Study on the environmental information disclosure of Chinese forestry enterprises

Environmental accounting is a kind of accounting which focuses on the compensation for the resources spending. It combines the theories of environmental economics and traditional accounting and uses scientific as well as systematic ways to coordinate the development of economics and the protection of environment. It is just in the primary process for forestry enterprises in China to introduce the research and practice of environmental accounting. Based on discussion about the principle of environmental information disclosure and analysis on the current situation of the environmental information disclosure of the forestry enterprises, this paper attempted to propose that the supplementary report mode of information disclosure should be appropriate for the forestry enterprises, which provide the balance sheet of environment, the income statement of environment besides the original three financial report to reflect the general environmental information of the enterprise.     

The Role of Accountants in Decision-Making in Lebanese Firms

The issue of accountants＇ role in decision-making has been the center of attention of lots of studies in the last decade but never did it get the adequate coverage in Lebanon. This paper studies to what extent accountants are involved in the managerial decision-making in Lebanon. Two hundred experienced accountants from all over the country were randomly selected for a questionnaire survey. This survey provides evidence as to what factors contribute to the variance of influence accountants have in managerial decision-making. The results from the questionnaires varied, but we conclude that accountants＇ involvement in new product development （NPD）, the skills that accountants have, their role in the financial analysis of the firm, and how much the finn they work for encourages them to advice on business decisions affect the degree of contribution an accountant has to decision-making. The findings of this research could be used as a reference to help in understanding the role of accounting in Lebanon by various finns and organizations.     

Study on relationship lending of small and medium enterprises

This paper focuses on relationship lending and the hypothesis of the small bank advantage. It integrates the knowledge of organization management theory, management theory and information economics theory. It combines the decision-making process of bank loans and the information needs, and analyzes the scientificity and rationality of the existing interpretations. Based on the reasons of ＂small bank advantage＂, it discusses some issues to which banks and enterprises should pay attention in the relationship lending.     

Relationships of Corporate Social Responsibility （CSR） With Accounting Information Systems A Study

The objectives of the present study are to put forth the concept of corporate social responsibility （CSR） in Turkey （Kayseri） and to examine research on this concept and the relationships between CSR and accounting information systems. Research data were gathered from 100 accounting managers who work in businesses with 250 or more employees in Kayseri. The dimensions of CSR were considered as business policies, environmental policies, market policies, and social policies, and the effects of these factors on accounting information systems were tested. Market policies and social policies dimensions of CSR had no significant impact on accounting information systems. Business policies and environmental policies dimensions of CSR had significant impacts on accounting information systems. Two basic conclusions were drawn from the current study： The business policy dimension of CSR had significant impacts on accounting information systems; the business policy and environmental policy dimensions of CSR together had significant impacts on accounting intbrmation systems.     

Costing and Pricing in Healthcare Private Firms

This article analyzes the development of an activity-based costing （ABC） system in a private Italian healthcare firm. Findings shed light on the role of the cost accounting system in price assessment： It outlines new opportunities for the identification of the service mix offered as well as for price optimization. Because private companies provide services both within the public system--where the National Health System （NHS） provides fixed reimbursement fees--and within the private system--where prices are defined by each company. Accurate cost information is extremely important to support managers in the analysis of the service mix profitability offered in each system. For the business segment in which companies do not have flexibility in setting prices, cost information enables managers to identify services which may present profitability problems. For the business segment where price flexibility exists, cost information supports the identification of pricing errors so that charges can be better defined.     

Corporate governance and financing decisions by Saudi companies

This paper aims to contribute to the corporate governance literature in emerging economies by examining the effect of some corporate governance mechanisms on financing decisions in Saudi Arabian listed companies. A multiple regression model is used to examine the association between financing decisions and corporate governance mechanisms for a sample of 37 listed Saudi companies. In particular, we examine the effect of board size, ownership concentration and corporate governance reporting on the debt-to-equity ratio. Corporate governance reporting is measured by the content analysis approach. After controlling for companies＇ profitability and their growth opportunities, we found that both board size and ownership concentration are positively associated with debt-to-equity ratio. We limit our analysis to a small sample of firms that use the internet to communicate corporate governance information between October 2005 and January 2006. The findings suggest that managers are likely to choose higher financial leverage when they have stronger corporate governance （large number of directors on the board and higher ownership concentration）. However, we did not find any statistical association between corporate governance disclosure and debt-to-equity ratio. This suggests that firm＇s asymmetric information is not an important driver of the financing decision of Saudi Arabian companies. This might be due to the nature of the Saudi business environment. We strongly believe that this paper provides a novel contribution to the existing literature as we are the first to examine this issue in Saudi Arabia.     

Effectiveness of Budgetary Entities

This paper acquaints readers with the practice of effectiveness evaluation in the public sector. The purpose of this paper is to study performance measurement according to the changes in public sector reform by focusing on performance-based budgeting in Russia. This paper suggests that the construction process of performance measurement should be aligned with outputs and outcomes of budget policy. The main research materials for this paper are based on data from a survey and follow-up interviews of budgetary managers and accountants. The survey result sets priorities and weighted some indicators to the measurement of effectiveness in the public sector. The data of this study were not large, but the study led to understanding how effectiveness is seen by budgetary managers and how measurement systems should be structured. Texts and contents from different sources such as financial annual reports and budgetary entities＇ websites provided insightful and interesting findings.     

Financial Market of Montenegro： Evidence of Crisis and Beyond

The financial sector has played a small role in the restructuring of the manufacturing sector in transition economies, and in some cases, financial liberalization may have undermined real sector development. However, stable and stimulating business environment is crucial for economic development. The aim of this paper is to show the main changes that have been implemented in Montenegro so far, and guidelines for changes in the financial market in Montenegro, for further harmonization in accordance with the requirements of European Union （EU） accession. Also, the ability of governments of transition economies to enforce contracts and to achieve fiscal and monetary responsibility is of great importance for economic and financial development. By adopting the new Constitution of Montenegro, in the field of regulation of the financial system, there have been significant changes, recognizing the Central Bank as an institution responsible for financial stability. The authors will give a review of the actual state of the financial market in Montenegro, as well as recommendations for further changes in order to create a favorable climate for entrepreneurship and to strengthen the overall financial system.     

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.     

International Supply Chain Management （ISCM）： An Emergent Perspective on Internationalization Driven by Information and Communications Technology （ICT）

The focus of the article is on the contribution of the perspective of supply chain management （SCM） to the explanation of internationalization processes. The empirical study is based on case studies of 20 small- and medium-sized enterprises （SMEs） with international activities from China, India, New Zealand, and Singapore. All chosen firms were founded after 1980 in order to capture retrospectively the whole globalization process of each firm. All sample firms operate their supply chains （SCs） on the basis of information and communications technology （ICT）. Depending on size, strategy, business model, industry, and mindset of the managers, firms use ICT on a range from integrating individual functional areas to integrating the whole SC through enterprise resource planning （ERP） and customer relationship management （CRM） systems.     

中铁大桥局工程项目管理信息系统规划探讨

In modern management, business planning on MIS, management and analysis are decisive factors for a business to remain competitive. An effective MIS will help enhance information communication in internal and external environment and even among inner-departments; it will help pass information faster within a business, and at the same time, help the business make quick response according to internal and external environment. This way, a business can be managed more effectively. In the light of the characters of MBEC, this article discusses preliminary the planning of MIS for the incoming project.     

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.     

From Consolidation to Segment Reporting in Local Government： Accountability Needs,Accounting Standards,and the Effect on Decision-Makers

Consolidated Financial Statements （CFSs） in the public sector represent useful financial tools to improve transparency and accountability toward internal and external users. This aggregate view is only a part of the information needed in order to give politicians, managers, employees, financial institutions, rating agencies, and citizens a whole view of a local government＇s financial performance. It emerges the need to have segment information, covering specific policy areas for which it is appropriate to separately report financial and non-financial information. This paper, after having discussed the need for accountability and decision-making in a theoretical framework, gives account of a pilot project realized by the municipality of Reggio Emilia, which introduced CFSs and segment reporting. The empirical study is based on an action research as a methodological approach to solving practical problems. Finally, the paper also offers some practical suggestions to contribute to the applicability of the segment reporting in the public sector.     

Financial statements in less developed countries： What do preparers demand？

This study reports on an empirical investigation of the characteristics, attitudes, and beliefs of preparers of external financial reports in a less developed country. The basic research instrument consisted of a questionnaire in two parts： the first addressing attitudes of professional accountants toward annual financial reports generally; the second, more specifically measuring the importance of the information items to preparers. Our results suggest that the independent auditor is the most influential group in decision-making processes. As in many developed countries, the auditor＇s report and the regulatory framework are considered to have a major influence on financial reporting practices. Preparers believe that a lack of knowledge of external users＇ needs and lack of reporting standards and accepted accounting principles are the main concerns with corporate financial reports in Iran. The results showed that the balance sheet, auditors＇ report, and income statement in that order are the three most important parts of the annual reports.     

Financial reporting of cash flow： Arbitrary items and management preferences

The international financial reporting standard for cash flow statement （IAS 7） provides options for the classification of certain cash flow items （arbitrary items）. Therefore, business firms may classify the arbitrary items using the option that would maximize their own interest. This reduces the comparability of financial statements amongst business firms. This study aims to investigate the factors explaining management preferences in the selection of financial reporting practices on the arbitrary cash flow items. It concludes that managers tend to magnify the CFO reported in order to maximize the shareholders＇ wealth, which in turn would maximize their compensation. Managers of business firms with a relatively smaller size of CFO tend to classify interest paid and dividends paid as non-CFO in order to magnify their CFO. They also tend to classify interest received as CFO in order to inflate their relatively smaller size of CFO up to expectation. Similarly, managers of business firms with a relative larger size of dividends paid would classify the dividends paid outside CFO.     

Learning Business Ethics in Schools

Business ethics is a contemporary issue among business professionals. To enhance business ethics in the long run, educating future business professionals in colleges （i.e., college students） is one of the starting points. This paper aims to investigate students＇ perceptions on business ethics, such as their perceived importance of business ethics, knowledge of and interest in business ethics, their preferred method of introducing business ethics, and the perceived usefulness of learning business ethics in lessons. Focus groups will be used to collect feedback on these issues from students with different gender and seniority in colleges. This study will give insights into the students＇ perceptions on business ethics and suggest ways/methodology to increase the awareness of business ethics in colleges. Business professionals and educators can make reference to the findings to develop relevant materials on business ethics to their employees and students.     

Using Project-Based Learning （PBL） in Management Accounting Course： Lesson and Reflection From Entrepreneurship Education

One of the main issues in entrepreneurship education is integrating core course to entrepreneurship course. Many educators fail to integrate core course and entrepreneurial education. The purpose of this study is to investigate whether the integration of management accounting course in entrepreneurship course will accomplish the objective of entrepreneurship education. This study is derived from the experience of entrepreneurial project course at Management Department of Ciputra University, Surabaya. This study uses an explorative approach to investigate the implementation of project-based learning （PBL） in management accounting course. The result shows variation of output. There are about 91% business can be implemented by business groups and about 33% target achieved. Several management accounting techniques are used in this study, such as balanced score card （BSC）, activity-based costing （ABC）, activity-based management （ABM）, cost-volume-profit （CVP） analysis, and tactical decision making. This study found that by using management accounting techniques, student can run the business well especially when they have to make decision. This study strengthens the role of management accounting in business practices, and furthermore, this study proves that management accounting is beneficial for entrepreneurs who are still in the start-up business stage.     

Accounting for goodwill under FRS 136： Case of Malaysian plantation companies

The introduction of FRS （financial reporting standards） 136 to Malaysian PLC＇s （public limited company） in 2006 indirectly formalized accounting for purchased goodwill for the first time. Based on a sample of 2006 annual reports of 10 Main Board companies from plantation sector, the study finds the level of desired disclosure has yet to be met. Whilst the intention of the standard is noble, actual practice for first time reporting entities indicate that Malaysian PLC＇s and their auditors have far to go before they can meet the expectation set by FRS 136 in particular and International Financial Reporting Standards in general.     

行为经济:创新的机会与捷径——伯克利加州大学心理学系终身教授、博士生导师彭凯平博士访谈

In this article,Professor Kaiping Peng introduced to us the definition of behavioral economics,and its difference with traditional economic theory.Then he presented how to evade irrational decision or judgment,followed by his demonstration of cultural psychology's influence to behavioral economics.Then he compared the ways of thinking between western and eastern and its influence to organization's management.The interview concluded by Professor Peng's review of the development stage of behavioral economics and the main challenges it might encounter in China.