Issues Of Accountability Research Articles

Consultations Preliminary to Interdisciplinary Chronic Pain Rehabilitation

Before patients with chronic pain enter an interdisciplinary chronic pain rehabilitation programme, a team of various healthcare professionals performs a biopsychosocial analysis of their pain problem. To enhance patients’ engagement, the problem analysis is thoroughly discussed with them in order to gain a shared understanding of the nature of their pain problem. This study explores how patients and practitioners talk through their rehabilitation team’s hypotheses regarding the psychosocial factors involved in these patients’ health situation. Nine consultations were recorded at various Dutch interdisciplinary chronic pain rehabilitation units. The recordings were transcribed and analysed, combining an applied conversation analytic research approach with discursive psychology. Patients and practitioners are found to orient to ensuring consensus on the problem analysis as a relevant activity and tend to avoid or minimize the articulation of differences in perspectives. This study also shows that this orientation to consensus involves a delicate management of issues of accountability and blame. Findings can be used by practitioners to consider communication practices that are more likely to encourage patients to voice potential concerns regarding their rehabilitation team’s findings.

Data-Science literacy for future security and intelligence professionals

ABSTRACT Teaching data literacy topics, such as machine learning, to security studies students is difficult because there are limited security-related teaching materials (e.g. datasets, user friendly software) for instructors. To address this challenge, we conducted an exploratory study to evaluate an asynchronous training module and software prototype with 15 college students. A key finding from this study is the importance of a simple teaching software tool and security case studies. The module boosted knowledge of key concepts and awareness of ‘big data’ accountability issues. We also found that teaching data-science concepts – even at an elementary level – requires that students have basic proficiencies working with datasets and spreadsheets, which suggests the need to integrate these skills throughout security studies curricula. This research also highlights the importance of building partnerships with data-science instructors to integrate data-science literacy in security studies and intelligence studies.

The Indian Enigma revisited

This paper re-enters the contested discussion surrounding the Indian Enigma, the high prevalence of chronic undernutrition in India relative to sub-Saharan Africa. Jayachandran & Pande (JP) argue that the key to the Indian Enigma lies in the worse treatment of higher birth order children, particularly girls. Analyzing new data, and taking into account issues relating to robustness to model specification, weighting and existing critiques of JP., we find: (1) Parameter estimates are sensitive to sampling design and model specification; (2) The gap between the heights of pre-school African and Indian children is closing; (3) The gap does not appear to be driven by differential associations by birth order and child sex; (4) The remaining gap is associated with differences in maternal heights. If Indian women had the heights of their African counterparts, pre-school Indian children would be taller than pre-school African children; and (5) Once we account for survey design, sibling size and maternal height, the coefficient associated with being an Indian girl is no longer statistically significant.

Political and Economic Aspects of Brexit Impact on Accounting Legislation in the UK – New Directions in Standards (GAAP UK and IFRS)

Abstract Post-Brexit is currently being researched as not only an important geopolitical change but also as an economically conflicted period that constantly generates many issues in finance, accounting, and taxation. This paper aims to consider, identify and forecast – whether and what – the new directions for the development of IFRS and GAAP UK after Brexit. The research methods are based on a deductive research approach with elements of descriptive content analysis. The results of the study helped to determine the development direction of accounting in the UK after Brexit in the short term – the continued application of IFRS, adopted by the EU. However, it is obtained that the task of the British government – to harmonize its sovereignty with IFRS, taking into account the requirements of the EU – is being successfully implemented. So, the direction of the development of British accounting in the future – is the creation of its mechanism for the approval of national standards, controlled by the government. However, the British accounting system and IFRSs have many unresolved issues after Brexit that might be the subject of future studies.

THE ROLE OF PHILANTHROPY IN ENHANCING EDUCATION OF B40 HOUSEHOLD: A PROPOSED FRAMEWORK

Philanthropy plays an important role in alleviating the wellbeing of society. The role of philanthropy has been significant during the covid-19 pandemic, especially in the education sector which has led to the new norm of learning such as the open and distance learning (ODL) were implemented. Thus, technology becomes important, incurring additional costs for parents to acquire computers, handphones, and internet lines. As a result, various parties such as philanthropic organisations came forward to assist. However, the issue of transparency and accountability of these organisations also becomes the main highlight of the public. In addition, the effectiveness and efficiency of the assistance were also raised. Thus, this study aims to present a philanthropy framework in implementing new learning norms for B40 households, one of the worst groups affected by the pandemic. Specific issues such as transparency, accountability and effectiveness of assistance would be focussed. This study will be useful to provide guidelines to the management of philanthropy organisations towards sustainability and effective assistance in teaching and learning for B40 households. Keywords: Philanthropy; Education of B40; B40 Household

Things We Could Design: For More Than Human-Centered Worlds by Ron Wakkary

Ron Wakkary’s Things We Could Design: For More Than Human-Centered Worlds (MIT Press, 2021) aims to rethink the direction of design practice using a posthumanist approach. This book is the result of years of professional and theoretical experience gained by the author in both academia and practice (Everyday Design Studio). Posthumanist exploration of design stands in opposition to the prevailing “art of human design of the last thirty years,” in which human values have been in the service of a “behavioral understanding of what is human” (p. 1). It represents an exploration of the possibilities for a new understanding of human-technology relations and posthumanism, while also addressing issues of accountability, sustainability, and equality.

Inventory Turnover and Firm Profitability: A Saudi Arabian Investigation

The purpose of this paper is to explore the impact of inventory turnover on the profitability level of Saudi manufacturers. The data comprises 78 manufacturers listed on the Saudi Stock Exchange and was used to test the research hypothesis. The related data over the 2017–2021 period were collected from annual reports and the Datastream database. After running a multiple regression analysis with a fixed effects model, findings showed that the higher the inventory turnover ratio, the higher the cost which could be suppressed, and the greater the profitability of a company. The outcomes of this study have significant implications for managerial accounting issues in the setting of Saudi Arabia. Further, they provide policy recommendations to decision makers and assist managers in enhancing sustainability in the manufacturing sector. This research is the first to investigate this relationship including the impact of COVID-19 among Saudi companies in several industries, thus filling a gap in comparable research.

UNCLOS 1982 Analysis Regarding Problems of State Jurisdiction and Law Enforcement on Foreign Flag Ships

International Law of the Sea are legal principles governing the rights and authorities of a country over sea areas under its national jurisdiction (national jurisdiction). International Law has reign most interactions between States in the sea. The practice of illegal transshipment is a serious issue as it falls within both theft mode and smuggling through the transfer of cargo from one ship to another that occurs at sea. Including a crime which committed in the territory of one state but involving parties from another state or more. Law enforcement is a major concern when an offence of some kind of illegal transshipment occurs. The study aims to determine the jurisdiction of states in enforcing laws including in criminal matters that occurred over its sea where the country has sovereign rights, especially when the involvement of 3rd states party in the law enforcement on a ship which not entered into its territory, yet indicately committed a violation of the law in some states water area, this paper also study how the responsibility of 3rd states party towards of flag states of ships who feel harmed. This article was written using normative research methods with a statutory. Historical and conceptual approach explaining efforts from international organizations in resolving the issues of accountability of countries involved in the problem of Illegal Transshipment at sea in the 1982 UNCLOS perspective especially the process of law enforcement and dispute resolution by the International Tribunal for the Law of The Sea (ITLOS).

Research Opportunities to Confirm or Dispel the Myths of CECL: Looking Past the Headlines to Actual Results

CECL—an accounting response to lessons learned from the 2008 to 2009 financial crisis—like most accounting standards, is not perfect. Imperfections are a direct result of tradeoffs embedded in major new standards issued by the Financial Accounting Standards Board. Tradeoffs arise from cost—benefit judgments made over many years by individual Board members—often holding diverse views about costs and what constitutes decision-useful information. This article contributes to the assessment of those judgments and perceived weaknesses in CECL so that future Boards can continue the iterative process of improving U.S. GAAP. Some stakeholders assert that there are weaknesses because they believe CECL (a) will change how banks are managed; (b) may reduce the lending products provided; (c) necessitates a need for banks to raise capital; (d) would create widespread confusion among investors; and (e) could reduce the availability of credit. Now that CECL is effective for of the entire banking industry, the author believes the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) and public policy-makers will benefit from rigorous academic research to help understand whether CECL met its main objective of providing more decision-useful information about expected credit losses. To achieve this objective, CECL strived to better align measurement of the allowance for credit losses (a valuation account) with changes in credit risk and to require consideration of a broader range of information. This article explores the relevant accounting issues and early financial reporting results to pique the interest of academic researchers.

Accounting research in Spain

Este trabajo aborda el análisis de la literatura contable en España, limitado temporalmente a la segunda mitad del siglo XX y algo más. Después de una introducción, en la cual se plantean los cambios fundamentales ocurridos en esta materia a lo largo del periodo referenciado, el trabajo presenta una primera parte en la que se ofrece una visión concisa de publicaciones sobre teoría de la contabilidad, en general. El siguiente epígrafe acomete cuestiones más especializadas, desde estados financieros consolidados y precios de opciones, hasta el tratamiento de contratos y contabilidad social, cuentas contables así como contabilidad pública. Continúa con el epígrafe dedicado a diversos aspectos de auditoría, y prosigue con temas metodológicos que abarcan desde la axiomatización de la contabilidad hasta la teoría positiva. El siguiente epígrafe cubre el amplio espectro de la contabilidad de costes y de gestión, incluyendo cuestiones conductuales y de medioambiente, así como la utilización de la inteligencia artificial. Las dos secciones siguientes tratan sobre historia de la contabilidad (tema muy aceptado entre los contables españoles) e instituciones, respectivamente, abordando las principales instituciones académicas contables y revistas de España. La gran cantidad de literatura existente nos ha obligado a limitar el espacio destinado incluso a los trabajos más significativos, y a realizar sólo un boceto o una mera clasificación de otras importantes publicaciones, como “ejemplos representativos” de determinadas líneas de investigación.

Video-mediated dialogue for promoting equity in protected area conservation

AbstractImproving equity in the context of protected areas conservation cannot be achieved in situations where people have different capabilities to participate. Participatory video has the potential to uncover hidden perspectives and worldviews and to build trustworthy, transparent and accountable relationships between marginalized communities and external agencies. We present findings from video-mediated dialogues between Indigenous peoples and decision makers involved in the management of three protected areas in Guyana. Participatory films created by Indigenous researchers in their communities were screened and discussed with protected area managers. We recorded their responses and presented them back to the communities. We show how the video-mediated process provided a rich and contextualized understanding of equity issues. It enabled recognition and respect by protected area managers for Indigenous lived experiences and the contribution of their values and knowledge. For Indigenous peoples, the participatory video process built confidence and critical reflection on their own activities and responsibilities whilst allowing them to challenge decision makers on issues of transparency, communication and accountability. We show that equity is an evolving process and that different protected areas with their differing histories and relationships with Indigenous communities produce distinct outcomes over time. Thus, promoting equity in protected areas and conservation must be a long-term process, enabling participation and producing the conditions for regular, transparent and honest communications. Standardized indicators of protected areas equity could be useful for reporting on international targets, but video-mediated dialogue can facilitate deeper understanding, greater representation and a recognition of rights.

Thermal Conditions in Indoor Environments: Exploring the Reasoning behind Standard-Based Recommendations

Professionals in the building design and operation fields typically look at standards and guidelines as a reliable source of information and guidance with regard to procedural, contractual, and legal scope and requirements that are relevant to accountability issues and compliance necessities. Specifically, indoor environmental quality (IEQ) standards support professionals to bring about comfortable thermal, air quality, acoustic, or visual conditions in buildings. In this context, it appears essential to regularly examine the IEQ standards’ applicability and scientific validity. The present contribution focuses on common thermal comfort standards in view of the reasoning and includes evidence behind their recommendations and requirements. Thereby, several international and national thermal comfort standards are examined via a structured matrix to assess basic parameters, design and performance variables targeted by the standards, suggested value ranges, and both general and specific evidence from the scientific literature. Finally, this paper discusses findings and points to the identified gaps in the chain of evidence from the results of scientific studies and the recommendations included in the thermal standards. As such, the present contribution has the potential to inform future developments regarding transparent and evidence-based thermal standards.

Disaster Accountability Framework of Bangladesh: An Analysis of Strengths and Gaps

This research aims to critically analyze the manifestation of accountability issues in disaster related major policies of Bangladesh as well as its field level implications. For that purpose, five major policies related to the Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) of Bangladesh have been meticulously selected and analyzed. Critical analysis of the policy contents with regard to a model accountability framework has been principally adopted to derive the insights. Key Informant Interview (KII) with experts in the relevant fields has been considered for empirical data collection on accountability practices. The findings reveal existence of well-articulated accountability principles implanted into the policy dictates alongside weak institutional arrangements and governance mechanism to implement them at the empirical level. However, the remarkable progress of Bangladesh in disaster risk management against the partially dysfunctional accountability framework seemingly takes place by reaping benefits from indigenous knowledge and community based adaptive practices. The policy makers need to better understand the institutional mechanisms as well as the community level practices for DRR and finally mainstream them in the policy making process. The findings will potentially serve as a standard assessment of the current status of disaster risk governance in Bangladesh. The Dhaka University Journal of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Vol. 11(1), 2022: 69-80

THE CENTRAL BANK’S POLICY JUSTIFICATION IN MITIGATING CLIMATE CHANGE

In recent years, increasing awareness of the impact of climate change has attracted the attention of central banks in a number of countries. Under their authority, some central banks have started to formulate “green policies.” These green policies include a green version of quantitative easing, buying green bonds in order to support the growth of environmentally friendly financial institutions, and imposing restrictions or prohibitions on non-environmentally friendly industry lending by banks. Bank Indonesia itself is starting to explore banking policies that are more environmentally friendly, one of which is by managing financial instruments in a sustainable manner and providing green incentives. This raises unavoidable questions about the legitimacy of Bank Indonesia’s promulgation of these environmentally friendly bankingpolicies and the issues of independence, accountability and legitimacy that accompany them. This research found that green finance policies were adopted by Bank Indonesia due to its flexibility and/or independence in deploying various policy instruments, the expansion of Bank Indonesia’s mandate to maintain financial system stability, institutional relationships, and involvement in various green financial forums. However, further discussion shows that this expansion of its mandate simultaneously affects the independence of the central bank leading to issues surrounding the accountability and even legitimacy of the central bank

The Twitter accounts of scientific journals: a dataset

Twitter harbours dense networks of academics, but to what extent do scientific journals use that platform? This article introduces a dataset of 3,485 Twitter accounts pertaining to a sample of 13,821 journals listed in Web of Science’s three major indices (SCIE, SSCI and AHCI). The summary statistics indicate that 25.2% of the journals have a dedicated Twitter presence. This number is likely to grow, as, on average, every one and a half days sees yet another journal setting up a new profile. The share of Twitter presence, however, varies strongly by publisher and discipline. The most active discipline is political science, which has almost 75% of its journals on Twitter, while other research categories have zero. The median account issues 116 messages a year and it interacts with distinct other users once in two to three Tweets. Approximately 600 journals refer to themselves as ‘peer-reviewed’, while 263 journals refer to their citation-based impact (like the impact factor) in their profile description. All in all, the data convey immense heterogeneity with respect to the Twitter behaviour of scientific journals. As there are numerous deceptive Twitter profile names established by predatory publishers, it is recommended that journals establish their official accounts lest bogus journals mislead the public about scientific findings. The dataset is available for use for further scientometric analyses.

Accounting for Intangible Assets: Thinking It Through

AbstractWith the modern corporation investing more in intangible assets, the issue of appropriate accounting for these assets is very much at the fore and formally on the agendas of accounting standards boards. Some commentators advocate that internally generated intangible assets should be booked to the balance sheet, just like tangible assets. This paper explains that this apparently straightforward solution is not so simple. There are subtleties that, when recognised, indicate that such accounting would often make both balance sheets and income statements less informative. In response, the paper outlines an accounting for intangible assets that preserves, indeed enhances, the information conveyed by both the balance sheet and the income statement and satisfies the financial reporting objective of providing information to investors about ‘the amount, timing, and uncertainty of future cash flows’.

Шляхи вдосконалення обліку грошових коштів на торговельному підприємстві

The aim of the article is to study the main issues of accounting for funds at a trade enterprise. The relevance of the study of this topic is proved by the main theses. It is impossible to imagine the functioning of the country’s economic system without the development of entrepreneurship, because business entities perform a number of important functions, namely: providing new jobs, creating goods and services, filling the State budget and increasing GDP. Money accompanies almost every stage of business activity: from the purchase of materials and raw materials to the receipt of funds for the created and sold products. Many scholars have been engaged in the study of the problems of accounting for funds at the enterprise, but now the development of our country’s economy is undergoing sharp changes, which leads to changes in tax legislation and the emergence of new problematic issues in accounting. That is why, in our opinion, the study of the organization of funds accounting plays an important role. According to NAS 1, funds (money) are cash, funds in bank accounts and demand deposits; funds equivalents are short-term highly liquid financial investments that are freely convertible into certain amounts of money and are characterized by an insignificant risk of changes in value. Funds are classified by: form of existence, currency valuation, purpose, place of storage and source of income. According to the form of existence, cash and non-cash payments are distinguished, by currency valuation – national and foreign currency; by purpose – current, special, and targeted; by the place of storage – at the cash desk of the company or on an account in a banking institution; by source of income – own, risen, and borrowed. Understanding the nature of the classification of funds, it is possible to distinguish the following difficulties in the process of organizing the accounting: lack of primary documents, arithmetic errors, facts of misuse of funds issued for accounting, difficulties when working with the registrar of settlement transactions. The authors propose certain solutions, such as: increasing the classification of personnel, introducing an electronic document management system, creating a workflow schedule, using the appropriate software when using the company’s funds register and creating an internal audit service at the enterprise in parallel with the external independent audit. All this, in our opinion, makes it possible to effectively organize the accounting process at the enterprise, rationally distribute the existing responsibilities among employees, increase the solvency and liquidity of the business.

Features of the use and registration of RST and SRST in the development system of modern information and communication technologies

The article examines how the changes in the Ukrainian legislation regarding the conduct of settlement and cash discipline affected the current situation on the market. Systematized information on the correct organization of accounting and cash discipline at enterprises. We considered the peculiarities of the use and registration of settlement transaction registrars and software settlement transaction registrars in the activities of business entities, the procedure for their operation in various business environments. We determined the main differences of various software and technical complexes that provide calculation operations. The conduct of accounting and cash discipline in Ukraine was formed under the influence of old stereotypes and did not include full control over the movements of entrepreneurs' funds. Accordingly, it became clear that the situation cannot remain as it is, therefore the legislative apparatus introduces a number of changes and restrictions regarding the transparent display of settlement transactions. All innovations, in the vast majority of cases, were made to bring business out of the shadows, fiscalization of revenues, and replenish the state treasury with unpaid taxes. Although they were implemented recently, they have already fundamentally changed the procedure for conducting settlement operations. Therefore, regarding certain accounting issues, there are a large number of clarifications by tax authorities, articles by analysts and practitioners who place them in popular magazines, etc. That is, if a business entity has any misunderstandings regarding the correctness of accounting for certain transactions, he can always get advice from the tax authorities, which can be used later in court. Along with the existing changes regarding the mandatory use of settlement transaction registrars or software settlement transaction registrars (hereinafter RST and SRST, respectively), the economic situation in the country has become very unstable, since on February 24, 2022, a full-scale armed attack was carried out on Ukraine by the Russian federation, as a result of which, on the same day, martial law was introduced by Decree of the President of Ukraine No. 64/2022. The rules of doing business have changed radically, many Ukrainians were forced to leave their native homes, many people went abroad, some moved to safer regions. The result of this was the mass termination of the activities of many enterprises, and in those that remained, the volume of turnover decreased, standard work patterns were subjected to significant transformations. Despite this, entrepreneurs must continue to use RST and SRST during settlement transactions. There were no cancellations or postponements for the duration of martial law. Therefore, the study of the peculiarities of the use and registration of RST and SRST in the activities of subjects who are still working or those who want to start their business in this difficult time, in fundamentally new conditions of the external environment, determines the relevance of scientific research.

Part II: Parent Company Liability and the Idea of Statutory Due Diligence

Recent case law in the UK courts has established the possibility for the parent companies of multi-national corporations to hold liability in tort negligence for harms caused by their foreign based subsidiaries. The UK’s approach – a general duty of care for cross-border torts – is noteworthy in that it has developed organically through the common law. One possible tension this duty raises, may be with established principles of company law, affirmed at common law. By comparison, European neighbours such as France, Switzerland and Germany, have addressed the same issue of corporate accountability by developing statutory regulatory regimes which utilize due diligence obligations reflective of the recent trend toward international accountability standards, such as the UN Guiding Principles for Business and Human Rights (UNGPs) of the late John Ruggie. This work serves as an in-depth investigation for scholars of tort law, company law, private international law, and human rights, who are interested in understanding this rapidly developing area of practice from an English perspective. This work is offered in two parts. This second part offers an overview of UK statutory and case law as it may relate to parent company liability. A critical analysis of recent case law, seeks to understand the characteristics of parent company liability, as developed by the Courts in securing fair remedy for corporate misfeasance. With reference to comparative regimes observed in the aforementioned neighbouring European countries, this work further considers what limitations the current law has, and what benefits could be realized through the introduction of reporting requirements. Parent Company, Corporate Groups, English Company Law, Human Rights Due Diligence, UNGPs, Okpabi, Vedanta, Mass Torts, Supply Chain Liability, Limited Liability

METHODICAL APPROACHES TO KEEPING RECORDS OF PAYROLL CALCULATIONS ACCORDING TO INTERNATIONAL STANDARDS OF FINANCIAL REPORTING

Purpose. The aim of the article is to offer practical recommendations on the use of international financial reporting standards in the accounting for wages in Ukraine based on the generalization of the experience of countries around the world that use these standards of financial reporting in the accounting process. Methodology of research. The theoretical and methodological basis of the research is scientific concepts, theoretical developments of leading scientists on the issues of payroll accounting, its analysis, control and budgeting. General scientific and special research methods were used to achieve the set goal: observation, analysis and synthesis, a comprehensive approach – in the generalization and improvement of the main theoretical provisions and methodical principles of accounting for labour payments; system approach – when studying the features of the payroll management system and determining the place of integrated accounting in it. Findings. An analysis of the use of international standards of financial reporting in the implementation of salary accounting was carried out. It was proven that the IFRS system, unlike the PSBO system, does not operate with the concept of “payments related to wages”. International standards use another category – “employee benefits”. Differences between these indicators are observed when analysing the elemental classification of expenditures. Originality. The root causes of the differences between domestic accounting standards and IFRS when accounting for the wages of employees of economic entities are substantiated. It was established that the problem of standardization for the Ukrainian economy is that all international financial reporting standards are developed for the conditions of a developed market economy, so most of them are not acceptable for our country in their entirety. Practical value. Entities of entrepreneurial activity that, in accordance with current domestic legislation, keep records based on IFRS, have the opportunity to implement the process of adaptation of keeping records of wage calculations, taking into account the peculiarities of economic relations and legal acts that regulate the calculation and payment of wages to hired workers. Key words: international standards of financial reporting, national accounting standards, salary, monetary reward, enterprise