Line Item Research Articles

Proprietary Costs and the Reporting of Segment-Level Tax Expense

ABSTRACTWe examine whether proprietary costs of disclosure affect the reporting of segment-level tax expense. Current accounting rules for segment-level reporting afford managers significant discretion in what line items to report. We predict and find firms with higher proprietary costs of disclosure (i.e., higher tax avoidance) are less likely to disclose segment-level tax information. These results are stronger for firms that define business segments on a geographic basis, where disclosure could reveal tax expense information about specific tax jurisdictions, consistent with the proprietary cost hypothesis. Overall, our results suggest some managers potentially use discretion in current guidance to avoid segment-level disclosure of taxes when these disclosures have the potential to be detrimental to the firm.JEL Classifications: H20; H25; M41.

The Moderating Role of Hotel Type on Advertising Expenditure Returns in Franchised Chains

This study contributes to a deeper understanding of financial returns from the advertising of hospitality services. Specifically, we investigate how different types of franchised hotel outlets, each targeting a different customer segment, moderate the effects of various advertising expenditures on unit-level profitability. Our unique data set allows us to examine the impact of unit-level advertising expenditure allocations using line items from the profit and loss statements of more than 9,000 franchised U.S. hotel properties from 2007 to 2018. We consider the effects of investing in varied advertising activities, including the franchise advertising assessment, loyalty programs, local sales force, and local media advertising. As hypothesized, we find differential effects of advertising for outlets targeting different customer segments. Relative to traditional full-service hotels, those focused on destination-driven customer segments (i.e., destination hotels) and price-sensitive customer segments (i.e., limited-service hotels) benefit less from investing in the franchise advertising assessment, loyalty programs, and local media advertising. We also find that local sales force expenditures positively moderate performance for destination hotels. We highlight the moderating effects of hotel type as a key situational factor and provide more nuanced insight into managing the tension arising from advertising allocation at franchised hotel chains.

Health Investment Priorities in India: A New Methodology-based Analysis of State Budgets

Classification and measurement issues—especially definitions and estimates of primary, secondary and tertiary care—are the major impediments to an informed discussion around type and quality of health spending in India. One area of concern worldwide has been the level of investment in primary care. This article reviews different definitions of primary, secondary and tertiary care, and applies a new methodology on sub-national budget data for classifying and estimating these aggregates. Government spending on health by five states of India is grouped into primary, secondary, tertiary, medical education, social security for health and administration applying the new methodology. The Detailed Demand for Grants of each state for 2014–2015, 2015–2016 and 2016–2017 was used for classifying budget items. Each line item is assigned to one of the six types of spending, with additional algorithms and assumptions, wherever a straightforward classification was not possible. The results indicate a lack of uniformity in spending across these six aggregates. However, states are spending a significant part of their health resources on primary care. The results and the methodology can pave the way for a much needed discussion around standardisation of definitions and formats for data collection on budget aggregates to track types of health spending.

Looking Beyond the Horizon: A Vision for Association for Vascular Access's Future

Looking Beyond the Horizon: A Vision for Association for Vascular Access's Future

Line Item Budgeting on Labor Costs to the Level of Income

Library research is a data collection technique through the library in the form of literature books, and lecture materials that are relevant to the problem under study. In this study, the authors used the following data collection methods Research library (library research) It is a data collection technique through the library in the form of literature books, and lecture materials that are relevant to the problem under study. Field research (field research) is direct retrieval of the object under study by taking the following steps Observation, namely data collection through direct observation of the object under study, Interviews, namely conducting interviews with leaders and parties interested in the object of research.

Gluten-free Products in the UK Retail Environment. Availability, Pricing, Consumer Opinions in a Longitudinal Study

Gluten free products are essential for people who suffer from coeliac disease or have a more generic gluten intolerance. In both instances people are forced to resort to consuming gluten free (GF) foods. We carried out two online surveys to gauge the sentiments from people purchasing GF produce, and we carried out two retail observation studies. These studies were carried out in 2015 and repeated again 2019. Bread was the most commonly purchased GF product, but also the most complained about GF product, both from a quality and a price point of view. These sentiments did not change much from 2015 to 2019. One clear set of trends was that people purchased less specialty flour and raising agent when comparing 2019 to 2015, and they did less home-baking over the same period. Furthermore, the decrease in home-baking coincided with a relative increase in satisfaction in the quality of GF products. With regards to observations made across 11 supermarkets, we observed an overall increase in the number of GF line items, with the budget supermarkets offering a very small selection of produce labelled as GF in 2019 only. Our research shows that the relative cost of GF items increased from 2015 to 2019, with the average price ratio of GF food to non-GF foods rising from 3.2 to 4.1 across all UK supermarkets. Ultimately, GF produce cost significantly more compared to similar, gluten-containing foods, while many of the GF products, especially GF breads, still underperform when it comes to the perceived quality and value for money.

The Cost of Care and Medicare Reimbursement for Patients With Carotid Artery Occlusive Disease Varies Based on the Type of Carotid Intervention Chosen

The costs incurred by health care systems and patients for different carotid revascularization interventions have yet to be compared. This study compared the costs and revenue of transfemoral carotid artery stenting (TF-CAS), transcarotid artery revascularization (TCAR), and carotid endarterectomy (CEA) among Medicare beneficiaries. Hospital billings systems and institutional Vascular Quality Initiative data were used to measure cost, revenue, and outcomes from a single-center review of 259 patients who underwent TF-CAS, TCAR, and CEA from 2017 to 2018. Direct technical cost was measured on a line item basis and included hospital devices, operating room supplies, and so on. Indirect technical costs were statistically allocated and included nursing, space, support services, laundry, and so on. Professional cost included services provided by surgeons, anesthesiologists, and consultants. Professional revenue was generated by CPT codes, and technical (hospital) revenue through diagnosis related group codes. To better quantify the specific impact of Medicare reimbursement, patients with private insurance or Medicaid were indexed to Medicare rates. As shown in Table I, TF-CAS patients were more frequently asymptomatic and had a lower American Society of Anesthesiologists class compared with TCAR and CEA (P < .001). Mean professional, technical, and total costs for TF-CAS were lower than TCAR and CEA (mean total cost TF-CAS, $13,539 ± $5590; total cost TCAR, $23,278 ± $7303; total cost CEA, $16,422 ± $7414; P = .001; Table II). Technical reimbursement (diagnosis related group) for TF-CAS and TCAR were significantly higher than for CEA (TF-CAS reimbursement, $18,532 ± $6001; TCAR reimbursement, $19,515 ± $3017; CEA reimbursement, $14,812 ± 6115; P = .001). Combined hospital and professional margin for TF-CAS was substantially higher than for TCAR or CEA, and resulted in a net negative (financial loss) margin (total margin TF-CAS, $7085 ± 5420; total margin TCAR, $–262 ± 7677; total margin CEA, $420 ± 8358; P = .003). For all three procedures professional reimbursement did not cover professional costs. Medicare reimbursement for TCAR and CEA does not cover the total cost of care and in many cases results in a net financial loss. The substantially better positive margin for TF-CAS compared to TCAR and CEA could influence health care systems toward a procedure that has inferior outcomes particularly in patients with symptomatic carotid occlusive disease.Table IDemographicsTypeCEA (n = 217)TF-CAS (n = 19)TCAR (n = 33)P valueVariable Age (SD)71.5 (9.2)71.1 (6.0)71.0 (9.6).954 White1001001001 Male57.173.760.6.363Symptoms Asymptomatic35.742.127.3<.001 HTN82.489.584.4.718 Active smoking2515.812.5.218 Diabetes27.847.431.3.195 CAD19.463.243.8<.001 COPD1942.128.1.041 ASA class2635.30<.001378.247.181.8<.001415.717.718.2<.001ASA, American Society of Anesthesiologists; CAD, coronary artery disease; CEA, carotid endarterectomy; COPD, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; HTN, hypertension; SD, standard deviation; TCAR, transcarotid artery revascularization; TF-CAS, transfemoral carotid artery stenting.Values are percent unless otherwise indicated. Open table in a new tab Table IICost and reimbursementCEA (n = 217)TF CAS (n = 19)TCAR (n = 33)P valueProfessional cost4214 (2224)2896 (2032)6362 (3169).001Technical cost12208 (5885)10644 (4331)16916 (6235).009Total cost16422 (7414)13539 (5590)23278 (7303).001Professional reimbursement2288 (1261)1057 (445)2085 (642)–Technical reimbursement14812 (6115)18532 (6001)19515 (3017).04Total reimbursement17100 (6597)19589 (6064)21600 (3079).0001Total margin420 (8358)7085 (5420)-262 (7677).003CEA, Carotid endarterectomy; TCAR, transcarotid artery revascularization; TF-CAS, transfemoral carotid artery stenting.Values are mean (standard deviation). Open table in a new tab

Detecting unbalanced bidding to achieve economic sustainability using fuzzy logic approach

Purpose To achieve sustainability for a construction project requires the achievement of economic, environmental and social sustainability at the same time. The economic sustainability of a project should be built into the stipulated cost. The unbalanced bidding always contribute cost overrun for a construction project. The purpose of this paper is to develop a method for identifying unbalanced bidding. Design/methodology/approach The problem of identifying unbalanced bidding is a comprehensive evaluation problem. All line items and bidders in bills of quantities are evaluation factors and evaluation objects, respectively, and the engineer’s estimated prices are considered as the evaluation benchmarks. The weights of these factors are determined through integrating the entropy weight method and the analytic hierarchy model, which consider subjective and objective factors in the weighting process. Findings The proposed model can be used to quantitatively evaluate unbalanced bids. The identification process can be analyzed within a short period, specifically with the aid of Microsoft Excel, reducing delays in awarding contracts. The results show that the model will support owners as they efficiently and effectively identify unbalanced bids in the bid evaluation stage to mitigate the negative consequences of unbalanced bidding. Practical implications A case study is given to verify the feasibility and practicability of the proposed method, which not only assists owners in efficiently and effectively identifying unbalanced bidding, but also promotes the economic sustainability of construction projects. Originality/value The fuzzy comprehensive evaluation method is used to detect unbalanced bidding, allowing owners to be objective as they identify and reduce unbalanced bidding at the procurement stage.

Analysing the commercial development of Australian rugby utilising financial reporting

The purpose of this paper is to explore the financial growth and development of the governing body of Rugby Union in Australia, now known as Rugby Australia. In doing so, the research observes Rugby Australia’s transformation from a small amateur organisation into a multi-million dollar enterprise. The study examines 39 years of annual financial reporting from which four key operational phases were identified. Through this analysis the exponential growth of the organisation is quantified. Correspondingly, the composition of the organisation’s specific revenue items was shown to have shifted significantly over the four phases. Furthermore, the changing accounting treatment of revenue line items within the financial reporting provides qualitative insight into the organisation’s historical philosophy toward individual revenue streams. The study contributes to an emerging field of sport research which utilises financial documents as a primary method to explore organisational performance and development. This offers new empirical insights into the transformation of sport into a sophisticated commercial industry. In doing so, it addresses academic calls for greater adoption of quantitative financial methods to explore both sport history and sport management.

Do Staff Rewards Influence Corporate Performance? An Analysis of Parastatals in Kenya

State or public sector corporations are body corporates formed world over to support delivery of specific state mandates mainly commercial or socio-economic service delivery. In Kenya, such corporations are variously referred to as Parastatals or Semi-Autonomous Government Agencies (SAGAs). However, most Parastatals in Kenya have suffered diminished performance thus failing to realize competitiveness in service delivery and business standards. This study sought to identify the influence of staff rewards on the overall performance of Parastatals in Kenya. The study design used was cross-sectional. Data was collected from 102 Parastatals and analyzed using SPSS. The study concluded that provision of staff rewards positively influences attainment of performance targets for Parastatals. This finding supports the study recommendation that Parastatals should mainstream staff rewards as a strategy to promote performance. It is further recommended that financial rewards be accorded higher priority compared with non-financial rewards, and as such Parastatals need to develop appropriate policies and budgetary line items to facilitate provision of staff rewards.

Budget line items for immunization in 33 African countries.

When seeking to ensure financial sustainability of a health programme, existence of a line item in the Ministry of Health (MOH) budget is often seen as an essential, first step. We used immunization as a reference point for cross-country comparison of budgeting methods in Sub-Saharan African countries. Study objectives were to (1) verify the number and types of budget line items for immunization services, (2) compare budget execution with budgeted amounts and (3) compare values with annual immunization expenditures reported to WHO and UNICEF. MOH budgets for 2016 and/or 2017 were obtained from 33 countries. Despite repeated attempts, budgets could not be retrieved from five countries (Chad, Eritrea, Guinea Bissau, Somalia and South Sudan), and we were only able to gather budget execution from eight countries. The number of immunization line items ranged between 0 and 42, with a median of eight. Immunization donor funding was included in 10 budgets. Differences between budgeted amounts and expenditures reported to WHO and UNICEF were greater than 50% in 66% of countries. Immunization budgets per child in the birth cohort ranged from US$1.37 (Democratic Republic of Congo) to US$67.51 (Central African Republic), with an average of US$10.05. Out of the total Government health budget, immunization comprised between 0.04% (Madagascar) and 5.67% (Benin), with an average of 1.98% across the countries, when excluding on-budget donor funds. It was challenging to obtain MOH budgets in many countries and it was largely impossible to access budget execution reports, preventing us from assessing budget credibility. Large differences between budgets and expenditures reported to WHO and UNICEF are likely due to inconsistent interpretations of reporting requirements, diverse approaches to reporting donor funds, challenges in extracting the relevant information from public financial management systems and broader issues of public financial management capacity in MOH staff.

Abstracts of the 29th Annual Pediatric Pharmacy Association (PPA) Meeting April 29 to May 3, 2020

Abstracts of the 29th Annual Pediatric Pharmacy Association (PPA) Meeting April 29 to May 3, 2020

Predictive Model of Solar Irradiance Using Artificial Intelligence

Solar power in India is growing at a tremendous pace. India's solar power capacity is 20 GW and has grown 8-fold since 2014. Assessing the solar potential in India is thus the need of the hour. The objective of this study is to make an optimized prediction model of the monthly potential of solar irradiance of the Indian Subcontinent, by utilizing hour-wise unstructured voluminous (80 million line item) satellite-based data from 609 locations for 15 years. The variables chosen are temperature, pressure, relative humidity, month, year, latitude, longitude, altitude, DHI, DNI, and GHI. Combining predictive models using combinations of SVM, ANN, and RF for factors affecting solar irradiance. This model's performance has been evaluated by its accuracy. Accuracy for DHI, DNI, GHI values on testing data evaluated through the SVM model is 95.11%, 93.25%, and 96.88%, respectively, whereas accuracy evaluated through the ANN model is 94.18%, 91.60%, and 95.90%, respectively. The achieved high prediction accuracy makes the SVM, ANN, and RF model very robust. This model with a sustainable financial model can thus be used to identify major locations to set up solar farms in the present and future and the feasibility of its establishment, wherever local meteorological data measuring facilities are not available in India. Along with the air temperature, air pressure, and humidity predictive interrelation model created to aid the irradiance model this can be used for climate predictions in the Indian sub-continental region.

Technology Focus: Seismic (March 2020)

Technology Focus Two years ago, in this column, I focused on new, exciting technology advances that were being made with the seismic method. Unfortunately, 1 year ago, I had to change the theme to the deepening economic downturn that had occurred in the industry. Happily, though, in this past year, we witnessed several examples of marriage between these two themes. In other words, necessity for survival in hard times provided the impetus for innovation. For example, in one case of land seismic, the acquisition system was redesigned. This started with the stripping down of the nodal geophone, leaving only the very basic functionality that was needed. Ultimately, this led to a much lighter system, not only reducing power requirements but also the labor needed to deploy (and later retrieve) the ground equipment. In turn, this efficiency led to lower costs while still allowing advancement to the denser, spatial sampling enabled by higher channel counts. In another case, success was achieved not through changes in technology but rather through changes in business strategy. Historically, when downturns occur, one of the first line items to be cut is the acquisition of new seismic programs. However, the strategy reported by one courageous company was to continue with its usual level of advanced seismic acquisition and processing, while saving costs by reducing the exploration drilling. This strategy of protecting the ability to identify future, high-quality prospects is what led to success. Continued development of seismic applications occurred in many other disciplines, too, including unconventionals, microseismic, and imaging. This often took place through effective use of multidisciplinary teams and machine learning. That discussion is supported by the three synopsized papers included in this Technology Focus section, as well as the three papers that are recommended for additional reading. Enjoy. Recommended additional reading at OnePetro: www.onepetro.org. SPE 197289 Acquisition of an Ultrahigh-Density 3D Seismic Survey Using New Nimble Nodes Onshore Abu Dhabi by Hani Nehaid, Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, et al. SPE 197822 Application of Machine Learning To Estimate Sonic Data for Seismic Well Ties, Bongkot Field, Thailand by Nisa Sukkee, PTTEP, et al. SPE 195522 A Novel Approach to Discovery of Hidden Structures in Microseismic Data Using Machine-Learning Techniques by Maxim Yatsenko, Texas A&amp;M University, et al.

Auditor Style and Financial Reporting Similarity

ABSTRACTIn this study, we examine whether auditor style is related to financial reporting similarity. Based on the count of accounting items disclosed in eXtensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL) 10-K filings, we define financial reporting similarity in terms of the number of similar line items reported by a pair of firms and develop a measure of pairwise financial reporting similarity. Consistent with the auditor style literature (e.g., Francis, Pinnuck, and Watanabe 2014), we show that firms that share the same auditor have more similarities in their financial statements. We find robust results using alternative metrics of auditor style, including pairwise comovement of audit fees and audit timeliness. We also find that financial reporting similarity increases (decreases) when firms switch from having different (the same) auditors to having the same (different) auditors.

Model of Decision Support on Regulation of the Vegetable Market

Now in Russia there is no population requirements satisfaction in vegetable food which consumption honor one half less necessary regulations. Are basic reasons the low production rate vegetables and a consumer capability of the population that is in turn connected with the low level of development of market infrastructure. It attracts the imperative need of enhancement tools of agrofood policy for the market of vegetable products, transformation of models of organizational and economic development of the food market of vegetables. In work evaluation methods of market concentration of Gerfindalya-Girshman, the index Linda, an analysis technique of market potential, economic-mathematical methods of extrapolation trends and optimization of production were used. The research is executed according to agricultural producers of vegetable products Republic of Mordovia (RM). In work features and the existing problems of effective functioning vegetable subcomplex are shown, major factors of market development vegetable products are generalized, the technique is created and the analysis and assessment of a condition competitive environment in the market of vegetables in the Republic Mordovia are carried out on it, models on optimization of the structure of sown areas vegetables in agricultural enterprises, according to the market capacity of the vegerablegrowing entities, on an organizational structure of the wholesale food market are developed. Results of a research will be useful to authorities to forming of food policy in the market vegetable products as they allow to determine the perspective directions and line items in the sphere of sale vegetable products stimulating their further production.

Budgetary choices and institutional rules: veto rules and budget volatility

Studies of the line item veto have traditionally focused on whether it leads to less spending than an all-or-nothing veto and have only produced modest results. However, other impacts that differences in rule choice might effectuate have not been investigated in detail. We examine the role of veto rules for budgetary volatility, the extent to which expenditures vary. Theoretically, we model budget choices given all-or-nothing, line item, and item-reduction vetoes and demonstrate that more encompassing veto authority does not necessarily decrease spending but should result in more political gridlock, implying less volatility. We then analyze the model’s prediction by examining American state budget expenditures from 1978 to 2007. Whether one looks at budget categories or total spending, volatility is greater with the all-or-nothing veto relative to more stringent alternatives. Hence, delegating greater authority to executives such as governors, perhaps unexpectedly, likely strengthens expectations about future budgets while reducing the responsiveness of spending to changing preferences or circumstances.

Understanding FTEs and Nursing Hours Per Patient Day

The personnel budget is the largest line item on a hospital’s general budget and often consumes the majority of an organization’s financial resources. It is also the most challenging to develop and difficult to manage. This article provides a detailed, step-by-step guide to understanding how to develop a hospital’s unit-level personnel budget. The intent of the article is to provide new or aspiring nurse managers within the acute care setting with a basic understanding of financial concepts required to manage the personnel budget, and to serve as a training resource for supervisors placing new managers into positions with financial responsibilities. The personnel budget is the largest line item on a hospital’s general budget and often consumes the majority of an organization’s financial resources. It is also the most challenging to develop and difficult to manage. This article provides a detailed, step-by-step guide to understanding how to develop a hospital’s unit-level personnel budget. The intent of the article is to provide new or aspiring nurse managers within the acute care setting with a basic understanding of financial concepts required to manage the personnel budget, and to serve as a training resource for supervisors placing new managers into positions with financial responsibilities. Teresa D. Welch, EdD, MSN, RN, NEA-BC, is assistant professor at Capstone College of Nursing, the University of Alabama Tuscaloosa, Alabama. She can be reached at [email protected] Todd Smith, PhD, MBA, MSHA, RN, NEA-BC, is assistant professor at Capstone College of Nursing, the University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, Alabama. He can be reached at [email protected]

Augmented Reality and Gamification to Increase Productivity and Job Satisfaction in the Warehouse of the Future

The emergence of B2C e-commerce in the last decade is currently transforming the way warehouses fulfill online orders with just a few line items, broad and variable product assortments, varying workloads and extremely short delivery schedules. In this new business reality, order picking stands out as the most labor intensive, strenuous, time constrained, repetitive, prone to error and expensive process in the contemporary warehouse. These characteristics undoubtedly put significant strain to the human worker (picker) creating both body fatigue and feelings of monotony and dissatisfaction usually leading to employee underperformance and demotivation. In this paper, we conducted a questionnaire-based survey to supervisors and pickers from different large distribution centers to evaluate the individuals' acceptance of introducing Augmented Reality (AR) in the picking process to support pickers in their everyday tasks, gamification elements as a tool for increasing their motivation and last but not least, a combination of the two approaches.

The Accuracy of Tax Imputations: Estimating Tax Liabilities and Credits Using Linked Survey and Administrative Data

This paper calculates accurate estimates of income and payroll taxes using a groundbreaking set of linked survey and administrative tax data that are part of the Comprehensive Income Dataset (CID). We compare our estimates to survey imputations produced by the Census Bureau and those generated using the TAXSIM calculator from the National Bureau of Economic Research. The administrative data include two sets of Internal Revenue Service (IRS) data: (1) a limited set of tax information for the population of individual income tax returns covering selected line items from Forms 1040, W-2, and 1099-R; and (2) an extensive set of population tax records processed by the IRS in 2011, covering nearly every line item on Form 1040 and most lines on a series of third-party information returns. We link these IRS records to the Current Population Survey Annual Social and Economic Supplement (CPS) for reference year 2010. We describe how we form tax units and estimate various types of tax liabilities and credits using these linked data, providing a roadmap for constructing accurate measures of taxes while preserving the survey family as the sharing unit for distributional analyses. We find that aggregate estimates of various tax components using the limited and extensive tax data estimates are close to each other and much closer to public IRS tabulations than either of the imputations using survey data alone. At the individual level, the absolute errors of survey-only imputations of federal income taxes and total taxes are on average 10% and 13%, respectively, of adjusted gross income. In contrast, the limited tax data imputations yield mean absolute errors for federal income taxes and total taxes that are about 2% and 3% of adjusted gross income, respectively. For the Earned Income Tax Credit, the limited tax data imputation is off by less than $20 on average for a typical family (compared to more than $500 using either of the survey-only imputations).