Budget Development and Use in Small‐ and Medium‐Sized Enterprises: A Field Investigation

We examine the process by which operating budgets are developed and how they are used for control, evaluation, and reward purposes in small‐ and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs). SMEs (i.e., fewer than 500 employees) represent the dominant organizational form in North America but surprisingly little research has examined how these companies develop and use management controls. Our study focuses on a key element of the management control system, operating budgets, because prior research on SMEs indicates this as an important and commonly used control tool in such companies. Prior research on budgeting practices, while extensive, has almost exclusively examined larger companies. We conduct in‐depth field interviews at 12 participating SMEs to address four theory‐based research questions intended to provide insights regarding the development and use of budgets by SMEs. Our first question examines how budgets are developed, top‐down versus collaborative. Our second, third, and fourth research questions examine, respectively, whether budgets are used tightly or loosely for results control, performance evaluation, and reward purposes. As a first step in providing a deeper understanding of budget development and use in SMEs, our results have implications for practice, theory development, and management accounting education.     

Stated preferences for two Cretan heritage attractions

The paper utilizes discrete choice modeling methodology to evaluate preferences of tourists for hypothetical managerial initiatives for two heritage attractions in Crete, Greece. The results show that they are willing to contribute a significant amount of money for improvements in the quality of information for both sites. Receiving information will substantially improve their satisfaction and thus their chances of visiting. Tourists also make reference to demand management issues, arguing that deterioration in congestion levels in both attractions will negatively affect satisfaction levels. The paper draws attention to future policies designed to improve the quality of the heritage experience, such as the introduction of audiovisual material to complement the presentation of exhibits.     

Hosts, guests and politics: Coastal Resorts Morphological Change

Resort morphology goes through a predictable sequence of stages: from pre-tourism low through high-density development to an urbanized state. Three elements are considered essential in such coastal resorts change: hosts, guests, and politics. Using historical data from the mass-developed Greek island of Crete, ten principal characteristics are identified as determinants of the morphological change of coastal resorts. A temporal model of unplanned change is also proposed. Although the study was constrained by limited data availability, the proposed model is deemed able to represent the morphological change of Cretan mass-developed coastal resorts.     

论公司治理结构与会计信息质量

完善的公司治理结构对于防范会计信息失真，提高会计信息质量有着重大意义。本文从公司治理角度出发，剖析了我国公司治理结构缺陷所引发的会计信息失真问题，并就如何完善我国公司治理结构，提高会计信息质量提出了相关建议。     

基于PC的单线测温网络的设计与实现

利用单线数字温度传感器和单线网络结构,可以建立分布式的单线多区域的温度测量网络。每个单线器件通过一根线连接在一起,并且有唯一的64位地址,通过它识别不同的器件。文章介绍了单线测温网络的设计和实施。     

总供求视角下的人民币均衡汇率

文章在宏观经济学总供给一总需求框架的基础上,建立了人民币均衡汇率的需求缺口模型,指出“均衡汇率”应该是一个区间,合意的汇率水平是内部平衡和外部平衡权衡的结果。中国应将国内平衡作为优先目标,根据国内平衡的需要适时调整汇率政策。中长期内,随着中国内外需求格局的转变,人民币汇率双向弹性增强并保持适度升值可能是合理和有益的。     

Medical emergencies and farm productivity in Côte d'Ivoire

The lack of health insurance for smallholder farmers in most sub-Saharan African countries hurts the families and can also negatively affect agriculture production, exports, and tax revenues. This paper analyzes the linkage between medical emergencies and agriculture exports and the corresponding tax revenues for smallholder farmers in Côte d'Ivoire. It uses two complementary datasets: the 2016 Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP) smallholder survey and the 2015 Côte d'Ivoire living standard survey. The paper finds that a medical emergency is negatively and significantly associated with a decrease in the likelihood that a smallholder farmer cultivates cocoa of 3.9 percentage points, driving them into poverty and reducing productivity at the lower quantiles. The paper then estimates that medical emergencies can be correlated with the decline in cocoa exports of $853 million and in tax revenues of $125 million, representing 0.2% of the Ivorian gross domestic product (GDP) in 2017.