Code Of Good Practice Research Articles

Code of Good Practices on Fiscal Transparency, revised April 2007

The IMF has revised its Code of Good Practices on Fiscal Transparency, following a public consultation process. Nine new practices have been added to the Code and many existing practices have been broadened in scope. The four pillars of the original Code remain unchanged: clarity of roles and responsibilities, open budget processes, public availability of information and assurances of integrity. The revised Code will be used in IMF surveillance and in voluntary assessments of fiscal transparency in member countries under the standards and codes initiative. Two associated documents - the Manual on Fiscal Transparency (2007) and the Guide on Resource Revenue Transparency (2007) - provide supporting in-depth coverage of good practices.

Manual on Fiscal Transparency, revised April 2007

The Manual, which is a companion document to the IMF’s Code of Good Practices on Fiscal Transparency (2007), has been revised to reflect the new Code and to provide more recent examples of good practice by individual countries. The Manual expands and explains the pillars and principles of the Code and provides richer and more in-depth coverage of each good practice. Country examples are taken from Reports on Standards and Codes (ROSCs). The Manual also includes new linkages to the Guide on Resource Revenue Transparency (2007), including reporting on contracts, quasi-fiscal activities and use of public assets.

Revised Guide on Resource Revenue Transparency

The Guide, which is a companion document to the IMF’s Code of Good Practices on Fiscal Transparency (2007), has been revised to reflect the new Code and to provide more recent examples of good practice by individual countries The Guide applies the good practices of the Code to the unique set of transparency issues faced by countries that derive a significant share of revenues from natural resources. It addresses issues arising both from the sheer size and volatility of such resources and the technical complexity of the transaction flows. The Guide supplements the Manual on Fiscal Transparency (2007).

Corporate governance efficiency: an indexing approach using the stochastic frontier analysis

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to identify efficient governance using a governance efficiency score based on recommendations provided by codes of best practices in order to determine “good governance”.Design/methodology/approachBased on a sample of 320 US listed firms from 1994‐2001, governance practices were synthesized by an index computed according to a parametric method, the stochastic frontier analysis, which allows taking into account the relation between inputs (governance axes) and outputs (performance).FindingsThe use of a latent classis in the specification of the model allowed detecting two groups of firms according to their specific characteristics. The results of affectation equation show that the probability of being in the highest performing group is more important when the firm size, the dividend yield and the return on equity (ROE) are high, while a high leverage level decreases the chance to be in the non‐performing group. Moreover, the model allows establishing a dualist description of the two groups which point out two opposite governance systems. The non‐performing system is characterized by a managerial discretion, an ownership concentration, a dominance of the board by the CEO and a manager entrenchment. However, the highest performing system is characterized by an inside control efficiency and an inside financial control efficiency.Research limitations/implicationsThe sample choice presents a selectivity bias. Firms of the sample present some particularities in relation to other US firms, which limits the study generalisation. This study can also be the object of replications in other contexts.Originality/valueThis work is a demarcation in relation to previous works studying corporate governance quality, and particularly the relation between governance and performance. It provides a new econometric approach to develop a synthetic index to evaluate corporate governance firms' practices, wedged on performance level achieved by different firms.

Nutrition index and soil nitrate residues in grazed pastures fertilised with mineral fertiliser, pig slurry or cattle compost

A code of good practice was established by each European member state according to the nitrate directive. In Belgium, the nitrogen (N) inputs in pastures from slurry or compost are limited to 210 kg N/ha. Larger quantities can be applied when additional measurements, including soil nitrates analyses are carried on by the farmer. This trial aims to measure nitrogen balance, nitrogen nutrition index (NNI) and soil nitrates contents in pastures fertilised with mineral nitrogen fertiliser, pig slurry or cattle compost, the pastures being grazed by dairy cows and the fertilisation being brought at similar efficient N levels. NNI was calculated as the ratio of the actual N concentration to the sward N concentration it would have to be at a similar biomass in order to sustain a non limiting growth and a biomass accumulation (Lemaire and Gastal, 1997). Cattle compost was produced from cattle manure unloaded through the beaters of a spreader.

Corporate Governance in Nigeria: the status quo

It is generally believed that poor corporate governance has been the Achilles’ heel of many corporations in both rich and poor nations. This is particularly true of Nigeria, where corruption is endemic. However, following the change of government in 1999, the Federal Government is keen to attract foreign investments into the country. Given the high correlation between corporate governance and investor decisions, the government is keen to position the country to take advantage of the opportunities in the global market by adhering to principles of good governance. Yet not much is known about the state of, or the current framework for, corporate governance in Nigeria. By providing a comprehensive review of the state of corporate governance in Africa’s most populous country, this paper makes a contribution to the literature on the state of corporate governance in developing countries. The paper examines the mechanism for corporate governance, including the requirements of the recently established Code of Best Practices for Public Companies in Nigeria. In particular, it examines the roles of the government, the Corporate Affairs Commission, the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Nigerian Stock Exchange, the representatives of the shareholders of the companies, directors, auditors and the Audit Committee in the governance process. The paper addresses the issue of whether the governance mechanisms in Nigeria are adequate in the face of the changes and challenges in the global corporate scene. It argues that whilst there is a case for adherence to global corporate governance standards, any Code of Best Practices adopted in Nigeria must reflect its peculiar socio‐political and economic environment, whilst at the same time providing the right assurance to prospective and existing shareholders.

Evaluation of Board Work in Fifteen Companies Belonging to the City of Stockholm

The article outlines characteristics of governance of companies owned by municipalities in Sweden and reports on the results of board evaluation of fifteen companies belonging to the city of Stockholm using gap analysis as a method. The contribution of the boards to a corporate governance model proposed in this article and to compliance with a Swedish code of best practice were analysed. Respondents were asked to answer questions about the importance of an issue and to what extent it had been carried out. Separate assessments of the role of the chairs and that of board members were made. Each of them evaluated the contribution of the other. An appraisal of the chair by the CEO was also included. The results show that board members had a good understanding of their duties, but there was a considerable gap with respect to their performance. Functions that are vital to corporate governance – strategy and control – gave low values. Only some board members took an active part in decisions. The boards’ task to follow up on terms of references also gave a low rating. The practice of committee work was not established, except for an executive committee. There was a lack of follow up on internal control. The performance of the chairs was evaluated to find clues to low ratings. Self assessment of the chair gave the largest gaps between importance and actual performance on answers regarding board leadership. Board members and CEOs gave the chairs constantly lower values than the chairs gave themselves. The results however indicate differences between boards with regard to their performance. The results can serve as a basis for discussions between chairs and board members about board performance. Implications for boards and for owners of companies are highlighted.

On Simulation-based Wargaming: Comparison of Two Different Methodological Approaches

Wargaming has been neglected within the German Forces for almost fifty years. Only within the last two years, two so-called ―Leitfaden‖ (codes of best practice) have been developed. The first one, elaborated by members of the General Staff Academy, is intended for operational wargaming and fully rests on the traditional analytical comparison of different Courses of Action (CoA). Own and enemy CoAs are played against each other on the foundation of a game between two staff groups. Within this paradigm, simulations are used as evaluation tools. The reasoning is based on the premise that simulation systems are valid representations of reality. A successful simulation run is considered a corroboration of a particular course of action. The second ―Leitfaden,‖ developed at the University of the Federal Armed Forces, is intended for so-called ―tactical wargaming.‖ The two central concepts of this approach are intuition-based decision-making and assumptionbased planning. The core rationale of this method is that all military planning and decision making is liable to what is called the ―fog of war.‖ The irresolvable unpredictability of future developments in all military operations is considered an insurmountable obstacle to all analytical approaches. This approach rests on the claim that pattern recognition and mental simulation of these patterns are the most valuable cognitive functions of expert decision makers. Within this paradigm, simulations are used to support creativity, enhance imagination and trigger self-critical thinking. Simulation systems of complex systems are not necessarily regarded to be valid. This article discusses the pros and cons of the two approaches (―Leitfaden‖) from both theoretical and practical perspective.

Voluntary audit committee formation and agency costs

This paper finds that only a small proportion of listed companies in Hong Kong voluntarily establish audit committees prior to the implementation of the revised Code of Best Practice, which effectively mandated them. We show that firms with dispersed ownership, a greater proportion of outside directors, and that have a non-Big Five auditor, are associated with the voluntary adoption of audit committees. The latter result differs from other studies and it suggests that audit committees are a substitute mechanism for the employment of high quality auditors (using the Big Five as a proxy for high quality).

Tikanga and Ethics: A Dialogical Encounter of Two Cultures.

This discourse resulted from two counselling practitioners, one Māori and one Pākehā, working together to establish a union of two cultural codes. Their conversations are transcribed, analysed and presented, along with the processes they used to attempt a dialogical synthesis of two cultural traditions and positions. The resulting article explores the coming together of two cultural codes of best practice, and argues that what is created is a third code -- a bicultural code, which is not so much written as one that is typified by doing. One code may be referred to as 'tikanga', the other 'ethics'. The former originates from the indigenous peoples of Aotearoa New Zealand, the latter has its roots in the European traditions, and both have been updated and made modern by a series of revisions and refinements. A glossary of Māori terms is provided in Appendix 1. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of New Zealand Journal of Counselling is the property of New Zealand Association of Counsellors and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Governance and takeovers: are public-to-private transactions different from traditional acquisitions of listed corporations?

Using a unique hand-collected dataset comprising 96 public-to-private (PTP) transactions and 258 acquisitions of listed corporations by existing corporate groups completed during the period 1998 to 2000, this paper investigates the extent to which PTPs have different internal and external governance and other characteristics from traditional acquisitions of listed corporations by existing corporate groups. The paper analyses acquisition activity during a period in which three new features were present: the decline in hostile takeovers, the increase in the adoption of governance Codes of Best Practice and the growth in PTP activity. PTPs are usually a response to takeover threat (Lehn and Poulsen, 1989) and so the paper analyses the acquisition decision from two perspectives: first, takeovers as a disciplinary mechanism which substitute for weak internal governance and second, as part of a non-disciplinary perspective where takeovers are complementary to internal governance mechanisms. We find support for the argument that improved internal governance and non-disciplinary takeovers, that is takeovers where the motive is not as a response to under-performing management, are complementary. PTPs are more likely to have higher board ownership and are likely to have duality of CEO and chairman. They are also more likely to have lower growth prospects and lower valuations. However, they do not have sub-optimal internal corporate governance structures in terms of lower proportions of outside directors. With respect to external governance, they are not more likely to experience pressure from the market for corporate control in the form of greater takeover speculation and are also not more likely to suffer hostile threats. We find that PTPs involving management buy-outs (MBIs) have fewer non-executive directors and a greater incidence of duality. MBO also have higher board shareholdings. We find no evidence that management buy-ins (MBIs) have different characteristics. Our results suggest that going private by MBO may result from management's knowledge of private information that leads them to believe that the market has an incorrect perspective of the company's prospects.

Corporate Governance and Information Efficiency in Security Markets

AbstractThis paper investigates a neglected topic in corporate governance research; namely, do governance characteristics affect the market reaction to news? The topic is important given the emphasis by governance regulations and codes of best practice on the need for greater transparency of corporate activities. For the first time in the corporate governance literature, we show that corporate governance characteristics (particularly the presence of founding family directors and gender diverse boards) affect the market reaction to company specific news. The results of the paper point to the analysis of the impact of governance characteristics on the market reaction to news being a new and complementary research agenda within corporate governance.

Draft Revised Code of Good Practices on Fiscal Transparency

The IMF is in the process of revising its 2001 Code of Good Practices on Fiscal Transparency. The four core principles of the original Code remain unchanged in the revision: institutional clarity, open budget processes, public information and integrity. However, the document has been updated and broadened to reflect recent developments and practices. The IMF is requesting public comment on the proposed revised Code. The deadline for comments is November 17, 2006.

Corporate governance in Asia

This study examines the state of corporate governance in some countries in the Asia-Pacific region. Since the early 1990s, corporate governance has been receiving increasing attention from regulatory bodies and practitioners worldwide. A key aspect of improving corporate governance in the region is that improved investor protection and more transparent information will enhance the development of local capital markets and promote foreign investment to provide funds for long-term economic development. The authors suggest that individual countries should first focus on improving national standards of regulation and corporate practice rather than attempt to reach a common set of matrices from the start. When appropriate governance standards are in place in individual countries, codes of best practice could then be integrated into a consistent framework for all countries to develop more regionally integrated capital markets. Corporate governance refers to the system through which the behaviour of a company is monitored and controlled. The significance of corporate governance is that in modern economies large corporations are typically associated with a division of labour between the parties who provide the capital (i.e., shareholders) and the parties who manage the resources (i.e., management). Conflict of interest among the two groups might lead to insufficient monitoring of the executive, suboptimal levels of investment in the firm, or some shareholders being expropriated. In these scenarios shareholders might be hurt if there are not sufficient means to ensure that the company is properly monitored. Interest in corporate governance by policy makers in developed countries had grown significantly by the early 1990s. Three issues were addressed and studied following a general concern with the overall efficiency of the corporate world. First,

Special Session 6 Astronomical data management

AbstractWe present a summary of the major contributions to the Special Session on Astronomical Data Management held at the IAU XXVI General Assembly in Prague in 2006. While recent years have seen enormous improvements in access to astronomical data, and the Virtual Observatory aims to provide astronomers with seamless access to on-line resources, more attention needs to be paid to ensuring the quality and completeness of those resources. For example, data produced by telescopes are not always made available to the astronomical community, and new instruments are sometimes designed and built with insufficient planning for data management, while older but valuable legacy data often remain undigitised. Data and results published in journals do not always appear in the data centres, and astronomers in developing countries sometimes have inadequate access to on-line resources. To address these issues, an ‘Astronomers' Data Manifesto’ has been formulated with the aim of initiating a discussion that will lead to the development of a ‘code of best practice’ in astronomical data management.

Pautas para los procedimientos de inspección en animales y carnes en un matadero

Over the last few decades there have been significant developments in livestock and meat inspection systems in slaughterhouses. The most highly developed countries have taken the lead in bringing about these changes by enacting new legislation. These new national laws have been reflected by the Codex Alimentarius in its Codes of Good Practice and this has served to harmonise world trade in foodstuffs. The author identifies the different aspects to be considered when carrying out a veterinary inspection of animals and animal products in the slaughterhouse, bearing in mind the need to protect public and animal health. Although this article only covers cattle, many of the concepts set forth can be applied to other livestock species. Information obtained from the slaughterhouse is useful to primary production; conversely, information compiled in the primary production process makes for more efficient use of slaughterhouse resources. This information makes it possible to carry out risk-based inspections, which will gradually replace traditional procedures. Conventional inspections are often very rigid and mechanical and incapable of measuring the seriousness of hazards or of determining the probability that they will occur. Emerging biological, physical and chemical hazards, as well as new technologies, mean that we cannot become complacent about inspection procedures but must continue to be alert and to keep pace with the constant changes in food safety sciences. Another new trend is the active participation of operators, who must shoulder primary responsibility in upholding the safety of the food they produce. Official veterinary inspection in the slaughterhouse plays several roles: the detection of animal diseases, the inspection of meat and meat products and the verification of audits carried out by the private sector. In recent years, the bovine spongiform encephalopathy crisis and cases of dioxin poisoning have highlighted the need for traceability of foodstuffs, i.e. giving consumers the opportunity to obtain information about the origin of their food and the different stages of its production (commonly referred to as the 'farm-to-fork' chain). Finally, the slaughterhouse veterinarian, as a professional devoted to providing care to animals, is also responsible for ensuring animal welfare; this is an inherent part of his professional ethics.

Agricultural externalities and environmental regulation: evaluating good practice in citrus production

Economic activity takes place in a scenario characterized by an increasing number of environmental regulations aimed at bringing under control the emission of contaminating wastes. In this paper, we evaluate the impact of transforming a code of good practice in nitrogen fertilization on Spanish citrus fruit farms into an environmental regulation of compulsory fulfilment. Using data envelopment techniques, we calculate unrestricted and environmentally regulated short-run maximum profits. Both profit values are then used to compute an index of the cost of regulation. Our results suggest that the cost of shifting from a merely recommended practice to a binding rule is low. On average, the loss of profit computed is only about 4%. Furthermore, we find that farms’ overall efficiency is low and that the current gap between observed and regulated fertilization practices could be overcome by improving overall management efficiency.

BIALL Code of Good Practice for Law Publishers

The BIALL Code of Good Practice for Law Publishers was launched at the 2005 BIALL Conference. Support for the Code of Good Practice is growing and demonstrates a commitment by legal publishers to respond to the rapidly changing publishing environment. James Mullan Chair of the BIALL Legal Information Group (LIG) provides a history of the Code to date.

Decisions:Carltonaand the CUC Code

The Committee of University Chairman publishes a code of good practice designed, among other things, to ensure clarity about the authority on which decisions are taken on behalf of universities, subordinate domestic legislation created and the exercise of discretion regulated. In Carltona Ltd.v. Commissioners of Works [1943] 2 All ER 560 AC the question was whether civil servants were acting ultra vires if they acted on behalf of a competent authority without reference to that authority. Oxford and Cambridge, which preserve an ancient system of governance by direct academic democracy, remain testbeds of this principle, for their administrators are in effect their ‘civil servants’, not their managers. This article examines the questions which are arising as both universities begin to create Senior Management Teams, and the implications for the higher education sector more widely.

The iconic building is here to stay

The iconic building is here to stay? Charles Jencks contrasts the view that asserts the buildings’ staying power with that of, for example Deyan Sudjic, who argues that it is a short‐lived phenomenon and about to disappear. It will stay, Jencks argues, because iconic buildings reflect the dominance of powerful forces and the decline of others. He sees the struggle for a religious dimension as essentially lost (contra Christopher Baker, ‘Religious faith in the exurban community’ in City 9:1, pp 109–123). At best, these buildings bring together conflicting metaphors and embody cosmic meanings. They can then tend towards meaning, but they can also tend towards meaninglessness. Jencks weighs up the pros and cons of these ‘enigmatic signifiers’ and explores the possible elements of a code of good practice which could ‘neutralise those embarrassing mistakes that come with any high‐risk venture.’