Harmonization relating to auditor independence: the Eighth Directive,the UK and Germany

The European Union Eighth Directive on the approval of auditors covers auditor independence only to a very limited extent. The provisions in the five articles on this subject are far less detailed than they were in the drafts of the directive, so that almost all specific regulation is left to the Member States. An examination of the development of the articles dealing with independence and integrity shows how the need to compromise, in order to reach an agreement, frustrated the intentions of the harmonizers. This paper traces the development of the independence rules in the Eighth Directive from the avant projet through the drafts to the final directive. It assesses the extent to which pre-Eighth Directive regulation in the UK and Germany may have affected the directive and then examines the implementation of the directive in the two countries. It concludes that national culture and accounting traditions prevented harmonization of independence rules through the Eighth Directive.     

Is Competition Engaging? Examining the Interactive Effects of Goal Orientation and Competitive Work Environment on Engagement

Contemporary work environments are growing increasingly competitive. However, some employees may “fit” with such environments better than others. This study examined how the relationship between employees’ goal orientations (learning, proving, and avoidance) and engagement is influenced by the competitive environment of their workplace. By investigating the interactive effect of goal orientation and competitive work environment, this research expands our understanding of factors leading to engagement. We tested our model using a sample of 345 working adults from a variety of organizations across several different industries. Results indicate that learning goal orientation was positively related to engagement while avoidance goal orientation was negatively related to engagement. Competitive work environment (CWE) interacted with learning orientation and proving orientation to predict engagement. We conclude with a discussion of the implications of our results for human resource management. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Asymptotic properties of M-estimators in linear and nonlinear multivariate regression models

We consider the (possibly nonlinear) regression model in \(\mathbb{R }^q\) with shift parameter \(\alpha \) in \(\mathbb{R }^q\) and other parameters \(\beta \) in \(\mathbb{R }^p\) . Residuals are assumed to be from an unknown distribution function (d.f.). Let \(\widehat{\phi }\) be a smooth \(M\) -estimator of \(\phi = {{\beta }\atopwithdelims (){\alpha }}\) and \(T(\phi )\) a smooth function. We obtain the asymptotic normality, covariance, bias and skewness of \(T(\widehat{\phi })\) and an estimator of \(T(\phi )\) with bias \(\sim n^{-2}\) requiring \(\sim n\) calculations. (In contrast, the jackknife and bootstrap estimators require \(\sim n^2\) calculations.) For a linear regression with random covariates of low skewness, if \(T(\phi ) = \nu \beta \) , then \(T(\widehat{\phi })\) has bias \(\sim n^{-2}\) (not \(n^{-1}\) ) and skewness \(\sim n^{-3}\) (not \(n^{-2}\) ), and the usual approximate one-sided confidence interval (CI) for \(T(\phi )\) has error \(\sim n^{-1}\) (not \(n^{-1/2}\) ). These results extend to random covariates.     

An analysis of the cost of providing ancillary services to skilled nursing facility patients in New York State

Currently, nursing homes can arrange for the provision of ancillary services either by providing the services directly, purchasing the services through contracts and fees, or by outside billings, in which the services are supplied by other providers who then bill Medicaid directly. Frequently, some combination of these three modes of provision is used for each ancillary service. The purpose of this study is to explore ancillary costs in a sample of nursing homes and to determine, to the extent possible, the most cost-efficient means of providing selected ancillary services (physical therapy, radiology and medical staff services). Prior to examining the impact of the mode of provision on cost levels, other facility and patient characteristics that might justifiably affect costs are identified and adjusted for. The results demonstrate that outside billing or purchasing services can be much less expensive than providing the services directly. It is suggested that all ancillary services (outside billings as well as services provided directly through contracts and fees) be included when facility-to-facility cost comparisons are made. This approach should serve as an incentive for nursing homes to seek the most cost-efficient means of providing ancillary services.     

The Cognitive Style Index: A Measure of Intuition-Analysis For Organizational Research

Almost 1000 adults participated in the development of the Cognitive Style Index (CSI), a new measure designed specifically for use with managerial and professional groups. the objectives of the study were, first, to produce a psychome-trically sound instrument suitable for application in large-scale organizational studies, and second, through its development, to confirm empirically the generic intuition-analysis dimension of cognitive style. Findings suggest that each objective was largely fulfilled. At a time when there is a burgeoning interest in intuition as a basis for decision making and problem solving in organizations, the CSI would appear to be a notable addition to the small collection of measures appropriate for survey research.