Corporate social responsibility committees and the use of corporate social responsibility assurance services

This study examines whether corporate social responsibility (CSR) committees associate with the external assurance of CSR reports. Specifically, we consider the presence and effectiveness of CSR committees. Using a sample of Australian firms over the period 2004–2016, we show the mere presence of a CSR committee is not related to the external assurance of CSR. However, CSR committee effectiveness is positively related. In addition, firms with higher CSR committee effectiveness are more likely to seek external assurance provided by the Big4 accountancy firms and acquire financial audit and CSR assurance services from the same provider. Taken together, CSR committee effectiveness plays an active role in CSR assurance services. Our results are particularly relevant to those with interests in understanding the demand and choice of external CSR assurance services, as well as the impact of corporate governance mechanisms on these services.     

Maximin choice of voting rules for committees

In the context of a probabilistic voting model with dichotomous choice, we investigate the consequences of choosing among voting rules according to the maximin criterion. A voting rule is the minimum number of voters who vote favorably on a change from the status quo required for it to be adopted. We characterize the voting rules that satisfy the maximin criterion as a function of the distribution of voters’ probabilities to favor change from the status quo. We prove that there are at most two maximin voting rules, at least one is Pareto efficient and is often different to the simple majority rule. If a committee is formed only by “conservative voters” (i.e. voters who are more likely to prefer the status quo to change) then the maximin criterion recommends voting rules that require no more voters supporting change than the simple majority rule. If there are only “radical voters”, then this criterion recommends voting rules that require no less than half of the total number of votes.Received: June 2003, Accepted: September 2004, JEL Classification: D71Salvador Barberá, Carmen Beviá, Mirko Cardinale, Wioletta Dziuda, Joan Esteban, Mahmut Erdem, Bernard Grofman, Matthew Jackson, Kai Konrad, Raul Lopez, Jordi Massó, Hugh Mullan, Shmuel Nitzan, Ana Pires do Prado, Elisabeth Schulte, Arnold Urken and two anonymous referees provided helpful comments. Finally, I also acknowledge financial support from Capes, Brazilian Ministry of Education and Spanish Ministry of Science and Technology (Project BEC2002-02130).     

股权激励下经理人机会主义行为的经济学分析

从理论上探讨股权激励下经理人机会主义的动机与实现途径。在薪酬委员会不独立时,具有信息优势地位的经理人可以通过在实施激励前尽可能地将股权激励授予时的获取成本压低以及实施激励后通过盈余管理的行为将公司的股价抬高等机会主义行为实现其股权基础薪酬最大化。为了保证股权激励的有效性,应从委员构成以及议事程序等方面进一步提高薪酬委员会的独立性。     

发包方视角下的财务外包问题探讨

财务外包(Finance Outsourcing)是西方国家发展较快的一种财务管理模式。近年来,联合利华、微软、宝洁、强生等国际知名跨国公司将其部分或全部财务与会计业务外包给会计公司。然而,财务外包在我国企业中的实践进程却相当缓慢,专业机构少,业务能力较低,服务对象较为狭窄,其发展处于"瓶颈"阶段,许多企业(即发包方)尤其是大中型企业对财务外包持怀疑、观望态度。基于此,本文拟从发包方的角度探讨财务外包问题及其应对措施,以促进我国财务外包快速健康发展。     

Political trust as rational belief: Evidence from Chinese village elections

Democratic governance is believed to improve government responsiveness to citizens’ demand for public goods. In China, villagers’ committee elections represent a major progress in China’s development toward good governance. We develop a rational model to explain villagers’ participation. Utilizing a national survey of rural residents in 2005, this paper tests the insights of the model. Two findings are of interest to the students of voting and elections. First, there is disagreement over the causal relationship between political trust and voting. This paper offers a rational interpretation of political trust by emphasizing the informational aspect of the concept. Second, voting is generally theorized as a process of overcoming various costs. The prospect of benefits figures more prominently in Chinese village elections. Our findings highlight the pivotal role of township governments in China’s rural politics and reveal the inner dilemma of democratization in China.     

信息披露委员会的制度设计

目前我国上市公司治理结构中缺失信息披露委员会制度。本文首先分析了信息披露的成因,然后从信息披露的复杂性、解决信息披露存在问题的紧迫性和信息披露战略管理的要求,多个角度探讨了设置信息披露委员会的必要性和可行性,并对我国上市公司信息披露委员会的制度设计提出了初步的构想。     

探路城市社区管理体制改革——基于铜陵市铜官山区“区直管社区”的实践分析

社区是社会管理的基本单元,社区管理与服务的质量直接关系到亿万居民的切身利益。在加强和创新社会管理的背景下,如何创新城市社区管理体制,解决政府部门与社区关系不顺、职责不清、社区居委会行政化等问题成为现实发展的迫切需求。基于此,铜官山区撤销街道办事处,实行＂区直管社区＂综合体制改革为城市社区管理体制改革探索了新的发展路径。尤其是＂一个核心三个体系＂的社区组织架构有效地实现了政府行政管理与社区居民自治的有机衔接与良性互动,为此,笔者进一步提出社区管理体制改革是加强和创新社会管理的基石的论断。     

社区经济自治存在的问题及制度创新

从业主经济自治组织制度建设存在的问题出发,剖析了业主自治组织处境艰难,不能有效行使管理主体的权利,同时也难以承担管理主体责任的原因,进而对北京社区物业管理中业主经济自治组织的制度创新提出了若干建议.     

选举提名方式与土地管理体制:村民对村领导行为及其绩效的评价

提名方式是选举的重要组成部分 ,农村民主选举的不同提名方式对村领导的行为及其绩效有不同的影响。对土地的投入是农村普遍的经济活动 ,与土地相关的活动对村民来说是至关重要的 ,村民对村领导决定的土地分配有着强烈的反响。从农村民主选举与土地管理体制的角度来研究选举提名方式是农村民主政治建设研究的一个新视角。     

新形势下国有企业如何做好党建工作——以广西农垦国有沙塘农场党委为例

文章通过对广西农垦国有沙塘农场党委党建工作进行剖析,以邓小平理论和三个代表重要思想为指导,全面贯彻落实科学发展现,深刻分析新形势下党建工作面临的新任务,并提出国有企业做好党建工作的对策。