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The current literature lacks a solid assessment of inequality in the transitional countries of the former Soviet Union during the transition from a centrally planned to a market economy. Against this background, the objective of this study is to provide an initial assessment of the intertemporal evolution of inequality in Azerbaijan. Drawing on microdata from two nationally representative surveys, this study uses the Gini coefficient and the families of general entropy and Atkinson inequality indexes to evaluate the robustness of inequality change in Azerbaijan from 1995 to 2002. The findings show narrowed inequality for the period. This conclusion is robust to the selection of an alternative equivalence scale and an alternative welfare indicator as well as a difference in sample size, longer accounting period, and seasonality.

BACKGROUND Aim of this study was to assess the direct costs of Parkinson's disease (PD) within a 3-month period (i.e. the accounting period for the German statutory health insurance) in 12 neurological outpatient practices in Berlin during 2006. MATERIAL AND METHODS A total of 425 patients (age 69.1+/-9.3 years, 185 females) were recruited, and sociodemographic and clinical data were obtained by a specific questionnaire. The distribution of costs was analyzed based on several clinical and patient parameters. The costs were calculated with different approaches: (1) prospectively, with the practices' accounting according to German uniform scales (GoA, EbM) and (2) retrospectively, with questionnaires for the Parkinson's patients. Costs were calculated according to current German guidelines of the statutory health insurance. Clinical parameters were assessed with a questionnaire for physicians. RESULTS The direct medical costs totaled 1,667 EUR (range 1,436-1,995 EUR, CI 95%) per patient per 3 months. Charges by physicians were 42 EUR (39-45 EUR, CI 95%) for patients with statutory health insurance and 135 EUR (106-177 EUR, CI 95%) for those with private insurance. Disease severity and disease duration correlated with higher direct medical costs. Motor fluctuations and depression also were major factors influencing cost. CONCLUSION Our study emphasizes the large economic burden caused mainly by PD medication and hospitalization. For the first time a direct comparison between costs and actual physicians' reimbursement was possible. In combination with further economic studies, this comparison will help to define shortcomings and excesses in PD health care services.

This study sets out to analyse the factors that determine delays in the signing of audit reports. The delays are measured as a function of the number of days that elapse from the closure of the accounting period until the date when the audit report is signed. The study has been conducted in Spain, on 105 companies of the Spanish continuous market, from 2002 to 2005. The results obtained utilizing panel data methodology demonstrate that the two factors characterizing the companies that present less audit delay are: classification to sectors that are subject to regulatory pressure, such as the financial and energy sectors; and the size of company relative to its sector. Variables such as audit firm, qualifications or regulatory change show no significant relationship with audit delay in the Spanish context.

This article evaluates the technical efficiency of toll companies, i.e., how toll companies perform relative to each other, their productivity, and whether toll companies improve their efficiency from one year to the next relative to the best performers. The rationale for this study is that Norwegian road toll companies have been criticized for not being as efficient as they should; it has been claimed that some have very large operational costs compared to their peers and hence are inefficient. The framework for analysis is Data Envelopment Analysis and its subsequent Malmquist Productivity indices. The data are from the accounting period of 2001–2004 and contain information on 18 companies. The results show that: (1) there is a potential for efficiency increases of about 14%, (2) there are economies of scale in the industry in that larger companies (as measured by number of lanes served) tend to be more efficient compared to smaller companies, and (3) there has been a productivity increase in the sector of about 1%, and this progress is due more to companies employing a newer and more effective method for collecting funds and less to improving efficiency from one year to the next. Finally, these findings suggest that the Norwegian road authorities should consider reorganizing the toll sector such that the inherent economies of scale are utilized.

The traditional categorisation of expenditures evident in many firms' charts of accounts and financial statements does not identify and measure expenditures on intangible investment separately from tangible investment and operating expenditures. This contrasts with the accounting for tangible investment, which separately accounts for all expenditures as assets unless the future benefits are consumed in a single accounting period. Further, in searching for better ways to account for intangibles, regulators and researchers have focused on the accounting choice problem relating to the existence and recognisability of intangible assets. In this paper, we argue that identifying and separately reporting the expenditures on intangible investment is the logical first step in accounting for intangible investments. Learning about the firm's categories of value driving (and sometimes potentially value destroying) expenditures has important implications for understanding aspects of the value chain, performance measurement, valuation, corporate governance and the external audit. There are significant expenditures invested in intangibles including resources such as human capital, the long-term customer base, product and process related technologies, information technology, and brands and intellectual property.1 To date, the traditional categorisation of expenditures evident in many firms' charts of accounts and the financial statements does not identify and measure expenditures on these intangibles separately from expenditures on tangible investment and current production (operating expenditures).2 This contrasts with the accounting for tangible investment, which separately accounts for all expenditures not consumed in a single accounting period as assets. In searching for better ways to account for intangibles, regulators and researchers have focused on the accounting choice problem relating to the existence and recognisability of intangible assets.

This paper analyses the performance of ferries operating along the Norwegian road networks. These ferries are of critical importance to the trunk road system, as they act as links in the road system by transporting vehicles across fjords. However, ferries are subsidised by the government because they operate at a loss. It is therefore important for governmental agencies to assess the performance in order to understand the potential for efficiency and productivity improvements (eg, by implementing alternative subsidy regimes). The performance of ferries (ie, technical efficiency and productivity) is estimated using the stochastic frontier approach to efficiency measurement and its subsequent Malmquist productivity indices. Technical inefficiency effects are modelled as ferry-specific external factors (eg, areas of operation or year of construction). The data are from the accounting period 2003–2005 and are comprised of 82 ferries. The results show that there is great potential for efficiency improvements among ferries, in the range of 19%–20%. The external factors have a significant impact on efficiency, as the productivity of ferries has increased by approximately 2% over the period studied and this progress is mainly due to advances in efficiency changes. This means that ferries generally have a tendency to improve their efficiency, but fail to adopt technologies for the reason that they are too old. These results should be valuable for policy decisions. The Norwegian government is currently considering tendering as a means of improving efficiency in the ferry sector. We advise that a change in the subsidy system alone is not enough to ensure efficiency improvements, unless incentives for investments in new ferries are included. Maritime Economics & Logistics (2008) 10, 409–428. doi:10.1057/mel.2008.14

This paper provides the theoretical review of the fraud risk characteristics, systematization of the existing fraud knowledge and the causes of fraud occurrence. Moreover, it determines the roles and the responsibilities of managers and auditors in the fraud risk assessments. In addition, risk factors relating to the misstatements arising from fraudulent financial reporting have been examined. According to the results of numerous scientific and expert studies it is obvious that a system of internal controls, including fraud risk assessments as an elementary component of this system, contributes to reducing fraud occurrence. In order to gain information about the factors that could cause fraudulent financial reporting, the empirical research has been conducted on the sample of companies operating in the Republic of Croatia. The respondents, accountants and auditors, revealed how often they meet fraud risk factors. Although, according to respondents' answers, companies rarely encounter circumstances that indicate the possibility of fraud, the obtained data imply that there are possibilities that financial statements contain misstatements as a result of fraud. Examples of circumstances indicating the possibility that the financial statements contain a material misstatement resulting from fraud include: last-minute adjustments that significantly affect financial results, followed by transactions that are not recorded in a complete or timely manner or are improperly recorded as to amount, accounting period, classification, or entity policy and unsupported or unauthorized balances or transactions. The problems, which the accountants most frequently encountered were undue time pressures imposed by management to resolve complex or contentious issues, an unwillingness to address identified deficiencies in internal control on a timely basis and missing documents.

El conocimiento de la historia ayuda a entender el presente y a predecir el futuro. Al aplicar esta afirmación a la profesión contable, nuestro propósito es contribuir al conocimiento de la historia de la profesión contable en Rumania, a través de una investigación documental e historiográfica. Existe muy poca documentación en Rumania en relación con los momentos clave de la historia de la profesión contable en Rumania tanto en el contexto socio-económico como político de nuestro país. Este artículo presenta algunos hechos significativos en la historia en la historia de la profesión contable en Rumania. Se identifican cuatro períodos desde 1850: 1850-1900, período que se caracteriza por la adopción de las mejores prácticas contables europeas; 1900-1950, período en el que la profesión contable se involucró realmente en la vida económica, interesándose por el desarrollo de actividades académicas por parte de sus miembros; 1950-1990 es un período marcado por la “adopción” del modelo contable soviético, período en el cual el espíritu y la profesión contables quedaron destruidos; en el último período, desde 1990 hasta nuestro días, Rumania comenzó a mejorar la convergencia de su sistema contable, aplicando en una primera etapa el modelo francés, para continuar luego en nuestros días con su aproximación a los IFRS. El papel jugado por la profesión contable en las últimas décadas es crucial, debido a su motivación y los deseos de implantar “el mejor” sistema contable, así como su actividad diaria, desarrollada en provecho de sus miembros.

The Report on the Observance of Standards and Codes - Accounting and Auditing (ROSC A&A) program is part of a 12-module joint World Bank-IMF initiative to assist member countries to strengthen their financial systems by improving their capacity to comply with internationally recognized standards and codes. The program focuses on the institutional framework underpinning national accounting and auditing practices, and degree of conformity with international standards and good practices. The initial ROSC A&A for Rwanda was carried out in 2008 and provided a key input in designing necessary financial reporting reforms in the country. The 2015 update is a valuable tool for monitoring the effectiveness of the reform program. It assesses the degree to which the recommendations of the 2008 ROSC A&A review have been implemented, identifies issues that have emerged since the last review, and proposes a number of recommendations aimed at further strengthening the quality of corporate financial reporting and auditing which contributes to improving business climate, investors’ confidence and economic growth potential of Rwanda.

In July 2013, the World Bank Group launched its Strategy, outlining how it will partner more effectively with clients to help them achieve the ambitious goals of eradicating extreme poverty and boosting shared prosperity through economic growth, inclusion, sustainability and resilience. In April 2014, the World Bank Group Corporate Scorecard was launched for the first time and the World Bank Scorecard revised to monitor the implementation of the strategy. The World Bank Group Scorecard provides view of the results and performance indicators of the three World Bank Group institutions: the World Bank (WB), the International Finance Corporation (IFC), and the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA). This brochure presents the scorecards, updated with the latest data available in fiscal year 2015. The scorecards are structured in three tiers. A tier one and two presents indicators monitoring aspects of growth, inclusiveness, and sustainability and resilience. Tier three captures the progress in implementing the World Bank Group strategy and includes measures of both operational and organizational effectiveness.

©2015. American Geophysical Union. All Rights Reserved. Accounting for carbon fluxes from land use and land cover change (LULCC) generally requires choosing from multiple options of how to attribute the fluxes to regions and to LULCC activities. Applying a newly developed and spatially explicit bookkeeping model BLUE (bookkeeping of land use emissions), we quantify LULCC fluxes and attribute them to land use activities and countries by a range of different accounting methods. We present results with respect to a Kyoto Protocol-like "commitment" accounting period, using land use emissions of 2008-2012 as an example scenario. We assess the effect of accounting methods that vary (1) the temporal evolution of carbon stocks, (2) the state of the carbon stocks at the beginning of the period, (3) the temporal attribution of carbon fluxes during the period, and (4) treatment of LULCC fluxes that occurred prior to the beginning of the period. We show that the methodological choices result in grossly different estimates of carbon fluxes for the different attribution definitions.

The Report on the Observance of Standards and Codes, Accounting and Auditing (ROSC AA) in Sri Lanka aims to assess the progress made on implementation of the policy recommendations of the first ROSC AA in 2004 and supports the Government of Sri Lanka in preparing a country action plan. This will further enhance the quality of corporate financial reporting, and thereby contribute toward the country’s goal of improving the investment climate, attracting foreign direct investment (FDI), and fostering business development. The ROSC review, requested by the Minister of Finance and Planning, entailed an evaluation exercise that assesses the strengths and weaknesses of existing institutional frameworks that underpin financial accounting and auditing practices; determines the comparability of national accounting and auditing standards; and evaluates the effectiveness of enforcement mechanisms for ensuring compliance with existing national standards, rules, and regulations. The review was conducted from December 2013 to September 2014 using the World Bank’s multi-layered review methodology. All findings reflect this time period of the review; some stated future events may have been achieved by publication date. The data and information used for the review was gathered from a diagnostic questionnaire completed by stakeholders; by reviewing accountancy profession-related documents; and through interviews with many stakeholders from government, regulatory and accountancy bodies, accounting and auditing firms, banks, insurance companies, state-owned enterprises (SOEs), small and medium-size enterprises (SMEs), and academia. The review focused on assessing the institutional framework underpinning accounting and auditing practices in the private sector and in SOEs of the country in comparison with international standards and good practice.

Transmission services have to be provided as a separate item in a deregulated or vertically restructured electricity supply industry. Methods for transmission line fixed-cost allocation among the transmission transactions accounting for line capacity use are presented. Cost allocation to each transaction will be according presented. Cost allocation to each transaction will be according to the capacity use patterns throughout an accounting period in to the capacity use patterns throughout an accounting period in an equitable manner. The allocation problem is approached from the point of view of a cooperative game theory.

The aim of this paper is to empirically evaluate the effect of the length of the accounting period on indices of inequality of household income in Israel. There are three main findings: (1) The analysis of the impact of the accounting period on the Gini index of inequality can be done in a way which is identical to analyzing the effect of the accounting period on the coefficient of variation; (2) changing the accounting period from one to three months decreases, on average, the Gini index of inequality by about 1.7%. Furthermore, the Gini index calculated from a three-month accounting period was 3.9%–4.1% higher than the index based on a 12-month period. The change in the accounting period from 12 months to three months accounts for 27% to 37% of the increase in inequality in the last two decades, depending on the type of income considered. (3) The above relationship is stable over the years but is sensitive to the definition of income.

The liberalization of telecommunication markets allows the choice of call provider for each single connection. This leads to the question of which provider has to be chosen to minimize the charge volume for all the calls over an accounting period. In contrast to the simple derivation of routing policies found in existing least cost routing (LCR) tables, the incremental and global quantity discounts granted by providers are taken into account in the optimization approach developed in this paper. The dynamic, non-convex, non-linear optimization problem arising from the minimization of the charge volume is solved using the evolutionary optimization method of genetic algorithms. The mathematical formulation of the problem, the genetic algorithm used, the limitation of the search space, and the quantity discount regulation developed are presented. The optimization results obtained by applying the concept to the call data of the University of Hanover are analysed and discussed. The paper concludes with an outlo...

After becoming aware of a letter to the editor from Martin (2013), we realize there is a need for further elaboration of the baseline time accounting method laid out in Kloverpris and Mueller (2013). In the following, we addressMartin's comments. Martin states that our method “does not eliminate the need to choose a timeframe .” This is correct and inherent to any life cycle assessment (LCA) when it comes to the use of global warming potentials (GWPs). Later, Martin states that we assert that our “approach removes the need to consider arbitrary timeframes .” We are puzzled by this statement since Sect. 2.3 of our paper explicitly acknowledges that the use of the common 100-year GWP accounting period in LCA is indeed arbitrary. While we cannot avoid this circumstance, our method does eliminate the need to consider an arbitrary production period for biofuels (under the conditions described). We will later get back to the fundamental difference between the GWP accounting period and the assumed biofuels production period since the missing distinction between these two time perspectives appears to be the primary basis of Martin's critique. Martin states that the value of our insights “is diminished by the failure to include a full consideration of the importance of the timeframe of the analysis .” While we (and the three reviewers) did not find it relevant to include results other than GWP100 in our paper, the baseline time accounting concept is not restricted to this metric. To accommodate Martin, Table 1 shows results for GWP20 and (the more unusual) GWP30. As shown in the table, the applied GWP accounting period is certainly of significance for the type of indirect land use change (ILUC) called accelerated expansion. Meanwhile, the sensitivity to the choice of GWP accounting period is not unique as indicated by the GWPs for methane, also included in Table 1. For the type of ILUC called delayed reversion, the GWP accounting period is without significance. We acknowledge that this is due to the simplified assumption of constant carbon sequestration over the GWP accounting period. In reality, there will be some sensitivity to the choice of GWP accounting period for delayed reversion but not to the same extent as for accelerated expansion. For additional discussion, we refer to Sect. 4.1.2 in Electronic supplementary material 1 of Kloverpris and Mueller (2013), particularly. Martin states that “The baseline time accounting approach uses a 100-year timeframe ,” but, as mentioned above, there is no conceptual or methodological restriction on the chosen GWP accounting period. More correctly stated, baseline time accounting converts a time shift in land use emissions from a single batch of biofuels into an ILUC factor that is consistent with the GWP concept, and the results presented by Kloverpris and Mueller (2013) are based on a GWP accounting period of 100 years. The chosen GWP accounting period ensures consistency with the common global warming metric used for greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Since the ILUC factor is meant to be added to the GHG emissions from the biofuels supply chain, consistency between addends is necessary. Martin states that “It should come as no great surprise that changing the denominator of a fraction from 30 to 100

While the major “eye‐popping,” headline‐grabbing financial statement frauds have captured the attention of the investing public in recent years, little heed has been given to the smaller‐dollar, more repetitive frauds that occur in organizations year in and year out ‐ misappropriation of an entity’s assets, repeated during any given accounting period (e.g., month/year) in an amount insufficient to be detected by the entity’s system of internal controls. The purpose of this article is to examine the factors that allow fraud to flourish at a low level, or “under the radar” of internal controls; describe some of the more common schemes that occur; and propose responses that management can implement to prevent fraud from occurring in the future.

Budget is a quantified financial planning for a future accounting period. It concerns with the middle and long term plan for the year ahead. Budgets are a clear indication of what is expected to be achieved during the budget period. Budget preparation also motivating managers to strive in achieving the organizational goals, controlling activities and evaluating the performance of managers. Budget is not only useful to the well-established organization but actually it is important for small scale business. 160 set of questionnaires were distributed to the small businesses manager/owner in the state of Selangor to get their level of awareness and knowledge on budgeting. From the study, it was found that the awareness and knowledge level of small businesses owner on budget is in moderate pattern. Future studies could enhance to the awareness and knowledge level of the medium size organization on budget. Keyword: Budgetting, Small Business, Awareness

Immigrant and native child poverty in Denmark, Norway, and Sweden 1993–2001 is studied using large sets of panel data. While native children face yearly poverty risks of less than 10 percent in all three countries and for all years studied the increasing proportion of immigrant children with an origin in middle- and low-income countries have poverty risks that vary from 38 up to as much as 58 percent. At the end of the observation period, one third of the poor children in Norway and as high as about a half in Denmark and in Sweden are of immigrant origin. The strong overrepresentation of immigrant children from low- and middle-income countries when measured in yearly data is also found when applying a longer accounting period for poverty measurement. We find that child poverty rates are generally high shortly after arrival to the new country and typically decrease with years since immigration. Multivariate analysis shows that parents years since immigration and education affect risks of the number of periods in persistent poverty. While a native child is very unlikely to spend nine years in poverty, the corresponding risk for a child to a newly arrived immigrant was found to be far from negligible. Much of the pattern is similar across the three countries but there are also some notable differences.

Fair Value Hedge Accounting (FVHA) is a tool for financial reporting that allows us to recognize gains and losses as well as revenues and expenses that come from a hedged item and a hedging instrument in the same accounting period. Its use and conditions are described in the International Accounting Standards (IAS 39, [93]) and the FAS 133 for the US. IAS 39 will be replaced by the International Financial Reporting Standard (IFRS) 9 [94] on 1 January 2018.

This paper compares income inequality and income mobility in the Scandinavian countries and the United States during 1980–90. The results suggest that inequality is greater in the United States than in the Scandinavian countries and that this inequality ranking of countries remains unchanged when the accounting period of income is extended from one to eleven years. The pattern of mobility turns out to be remarkably similar, in the sense that the proportionate reduction in inequality from extending the accounting period of income is much the same. But we do find evidence of greater dispersion of first differences of relative earnings and income in the United States. Relative income changes are associated with changes in labor market and marital status in all four countries, but the magnitude of such changes are largest in the United States.

The form of the unbalance distribution function is determined and recommended on the basis of a formulation of the optimisation problem, by solving which a stable form of the unbalance distribution between consumers and suppliers is selected depending on the volume of consumption and its error during the accounting period.

When individual or household incomes are collected for administrative or scientific surveys, the accounting period is sometimes a month, sometimes a quarter, and sometimes a year. The accounting period likely affects the shape of the income distribution and the level of measured inequality. The present study systematically explores the sensitivity of inter-temporal and inter-regional inequality comparisons to the length of the accounting period.

This paper studies the relationships between annual and subannual inequality and mobility during the course of the year. We apply an exact decomposition framework as outlined in Wodon and Yitzhaki (Econ Bull 4:1–8, 2003), and in Yitzhaki and Wodon (Research on Economic Inequality 12:179–199, 2004). Earnings records of pension insurants in Germany serve as the database. The long time horizon of our database allows us to investigate the stability and robustness of the parameters of the decomposition over time. Specifically, we show that the mobility component of the decomposition, as measured by Gini correlation coefficients, changes over the observation period. This makes it difficult to predict the impact of the income accounting period on inequality in a more general context. Thus, it is of paramount importance to use income data from a uniform accounting period in distributional analyses. The final publication is available at www.springerlink.com: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10888-013-9260-9

        Management accounting information presented in very powerful company in purchasing raw materials. Raw materials can be used optimally in accordance with the criteria and in accordance with be existing data, the reports on the use of raw materials accounting period of the previous management. Inventories of raw materials can be compared to the use of which has been budgeted so that the production process can run continuously. Key words : information, accounting, management, raw material

The concept of sustainable development (SD) has a pre-eminent place in the environmental policy agenda where it is defined as “development which meets the needs of the present without compromizing the ability of future generations to meet their own needs" (United Nations World Conference Environment and Development, 1987, p. 8). Within the accounting literature, research activity has focused on what SD may mean for business and accounting activity (see, for example, Batley & Tozer, 1993; Canadian Institute Chartered Accountants, 1993; Gray, et al., 1993; Gray, 1994; Rubenstein, 1994; Geno, 1995; Stone, 1995; Gray & Bebbington, 1996; Milne, 1996; and Bebbington & Thomson, 1996). As part of this literature Gray (1992) proposes the construction of an “account of sustainability" utilizing the idea of a sustainable cost calculation (SCC) which attempts to measure the additional costs which would be borne by the organization if the organization’s activities were not to leave the planet worse off at the end of an accounting period. This paper reports on an attempt to construct a SCC for Manaaki Whenua, Landcare Research New Zealand Ltd. The paper explains why such an account was attempted, outlines the SCC, reviews the attempt to perform the calculations and reflects on the tensions which emerged from the case. The case, while being unsuccessful because it failed to produce the numbers expected, was successful in that it highlighted conceptual mis-specifications of the SCC. This paper builds on this insight and attempts to theorize the research process and reconceptualize the SCC in a manner which seeks to avoid the pitfalls of the original SCC.

Internal rate of return (IRR) measures the level annual return over the life of an investment, whereas return on equity (ROE) measures the return over each accounting period. This paper develops the relationships between IRR and ROE by presenting and proving four algebraic theorems involving IRR and ROE. These theorems are developed using generic investment terminology that does not rely on any specific accounting basis. The relationships are then expressed using U.S. statutory and GAAP terminology. The paper demonstrates that IRR is not just a statutory concept and ROE is not just a GAAP concept. Financial projections for a hypothetical insurance product illustrate these relationships.

Summary This paper reviews various mobility measures and establishes their asymptotic sampling distribution. The focus is on both transition matrix mobility measures and mobility measures which are based on the reduction in inequality occurring when the accounting period is extended. Statistical techniques are used to show the asymptotic normality of these measures and their variances. The empirical illustration examines the development of earnings mobility for both sexes in Germany between 1983 and 1992 using the Socio-Economic Panel data. It turns out that male earnings mobility fell during the eighties whereas the development of female earnings mobility is less clear. Comparing the levels of mobility females are more mobile than males, at least when inequality reduction mobility measures are employed. Considering the rather large number of observations the confidence intervals are often surprisingly wide. Therefore, confidence regions for mobility measures ought to be reported in empirical work whenever possible.

In this paper, genuine savings rates in developing countries, a formal model of green national accounting demonstrates that 'genuine' saving, net saving less the value of resource depletion and environmental degradation, is a useful indicator of sustainability. Country-level and regional calculations of genuine savings are presented for the period 1970-1993. Sub-Saharan Africa stands out as the region where the greatest dissipation of wealth is occurring. After developing the basic theory of genuine savings, this paper presents empirical estimates for developing countries. These calculations account for resource depletion and carbon dioxide emissions, using consistent time series data for the period 1970-93. The paper concludes with a discussion of the policy issues raised by greener national accounting.

This paper studies the problems of measuring economic growth under conditions of high inflation. Traditional bilateral index number theory implicitly assumes that variations in the price of a commodity within a period can be ignored. To justify this assumption under conditions of high inflation, the accounting period must be shortened to a quarter, a month, or possibly a week. However, once the accounting period is less than a year, the problem of seasonal commodities is encountered; i.e., in some subannual periods, many seasonal commodities will be unavailable and hence the usual bilateral index number theory cannot be applied. The paper systematically reviews the problems of index number construction when there are seasonal commodities and high inflation. Various index number formulas are justified from the viewpoint of the economic approach to index number theory by making separability assumptions on consumers' intertemporal preferences. We find that accurate economic measurement under conditions of high inflation is very complex.

This paper uses a lifetime income simulation model to examine the effects on inequality and progressivity of extending the time period over which income is measured. The income tax schedule typically displays increasing marginal rates, and there is a substantial amount of relative income mobility, along with a systematic variation in average incomes over the life cycle of the cohort. Simulations show that progressivity and inequality measures can often move in opposite directions, both over time for annual accounting periods, and as the length of period is gradually increased. The relationship between summary measures is complicated by the role of the aggregate tax ratio, in addition to the re‐ranking that can occur in the larger period framework. Some tax structures are found to increase in progressivity, while others show less progressivity, as the time period increases. Re‐ranking is found to increase as the accounting period increases: it is higher and increases more rapidly as the accounting period is increased for tax structures displaying more steeply rising rate structures.

The paper analyzes the ways of reporting other comprehensive income (OCI) and their relationships with three different variables, i.e. the volatility, the sign and the total amount of such accounting items. In order to investigate the reasons of such relationships, the study considers the final annual financial statements approved for the accounting periods from 2009 (i.e. the first year in which the 2007 revision of IAS 1 was applied) to 2012 by Italian companies which are required to apply the International Financial Reporting Standards and to follow their updates since 2005. The choice of this specific sample is due to the willingness of verifying the ways of departing from a strong Italian accounting traditional culture which does not consider other comprehensive income (OCI items have never been mentioned by Italian civil code and have not been included in Italian financial reporting). Some preliminary results emphasize the relevance of OCI items. In each accounting period, the majority of the analyzed financial statements show a significant impact of OCI on net income (each amount in absolute value) over a materiality threshold of 10%. In some years also the difference between ROE measured with net income (NI) and ROE measured with comprehensive income (CI) is statistically significant. It demonstrates that the prominence of OCI in evaluating firmsÕ performance potentially should not be ignored. Moreover, the median of changes in OCI is greater than the one of changes in net income, showing that OCI is more volatile than NI. After such preliminary analysis, a logistic analysis has been implemented by considering the above-mentioned variables. Such study brings some important results confirming the significance of the relations between the ways of reporting other comprehensive income and both the sign and the total amount of such accounting items. The analysis has been implemented by using also different versions of the dependent variable in order to investigate the impact of the OCI presentation in two statements which are positioned in two different (i.e. following) pages. So, while the predominance in the use of two statements for OCI presentation shows the willingness to emphasize the traditional profit or loss section and may be related to the influence of a strong Italian accounting traditional culture, the reasons of the use of two different pages for such presentation may represent the signal of Òaccounts managementÓ.

Planning is very much essential for any project. In the dynamic nature and competitive business world, a measurement tool is very much essential to measure the performance. This is a measurement system in which from individual to organization can assess their performance. The entire task must be linked with vision, mission, and objective of the organization. This will make the organization a strategy-focused organization. Financial measures are inadequate for guiding and evaluating organizations’ trajectories through competitive environments. They are lagging indicators that fail to capture much of the value that has been created or destroyed by managers’ actions in the most recent accounting period. The financial measures tell some, but not all, of the story about past actions, and they fail to provide adequate guidance for the actions to be taken today and the day after to create future financial value. That is why organizations look toward balanced scorecard (BSC) to sustain growth and to have a harmonious working environment.

The main purpose of the South Africa Report on the Observance of Standards and Codes, Accounting and Auditing (ROSC A&A) is to determine reforms that will continue to improve the quality of financial reporting in South Africa. The review, requested by the Minister of Finance, was conducted to assess the status of implementation of policy recommendations in the prior 2003 ROSC A&A report, assess the institutional framework underpinning accounting and auditing practices in comparison with international standards and good practices in order to identify any emerging issues that require strengthening, share good practices adopted in the country, and propose policy recommendations addressing areas that require improvements. Implementation of the policy recommendations will further enhance the quality of financial reporting in the country, a key pillar that contributes to enhancing the business environment and advancement of governance and financial accountability in both the private and public sector entities. The review focuses on private sector. Financial reporting in public sector is assessed under public expenditure and financial accountability framework.

Reports on the Observance of Standards and Codes (ROSC) Accounting and Auditing (A&A) assess accounting and auditing practices in participating countries. They form part of a joint initiative that is implemented by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund to review the quality of implementation of twelve internationally recognized core standards (the ROSC program). These standards and their related codes are relevant to economic stability and private and financial sector development. The program was developed at the end of the 1990s, in the wake of financial crises that affected many countries in several regions of the world. Since its inception in early 2000, the ROSC A&A program has concluded evaluations of the A&A environment in more than one hundred countries around the world. ROSC A&A reports have been produced for all countries of the Europe and Central Asia Region, except Russia. Initiatives to reassure investors about the quality of financial reporting of public interest entities, including listed companies, banks and insurance companies will also be essential.

Value generators mark factors that influence the given enterprise´s success most. Thus, they refer to activities and abilities that increase profitability, decrease risk, and support the company´s growth. The aim of this contribution is to identify value generators in a building enterprise. The main presumption, however, is that the enterprise value will be measured by the EVA Equity indicator (Economic Value Added for the shareholders – owners). Data to be analysed come from the Albertina database. They include complete financial statements of building enterprises that operated on the market between 2006 and 2015. The data is organized into a table the EVA Equity in each enterprise is calculated per each year of its operation on the market. The table is subsequently imported into the Statistica software which searches for the extent to which the EVA Equity indicator is dependent on the individual items of financial statements. The result is a created adequate methodology and identification of value generators in building industries from 2006 to 2015 in the Czech Republic. The following variables are marked as the most significant: economic growth per current accounting period, equity, bank loans and bailouts, trade receivables, and current assets.

Legislation generally requires public agencies to account for their activity to the public. Among the many duties imposed by legislatures around the world are requirements for transparency in procurement of services, budgeting and presentation of accounts. However, agencies in countries with high corruption problems have trouble complying with the legislation, especially in smaller agencies. Moreover, it is typically infeasible for national auditors to audit all the accounts rendered, and instead, they select a small sample for audit based on their level of risk. Another problem is that the presentation of accounts occurs once a year for all agencies, leading to a seasonal demand with significant lag time between auditing and accounting period. In this study, we present a non-technical framework based on the emerging technology of blockchain that could be a solution to all these concerns. We apply it within the context of Brazilian legislation and the Federal Court of Accounts of Brazil (TCU), although the proposal is applicable across a wide range of countries facing severe corruption.

Guidance has always been welcome in terms of applying professional judgement in the context of the principles-based accounting standards – International Financial Reporting Standards. This fact is the result of the complexity and diversity of some situations, which might give rise to difficulties in terms of choosing the appropriate accounting policies and methods (depreciation, inventory valuation on hand at the end of an accounting period, the recognition of revenues and expenses from a construction contract, accounting for lease contracts by the proper determination of the type of lease: financing or operating), and respectively the need to verify if the criteria set by the principles-based accounting standards are met. This “freedom” of choice and disclosure might create problems in terms of accounting information quality. The possibility to select accounting methods based on the Standards’ provisions is meant to generate a true and fair view of the company’s financial position and financial performance. In these cases it is recommended to use professional judgement in order to reach a conclusion which is in accordance with the accounting principles and is not enforced by any accounting rules, since the exercise of individual professional judgement is preferred against the “pure” compliance with prescriptive legal requirements.

The corporate scorecard provides information on the Bank's overall performance and results achieved by its clients against the backdrop of global development progress. The scorecard facilitates dialogue between management and the board on progress made and areas that need attention. The four-tier scorecard covers the full spectrum of International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) and International Development Association (IDA) activities. The corporate scorecard uses an integrated results and performance framework, which is organized in a four-tier structure that groups indicators along the results chain Two of the tiers track elements of development results (tiers one and two), and the other two capture elements of performance (tiers three and four). As the summary shows, the corporate scorecard monitors, at an aggregate level, whether the Bank is functioning efficiently and adapting itself successfully (tier four), and whether it is managing its operations and services effectively (tier three) to support countries in achieving results (tier two) in the context of global development progress and priorities (tier one). It presents a high-level view and is not intended to provide country or activity-level information.

In this paper, we propose the use of the Markov-switching filter to identify investment spikes. In using Markov-switching filter, we apply a first-order two-state Markov-switching mean model to the investment rates de-trended using Hodrick and Prescott's (1997) filter. A Gibbs-sampling procedure is used to produce the marginal posterior distributions of unobserved state variables and model parameters. Among other advantages, this filter allows us to identify multi-year investment spikes. Some investment projects are so large that they last more than one year. Thus, a single annual accounting period would not necessarily reflect the total expenditure necessary to complete the project. Furthermore, even a year-long project need not start at the beginning of an accounting year nor reach completion by the end of an accounting year. We estimate the filter using Compustat data over the period 1988 to 2007 for 504 firms without any missing values in the period. We find that some 86% of firms have lumpy investment using the filter with the 5% level of significance. We also categorize about 12% of firm-years in the sample as having investment spikes.

We study the relationships, for the case of Germany, between inequality in the annual earnings distribution, and subannual inequality and mobility during the course of the year. The study builds on an exact decomposition framework outlined in Wodon and Yitzhaki (2003), and in Yitzhaki and Wodon (2004). The study shows that inequality in the subannual monthly earnings distributions is significantly higher than in the annual earnings distribution. Further, it shows that the mobility component of the decomposition, as measured by Gini correlation coefficients, changes over the observation period. That it changes makes it difficult to predict the impact of the income accounting period on inequality in a more general context. Thus, in distributional analyses it is of paramount importance to use income data from a uniform accounting period.

Advanced pay-as-you-drive (PAYD) insurances entail the collection, the analysis, and frequently the mobile radio-network based transmission of trip and car data to take vehicle-specific accident risks into account when deriving liability insurance rates. An online-survey of 517 German-speaking car drivers was conducted to estimate via limit conjoint analysis utilities which individuals ascribe to four selected PAYD design features. At the aggregate sample level, participants favoured most (least) PAYD offerings with 50% (10%) potential savings, automatic emergency call in case of an accident (without supplementary services), car data transfer at the end of an accounting period (real-time data transmission while driving) and with two (three) driving characteristics used to calculate individual rates. The results suggest that insurers should initially tailor PAYD offers to a segment of insurants who are mainly interested in an automatic car emergency call system, but who are inclined also to subscribe to a PAYD offer as an ‘add-on’ even if it entails limited saving prospects.

The paper derives a consistent accounting framework for the treatment of inventories when measuring the productivity of a distribution firm. The average purchase price of an inventory item during an accounting period must be distinguished from its average selling price and these two average prices should be distinguished from the corresponding balance sheet prices. The accounting framework is implemented for a distribution firm which sold 76,000 separate items. The firm achieved a 9.6 percent per quarter total factor productivity growth rate over 6 quarters.

Most models of income dynamics are set in a discrete-time framework with an arbitrarily chosen accounting period. This article introduces a continuous-time stochastic model of income flows, without the need to define an accounting period. Our model can be estimated using unbalanced panel data with arbitrarily spaced observations. Although our model describes the stochastic properties of income flows, estimation is based on observed incomes accruing during time intervals of possibly varying length. Our model of income dynamics is close in spirit to the discrete-time two-stage models prevalent in the literature. We impose a parsimoniously parameterized continuous-time stochastic process (possibly containing a unit root) to model the deviation from a traditional earnings function. We illustrate our approach by estimating a simplified model using microeconomic data from the German social security agency from 1975 to 1995.

The aim of this thesis is to provide a view on The Final Accounts as a system and to point out the requirements of The Closing Financial Statement in the Czech Republic. It also provides information about the adherence of legal obligation to publish The Closing Financial Statement by accounting entities. The theoretical part of the thesis is describing the necessary legislation which determines the subject and formal content of this part of accounting, which further continues with general and the most significant accounting principles. Following explanation of The Final Accounts as such is divided in two periods. The first period includes inventorying and equally important entering the closing operations into accounts. In the thesis is also described several of these closing operations showed on particular examples. The second period is concerned about finding out the profit before taxation, calculation of the income tax, following entering into accounts, the tax liability, and the final closure of used accounts. The fourth chapter of the theoretical part characterizes The Closing Financial Statement, its obligatory and optional accounting repots, explanation of the obligation to verify the accounting reports by auditor and the essential publishing of The Closing Financial Statements. In the final - practical part of the thesis, there will be introduced results of the empirical research of publishing or rather non-publishing The Closing Financial Statement by companies with the limited liability in the field area of this research - Prague 6, in 2010.

The Bachelor thesis treats of the methods of assets evaluation according to the Act on Accounting and the impact on the result of selected company. The theoretical part of the thesis defines the basic terms related to the assets evaluation, it describes individual types of assets, the methods of their appraisal and the principals of particular valuation. Respective chapters contain definitions of kinds of assets that could be owned by a company and approach to the evaluation that could be applied by a company. This part of the thesis also describes the assets valuation within different phase of accounting period and calculation formula for determination of price of assets. Practical part of the thesis is based on the pieces of knowledge mentioned in the theoretical part and these findings are applied within analysis of evaluation methods of company Garantkámen, s.r.o.. The thesis indicates relevant methods used by this company and concrete example specifies the methods related to evaluation of assets in case of consumption. The thesis summarizes the individual methods of appraisal and their impact on profit or loss of the company.

Purpose – This chapter aims at proposing a methodology for evaluating long-term income distributions according to the equality of opportunity principle. Approach – We refer to the concept that there is equality of opportunity if the value of the set of opportunities is the same for all individuals, regardless of their circumstances. This approach partitions the population into types, that is, groups of individuals with the same set of circumstances. The type-specific outcome distribution is interpreted as the opportunity set of individuals with the same circumstances. We propose partial and complete rankings on long-term type-specific distributions. Accordingly, these rankings capture inequality between types, and are neutral to inequality within types. Findings – We show the relationship between long-run and short-run inequality of opportunity and that this relationship can be interpreted in terms of intragenerational mobility. We also show that mobility can act as an equalizer of opportunities when the accounting period is extended. Originality – The contribution of this work is twofold. First, we develop a decomposition of some measures of long-term inequality of opportunity into measures of short-term inequality of opportunity, applied to distributions, which neutralize the effect of effort on individual income, and may be employed to explain eventual differences arising from an analysis based on the intertemporal context. Second, we propose an index to measure intragenerational mobility and show how it can be interpreted as long-term EOp. Our measure captures only that part of reranking due to the equalization of opportunities over time.

This paper builds on and contributes to the currently emerging literature on CFO’s compensation and turnover. We focus on the association between the CFO’s compensation and turnover and his/her “accounting talent.” We contend that the accounting talent of CFOs can be measured by accounting errors that occur when a country moves to the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) by adopting a “big bang” approach, in which all firms have to adopt IFRS within the same accounting period without the opportunity of early or late adoption. We hand-collect eighteen different accounting errors for a sample of 280 Australian companies. These are then used to calculate the CFO’s accounting talent. We find (i) a positive relation between the CFO’s accounting talent and the CFO’s compensation ex ante in the transition year, (ii) a positive relation between the CFO’s accounting talent and the CFO’s bonus in the subsequent year (adoption year) and (iii) an inverse relationship between the CFO’s accounting talent and CFO turnover in the subsequent year (adoption year). Further tests on the Chief Executive Officer’s (CEO) accounting talent and compensation and alternative specifications of our variables confirm our results.

It is demonstrated that the discount rate for taxes in the traditional formula for the after-tax cost of debt is misspecified for the UK situation. Several new formulae are derived for the after-tax costs for specific periods, including the accounting period and the tax lag. Iterative solution methods are not required.

The agency theory approach to understanding salesforce compensation plans is modified to incorporate the intratemporal nature of the salesperson's effort-rate decision, i.e., the decision about the effort-rate at any given point in time potentially depends upon the sales performance up to that point in time in the accounting period. Under the assumptions considered in this paper, Holmstrom and Milgrom (1987) have shown that the optimal compensation plan is linear in total sales over the accounting period. The comparative statics results obtained here corroborate most of the corresponding results in the salesforce compensation literature; moreover, we derive many additional results not available in the literature. It is demonstrated that the commission income as a fraction of total compensation goes up with an increase in the effectiveness of the sales-effort or an increase in base sales. On the other hand, the salary component of the total compensation goes up with increases in uncertainty, absolute risk aversion, marginal cost of production, perceived cost of effort, and/or alternative job opportunities for the salesperson. We provide a discussion of different selling situations where our results may be more or less applicable. An examination of empirical studies already available in the literature reveals support for our findings regarding the relative emphasis of salary and incentive pay in the compensation plan. We also extend the agency theory approach to compare commission rates across products for a multiproduct salesperson. Here it is shown that commission rates are higher for products with higher sales-effort effectiveness, lower levels of uncertainty, and/or lower marginal costs.