Red flags for financial fraud: uncovering the wirecard fraud case

Wirecard AG, a forward-thinking corporation that aimed to reshape the payment industry, declared bankruptcy in June 2020. The company reported missing a total of EUR 1.9 billion, assuming they had probably never existed. This incident harmed the credibility of the German’s financial regulator and the reputation of the external auditors. Wirecard’s Annual Reports and other sources, such as the Financial Times newspaper, were examined in light of the thirty-seven red flags identified in Murcia and Borba’s (2007) study, which was supported on the International Standard Auditing (ISA) 240, to determine whether the red flags included in this standard were sufficient to indicate potential Financial Statement fraud in the Wirecard case. Twenty-four of the thirty-seven red flags examined sign potential fraud. Nineteen of these red flags are included in ISA 240, leading to the conclusion that the red flags present in that standard were sufficient to indicate potential Financial Statement fraud in the Wirecard case, and any outsider analyst could have detected and incorporated these early warning alarms into their decision-making. This also makes clear that auditors neglected the red flags signalization in the Wirecard case. Although ISA 240 proved to be effective, five of the twenty-four red flags were absent in this standard. These red flags are significant since they expose business issues, implying that a modification of ISA 240 to integrate similar essential red flags is required to make this standard more effective. Moreover, the Wirecard case raised six new significant red flags that can be incorporated in ISA 240.Wirecard AG, uma empresa inovadora que prometeu revolucionar a indústria de pagamentos, declarou falência em junho de 2020. A empresa deu como desaparecido um total de 1,9 biliões de euros, assumindo que provavelmente estes nunca tinham existido. Este incidente prejudicou a credibilidade da entidade reguladora alemã e a reputação dos auditores externos. Relatórios Anuais da Wirecard e outras fontes, como o jornal Financial Times, foram analisadas à luz de trinta e sete bandeiras vermelhas identificadas no estudo de Múrcia e Borba (2007), apoiado pela International Standard on Auditing (ISA) 240, para determinar se as bandeiras vermelhas presentes nesta norma eram suficientes para indicar potencial fraude nas Demonstrações Financeiras no caso Wirecard. Vinte e quatro das trinta e sete bandeiras vermelhas examinadas sugerem potencial fraude. Dezanove destas bandeiras vermelhas estão incluídas na ISA 240, permitindo concluir que as bandeiras vermelhas presentes nesta norma eram suficientes para indicar potencial fraude nas Demonstrações Financeiras no caso Wirecard, e qualquer analista externo à empresa poderia ter detetado e incorporado estes sinais prévios na sua tomada de decisão. Esta informação também evidencia que os auditores negligenciaram a sinalização das bandeiras vermelhas. Embora a ISA 240 tenha provado ser eficaz, cinco das vinte e quatro bandeiras vermelhas estavam ausentes nesta norma. Estas bandeiras vermelhas são significativas, pois expõem problemas nas empresas, implicando que uma modificação na ISA 240 para integrar bandeiras vermelhas essenciais similares é necessária de forma a torna-la mais eficaz. Adicionalmente, o caso Wirecard revelou seis novas bandeiras vermelhas significativas que podem ser incorporadas na ISA 240

Trends and new business models in the portuguese fashion industry: a strategic innovation perspective

This research project focuses on the discussion of trends and new business models for the textile and clothing industry in general and for the fashion industry, in particular, using tools and an approach supported on strategic innovation. A documentary analysis was performed and they were conducted a series of semi-structured interviews. It was noted the importance of the strategic analysis and particularly strategic innovation for the design of new successful business models. Main findings and results are presented on the basis of two main criteria: relevance and feasibility. Two generic strategies were identified

Insights into therapeutic liquid mixtures and formulations towards tuberculosis therapy

Funding Information: This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 (European Research Council) under grant agreement No ERC-2016-CoG 725034 and was supported by the Associate Laboratory for Green Chemistry-LAQV which is financed by national funds from FCT/MCTES (UIDB/50006/2020) and from grants from the National Foundation for Science, FCT Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia – Portugal, PTDC/SAU-INF/28182/2017 to EA, UID/DTP/04138/2019 (to IMed-UL Lisboa). We also thank the support of ADEIM-FFUL (Associação para o Ensino e a Investigação em Microbiologia). Funding Information: This project has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 (European Research Council) under grant agreement No ERC-2016-CoG 725034 and was supported by the Associate Laboratory for Green Chemistry-LAQV which is financed by national funds from FCT/MCTES (UIDB/50006/2020) and from grants from the National Foundation for Science, FCT Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia – Portugal, PTDC/SAU-INF/28182/2017 to EA, UID/DTP/04138/2019 (to IMed-UL Lisboa). We also thank the support of ADEIM-FFUL (Associação para o Ensino e a Investigação em Microbiologia). Publisher Copyright: © 2023 The Author(s)Therapeutic liquid mixtures, as deep eutectic systems, are considered a sustainable strategy that can be useful for the modification and enhancement of the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of different active ingredients. In this study, we assessed the stability and antibacterial activity of therapeutic liquid formulations prepared with anti-tuberculosis drugs. Tuberculosis therapy presents various pitfalls related, for example, to the administration of prolonged regimens of multiple drugs, different severe adverse effects, low compliance of the patient to treatment and the development of drug resistance. During this study, it was possible to assess the physicochemical stability of the formulations for 6 months, by polarized optical microscopy, 1H NMR and FTIR-ATR. Furthermore, the mixtures present an antibacterial effect against a drug-susceptible Mycobacterium tuberculosis strain (H37Rv). This was particularly evident for the mixtures with ethambutol incorporated, making them interesting to pursue with further studies and evaluation of clinical applicability. Upon infection, it was also observed that a single and higher dose appears to be more effective than lower separate doses, which could allow the production of patient-friendly formulations.publishersversionpublishe

Relação entre a qualidade da vinculação à mãe e a cognição social das crianças em idade pré-escolar

Dissertação de Mestrado apresentada ao Instituto Superior de Psicologia AplicadaO presente estudo analisa a relação entre a qualidade da vinculação da criança à mãe e a cognição social, revelada pela primeira em idade pré-escolar. Os participantes foram 50 díades mãe/criança. As crianças tinham idades entre os 4 e os 5 anos, enquanto que as mães variavam entre os 20 e os 41 anos (M= 34,88 anos e DP = 4,114). Para a recolha de dados, utilizaram-se o Attachment Behaviour Q-Set (Waters, 1987) e a Bateria de Provas Sócio-Cognitivas (Strayer, Gravel, Pagé e Biazutti, 1994). Através da análise hierárquica de clusters e das representações maternas, distinguiram-se dois grupos de crianças - seguramente e inseguramente vinculadas. Através do Coeficiente de Pearson, constatou-se que o critério score de Segurança, presente na díade, se encontrava significativamente correlacionado com a Descentração Cognitiva, a nível global (R= 0.460, p 0,05), não se verificou qualquer correlação. Através da mesma correlação, observou-se que a escala Proximidade com a mãe se encontrava correlacionada com a Compreensão Pró-Social (R= -0.288, p<0.042). Os resultados obtidos sustentam o objectivo estudado, pois constatou-se uma relação entre a qualidade da relação de vinculação e o desenvolvimento sócio-cognitivo.ABSTRACT: The present study that aims to analyse the relation between patterns of children’s social thought and quality of attachment relationships. The participants were 50 dyads children-mothers. Children’s age ranged between 4 and 5 years and mother’s age ranged from 20 and 41 years (M= 34,88 anos e SD = 4,114). Mothers were asked to complete the Attachment Q-Set (Wtares, 1987) and the children’s social thought was evaluated throught their social interpretations of several contents. Clusters analyses of obtained Q profiles revealed two different types of attachment relationships, children’s secure and insecure attached. The Pearson’s correlation showed that secure score, present in dyad, was significantly correlated only with cognitive decentration, in global (R= 0.460, p 0,05), any correlation happenned. Through the same correlation, it was noticed that the scale Proximity with the mother was correlated by the Prosocial Reactivity (R =-0.288, p <0.042). The obtained results support the studied objective, so there is a relation implicit between the quality of attachment and the development of social cognition

Atualizações sobre a infeção de citomegalovírus na gravidez : uma revisão da narrativa

Trabalho Final do Curso de Mestrado Integrado em Medicina, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Lisboa, 2021A infeção por citomegalovírus (CMV) é a principal causa de surdez neurossensorial congénita, afetando 22% dos recém-nascidos infetados. A infeção congénita por citomegalovírus (cCMV) tem uma prevalência mundial de 0.64%, apresentando maior risco de se desenvolver após infeção materna primária (32.3%) comparativamente à infeção materna recorrente (1.4%). Assim, torna-se importante determinar a data da infeção materna. Esta revisão da narrativa revelou que idade materna jovem (<20 anos), baixo nível socio-económico e a população melanodérmica não-hispânica constituem fatores de risco para infeção cCMV. A presença de achados ecográficos cerebrais graves, virémia fetal elevada (≥4.93 log10 UI/mL) e trombocitopénia fetal (≤114 000/mm3) constituem fatores de mau prognóstico fetal. É recomendada a realização de ressonância magnética (RM) fetal, pelo maior valor preditivo negativo (VPN) para surdez neurossensorial e défices neurológicos comparativamente à ecografia. A recomendação de medidas de higiene é a intervenção mais eficaz para prevenção da infeção materna primária por CMV. As vacinas gB/MF59, com 50% de eficácia, e V160, com estimulação de anticorpos neutralizantes, apresentam resultados promissores. Estabelecida a seroconversão materna, a terapêutica com 200 UI/kg de hiperimunoglobulina (HIG) bissemanal ou com 8 g diárias de valaciclovir oral diminui a taxa de transmissão vertical e melhora o prognóstico fetal. A administração de valganciclovir oral (16 mg/kg, 2 vezes/dia) ao recém-nascido revelou melhoria da audição em crianças com cCMV. O único estudo epidemiológico da infeção por CMV e cCMV em Portugal revelou uma taxa de prevalência cumulativa à nascença de 6.6/105 nascimentos, bastante inferior à taxa mundial, sugerindo um sub-diagnóstico da infeção. Destaca-se a importância de realizar um estudo epidemiológico otimizado em Portugal para determinação da custo-efetividade do programa e reavaliar a implementação do rastreio serológico universal a CMV no primeiro trimestre da gestação.The cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection is the leading cause of nongenetic sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL), affecting up to 22% of the infected new-borns. The cytomegalovirus congenital infection (cCMV) has a 0.64% worldwide prevalence, being more likely to occur through primary maternal infection (32.3%) in comparison to a recurrent infection (1.4%). Therefore, it becomes important to establish the timing of the maternal infection. This review revealed that a young maternal age (<20 years old), a low socioeconomic status and being a non-hispanic melanodermic are risk factors for cCMV infection. The presence of severe cerebral ultrasound abnormalities, high-level fetal viraemia (≥4.93 log10 IU/mL) and thrombocytopenia (≤114 000/mm3) are predictive factors for poor fetal prognosis. It’s recommended performing a fetal MRI given the higher NPV for SNHL and neurologic impairments in comparison to fetal ultrasound scan. The recommendation of hygiene measures is the most effective intervention for preventing primary maternal infection by CMV. The gB/MF59 vaccine, with 50% efficacy, and the V160 vaccine, with stimulation of neutralizing antibodies, reveal promising findings. Once maternal seroconversion is established, treatment with 200 IU/kg of hyperimmunoglobulin (HIG) biweekly or 8 g daily of oral valaciclovir reduces the vertical transmission rate and improves the fetal symptomatic prognosis. The administration of oral valganciclovir (16 mg/kg, twice daily) to the new-born shown an improvement of hearing in children with cCMV. The only epidemiological study of the infection by CMV and cCMV in Portugal revealed a cumulative prevalence rate at birth of 6.6/105 births, fairly lower to the worldwide rate, suggesting an underdiagnosis of the infection. It’s important to perform an optimized epidemiological study in Portugal to determine the program cost-effectiveness and revaluate the establishment of an universal serologic screening of CMV in the first trimester of pregnancy

Amitriptyline reverses hyperalgesia and improves associated mood-like disorders in a model of experimental monoarthritis

Affective disorders are common comorbidities of chronic inflammatory pain that are often overlooked in primary care. As the impact of inflammatory pain upon mood-like disorders in animal models is not well known, our objective was to assess whether prolonged experimental monoarthritis (ARTH) induced the development of anxiety and depressive-like behaviours in rodents and if amitriptyline, an antidepressant commonly used in the treatment of chronic pain, could reverse both nociceptive and mood-like impairments. Experimental ARTH was induced through an injection of kaolin/carrageenan into the right knee joint with control (SHAM) animals injected with saline. Four weeks after induction, ARTH animals displayed mechanical hyperalgesia and a depressive-like phenotype as they showed a significant increase in immobility and a decrease in the latency to immobility in the forced-swimming test at the expense of the time spent climbing/swimming. ARTH animals also displayed a decreased sucrose preference, an index of anhedonia and anxiety-like behaviour as time spent exploring the open arms of the elevated-plus-maze was decreased when compared to controls. The anxiety-like phenotype was also supported by an increase in the number of fecal boli left in the open field. In ARTH animals, the administration of amitriptyline decreased mechanical hyperalgesia and increased sucrose preference and the time spent climbing, although it had a deleterious effect in the performance of control animals. Our data show that this model of ARTH can be useful for the study of chronic pain-mood disorders comorbidities and that amitriptyline is able to partly reverse the associated nociceptive and emotional impairments.This study was supported by grants from the Portuguese Science Foundation (FCT) Project no PTDC/SAU-NEU/108557/2008, FEDER-COMPETE, and the Academy of Finland. Diana Amorim was supported by FCT grant SFRH/BD/71219/2010. Ana David-Pereira was supported by FCT grant SFRH/BD/90374/2012

Major determinants of prolonged remission in systemic lupus erythematosus: retrospective study over a 41+year period

OBJECTIVES: To investigate predictors of sustained complete remission (CR) for 3 and 5 years, minimum. METHODS: Retrospective observational study from January 1978-december 2019, including Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) patients who attended the Lupus Clinic in a tertiary hospital, for at least 3 years. We used the British Isles Lupus Assessment Group (BILAG) score and serological profile to classify patients into CR, serologically active clinically quiescent (SACQ) and serological remission (SR). Multivariable cox regression analysis was performed to investigate predictors of CR and Kaplan-Meier curves were obtained. RESULTS: We included 564 patients; 15% achieved CR, 7% SACQ, 15% SR. 63% attained no remission. In the CR group, 73% sustained the remission for 5 or more years. Patients who did not reach any kind of sustained remission died significantly earlier (p32-years), HR 1.92 [1.24-2.97] p= 0.003; absence of renal involvement, HR 2.55 [1.39-4.67] p= 0.002; and of antiphospholipid syndrome (APS), HR 4.92 [1.55-15.59] p= 0.007. CONCLUSION: Patients not achieving any kind of sustained remission have a higher risk of early mortality. White ethnicity, older age at diagnosis, absence of renal involvement and of APS were significantly associated with CR. Predictors for sustained CR do not change whether a 3-year or 5-year period is applied