Integration of Spatial technology and Web Application for Revenue Mobilization

The government usually has always had problems with revenue mobilization. One way ofascertaining the effectiveness of a government is its ability to mobilize funds.Governments all over the world are faced with the general problem of ineffectuality inrevenue mobilization and tracking. This often leads to the unavailability of adequatefunds for the effective provision of services and infrastructure by government. ARevenue Mobilization Application (RMA) is created primarily based on a geo-database.This application consists of four modules which are geo-database, and detailed map ofKwadaso Municipal Assembly (KdMA). The geo-database comprises the property column, owners of property, revenue and revenue collector. If the application system is adopted and replicated in other MMDAs, t will eventually increase the tracking, update of data and general mobilizing of revenue

Exploring the Trend of ICT Adoption in Tertiary Institutions in Ghana: A Case Study at Kwame Nkrumah University Of Science And Technology (KNUST)

The integration of ICT in tertiary institutions is critically important, if Ghana is to produce graduates equipped to for knowledge and technological based economy and also to bridge the gaps between itself and the rest of the world. This research examines the trend and use of ICT adoption in Ghana, and its effect on teaching, research and learning in tertiary institutions in Ghana. Mixed data collection method was used. Data was collected on the trend of ICT infrastructure within the past 10 years. There are many technology infrastructures available but it is not fully integrated in teaching, research and learning. While the practice of equipping institutions with ICT infrastructure and using them to teach computer literacy to augment teaching, research and learning is useful, the goal of fully integrating ICT in educational, research, and administrative processes seems very slow. Another issue is lack of affordable and dependable connectivity with sufficient bandwidth. The unwillingness to use ICT coupled with unreliable electric supply complicates the matter. To make these methods ready for practical, industrial use, they need further work, especially the creation of supports and investment in infrastructure. The full potential of technology will only be unlocked by effective approaches to other essential IT challenges to Ghanaian education. Keywords: ICT, Infrastructure, Tertiary Institutions, and Ghana

Governance structures and the compensation of powerful corporate leaders in financial firms during M&As

We examine the impact of mergers and acquisitions (M&As) on the compensation of powerful corporate leaders [i.e., boards of directors, including Chief Executives Officers (CEOs), Chief Financial Officers (CFOs), and Board Chairs] of acquiring firms. Using one of the largest datasets on M&As, directors’ compensation, and governance to-date, consisting of a sample of UK financials (banks, insurance firms, private equity firms, and speciality finance firms) over a 13-year period, our results obtained by employing multivariate regression analyses show that acquisitions, on average, have a positive and significant impact on directors’ compensation. This effect applies to both powerful corporate executives (CEOs, CFOs, and all other executive directors) and other non-executive directors. However, the positive acquisition effect on top executive compensation is much higher in larger and more complex acquisitions. We also find that much of the acquisition-related pay raises is equity-based rather than cash-based. Finally, we find CEOs to be the top beneficiaries from acquisitions. We interpret our findings within a multi-theoretical framework that draws insights from agency, executive power, managerial talent, and tournament theories of top executive compensation

Corporate Multinationality and Acquirer Returns

This paper provides evidence on how corporate multinationality from the perspective of acquiring firms relates to M&A returns. Using multivariate regressions and a large dataset of over 6,000 M&As (both cross-border and domestic) by UK firms during 1987 to 2014, the paper finds multinationality to be associated with significantly higher short-run announcement returns and long-run operating performance. While the multinationality premium (higher M&A returns for multinationals) persists over time, it seems to be restricted to firms with superior resource/managerial capabilities and minimal agency problems. Finally, the multinationality premium appears to be driven by foreign acquisitions into advanced economies. The results are robust to correcting for sample selection bias and controlling for several firm and deal characteristics, as well as accounting for firm-, industry-, and year-fixed effects. Collectively, the findings imply that multinationality could be a source of value creation for acquiring firms, particularly in foreign acquisitions, which tend to be complex, and thereby, require superior managerial capabilities to succeed

Bank opacity and risk-taking: Evidence from analysts’ forecasts

We depart from existing literature by invoking analysts’ forecasts to measure banking system opacity and then investigate the impact of such opacity on bank risk-taking, using a large panel of US bank holding companies, 1995-2013. We uncover three new results. Firstly, we find that opacity increases insolvency risks among banks. Secondly, we establish that the relationship between opacity and bank risk-taking is accentuated by the degree of banking market competition. Thirdly, we show that the bank business model moderates the risk-taking incentives of opaque banks, albeit only marginally. Overall, these findings suggest that the analysts’ forecast measure of bank opacity is useful for understanding risk-taking by publicly-traded banks, with important implications for bank stability

Corporate governance and dividend pay-out policy in UK listed SMEs: The effects of corporate board characteristics

Purpose: This paper examines the extent to which corporate board characteristics influence the level of dividend pay-out ratio using a sample of UK small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) from 2010 to 2013 listed on the Alternative Investment Market. Design/methodology/approach: The data is analysed by employing multivariate regression techniques, including estimating fixed effects, lagged effects and two-stage least squares regressions. Findings: The results show that board size, the frequency of board meetings, board gender diversity and audit committee size have a significant relationship with the level of dividend pay-out. Audit committee size and board size have a positive association with the level of dividend pay-out, whilst the frequency of board meetings and board gender diversity has a significant negative relationship with the level of dividend pay-out. By contrast, the findings suggest that board independence and CEO role duality do not have any significant effect on the level of dividend pay-out. Originality/value: This is one of the first attempts at examining the relationship between corporate governance and dividend policy in the UK’s Alternative Investment Market, with the analysis distinctively informed by agency theoretical insights drawn from the outcome and substitution hypotheses

How does banking market power affect bank opacity? Evidence from analysts' forecasts

Whilst the ongoing banking regulatory reforms towards a comprehensive Basel III framework emphasise bank transparency, disclosure and a competitive banking market environment, very little is known about the empirical relationship between bank opacity and banking competition. We investigate the impact of competition, as measured by the individual bank's pricing power in the banking market, on bank opacity using a large sample of US bank holding companies over the 1986–2015 period. We uncover new evidence, on the competition-bank opacity nexus, which suggests that banks with higher market power and operating in less competitive banking markets have lower analysts' forecast errors and dispersions and may thus be less opaque. This effect is more pronounced for the 2007–09 global financial crisis period. Our evidence is robust to controlling for analysts' characteristics, bank fixed-effects and endogeneity problems

Credit Information Sharing and Loan Default in Developing Countries: The Moderating Effect of Banking Market Concentration and National Governance Quality

Departing from the existing literature, which associates credit information sharing with improved access to credit in advanced economies, we examine whether credit information sharing can also reduce loan default rate for banks domiciled in developing countries. Using a large dataset covering 879 unique banks from 87 developing countries from every continent, over a nine-year period (i.e., over 6,300 observations), we uncover three new findings. First, we find that credit information sharing reduces loan default rate. Second, we show that the relationship between credit information sharing and loan default rate is conditional on banking market concentration. Third, our findings suggest that governance quality at the country level does not have a strong moderating role on the effect of credit information sharing on loan default rate

Sero-Epidemiology as a Tool to Screen Populations for Exposure to Mycobacterium ulcerans

Sero-epidemiological analyses revealed that a higher proportion of sera from individuals living in the Buruli ulcer (BU) endemic Densu River Valley of Ghana contain Mycobacterium ulcerans 18 kDa small heat shock protein (shsp)-specific IgG than sera from inhabitants of the Volta Region, which was regarded so far as BU non-endemic. However, follow-up studies in the Volta Region showed that the individual with the highest anti-18 kDa shsp-specific serum IgG titer of all participants from the Volta Region had a BU lesion. Identification of more BU patients in the Volta Region by subsequent active case search demonstrated that sero-epidemiology can help identify low endemicity areas. Endemic and non-endemic communities along the Densu River Valley differed neither in sero-prevalence nor in positivity of environmental samples in PCR targeting M. ulcerans genomic and plasmid DNA sequences. A lower risk of developing M. ulcerans disease in the non-endemic communities may either be related to host factors or a lower virulence of local M. ulcerans strains

INTEGRATION OF SPATIAL TECHNOLOGY AND WEB APPLICATION FOR REVENUE MOBILIZATION

The government usually has always had problems with revenue mobilization. One way of ascertaining the effectiveness of a government is its ability to mobilize funds. Governments all over the world are faced with the general problem of ineffectuality in revenue mobilization and tracking. This often leads to the unavailability of adequate funds for the effective provision of services and infrastructure by government. A Revenue Mobilization Application (RMA) is created primarily based on a geo-database. This application consists of four modules which are geo-database, and detailed map of Kwadaso Municipal Assembly (KdMA). The geo-database comprises the property column, owners of property, revenue and revenue collector. If the application system is adopted and replicated in other MMDAs, t will eventually increase the tracking, update of data and general mobilizing of revenue