ethical climate, job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and turnover intention in the context of the Malaysian external auditor＇s work environment. The questionnaire is sent to a sample of external auditors from Malaysian Big Four （Klynveld Peat Marwick Goerdeler （KPMG）, Ernst and Young, Deloitte KassimChan, and PricewaterhouseCoopers （PwC）） main offices. There are 167 useable responses. The regression results have provided evidence that ethical climate is directly, significantly, and positively associated with job satisfaction. In contrast, ethical climate appeared not to be directly related with external auditor＇s turnover intention. Both job satisfaction and organizational commitment were identified as significant predictors in explaining turnover intention, since they had a significant and negative effect on external auditor＇s turnover intention. This study also implied that job satisfaction had a significant effect on organizational commitment. Furthermore, the findings revealed that organizational commitment partially mediated the relationship between job satisfaction and turnover intention. The results extend the literature on external auditor＇s turnover intention and provide insights for human resource management in accurately assessing employee＇s turnover intention in order to improve retention and reduce actual turnover particularly in audit firms.     

Audit Partner Rotation,Audit Quality,and Dynamic Industry Structure

Previous research on the relationship between audit partner tenure and audit quality assumed that auditors conducted auditing works in a stable external environment where the corporate and management behavior was highly predictable. This study uses the joint tenure between audit partners and management to explain audit quality, because corporate directors would consider an appropriate adjustment in the management to deal with a dramatic change in the external environment. First, we examined whether there is a significant association between audit partner tenure and audit quality after the implementation of mandatory audit partner rotation by using the auditor tenure only. We addressed this issue by using a sample of Taiwanese companies and found no significant association between audit partner tenure and the magnitude of discretionary accruals （DA）, a common proxy for audit quality. Second, we tested the relationship between audit partner tenure and audit quality under the consideration of industry structure stability. The result exhibits a negative relation between audit partner tenure and audit quality under the control of industry structural stability which is measured by a proxy variable, the joint tenure between audit partner and management. Third, we investigated whether the association does exist between joint tenure of auditors and management and audit quality. We also addressed this issue by using Taiwanese data and found a significant association between the joint tenure of auditor and management and the magnitude of DA. Our findings provide evidence that the use of a mandatory rotation rule is an ineffective way to improve audit quality.     

Do Small Family Firms Outperform Non-family Firms？ A Research Agenda Based on Agency and Stewardship Theories＊

The aim of this study is to examine the effects of family involvement and altruism on agency costs of equity and debt, as well on the performance of small family businesses. To achieve this objective, the authors reviewed the literature on family business. Drawing from agency theory and stewardship theory, the authors also proposed a research model that highlights the links among the variables. In so doing, this paper makes some contributions to the literature in three ways. Firstly, it takes an integrative framework that may help to explain behaviors oriented towards maximizing potential performance within a context in which pro-organizational attitudes co-exist with self-serving motivations. Secondly, it advances the understanding of corporate governance mechanisms in small family businesses, and finally, it deepens the discussion of prior research by advancing a set of propositions based on two theoretical approaches. Thus, the authors believe that a systematic comparison of different contexts provides new insights into small family business governance. The implications and directions for future research are in the last section.