Outsourcing Internal Audit Services: An Empirical Study on Queensland Public-Sector Entities

A study of Queensland public-sector entities suggests outsourcing of internal audit services to be extensive (88%), with 51% of respondent agencies adopting co-sourcing and 37% of the agencies fully outsourcing. Results suggest that internal audit outsourcing is largely adopted for non-financial reasons such as lack of technological know-how and service quality rather than financial reasons. Deficiencies of current governance arrangements concerning internal audit outsourcing include (1) a lack of audit committee involvement in outsourcing processes, particularly in co-sourcing entities, and (2) inadequate segregation of duties whereby the same senior management is involved in key arrangements including selection, approval, negotiation and evaluation of contractual performance.     

Perceptual differences between recruiters and students on the importance of applicant and job characteristics: a research note based on evidence from Singapore

This study compared the perceptions of various important job applicant characteristics, job characteristics and job benefits between 107 corporate recruiters and 191 business undergraduates in Singapore. Results indicated significant incongruence between recruiter and student perceptions of a large number of job characteristics and benefits. However, perceptual differences were less extensive in the case of applicant attributes. The implications of these findings, and suggestions for greater perceptual congruence between recruiters and applicants, are discussed.     

The effects of EU agricultural policy changes on farmers' risk attitudes

This analysis utilises a model of production under risk estimatedon Finnish farm-level data to measure farmers' risk attitudesin a changing policy environment. We find evidence of heterogeneousrisk preferences among farmers, as well as notable changes overtime in farmers' degree of risk aversion. This result is dueto the increase in the non-random part of farm income generatedby the policy change after Finland's European Union accession.The analysis confirms the assertion that agricultural policiesthat are decoupled from production do affect input use and cropmix through their effect on farmers' risk attitudes.     

Risk Management,Corporate Governance,and the Search for Long-Term Investors

This discussion explores a number of ways that more effective risk management, corporate governance, and communication with investors can help companies increase their effciency and long-run value. According to one of the panelists, recent surveys of corporate directors suggest that companies should devote more time and attention to three issues—strategy, risk management, and succession planning—and that strategy and risk are the “flipsides of the same coin.” As the panelist argues, “You can't talk about strategy without talking about what risks you're going to take—and what risks you decide to take has to depend on the core competencies that drive the corporate strategy.” In addition to making risk management a critical part of corporate strategy, another notable recommendation is to communicate a company's strategy and business plan as clearly as possible to investors, with the aim of attracting more sophisticated, long-term shareholders. Contrary to popular belief, such a group may well include some hedge funds and other activist shareholders. According to a newly released report on shareholder activism (produced and cited by another panelist), corporate boards should work harder to identify and engage the “largest 10 shareholders in the organization,” with the ultimate goal of cultivating a shareholder base that buys into the company's strategy.     

The determinants of hotel room rates: Another visit with Singapore's data

In this research note, volatility clustering modeling framework is used to examine the determinants of hotel room rates in Singapore. Using monthly data from January 1985 to June 2009, GARCH-M(1, 1) is identified as the appropriate model used to capture volatility clustering. The results suggest that total inbound tourists and economic performance have positive effects on hotel room rates. The main findings are (a) the occurrences of terrorist activities in the neighboring countries have negative impacts and (b) the volatility of hotel room rates has a positive effect, on hotel room rates.     

The Transactional Framework of Sharecropping: Further Implications

In this paper, the transactional framework of sharecropping, recently published, is used to explore various controversies in cropsharing. Conventional sharecropping theories have resulted in a plethora of propositions, making the empirical verification of them confusing. It is difficult to tell which proposition holds for the real world and which holds under perfectly competitive conditions. The transactional framework proposed provides a simple, prosaic underpinning for some of these arguments. Consistent explanations for the main cropsharing issues are possible, using the transactional framework Dans cet article, le nouveau cadre transactionnel pour le métayage est utilisé pour scruter les con-troverses qui entourent cette pratique. Les théories classiques ont suscité une pléthore de propositions, dont la vérification empirique est devenue très déroutante. Il est difficile de déterminer quelle proposition vaut dans les conditions réelles et quelle vaut dans des conditions de parfaite concurrence. Le nouveau cadre transactionnel apporte une base simple, accessible, pour l'explication de certains de ces arguments. Des explications cohérentes des grandes questions touchant le métayage sont possibles en recourant au cadre transactionnel