Annual Reports: Fact or Fiction? Are there governance implications?

Two recent high-profile announcements of companies going into administration (Palmer & Harvey) and liquidation (Carillion) raise questions about the robustness of statements made in annual reports including the quality and objectivity of audit reporting, and the implications of this on Corporate Governance practice. This discussion coincides with the Financial Reporting Council 'Proposed Revisions to the UK Corporate Governance Code', December 2017. This paper considers some of the behavioural factors which influence performance and, most likely, performance reporting. It also considers some of the potentially fraudulent activity by firms, and the quality and nature of audit reporting in Annual Reports. Contexts of this paper are Agency Theory and Merger and Acquisition (M&A) activity. The next step in this research will be to increase the sample size and explore the scale of the issues being considered, and then develop recommendations for both corporate reporting narratives in Annual Reports, and the adoption of forensic accounting techniques in audit reporting

Qualitative Research Methodology: A Neo-empiricist Perspective

A commitment to empiricism is evident in much of the published research, in the business and management field, which extols the virtues of ‘qualitative research’ approaches. Yet just what their implicit assumptions to empiricism suggest in terms of the epistemological positioning of the research often remains problematic. It is our position that management researchers need to be more aware of the philosophical commitments they make through their methodological choices if they are to understand what they are investigating. In this paper we argue for the importance of neo-empiricism as a distinct interpretivist mode of engagement with qualitative methods and its position as a response to the criticisms of positivism with respect to developing meaningful understandings of social phenomena is discussed. With the focus of neo-empiricism on developing theory that is grounded in observations of empirical reality, we offer two examples, from Forensic Accounting and International Joint Venture Management, to highlight the general inductive data (thematic) analysis processes associated with such data oriented empirical perspectives. The main focus of the paper is to ‘forefront’ the role of the neo-empiricist perspective as an important interpretive approach in business and management research and to provide a basic understanding of the theoretical commitments of such perspective

Towards widening participation in post-graduate research: The ASPIRE programme

In recent years, universities in the UK have increased efforts to promote diversity and equality in their institutions. Such efforts include establishing partnerships with schools and colleges in local communities (Russell Group, 2023), creating mentorship programmes (SHU, 2022), attempting to decolonise the curriculum (HEPI, 2020), funding research to address the ethnic minorities awarding gap (OFS, 2021), and providing ringed-fenced scholarships for Black and mixed heritage students (Sucharitkul and Windsor, 2021). These interventions are directly aimed at widening access and participation for under-represented groups. Nevertheless, there remains a significant amount of work to be done in supporting improvements in the progression and outcomes for minoritised students in universities, especially those from Black and mixed-Black ethnic backgrounds

Towards widening participation in PGR: the Aspire Model

In recent years, universities in the UK have increased efforts to promote diversity and equality in their institutions. Such efforts include establishing partnerships with schools and colleges in local communities (Russell Group, 2023), creating mentorship programmes (SHU, 2022), attempting to decolonise the curriculum (HEPI, 2020), funding research to address the ethnic minorities awarding gap (OFS, 2021), and providing ringed-fenced scholarships for Black and mixed heritage students (Sucharitkul and Windsor, 2021). These interventions are directly aimed at widening access and participation for under-represented groups. Nevertheless, there remains a significant amount of work to be done in supporting improvements in the progression and outcomes for minoritised students in universities, especially those from Black and mixed-Black ethnic backgrounds

Give me a hand, and I will thrive: how personalised mentorship is helping Black students progression

This paper examines personalised mentorship's disruptive role in enabling Black students' progression in the academy and industry. It focuses on the Accomplished Study Program in Research Excellence (ASPIRE), a unique intervention and an innovative approach designed to provide mentorship and well-being to Black and Black heritage students and improve their graduate outcomes and access to doctoral study. Drawing from the evaluation data of the first cohort of the programme and the broader literature on the attainment gap and underrepresentation of Black students in higher education, the paper examines the extent to which participation in ASPIRE leads to improved work-readiness of Black students to access doctoral level study and acquire jobs in the industry through personalised mentorship

Effects of hospital facilities on patient outcomes after cancer surgery: an international, prospective, observational study

© 2022 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an Open Access article under the CC BY 4.0 licenseBackground: Early death after cancer surgery is higher in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs) compared with in high-income countries, yet the impact of facility characteristics on early postoperative outcomes is unknown. The aim of this study was to examine the association between hospital infrastructure, resource availability, and processes on early outcomes after cancer surgery worldwide. Methods: A multimethods analysis was performed as part of the GlobalSurg 3 study—a multicentre, international, prospective cohort study of patients who had surgery for breast, colorectal, or gastric cancer. The primary outcomes were 30-day mortality and 30-day major complication rates. Potentially beneficial hospital facilities were identified by variable selection to select those associated with 30-day mortality. Adjusted outcomes were determined using generalised estimating equations to account for patient characteristics and country-income group, with population stratification by hospital. Findings: Between April 1, 2018, and April 23, 2019, facility-level data were collected for 9685 patients across 238 hospitals in 66 countries (91 hospitals in 20 high-income countries; 57 hospitals in 19 upper-middle-income countries; and 90 hospitals in 27 low-income to lower-middle-income countries). The availability of five hospital facilities was inversely associated with mortality: ultrasound, CT scanner, critical care unit, opioid analgesia, and oncologist. After adjustment for case-mix and country income group, hospitals with three or fewer of these facilities (62 hospitals, 1294 patients) had higher mortality compared with those with four or five (adjusted odds ratio [OR] 3·85 [95% CI 2·58–5·75]; p<0·0001), with excess mortality predominantly explained by a limited capacity to rescue following the development of major complications (63·0% vs 82·7%; OR 0·35 [0·23–0·53]; p<0·0001). Across LMICs, improvements in hospital facilities would prevent one to three deaths for every 100 patients undergoing surgery for cancer. Interpretation: Hospitals with higher levels of infrastructure and resources have better outcomes after cancer surgery, independent of country income. Without urgent strengthening of hospital infrastructure and resources, the reductions in cancer-associated mortality associated with improved access will not be realised. Funding: National Institute for Health and Care Research