15 research outputs found

    Macro and Micro Earnings Manipulation: The Role of Accounting Standard Setting Process

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    Preparers of financial statements are in aposition to influence the view of economic reality presented inthose statements to interested parties. The term 'macromanipulation'is used to describe the lobbying of preparersagainst regulators (accounting standards setters) to persuadethem to produce regulation that is more favorable to theinterests of preparers. The aime of this paper is to introduce asuggested tool that could be used to ascertain why somefinancial accounting standards turn out to the benefit of one ofthe stakeholders involved in the process of accountingstandards setting. This paper utilizes the construct of power toreveal the influences from parties involved in the process ofaccounting standards setting. The comprehensive incomereporting standard is used in this paper as an example of thesetypes of standard that may involve 'macro-manipulation'

    The Usefulness of Different Accounting Earnings Measures: The Case of Egypt

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    The objective of this paper is to investigate whichmeasure of accounting income (comprehensive income,operating income, or net income) is more useful to equityinvestors in explaining future earnings, future cash flows, andstock returns. This study proposes that different measures ofincome are more useful for different uses. The research isundertaken within the Egyptian environment that allowsconsiderable asset revaluations and holds the reporting ofextraordinary items. Therefore, such environment provides arich ground for testing the expected effects of reportingcomprehensive income and its components on the Egyptianinvestors. The results do not support the superiority ofcomprehensive income measures in explaining the followingperiod’s net income compared to net income. None of the fourtested measures of earnings is able to explain the followingperiod’s cash flows. Operating income is superior to the otherthree measures of income in explaining stock return

    An Interpretive Analysis of how Audit Quality is Perceived in Economies in Transition

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    With the movement of many internationalaccounting firms into Egypt, and the growth of local auditfirms, it is particularly interesting, and relevant forgovernmental legislators, to study how the providers of theaudit service perceive the quality of what they do. In thissense, the purpose of this paper is to report the perceptions ofprofessional auditors in Egypt concerning how they perceivethe quality of the service they provide. The paper also analyzesdifferences between perceptions of the Big 4 audit firms andother local audit firms. Based on 28 semi-structuredinterviews, it was revealed that the interviewees generallybelieved that the audit quality is preserved high in thepresence of four factors: (1) high ethical standards to guideand regulate the profession; (2) a well planned and conductedaudit; (3) a more knowledgeable audit team; and (4) having agood relationship with the client management

    Surgical site infection after gastrointestinal surgery in high-income, middle-income, and low-income countries: a prospective, international, multicentre cohort study

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    Background: Surgical site infection (SSI) is one of the most common infections associated with health care, but its importance as a global health priority is not fully understood. We quantified the burden of SSI after gastrointestinal surgery in countries in all parts of the world. Methods: This international, prospective, multicentre cohort study included consecutive patients undergoing elective or emergency gastrointestinal resection within 2-week time periods at any health-care facility in any country. Countries with participating centres were stratified into high-income, middle-income, and low-income groups according to the UN's Human Development Index (HDI). Data variables from the GlobalSurg 1 study and other studies that have been found to affect the likelihood of SSI were entered into risk adjustment models. The primary outcome measure was the 30-day SSI incidence (defined by US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention criteria for superficial and deep incisional SSI). Relationships with explanatory variables were examined using Bayesian multilevel logistic regression models. This trial is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT02662231. Findings: Between Jan 4, 2016, and July 31, 2016, 13 265 records were submitted for analysis. 12 539 patients from 343 hospitals in 66 countries were included. 7339 (58·5%) patient were from high-HDI countries (193 hospitals in 30 countries), 3918 (31·2%) patients were from middle-HDI countries (82 hospitals in 18 countries), and 1282 (10·2%) patients were from low-HDI countries (68 hospitals in 18 countries). In total, 1538 (12·3%) patients had SSI within 30 days of surgery. The incidence of SSI varied between countries with high (691 [9·4%] of 7339 patients), middle (549 [14·0%] of 3918 patients), and low (298 [23·2%] of 1282) HDI (p < 0·001). The highest SSI incidence in each HDI group was after dirty surgery (102 [17·8%] of 574 patients in high-HDI countries; 74 [31·4%] of 236 patients in middle-HDI countries; 72 [39·8%] of 181 patients in low-HDI countries). Following risk factor adjustment, patients in low-HDI countries were at greatest risk of SSI (adjusted odds ratio 1·60, 95% credible interval 1·05–2·37; p=0·030). 132 (21·6%) of 610 patients with an SSI and a microbiology culture result had an infection that was resistant to the prophylactic antibiotic used. Resistant infections were detected in 49 (16·6%) of 295 patients in high-HDI countries, in 37 (19·8%) of 187 patients in middle-HDI countries, and in 46 (35·9%) of 128 patients in low-HDI countries (p < 0·001). Interpretation: Countries with a low HDI carry a disproportionately greater burden of SSI than countries with a middle or high HDI and might have higher rates of antibiotic resistance. In view of WHO recommendations on SSI prevention that highlight the absence of high-quality interventional research, urgent, pragmatic, randomised trials based in LMICs are needed to assess measures aiming to reduce this preventable complication

    Impact of opioid-free analgesia on pain severity and patient satisfaction after discharge from surgery: multispecialty, prospective cohort study in 25 countries

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    Background: Balancing opioid stewardship and the need for adequate analgesia following discharge after surgery is challenging. This study aimed to compare the outcomes for patients discharged with opioid versus opioid-free analgesia after common surgical procedures.Methods: This international, multicentre, prospective cohort study collected data from patients undergoing common acute and elective general surgical, urological, gynaecological, and orthopaedic procedures. The primary outcomes were patient-reported time in severe pain measured on a numerical analogue scale from 0 to 100% and patient-reported satisfaction with pain relief during the first week following discharge. Data were collected by in-hospital chart review and patient telephone interview 1 week after discharge.Results: The study recruited 4273 patients from 144 centres in 25 countries; 1311 patients (30.7%) were prescribed opioid analgesia at discharge. Patients reported being in severe pain for 10 (i.q.r. 1-30)% of the first week after discharge and rated satisfaction with analgesia as 90 (i.q.r. 80-100) of 100. After adjustment for confounders, opioid analgesia on discharge was independently associated with increased pain severity (risk ratio 1.52, 95% c.i. 1.31 to 1.76; P &lt; 0.001) and re-presentation to healthcare providers owing to side-effects of medication (OR 2.38, 95% c.i. 1.36 to 4.17; P = 0.004), but not with satisfaction with analgesia (beta coefficient 0.92, 95% c.i. -1.52 to 3.36; P = 0.468) compared with opioid-free analgesia. Although opioid prescribing varied greatly between high-income and low- and middle-income countries, patient-reported outcomes did not.Conclusion: Opioid analgesia prescription on surgical discharge is associated with a higher risk of re-presentation owing to side-effects of medication and increased patient-reported pain, but not with changes in patient-reported satisfaction. Opioid-free discharge analgesia should be adopted routinely

    A Critique of the Balanced Scorecard as a Performance Measurement Tool

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    Given the dynamic nature of business markets, organizations have witnessed a rapid change in their performance measurement systems in the last three decades with most of the performance measurement tools being more sophisticated. One of the most widespread tools is the Balanced Scorecard (BSC). Within a decade since its emergence, a majority of the Fortune 1000 companies was implementing the BSC. Despite the widespread adoption, a growing body of scholarship finds limitations in the BSC, particularly in its concept, application, and practice. The same body of scholarship contends these limitations could either undermine the effectiveness of the BSC or cause firms to abandon the BSC altogether for better performance measurement alternatives. Hence, the main aim of this paper is to provide a review or rather a critique of the BSC as a performance measurement tool and debating whether the BSC is in fact a universal solution for corporate performance measurement

    A Critique of the Balanced Scorecard as a Performance Measurement Tool

    No full text
    Abstract Given the dynamic nature of business markets, organizations have witnessed a rapid change in their performance measurement systems in the last three decades with most of the performance measurement tools being more sophisticated. One of the most widespread tools is the Balanced Scorecard (BSC). Within a decade since its emergence, a majority of the Fortune 1000 companies was implementing the BSC. Despite the widespread adoption, a growing body of scholarship finds limitations in the BSC, particularly in its concep