Exploratory Study on Social and Environmental Reporting of European Companies in Crises Period

The present study promotes arguments for reporting improvement to support stakeholders’ confidence and proposes possible policies and strategies for social and environmental reporting, resulting from European companies’ activity. We examined the information disclosed in annual reports and corporate social responsibility reports from a sample of the companies listed on the Euronext Stock Exchange over a three-year period. The purpose of the research is to support the idea that the quality of social and environmental information provided by companies is increasing as time passes and in relation to the present economic conditions. We conducted an exploratory study whose results are analysed and discussed in terms of financial and economic evolution within the present world crisis. They give us the possibility to design a new facet of the overall framework for reporting social and environmental information by combining theoretical requirements of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) standards with their implementation in the reporting practice of European companies.social, environmental, reporting, corporate responsibility, companies’ practice

Disclosure measurement in the empirical accounting literature: A review article

This is the first study to provide an extensive and critical review of different techniques used in the empirical accounting literature to measure disclosure. The purpose is to help future researchers to identify exemplars and to select suitable techniques or to develop their own techniques. It also provides in depth discussion of current measurement issues related to disclosure and identifies gaps in the current literature which future research may aim to cover

Implementing Electricity Restructuring: Policies, Potholes, and Prospects

Electricity is one of the last U.S. industries in which competition is replacing regulation. We briefly review the technology for producing and delivering power, the history of electricity policy, and recent state and international experience. We then outline the major questions facing policymakers as they decide whether, when, and how to implement restructuring. We conclude with some thoughts on the California electricity crisis and other political controversies. Although the California experience has come to define what it means for electricity markets to fail, most of the problems it raised are among those we know how to solve or prevent. The still unresolved make-or-break issue remains whether the cooperation necessary to maintain reliability is compatible with the degree of competition necessary to bring about greater efficiency and lower prices. This paper draws upon our forthcoming book, Alternating Curents: Electricity Markets and Public Policy.electricity restructuring, regulation, deregulation

Measuring the performance of equity-share schemes in South African agriculture: A focus on financial criteria

This study aims to develop a robust methodology for measuring financial performance of equity-share schemes. Several studies have investigated various aspects of performance of these schemes but no single study has yet measured their performance using an objective set of criteria. Four categories of such objective criteria are proposed: poverty alleviation; empowerment and participation; institutional arrangements and governance; and financial performance. This paper focuses only on the financial performance criteria. Recognised indicators of financial performance are applied to balance sheet and income statement data provided by four equity-share schemes in the Western Cape province. This analysis highlights problems with several of the conventional ratios used to measure profitability, solvency and growth when they are applied to recently restructured farming enterprises whose 'empowerment' status attracts exceptionally high levels of debt capital to finance long-term investments. To avoid these problems it is recommended that, for equity-share schemes, profitability should be measured by the return on assets or dividend return; solvency by the debt/asset ratio; liquidity by cash flow projections; growth by changes in the (estimated) real value of shares; and workers' total returns by changes in the sum of the real wage bill, capital gains, dividends, interest and other benefits accruing to workers in aggregate.Agricultural Finance,

Remanufacturing and product design: designing for the 7th generation

The following is taken directly from the research report. This report investigates Design for Remanufacture in terms of both detailed product design and the business context in which Design for Remanufacture may operate. Key Study Objectives • To understand the link between design and remanufacture • To understand how Design for Remanufacture can lead to increased innovation and Sustainable Development (SD) • To identify proactive strategies to further Design for Remanufactur

Evaluating the Energy Security Implications of a Carbon-Constrained U.S. Economy

Examines how factors linked to U.S. energy security would be affected in eight scenarios in which carbon emissions are limited to a certain level. Assesses the feasibility of and need for low-carbon technology

Focusing on Demand Side Management in the Future of the Electric Grid

The widespread blackout that occurred on August 14, 2003 (“the blackout”) exposed the weaknesses of the current electric transmission grid structure, and underscored the need for improvements to the transmission grid in the United States. The outage knocked out power to approximately fifty million people in Ohio, Michigan, Pennsylvania, New York, Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Jersey and the Canadian province of Ontario.\ud The total cost in the United States was estimated to be between $4 and$10 billion

Accounting for the determinants of banks’ credit ratings

The contribution of the banking industry to the recent financial crisis 2007/8 has raised public concerns about the excessive involvement of banks in risky activities. In addition there have been public concerns about the ability of credit rating agencies to evaluate these risks in advance. In this context, this study uses an ordered logit analysis to examine the determinants of banks’ credit ratings using a sample of US and UK banks’ accounting data from 1994 to 2009. Our intention is to examine to what extent banks’ ratings reflect banks’ risks. Our analysis shows that a small number of accounting variables, namely: bank size, liquidity, efficiency and profitability are able to correctly assign credit rating for approximately 74% to 78% the sample banks. Surprisingly, the association between banks’ credit ratings and each of leverage asset quality and capital is not robust, suggesting that the rating agency’s models did not pick them up despite their importance in the crisis. In addition, the relationship between banks’ credit ratings and liquidity is the reverse of that which an adequate early warning system would require. As banks benefit from higher credit ratings they will have addressed their determinants rather than taking care of systemic factors that affect underlying risk. Policy makers therefore need to intervene to address this market failure.This study was financially supported by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland (ICAS)

California Water Myths

Presents eight common myths about water supply, ecosystems, and the legal and political aspects of governing California's water system and explains how each myth drives the debate, the reality, and alternatives for better informed policy discussions

Intellectual Capital: a Focus on Human Capital Reporting Practices of Top Malaysian Listed Companies

This paper aims to examine the extent of human capital (HC) reporting among top Malaysian companies and introduce an HC reporting guideline that can be used by Malaysian companies and regulator. It begins by developing the HC framework based on previous intellectual capital (IC) frameworks. This framework is then used to examine each of the top 100 Malaysian companies listed on the Bursa Malaysia in year 2008. Using the content analysis method, it reviews the annual reports of these companies to determine the extent of HC reporting. The findings of this paper highlight the need for the development of IC framework particularly on HC. HC differences were also identified between Malaysia and other countries such as Sri Lanka and Australia, and it is argued that these differences can be attributed to the social, economic, and political factors