International Public Sector Accounting Standards （IPSAS） Implementation in the European Union （EU） Member States

The aim of this paper is to analyze the implementation level of International Public Sector Accounting Standards （IPSAS） in the member states of the European Union （EU）. After an introduction of the legislative framework in the EU and a review of the literature about the implementation of IPSAS in the EU member states, this paper classifies, on the basis of a survey, the states according to their formal implementation levels of IPSAS. It also analyzes the types of accounting （cash basis accounting, modified cash basis accotmting, accrual accounting, and modified accrual basis accounting） used by the states studied. The survey shows that there are important disparities among the member states, both for the application of IPSAS and for the type of accounting that is used. Furthermore, it appears that even if IPSAS is not legally adopted in most European member states, there is a tendency to use modern accounting systems based on accrual accounting close to IPSAS.     

Evaluating Board Roles Performance in Adopting Corporate Social Responsibility （CSR） Practices

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the board roles that make a board effective in the performance of adopting corporate social responsibility （CSR） practices. This paper examines directors＇ perceptions of the three main roles： monitoring, service, and strategic, which provide tools for critically understanding how the board adds the value in moving the organization towards more CSR practices. The stakeholder theory is used to distinguish the influence of the three main roles on the adoption of CSR practices. Primary data were collected for this research by conducting structured questionnaires with a sample of 461 directors from Saudi listed companies for study purpose. The results show that an appropriate mix of directors＇ roles and the development of sound board monitoring and service roles are the most crucial determinants of CSR adoption in Saudi listed companies. As the extant corporate governance and CSR literatures do not provide a clear perspective with contradictory outcomes about board roles in influencing CSR practices, the originality of this research is its contribution by evaluating the directors＇ perceptions of developing a direct relationship between the board roles and the adoption of CSR practices. Furthermore, the use of the stakeholder theory provides additional insights into identifying the most influential board role factors enhancing stakeholders＇ expectations of CSR practices.     

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.     

Personnel Management in the Slovak Building Industry： Analysis of Small,Medium-Sized,and Big Building Companies

This paper summarizes the results of the authors＇ research conducted in November 2013 with the aim to analyze the organization and standards of the personnel management in the Slovak building industry. The research was based on the presumption that optimal mastering of the personnel management is a precondition of the success of each building company that wishes to be a continuously prosperous, competitive, and respected economic and social entity. Altogether, 76 small （less than 50 employees）, 77 medium-sized （50-249 employees）, and 21 big （250 and more employees） building companies operating in the territory of the Slovak Republic took part in the research. The results of the research showed that the concept of the personnel management in big building companies （in particular in comparison to most small companies but some medium-sized companies） was more strategic and systematic which is natural given the high numbers of employees of various professions who carry out manifold building works in a huge set of working conditions. However, from the point of view of the current economic development, all building companies have to develop their adaptability to the building market and their capability to master various building works. It is just the personnel management that is used to make it all up provided it is implemented efficiently in a purposeful way in order to keep the stable operation of the building company and satisfaction of various needs of stakeholders including but not limited to employees and clients.     

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.     

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.     

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.     

Economic Cost-Effectiveness of the Implementation of the Quality Standard ISO 9001 in the Health Sector

The quality standard ISO 9001 helps and enables organizations, regardless of the sector where they exist, to implement the quality management properly. Recent years have attracted attention to the possibilities of implementing this standard in the health sector and the economic viability of that long-term investment. Health care organizations are recognizing the value system that combines all the criteria for managing quality, including management of business, compliance and management of procedural steps, and most importantly, the total quality management. In general, the implementation of ISO 9001：2008 standard for quality in health care institutions is seen as an opportunity to improve the quality of health care, and the entire process is to be completed by reducing costs and improving services in the sector. The implementation of a quality standard is directed towards patients, medical staff, and management in order to achieve reduction and complete relief from the pain, correct and professional services, conducted services with an appropriate skilled and professional care to obtain results that are comparable to known standards, and protection services with appropriate insurance policies, and the management expects the implementation of a quality system to justify and return their investments. The methods used in this paper are based on the quality standard ISO 9001：2008--Quality Management System and the Guidelines for Improving Performance, developed based on ISO 9004：2000： Quality Management System-43uidelines for Continuous Improvement. These guidelines contain a big part of the text in ISO 9004：2000, but they are supplemented with specific guidelines for their implementation in the health sector. The implementation of the system and monitoring guidelines evidently contributes to the overall resolution and closure of problems in over 50% of cases. This not only results in saving money for the institution, but it also globally leads to reduced variations in the healing process. Expected benefits     

Cognitive Heuristics and Dual Process Models A Perspective for Management Accounting （MA）？

Classical management accounting （MA） Focusing on the facilitating perspective, focuses on decision facilitating and influencing （Demski ＆ Feltham, 1976）. MA has to provide information to managers and depending on the problem complexity, they have to solve problems in a dyadic way. A dual process model, the heuristic systematic model （HSM）, expands this so-called manager-accountant-dyad and shows different cases of actual human information processing. Managers and accountants either process systematically or heuristically. So far, many concepts have been designed in relation to the normative concept of the economical rational principle. Consequently, recent research only uses systematic information processing, based on the principle of the economic man. In this paper, a decision-behavior oriented approach tries to describe actual decision makers such as managers and accountants and shows new possibilities within MA. Therefore, the potential of heuristic information processing is analyzed, based on the phenomenon of ecological rationality as one shape of bounded rationality. Thus, different cognitive heuristics in business economics are identified and analyzed. Furthermore, the outstanding performance of heuristics compared with more complex calculations is shown. Unfortunately, these findings have been limited to marketing and investments so far. Significant research is needed, regarding conditions for applications and success factors of heuristics in business economics. New empirical findings have to be explicitly transferred to MA.     

The Prospect of Ethical Consulting

Ethical consulting is a critical professional activity that is very critical to the very survival of the corporate world and is thus likely to boom within the shortest possible time in the future. This predictive statement is based on the consequential effect of the bankruptcy of Ertron and WorldCom and its aftermath legislature, Sarbanes-Oxley Act （Lander, 2004）. The main issues boarder on how ethics influence organizations＇ operations and to what extend these influences can be coded and managed to enhance objectivity and minimize fraud. The methodology applied in this paper was an exploratory approach under the qualitative design. It encapsulates a thorough review of literature on the subject matter and draws inferences to address the research objectives. It was found that ethical consulting was possible and consultants venturing into the area need to be strategically diversified to enable them to design and develop customized ethical codes for the heterogeneous clientele with appropriate supporting monitoring and compliance procedures.     

Stages,Content, and Theory of Strategic Human Resource Management （SHRM）： An Exploratory Study

This study discusses ＂theory of strategic human resource management （HRM） has an impact on research topic of this study is to discuss SHRM resource management （SHRM）＂. Theory of SHRM is that human firm performance through employee performance. Therefore, the theory. Research method is literature scanning. Research findings are, firstly, that strategic HRM can be defined with employee/firm performance relationship. Secondly, this study depicts its own SHRM model. In this model, HRM practices develop individual performance of employees in organizations, and individual performance increases performance of business departments, such as supply department, finance department, marketing department, logistics department, etc., and performance of business departments has an impact on firm performance. Furthermore, this study makes its SHRM definition. So far, there have been two definitions of SHRM in literature studies. The first definition identifies SHRM with corporate strategies and competitive advantage. The second definition describes SHRM with HRM-firm performance relationship. This study makes the third definition, namely, SHRM is employee/firm performance relationship, and this definition is figured in an SHRM model in this study.     

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.     

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.     

Corporate Sustainability and Ethical Codes Effectiveness

In the last years, the issues regarding both sustainable development and business global responsibility have qualified the corporate governance effectiveness. Many international institutions have intervened and the companies, at least formally, have increased their attention to the interaction between stakeholder relationship management and economic, social, and environmental responsibility. The numerous and frequent scandals underline the discrepancy between the firms＇ formal statements and the substantial behaviors. Most of the companies, in the industrialized country, publish well-structured code of ethics and conduct, explicating the strategic values assigned to the global responsibility. The research considers the capability of the code of conduct to influence effectively the behaviors, in relation with the needs of transparency, sharing, coherent individual behavior, and control. In relation to the importance conferred to the sustainable development by the European Union （EU）, the analysis examines listed companies with the greatest market capitalization operating in the Great Britain, Germany, and Italy, in order to verify the firms＇ behavioral uniformity and the effectiveness of sustainability policies. The analysis shows that the codes of ethics seem to remain only formal declarations. Conscious and rational governance not only transfers values and principles of sustainability to the firm＇s behaviors and its result system, but also goes beyond a mere diffusion and formalization of codes of ethics and conducts. To achieve that, it is necessary to develop productive behaviors focused on the risk control and on managing behaviors of all the organization＇s members, in particular in reference to the stakeholder relationship management. The codes of ethics, in fact, seem to assume a poor relevance for the corporate sustainability promotion if a correct formal structure does not occur integrated with strategies and processes which assure a constant workability. It requests especially： the ethic cu     

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.     

The Role of Information Security Development （ISD） in Effective Information Security Management （ISM） Implementation in the Banks： A Nigerian Case

This research discusses the role of information security development （ISD） using organizational factors such as information security plans, information security awareness, perceived quality training programs, information security policies and procedures, and organizational culture in effective information security management （ISM） implementation in the banks （a Nigerian case）. This paper explores the existing literature and a proposed framework that consists of ISD such as information security plans, information security awareness, perceived quality training programs, information security policies and procedures, and organizational culture in ISM implementation. ISD factors are found to be statistically significant, because it motivates an organization to implement effective ISM in the banks. Hence, it could be said that the role of ISD practices in an effective implementation of ISM among banks in Nigeria will be of great value.     

How selected primary schools in rural New Zealand manage their financial resources of limited government funding in order to effectively meet their schools objectives

This study evaluates the extent to which primary schools in a region of New Zealand are challenged by limited funds to enable the effective management and performance of their school. The study involved interviews with school principals and analysis of their schools＇ financial statements. The aim of this project is to gain a current understanding of the issues and challenges facing primary schools in a defined region （Waikato） to see whether the trends identified in national research studies, confirms the problem that schools are underfunded. The results of the current study identified the issues experienced by the Waikato schools and in most cases supported previous research findings. The findings of the current study also suggest that schools share the dilemmas associated with limited government funding and rely significantly on local funding sources to achieve their basic objectives. Although schools may be effective in the management of their school objectives, there is more government funding required to relieve the pressures and challenges.     

Accounting variables and stock returns： Evidence from Istanbul stock exchange

The fundamental relationship between accounting variables and stock returns is a recurring theme in financial research. One of the major purposes of accounting is to help investors provide reliable, comparable and accurate information. If accounting data are informative about fundamental values and changes in values, they should be correlated with stock price changes. This study provides theory and evidence showing how accounting variables explain stock returns and examines the relationship between the stock returns and accounting variables of listed non financial companies in ISE-100 Indice for 2006-2008 period by using panel data methodology. Empirical analysis consists of 192 observations of 64 companies in years 2006-2008 to examine the effects of inventory, accounts receivable, gross margin, operating expense, return on assets, cash flow, leverage, liquidity, price/earnings, return on equity on stock returns. The results of the study confirm that the predicted roles of fundamental factors and stock returns are significantly related to gross margin, cash flow, leverage and equity variables. The model explains about 13.35 % of the variation of annual stock returns with the leverage variable with most of the significant power.     

Human Resource Management in the Building Industry： International Comparison

This paper summarizes the results of the international questionnaire survey which took place at the start of 2013 in order to examine, judge, and compare the implemented concept and procedures of human resource management in the questioned building companies operating in the Visegrad Four countries （the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, and the Slovak Republic） and the Federal Republic of Germany, and proposes an optimal approach to human resource management in the context of the current and expected economic development. The questionnaire survey was based on the assumption that effective human resource management is a condition of the successful function of each building company and that human resource management is that area of management which distinguishes the successful building companies from the unsuccessful ones. In total, 202 companies from the Czech Republic, 105 companies from Hungary, 100 companies from Poland, 102 companies from the Slovak Republic, and 99 companies from the Federal Republic of Germany took part in the questionnaire survey. The results of the questionnaire survey showed that among the building companies questioned in individual countries, there was no substantial difference in the overall concept and in the partial procedures of human resource management. The implemented concept and procedures in the questioned building companies show significant merits and surprising shortcomings, whereas it is difficult to prove an unequivocal connection between the efficiency of human resource management and the success of building companies. This relationship is determined by a series of other political, economic, legal, social, cultural, technical, demographic, and natural effects which are not related to the efficiency of human resource management or to the performance of the workforce of building companies.