The myth of secure computing

Few senior executives pay a whole lot of attention to computer security. They either hand off responsibility to their technical people or bring in consultants. But given the stakes involved, an arm's-length approach is extremely unwise. According to industry estimates, security breaches affect 90% of all businesses every year and cost some $17 billion. Fortunately, the authors say, senior executives don't need to learn about the more arcane aspects of their company's IT systems in order to take a hands-on approach. Instead, they should focus on the familiar task of managing risk. Their role should be to assess the business value of their information assets, determine the likelihood that those assets will be compromised, and then tailor a set of risk abatement processes to their company's particular vulnerabilities. This approach, which views computer security as an operational rather than a technical challenge, is akin to a classic quality assurance program in that it attempts to avoid problems rather than fix them and involves all employees, not just IT staffers. The goal is not to make computer systems completely secure--that's impossible--but to reduce the business risk to an acceptable level. This article looks at the types of threats a company is apt to face. It also examines the processes a general manager should spearhead to lessen the likelihood of a successful attack. The authors recommend eight processes in all, ranging from deciding how much protection each digital asset deserves to insisting on secure software to rehearsing a response to a security breach. The important thing to realize, they emphasize, is that decisions about digital security are not much different from other cost-benefit decisions. The tools general managers bring to bear on other areas of the business are good models for what they need to do in this technical space.     

中国公开市场业务的操作目标：一个描述性分析

目前,公开市场业务已经成为中国中央银行货币政策实施的最重要工具之一,尽管与发达国家相比,在操作目标的选择以及操作对象使用上面,还具有多种缺憾。当前,中国中央银行公开市场业务操作只能选择基础货币作为操作目标,并通过基础货币的调节影响和控制货币供应量的变动。利率的非市场化和债券市场规模约束成为中国公开市场业务操作的缺憾。     

The impact of audit firms’ characteristics on audit fees following information security breaches

Given the importance of auditors’ assessing business risks and evaluating internal controls, we investigate whether an audit firm’s industry expertise, tenure, and size can help its auditors better understand external and internal threats faced by the client with less effort. Using reported information security breach incidents from 2004 to 2013, we find that, consistent with prior studies, audit fees are higher after the occurrence of an information security breach. However, such an association is negatively moderated when the audit firm has industry-specific expertise, longer experience with the client, and is one of the Big 4 firms. Our results suggest that because of their better knowledge about a specific industry, increased familiarity with the client’s operations, and more resources to understand a client’s vulnerabilities and/or information security policies and procedures, these auditors are more capable of assessing the potentially changing information security risks implied by the occurrence of information security breach incidents. Our results are robust to a variety of sensitivity checks.     

Technology safeguards needed as security rule audits loom

The Department of Health and Human Services will conduct security rule audits that will involve on-site visits and include: Compliance-focused interviews with key organizational leaders. Scrutiny of physical operations controls, especially regarding storage, maintenance, and use of protected health information. Assessment of organizational policies and procedures to ensure compliance with privacy and security rules. Identification of regulatory compliance areas of concern.     

An integrated system for information security management with the unified framework

Information security management plays an essential role for drawing the roadmap of information security; thus, many theoretical methodologies and practical standards are brought into this domain. However, many standards and methodologies are too cumbersome to be adopted by an organization. Additionally, there is no unified framework to systematically handle the tedious tasks of information security management. This study’s primary goal is to design an integrated system for information security management (ISISM) that aims to use current methodologies and standards to solve the above-mentioned issues. Because business impact analysis and risk analysis are the most important areas within this domain, we carefully select the related methods and then integrate them into a unified framework, upon which the proposed ISISM depends. To achieve this outcome for this study, security requirement engineering is adopted, which enables the designed system to support system users in generating risk assessment reports with related information security policies.     

政策法规

国务院办公厅转发银监会、人民银行等八部门《关于促进融资性担保行业规范发展的意见》 6月24日转发的《意见》要求,融资性担保机构要坚持以融资性担保业务为核心主业,建立完善符合自身特点、市场化运作的可持续审慎经营模式,不断提高承保能力。在有效控制风险的前提下,鼓励融资性担保机构积极开发新业务、新产品和从事行业性、专业性担保业务。鼓励规模较大、实力较强的融资性担保机构在县域和西部地区设立分支机构或开展业务；鼓励县域内融资性担保机构加强对中小企业和“三农”的融资担保服务。     

Labor supply and government programs: A cross-country analysis

There are substantial cross-country differences in labor supply late in the life cycle (age 50+). A theory of labor supply and retirement decisions is developed to quantitatively assess the role of social security, disability insurance, and taxation for understanding differences in labor supply late in the life cycle across European countries and the United States. The findings support the view that government policies can go a long way towards accounting for the low labor supply late in the life cycle in the European countries relative to the United States, with social security rules accounting for the bulk of these effects.     

Credibility of Rules and Economic Growth: Evidence from a Worldwide Survey of the Private Sector

A business environment characterized by "incredible" rules suchas unclear property rights, constant policy surprises and reversals,uncertain contract enforcement, and high corruption most likelytranslates into lower investment and growth. The literatureon growth and policies has suggested different ways to measurethe relevant uncertainties. This article proposes a new measurementapproach based on firm-level surveys and an indicator of the"credibility of rules." Using data from a private sector surveyconducted in 73 countries and covering more than 3,800 enterprises,standard cross-country growth and investment analysis indicatesthat low credibility of rules is associated with lower ratesof investment and growth. The survey was designed to capturelocal entrepreneurs' views of the predictability of changesin laws and policies, of the reliability of law enforcement,of the impact of discretionary and corrupt bureaucracies, andof the danger of policy reversals due to changes in governments.Confidence in the reliability of the survey results opens manyavenues for further research that could exploit the micro dimensionsof this data set.     

英国四大银行经营战略的变革与启示

上世纪90年代以前,英国银行在“大的是好的”的观念引导下,采取了不计代价追求规模、增长和市场份额的经营战略,这与我国目前多元化银行组织体系下各类银行普遍追求业务规模和市场份额,并导致整个银行业经营战略趋同的状况颇为相似。20世纪90年代以后,英国银行业在日益严峻的竞争环境下,逐渐认识到大的并不总是美好的,必须将战略重点集中于具有核心竞争能力的领域,实施各具特色的经营战略。随着我国金融市场的不断开放和分业经营限制的逐步松动,以四大银行为首的我国商业银行在向综合化和国际化发展过程中,应根据自身情况确立市场与业务定位,有所为有所不为,努力发挥自身长处,实施更加体现核心竞争力的差异化经营战略。     

中小企业集合债券融资机制的完善

中小企业集合债券是我国独有的一种新型融资方式,但其因发行主体复杂、集合企业筛选不规范、担保难等问题,暂时未能广泛推行。本文在对中小企业集合债券现状调研的基础上,通过分析当前集合债券融资机制存在的不足,提出加快制定相关政策法规、推动担保行业结构调整、降低准入门槛和优化发债企业的组合设计等措施,以完善中小企业集合债券的融资机制。     

上市公司可持续发展问题研究

本文认为，上市公司经营的稳定性、业绩的成长性和发展的持续性界定为可持续发展。本文通过对123家可持续发展能力不足和11家具有较强可持续发展能力的两类上市公司研究发现，完善的公司治理则是可持续发展的基础，大股东掏空上市公司、违规担保和委托理财、盲目进行不相关多元化投资、欺诈上市是导致上市公司难以持续经营的主要原因，而专注主业、善于资本经营，品牌、创新和管理优势是实现上市公司可持续发展的关键因素.     

Do Family Owners Use Firm Hedging Policy to Hedge Personal Undiversified Wealth Risk?

We examine whether family ownership affects the value impact of the operational and financial dimensions of firms’ hedging policies. We show that family firms’ market valuations are higher than those of non‐family firms, consistent with the view that family firms benefit from family owners’ long‐term perspectives and ability to monitor managers. In addition, while both operational and financial hedging policies per se are valuable in non‐family firms, they do not create any value in family firms. These results support the notion that the founding families’ need to hedge the risk of their undiversified personal wealth portfolio leads to suboptimal risk management decisions.     

中小企业银行业务开发与拓展

银行在中小企业融资服务中具有独特的优势。目前,中外资银行均认识到发展中小企业银行业务的必要性,但从服务成熟度来看,以花旗银行为代表的外资银行处于领先地位。我国发展中小企业银行业务仍存在着征信和担保体系不完善的困难。可以按企业经营生命周期、融资时间长短、企业类型、业务类型拓展中小企业银行业务。     

我国商业银行收入结构改造

随着我国银行业对外开放的进一步扩大和金融体制改革步伐的加快,商业银行之间的竞争日益激烈。对于加快经营模式和增长方式的转变,实现经营结构的战略性调整,提高经营效益,增强核心竞争力等问题来说,我国商业银行至关重要的一个方面就是对收入结构进行改造。本文通过对中外商业银行收入来源的比较和量化分析,阐明了我国商业银行收入结构改造的必要性,并根据当前商业银行的经营情况有针对性地提出了商业银行进行收入结构改造的思路和重点发展的业务领域,促进我国商业银行全面、协调、可持续健康发展。     

Monetary Policy Rules in an Open Economy with Heuristics: Which Model Is Best?

The choices of policy targets and the formation of agents’ expectation have been critical issues for reconsidering monetary policy management since 2008. The purpose of this article is to evaluate macroeconomic stability in a New Keynesian open economy in which agents experience cognitive limitations. The (im)perfect credibility of various monetary policies (e.g., a Taylor-type rule, strict domestic inflation targeting, strict CPI inflation targeting, exchange rate peg) may lead agents to react according to their expectation rules, and then create various degrees of booms and busts in output and inflation. Therefore, relaxation of the rational expectation hypothesis has potential consequences for policy designs. Our simulations confirm that the business cycles induced by animal spirits are enhanced by strict inflation targeting. Furthermore, a Taylor-type (CPI or domestic inflation) rule or a credible exchange rate pegging system can improve social welfare and stability in an open economy.     

Bootstrap finance: the art of start-ups

Entrepreneurship is more popular than ever: courses are full, policymakers emphasize new ventures, managers yearn to go off on their own. Would-be founders often misplace their energies, however. Believing in a "big money" model of entrepreneurship, they spend a lot of time trying to attract investors instead of using wits and hustle to get their ideas off the ground. A study of 100 of the 1989 Inc. "500" list of fastest growing U.S. start-ups attests to the value of bootstrapping. In fact, what it takes to start a business often conflicts with what venture capitalists require. Investors prefer solid plans, well-defined markets, and track records. Entrepreneurs are heavy on energy and enthusiasm but may be short on credentials. They thrive in rapidly changing environments where uncertain prospects may scare off established companies. Rolling with the punches is often more important than formal plans. Striving to adhere to investors' criteria can diminish the flexibility--the try-it, fix-it approach--an entrepreneur needs to make a new venture work. Seven principles are basic for successful start-ups: get operational fast; look for quick break-even, cash-generating projects; offer high-value products or services that can sustain direct personal selling; don't try to hire the crack team; keep growth in check; focus on cash; and cultivate banks early. Growth and change are the start-up's natural environment. But change is also the reward for success: just as ventures grow, their founders usually have to take a fresh look at everything again: roles, organization, even the very policies that got the business up and running.     

同业存放与同业拆借业务的比较分析与改进建议

作为货币市场业务的重要组成部分,长期以来同业存放与同业拆借都是金融机构实现资金融通与往来的重要形式。文章通过总结当前两类业务的发展现状与问题,比较分析两类业务在会计核算、操作流程、定价机制等方面的异同点,提出了共同优化这两类业务发展的若干改进建议。     

进一步调整东北地区税收政策的思考

东北地区税收政策的调整首先必须解决理念问题。进一步调整东北地区税收政策的基本构想是:豁免企业历史欠税;制定和完善有利于经济结构战略性调整的税收政策;实行消费型增值税,促进企业设备更新与改造;调整企业所得税政策,增强企业活力,等等。     

The role of parent firms in business groups’ internal capital markets

Using a unique dataset of unconsolidated financial statements, we investigate the investment and financing policies of parent firms in South Korea's business groups over the period 2003–2016. Parent firms add to their equity-stake holdings substantially each year to support affiliated firms’ capital expenditures. Parent firms finance their equity-stake investment primarily with external funds. These tendencies are more pronounced if parents sit high in the pyramidal chain or are central to controlling other group firms and if parents belong to large business groups. Overall, parent firms prioritize their role as capital raisers and distributors for affiliated firms, and business groups’ internal capital markets are supported by external finance.     

西部开发:开创边贸易区引资新局面

<正> 自90年代初沿边全面开放、边境贸易蓬勃发展以来,我国边境地区逐步形成发展起来了边境贸易区。边境贸易区作为一种特殊关税区,经过多年的探索调整,进入到平稳运营、趋向规范管理的阶段。随着西部大开发战略的展开,边境贸易区进入扩大向西开放、引进外资的新阶段。 从边民互市扩展到全方位对外开放 1983年,国家正式发布边境小额贸易管理法规,规定边境城镇企业、居民之间进行的小额贸易在双方商定的边境口岸和贸易点进行。90年代初,原苏联解体,我国实行沿边开放、鼓励边贸的政策,边境贸易爆发性兴起。国家对边境贸易实行税收减半等优惠政策,边境地方政府采取灵活政策,边贸经营迅速扩大。经营者由边境地区企业和个体经营者扩