Trust in financial services: Retrospect and prospect

Fostering and maintaining high levels of trust in the financial services sector is seen as crucial because of the characteristics of many financial service and in order to promote consumer engagement in the sector. In this article, we report evidence from a body of work and other commentary to provide an insight into trends in consumer trust in the sector as a whole, in comparison with other organisations and how different types of financial services provider have performed relative to each other. We show that the financial services sector as a whole is trusted more than some comparator institutions, and that aggregate levels of trust in the sector have fluctuated a relatively small amount subsequent to the financial crisis. However, important differences between provider types are apparent and these differences have become more profound in the recent past. We provide suggestions as to how trust in the sector may be improved and provider an analysis of current initiatives to improve trust levels in the sector in general and in banking in particular.     

International comparison of industrial development in the European context — the problems

Conclusion The index of production enables us to analyse current developments in the countries considered in the cyclical context, the information on real value added that is available for these branches of industry not being sufficiently up to date. In 1999, the division of labour within industry and between industry and the services sector changed, both nationally and in the international context. There was a rise in the nominal and the real ratios of intermediate input. Our conclusion is that, at least in some branches, the structural changes between 1995 and 1999 were of greater importance in Germany than in the other countries. In view of such structural changes the index of production cannot adequately reflect the dynamic of these branches in an international comparison. Different developments in the real ratios of intermediate input and divergent real developments in value added that are evident in the statistics are partly the result of the different methods of price deflation used in the countries and branches considered. The real value added gives a distorted picture of the development in output in these branches in the individual countries. The development in the index of production probably overstates the dynamic of German industry compared with industry in the other countries considered for the period on which this article is based, while understating the trend in value added. It follows from this that the indicators designed to measure output in economic sectors are not enough to give a realistic picture of the trend in output in branches of industry for international comparison. More information, e.g. the trends in employment and investment, also needs to be taken into account.     

Accounting infrastructure and accountability in the management of public expenditure in developing countries: A focus on Nigeria

Accountability in the control and management of public funds is one of the most sensitive aspects of the activities of government in all democracies. Hence, the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria contains provisions relating to legislative powers and control over public funds. However, the required level of accountability in public expenditure has not been achieved in Nigeria. The situation has remained worrisome even though the country does not lack in the appropriate laws and regulation required to bring sanity into the system. Though there have been some bold steps and initiatives in the recent past by the government by strengthening existing institutions and creating new ones with responsibility for fraud and other controls, the issue of weak accounting infrastructure has not been addressed. The paper argues that accountability in public expenditure can more easily be realized within the context of a sound accounting infrastructure and a robust accounting profession and not in the multiplicity of laws and anti-corruption agencies; all of which are reactive in nature. Therefore, the paper reports on the current state of accounting infrastructure in Nigeria, and conclude with an assessment of the existing agencies and current reform initiatives in ensuring accountability in public expenditure in Nigeria.     

IMF-related announcements and stock market returns: Evidence from financial and non-financial sectors in Indonesia,Korea, and Thailand

We examine the changes in daily financial sector stock returns in Indonesia, Korea, and Thailand in response to IMF-related news during the Asian crisis and compare them with those in non-financial sectors. We find that news of both program negotiations and approval increased financial sector returns in Indonesia and Korea, whereas only program approval is associated with higher returns in the financial sector in Thailand. Sectors such as cyclical consumer goods and non-cyclical services experienced higher returns in Thailand and Indonesia, while almost all sectors enjoyed higher returns in South Korea. We interpret the empirical results based on the characteristics of corporate governance and industrial development policies in these countries.     

The scope of application of management accounting methods in Polish enterprises

The transformation of Poland’s economic system in the 1990s as a result of transition from a centrally planned economy to a market-based system involves significant changes in the regulatory context and in accounting practice and education.This paper presents the scope of application of management accounting concepts and methods in 60 Polish enterprises covered by a questionnaire survey carried out by the author between November 1998 and December 1999 in enterprises located in central and southern Poland. The selected companies were interviewed by means of a postal survey, with inquiry forms delivered in person in some cases.The detailed analyses carried out in this paper and the conclusions presented are also based on information obtained from documentary evidence kept by the enterprises and from direct interviews conducted in the course of work in teams engaged in analysis and assessment of cost accounting practices and in management accounting system design in a number of large and medium Polish enterprises.The empirical research carried out is aimed at verification of a number of hypotheses including the following: • modification of cost accounting systems and implementation of management accounting tools in Polish enterprises is brought about by many different factors, the most important being growth of competition and ownership changes in business entities, • Polish enterprises mostly implement the methods and techniques of operational management accounting, • short-term budgeting for cost centres is the most widely used method of management accounting.     

The Roles of Some Key Stakeholders in the Future of Accounting Education in Australia

This article explores the role of institutional and systemic leadership in changing higher education in accounting in Australia. In particular, it discusses the roles of the Australian Learning and Teaching Council, the Australian Business Deans' Council Teaching and Learning Network, and the professional accounting bodies in meeting the challenges confronting accounting education in the tertiary sector today and in the coming years. The intersection of these leadership roles is exemplified in an accounting discipline research project that explores the critical non-technical skills stakeholders require in graduate students and discusses stakeholders' roles and responsibilities in their development .     

The overconfidence of investors in the primary market

We analyze the investment performance of 6993 investors bidding in 77 discriminatory IPO auctions in the Taiwan stock market between January 1996 and April 2000, and find that frequent bidders in these auctions have lower returns than infrequent bidders. The frequent bidders bid too aggressively and evaluate the IPO firms too optimistically, resulting in inferior performance. Despite being quite successful in their first few auction bids, the returns for frequent investors are gradually reduced in subsequent auctions. The multivariate model and the analysis of the possibility of perverse incentives of brokerage firms suggest that our findings cannot be explained by rational hypotheses, whereas in contrast, the theories on overconfidence and self-attribution bias can explain the increase in bidding frequency and the deterioration in return performance for bidders in IPO auctions.     

Private Pension Arrangements and Retirement in Britain*

This paper looks at the policy debate surrounding private pensions and retirement patterns in the UK. Recent increases in longevity have led not only to increased pressures in public pensions but also to corresponding increases in the importance of private pensions in the UK and changes in the way in which they are structured. We consider the economic implications of these changes, and in particular the increased importance of defined contribution plans. In addition, we discuss the prospects for future trends in retirement ages.     

Stereotypes in financial literacy: Evidence from PISA

We examine gender differences in financial literacy among high school students in Italy using data from the 2012 Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA). Gender differences in financial literacy are large among the young in Italy. They are present in all regions and are particularly severe in the South and the Islands. Combining the rich PISA data with a variety of other indicators, we provide a thorough analysis of the potential determinants of the gender gap in financial literacy. We find that parental background, in particular the role of mothers, matters for the financial knowledge of girls. Moreover, we show that the social and cultural environment in which girls and boys live plays a crucial role in explaining gender differences. We also show that history matters: Medieval commercial hubs and the nuclear family structure created conditions favorable to the transformation of the role of women in society, and shaped gender differences in financial literacy as well. We discuss the changes that are needed to close the gap in financial knowledge among the young.     

The past and the possible futures of Futures Studies: Some thoughts on Ziauddin Sardar's ‘the namesake’

The need to explain the concepts and terms used in Futures Studies, as in other sciences, has existed for a long time. But the necessity to do so has increased since the Second World War and is clearly important in recent debates among different groups involved in the field. This article traces the historical timeline of some of these terms in relation to the social and cultural contexts in which they were coined and first used. It argues that concepts and terms used in Futures Studies are mainly of Western origin and suggests that research should be conducted in different social and cultural contexts for concepts and terms embedded, and possibly used, in cultures different from that of the West. The article also suggests that some sort of ‘liberation movement’ should be started in this direction.     

论预算会计收付实现制及其改革

客观评价我国预算会计收付实现制确认基础，探讨其局限，借鉴OECD国家预算会计权责发生制改革实践经验，结合我国实际，研究和探索我国预算会计如何运用权责发生制，是理论界和实务界面临的重要课题。     

US firms – How global are they? A longitudinal study

Many studies examine firm-level internationalisation using measures such as percentage foreign sales, number of foreign subsidiaries and the number of countries in which the firm operates, but few examine the changes in these measures over time. We conduct a longitudinal study of the internationalisation of Russell 1000 US firms between 1996 and 2010, with further categorisations by age, industry and size. We find little change in the number of purely domestic firms, but substantial overall increases in the extent and scope of internationalisation of MNCs, with periods of both de- and re-internationalisation. Firms appear to expand into new regions and increase their foreign sales in those regions in subsequent years. More than half of the MNCs in our sample experienced a decrease in foreign sales after the 2007/08 credit crisis, with relatively few decreases in the regions in which they operate. By 2010 we find that the majority of the MNCs in our sample are pursuing a semi-global strategy.     

Agriculture and aggregate productivity: A quantitative cross-country analysis

A decomposition of aggregate labor productivity based on internationally comparable data reveals that a high share of employment and low labor productivity in agriculture are mainly responsible for low aggregate productivity in poor countries. Using a two-sector general-equilibrium model, we show that differences in economy-wide productivity, barriers to modern intermediate inputs in agriculture, and barriers in the labor market generate large cross-country differences in the share of employment and labor productivity in agriculture. The model implies a factor difference of 10.8 in aggregate labor productivity between the richest and the poorest 5% of the countries in the world, leaving the unexplained factor at 3.2. Overall, this two-sector framework performs much better than a single-sector growth model in explaining observed differences in international productivity.     

Reversing exclusion: The Africanisation of accountancy in Kenya, 1963–1970

Accountancy in colonial Kenya was the domain of expatriate British accountants to the virtual exclusion of African Kenyans and marginalisation of Asians. When political independence from the British was achieved in 1963, the new Government initiated programmes of affirmative action and social reform aimed at engendering improved opportunities for the previously disenfranchised indigenous African Kenyans. This study sets out to examine how changes in political ideology at the national level can induce critical change in the organisation and constitution of the accountancy profession. It investigates the pivotal role of the Government in reversing exclusionary closure in the accountancy profession and facilitating the entry of Africans through the introduction of new accountancy education and training programmes. Such affirmative action programmes were instituted as restitution for the injustices suffered by Africans under colonialism and in anticipation of the labour shortages in the wake of departing expatriates post-independence. The evidence presented draws attention to the consequences of such affirmative action programmes and demonstrates that although the growing participation of Africans in the profession between 1963 and 1970 indicates success in reversing exclusion, their acceptance and integration remained more distant objectives.     

英国政府会计管理与改革情况及对我国的启示

本文按照英国政府会计的历史沿革、管理现状、现行特点,以及对我国推行政府会计改革的启示这一逻辑顺序,较为系统、详细地介绍了英国中央政府会计改革的基本历程、会计法律体系、中央政府会计规范的制定、地方政府会计管理情况、英国政府整体财务报告编制情况等,对英国政府会计管理的特点进行了总结,得出了对我国推行政府会计改革的若干启示。     

《孙子兵法》与现代商战纵横谈

《孙子兵法》是我国也是世界上最早、最完整、最卓越的军事理论著作,是中华民族数千年灿烂文明长河中,令世界叹为观止的闪烁着真理光芒的文化瑰宝,一直为世人所推崇。《孙子兵法》为世界第一“兵学盛典”,已在世界范围内广泛传播,应用领域极为广泛,更倍受商界青睐。日本企业家将其奉为至宝,美国商人视其为“金科玉律”。军队是在战场上拼杀,企业是在市场上作战,二者有相当的相似性,《孙子兵法》是伟大的商战博弈论,故可为现代商战所用。《孙子兵法》中“上兵伐谋”的战略思想、“五事七计”的决策思想、不战而胜的“全胜”思想、“以利制权”的“权变”思想,则是现代商战的制胜法宝。     

The Determinants of Intra-Industry Trade in Insurance Services

In light of the growing significance of trade in financial services, and the emphasis placed on trade in financial services during the Uruguay round of trade negotiations, this article is the first study of the determinants of intra‐industry trade (IIT) in insurance services. The article analyzes and measures the magnitude of IIT in insurance services for the United States. The empirical results of the determinants of IIT indicate that foreign direct investment in insurance services (FDI) is a significant contributor to the volume of trade in insurance services. These empirical findings confirm the new theoretical trade models that, unlike the traditional trade theory that considered trade and foreign direct investment in insurance services as substitutes, trade and FDI complement each other and hence multinational insurance companies are contributing to an increase in the volume of trade in insurance services. Furthermore, this study shows that trade intensity between the United States and its trading partners leads to product differentiation in insurance services and hence an increase in consumer welfare.     

Encouraging group skills in accountancy students: an innovative apporach

This paper evalutes a three year programme in a UK university which recently won the Partnership Award from Cooper & Lybrand, Deloitte for innovation in higher education. The programme aims to encourage student to work in groups and to reflect upon the processes and the group dynamics involved. The first part of the paper provides the context for the paper and the context in which the programme runs. n example of a case study used in the programme is described in detail and the way in which it draws together subject areas within the degree is illustrated. Finally the programme is evaluted in terms of its successes and its problem areas.     

投资决策中地区偏好与地区规避的实证研究

本地人是否更加倾向于购买本地股、或者正好相反?如何解读其中蕴含的经济学含义和行为金融学含义?论文以北京、上海、深圳开放式基金为例,对上述问题进行了研究。结果发现,第一,北京基金和上海基金低配本地股,表现为本地规避,深圳基金高配本地股,表现为本地偏好。第二,北京基金、上海基金和深圳基金都拥有不为外地投资者知晓的本地上市公司私人信息,其中北京基金获取本地私人信息的能力最为显著(对应的则意味着北京本地股信息最不透明)。第三,北京基金和上海基金没有表现出明显的本地情结,而深圳基金表现出了一定程度的本地情结。上述结果证实了地域因素是影响投资行为和投资绩效的重要因素,这一影响体现为"本地信息优势"和"本地情结"两个方面上。论文的研究结论,对资产定价的信息假说、对金融的文化意义、对行为金融的地区因素等诸多方面,均有一定的参考意义。     

Seasonality in the Risk-Return Relationship: Some International Evidence

We report evidence of seasonality in the Fama and MacBeth estimate of the CAPM-based risk premium in four stock exchanges: the NYSE and the London, Paris, and Brussels exchanges. Specifically, we found that, in Belgium and France, risk premia are positive in January and negative the rest of the year. There is no January seasonal in the U.K. risk premium. Instead, we observed in this country a positive April seasonal and a negative average risk premium over the rest of the year. In the U.S., the pattern of risk-premium seasonality coincides with the pattern of stock-return seasonality. Both are positive and significant only in January. We also found that the January risk premium in the U.S. is significantly larger than those observed in the European markets. Interestingly, the reported patterns of risk-premium seasonality in European equity markets do not fully coincide with the observed patterns of stock-return seasonality in these markets. For example, in the U.K., average stock returns are significant and positive in January and April, whereas the market risk premium is significantly positive only in April. A possible interpretation of this phenomenon is presented in the paper.