Do goodwill impairments affect audit opinions? Evidence from China

There has been a steady growth of goodwill impairments in the Chinese stock market since the adoption of the impairment approach in accounting. The influence of goodwill impairments on a firm’s financial position and profitability give reason to doubt its current and future performance. We examine whether auditors, as a crucial external monitor, identify the information risks of goodwill impairments and express their concerns about financial reporting quality in their audit opinions. Using a sample of firms listed on China’s A-share market from 2007 to 2017, we test the association between goodwill impairments and the type of audit opinion received in the same financial period. Our findings are as follows. First, the probability of receiving a modified opinion increases with the amount of goodwill impairments. Second, the positive association between goodwill impairments and modified audit opinions is driven primarily by earnings management risks. Third, this positive association is more salient when auditors are industry experts and there is no auditor–client mismatch. Fourth, auditors are more sensitive to the amount of goodwill impairments than to their mere existence. Overall, we document that auditors perceive goodwill impairments as a signal of information risks and communicate their concerns to investors to avoid litigation.     

试论人力资本的投资回报路径

人力资本与物质资本虽然在生产经营过程中关系密切,但由于两者的投入性质和方式不同,投资回报的性质和路径也不同。研究和区分人力资本与物质资本的不同投资回报路径,把握人力资本投资回报路径的特性,有利于政府在公共管理中推动人力资本的生成,有利于完善激励机制,发挥人力资本的潜能。     

Business models for material efficiency services: Conceptualization and application

Despite the abundant research on material flows and the growing recognition of the need to dematerialize the economy, business enterprises are still not making the best possible use of the many opportunities for material efficiency improvements. This article proposes one possible solution: material efficiency services provided by outside suppliers. It also introduces a conceptual framework for the analysis of different business models for eco-efficient services and applies the framework to material efficiency services. Four business models are outlined and their feasibility is studied from an empirical vantage point. In contrast to much of the previous research, special emphasis is laid on the financial aspects. It appears that the most promising business models are ‘material efficiency as additional service’ and ‘material flow management service’. Depending on the business model, prominent material efficiency service providers differ from large companies that offer multiple products and/or services to smaller, specialized providers. Potential clients (users) typically lack the resources (expertise, management's time or initial funds) to conduct material efficiency improvements themselves. Customers are more likely to use material efficiency services that relate to support materials or side-streams rather than those that are at the core of production. Potential client organizations with a strategy of outsourcing support activities and with experience of outsourcing are more keen to use material efficiency services.     

装备器材保障信息化建设研究

结合信息技术发展，分析了装备器材保障信息化建设的现状，提出了装备器材保障信息化建设的目标，研究了系统总体构成、各级网络系统拓扑结构、各应用系统功能。并对装备器材保障信息化整体建设内容进行了规划分析。     

以物流业为核心的近代早期产业结构演进与启示

目前的所谓“物流”不是经济学上的概念，而是管理学上“物流业”的概念。中国近代经济结构是以近代物流业为核心建立起来的。随着物流业的发展，中国近代重要工业结构初现端倪，并且初步显现出对经济发展的重要推动作用。当前，世界范围的现代物流业“革命”正在兴起，从近代物流业产生与发展中得到的一些规律性的总结，对我国现代物流业的发展，赶上国外物流业发展步伐，将大有裨益。     

人与环境系统的物质流模型研究

对人与自然环境所组成的系统进行物质流动分析，是可持续发展理论研究的基础，本文根据质量守恒定律建立了一个封闭系统的物质流总量模型，系统地剖析了人类经济系统中的各个基本物质变量对自然资源索取量与废物排放量的影响机量，提出了实现可持续发展的基本途径。     

The raw material basis of global value chains: allocating environmental responsibility based on value generation

A new approach to allocate environmental responsibility, the ‘value added-based responsibility’ allocation, is presented in this article. This metric allocates total environmental pressures occurring along an international supply chain to the participating sectors and countries according to the share of value added they generate within that specific supply chain. We show that – due to their position in global value chains – certain sectors (e.g. services) and countries (e.g. Germany) receive significantly greater responsibility compared to other allocation approaches. This adds a new perspective to the discussions concerning a fair distribution of mitigation costs among nations, companies and consumers.     

Perceived incentives to transdisciplinarity in a Japanese university research center

As a method of investigating complex socially relevant phenomena, transdisciplinary research (TDR) is gaining increasing centrality as a model of knowledge production. However, it is being discouraged by a scientific reward system based on disciplinary logic. The disincentive is even stronger for junior scholars who should be developing the capabilities necessary for achieving long-term scientific excellence.Building on theories of the coordination of scientific communities and using the case of a research center of Kyoto University investigating the boundary between cell and material sciences, we aim to disentangle the interplay between institutional incentives and intrinsic motivation in the prioritization of TDR over monodisciplinary research.We find that, despite strong interest in TDR among scientists and the center's mission to promote this orientation, only a minority of scientists prioritize this approach. Choice of research strategy is associated with its perceived benefits for idea generation, publication opportunities, intellectual effort required, the costs of team coordination, and satisfaction with organizational resources. Furthermore, the propensity to prioritize TDR drops among scientists beginning their careers.Therefore, we recommend the development of evaluation schemes grounded in activity-based measures and the granting of permanent positions to scientists pursuing TDR.     

论电子商务中的物流方案

以电子商务技术来优化提升中国传统物流业,使它能够较好地突破目前制约中国物流业发展的最大弊端———条块分割,但如何将传统的物流业与电子商务联在一起还是个难题。文章从电子商务对流通业的影响出发,分析了电子物流方案中碰到的问题,提出了解决的方案。