Managing Earnings with Intercorporate Investments

Abstract:  We explore to what extent firms deliberately manage their financial reports by exploiting the flexibility of generally accepted accounting principles. Using a sample of Oslo Stock Exchange-listed firms with 20–50% equity holdings in other firms, we find that firms with high financial leverage tend to maximize reported earnings from these investments through their choice between the cost method and the equity method, possibly in an attempt to reduce debt renegotiation costs or to avoid regulatory attention. In contrast, managers do not systematically bias reported earnings to extract private benefits or to signal revised expectations about future cash flows. Firms use different earnings management tools in a consistent way, as the earnings effect of the cost/equity choice is not offset by discretionary accruals.     

Economics and underdetermination: a case study of urban land and housing economics

Underdetermination, associated with the Duhem–Quine thesis,is a familiar if under-researched theme in economics. In thelight of this, we examine the development of urban land andhousing economics. Through its Cartesian dualistic delineationof theory and data, the contemporary mainstream approach appearsunable to circumvent the problem of underdetermination. In effect,it employs the strong version of Duhem–Quine in its retentionof the assumption of a single, unitary competitive market (andassociated access–space trade-off). Conversely, we highlightthe affinity of Ely's (and the later Columbia School's) approachto pragmatists Dewey and Peirce, which provides a more fruitfulbasis for explanation.     

Dividend Imputation and Shareholder Wealth: The Case of New Zealand

On April 1, 1988, New Zealand stopped the double taxation of dividends by implementing a full dividend imputation program. Because many believed that the tax advantage of debt had led to more highly leveraged firms subject to greater financial risk than was socially optimal, it was hoped the removal of incentives to finance with debt would result in a more efficient allocation of capital. The empirical results suggest that the shareholder wealth gain from dividend imputation was more than offset in firms with large debt levels. Moreover, an examination of debt ratios indicates debt levels declined in the post–imputation period.     

“标杆示范法”在企业思想政治工作中的应用探索

标杆示范法,是对集体及个人的经验、好的做法进行梳理,在梳理的同时归纳成一系列比较高的标准作为标杆,然后通过多种途径、利用各种有效手段进行示范、推广和学习,使这种高标准由某一个点渗透到更多的面,最终带动整个组织提高管理水平。对＂标杆示范法＂在国有企业的党支部建设、班组建设、员工队伍建设等思想政治工作领域的应用,形成有效的定标、对标、践标、标准化工作的思想政治工作流程进行探索和阐述。     

基于TOPSIS模型的火力发电企业电煤供应商选择评价研究

针对火力发电企业电煤供应商的特点,从成本因素、质量因素、到货因素三个方面,建立了由入厂标准煤单价、收到基恒容低位发热量、空气干燥基灰分、全水分、全硫、合格率、准时交货率、实收重量率8个指标构成的指标体系。采用了层次分析法确定的主观权重、熵权法确定客观权重,得到主观权重和客观权重相结合的组合权重,并使用TOPSIS模型对某火力发电企业的19个电煤供应商做出了评价和选择,对电煤供应商怎样提高竞争力以及火力发电企业对电煤供应商进行管理的重点内容提出了建议。     

创新方法对提高企业创新能力的影响度识别

以创新方法应用为导向,建立了影响企业创新能力提高的内部因素构成体系,运用模糊层次分析法对各个影响因素进行比较研究,在分析各因素对于提高企业创新能力的影响权重基础上,得出创新方法与有关因素相比对提高企业创新能力的相对影响程度,从定量的角度证明了创新方法对于提高企业创新能力具有较高的正向影响作用。     

物流产业评价指标与方法的探讨

本文首先对物流产业的概念进行界定,提出物流产业的判断基准;然后根据物流产业的内涵进行评价指标的设计,主要包括物流产业规模、效益、结构、资源、市场潜力等五个大类指标;最后运用主成分分析法建立物流产业的评价模型.     

工商管理专业特色建设研究——以普通财经类院校为例

学科综合化水平低、专业趋同缺乏专业特色、缺乏行业背景和地方经济结合不够紧密是财经类高校工商管理专业特色不够明显的主要原因.随着社会经济的向以现代服务业为主的新型经济结构转型发展,先进制造业和现代服务业逐渐成为社会经济的主要组成部分,现代企业生产经营管理也趋于全球化和国际化,以新升本科院校为主体的普通财经类院校应密切联系地方经济,以服务管理为核心,以培养应用型管理人才为导向,以特色学科建设为基础形成工商管理专业特色,通过多学科和国际化的师资队伍建设、管理能力导向的专业培养方案改革、问题导向和国际化的课程体系和教学设计以及产学研基地建设来实现工商管理专业特色建设.     

Regulated absolute ruin problem with interest structure and linear dividend barrier

The uncontrolled surplus of an insurance company is a classical risk model. Now the risk model includes three features, namely debit interest, short-term and long-term invested interest, and linear dividend barrier. In this paper, the PDMP method and martingales are used for solvency studies in the risk model under regulation of minimum cash requirement. The integro-differential equations are derived for the expected discounted dividends under absolute ruin. In the case of exponential claim amounts, explicit expressions are obtained, as well as the numerical illustrations and their economic interpretation.