Impact of International Financial Reporting Standards （IFRS） Adoption on Key Financial Ratios＂ The Case of the Czech Republic

This contribution analyzes the impact of new International Financial Reporting Standards （IFRS） reporting rules on financial ratios prepared in the Czech companies. Using a sample of 16 Czech firms, we attempt to measure the scope and size of the differences in the selected set of financial ratios as calculated with data reported according to the traditional Czech accounting standards （CAS） and under the IFRS provisions. Our study discovers that there are important differences resulting from the two reporting formats. Our research comes to a conclusion that translation of Czech statements to IFRS may cause changes in the values of financial indicators without relationship to the real change in the firms＇ value, performance, and stability. Even though the findings were not statistically significant, the indicative results of our measurements disclosed an important fact that the transition to IFRS could cause deterioration of key indicators and thereby could impact on the overall rating of companies. One needs to be cautious with generalization due to the small sample size.     

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.     

The Impact of Financial Distress Status and Corporate Governance Structures on the Level of Voluntary Disclosure Within Annual Reports of Firms （Case Study of Non-financial Firms in Indonesia Over the Period of 2009-2011）

The purpose of this research is to examine the impact of financial distress status and corporate governance structures on the level of voluntary disclosure. We apply six independent variables, including the firm＇s financial distress status and five components of corporate governance structures, such as board independence, audit committee independence, institutional ownership, board meeting frequency, and audit committee meeting frequency. This research is carried out by examining the annual reports of 114 non-financial firms listed at the Indonesian Stock Exchange over the period of 2009-2011. To test hypotheses, we undergo two different analyses, including independent samples t-test and Multiple Linear Regression. We find that： （1） The audit committee independence and the audit committee meeting frequency have significant positive impacts on the level of voluntary disclosure; （2） The financial distress status is negatively related to the level of disclosure at various levels of significance; and （3） All the independent variables are simultaneously related to voluntary disclosure.     

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.     

The impact of financial sector development on the economic growth of emerging countries： An empirical study for E-7 countries

Globalization, financial liberalization, financial integration, financial sector, and economic growth have been significant issues for many researchers. The studies have investigated the effects of the above issues to the economic growth of countries both theoretically and empirically. Since there has been conducted an enormous body of work, each of them may be grouped and studied separately. This paper focuses on the impact of financial sector development to economic growth and empirically studies the potential effect on the emerging E-7 countries, consisting of Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Mexico, the Russian Federation, and Turkey. The study employs panel regression methodology and the data set for modeling Gross Domestic Product （GDP） comprises annual data over 2001-2007, using basic variables which resemble financial sector development, namely market capitalization of listed companies （stock market capitalization）, bank capital to asset ratio, stocks traded, total debt service, foreign direct investments, portfolio investments, real interest rates, and claims on private sector. The analysis indicates that the GDP may be modeled using the above stated macroeconomic variables with considerably high explanatory power, except for the real interest rates and bank capital to asset ratios.