Corporate Environmental Disclosure, Corporate Governance and Earnings Management

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the association between corporate environmental disclosure (CED) and earnings management (EM) and the impact of corporate governance (CG) mechanisms on that association. Design/methodology/approach – The paper uses performance-matched discretionary accruals (DA) as a measure of EM. The paper also uses ordinary least square regression with robust standard errors to examine the association between CED and EM for a sample of 245 UK non-financial firms for the financial year ended on March 2007. Three different theoretical frameworks are used to identify the expected association between CER and EM. These include: signalling, agency and stakeholder-legitimacy theories. Findings – The paper finds no significant statistical association between various measures of DA and environmental disclosure. The paper also finds that some CG attributes affect the relationship between CER and EM. Practical implications – The result suggests that UK corporate managers are not using environmental disclosure as a technique to reduce the probability that public policy actions will be taken against their companies. Originality/value – Since most empirical research is limited to the US setting, this paper provides a novel contribution to the existing literature, as one of the first to examine this issue in the UK

In vitro assessment of anti-proliferative effect induced by α-mangostin from Cratoxylum arborescens on HeLa cells

Natural medicinal products possess diverse chemical structures and have been an essential source for drug discovery. Therefore, in this study, α-mangostin (AM) is a plant-derived compound was investigated for the apoptotic effect on human cervical cancer cells (HeLa). The cytotoxic effects of AM on the viability of HeLa and human normal ovarian cell line (SV40) were evaluated by using MTT assay. Results showed that AM inhibited HeLa cells viability at concentration- and time-dependent manner with IC50 value of 24.53 ± 1.48 µM at 24 h. The apoptogenic effects of AM on HeLa were assessed using fluorescence microscopy analysis. The effect of AM on cell proliferation was also studied through clonogenic assay. ROS production evaluation, flow cytometry (cell cycle) analysis, caspases 3/7, 8, and 9 assessment and multiple cytotoxicity assays were conducted to determine the mechanism of cell apoptosis. This was associated with G2/M phase cell cycle arrest and elevation in ROS production. AM induced mitochondrial apoptosis which was confirmed based on the significant increase in the levels of caspases 3/7 and 9 in a dose-dependent manner. Furthermore, the MMP disruption and increased cell permeability, concurrent with cytochrome c release from the mitochondria to the cytosol provided evidence that AM can induce apoptosis via mitochondrial-dependent pathway. AM exerted a remarkable antitumor effect and induced characteristic apoptogenic morphological changes on HeLa cells, which indicates the occurrence of cell death. This study reveals that AM could be a potential antitumor compound on cervical cancer in vitro and can be considered for further cervical cancer preclinical and in vivo testing

Earnings management and audit quality:stakeholders’ perceptions

This paper examines the perceptions of Libyan Commercial Banks’ (LCBs) stakeholders regarding the role of the external auditor in relation to earnings management (EM). A total of 28 semi-structured interviews were carried out with a range of LCB stakeholders comprising preparers of financial statements, users, regulators and academics. A questionnaire survey of stakeholders which yielded 102 Responses (response rate 53%) was also carried out. A variety of views were held which varied to some extent according to stakeholder group. A widely held perception amongst interviewees was that the auditor has the ability to detect EM practices but may not be able to prevent it. However questionnaire respondents were, in aggregate, more confident of the auditor’s ability to deter EM due to the influence of the audit report. The paper provides insights into stakeholders’ perceptions of the quality of bank audits. The findings are of particular relevance to regulators, and specifically, the Central Bank of Libya. Perceptions of audit quality raise questions about its guidance and regulations especially in connection with audit firm rotation. Perceptions of audit quality, and therefore, of the credibility of financial statements should be of interest to all stakeholders. The importance of the banking sector for society has been amply demonstrated in recent years. A well-functioning audit function is a key component of its regulation. To the best of our knowledge, this paper is the first to examine issues related to banks’ audit quality and audit firm rotation in Libya

Are Independent Directors and Supervisory Directors Effective in Constraining Earnings Management?

Manuscript Type: EmpiricalResearch Question/Issue: The aim of this paper is to analyze the impact of corporate governance on earnings management in China. It focuses on two aspects from the perspective of board monitoring: the role of independent directors on the board and the supervisory directors in constraining earnings manipulation. This paper examines whether the independence, financial/accounting expertise and official background and a higher proportion of independent directors and supervisors are related to the absolute value of discretionary accruals or discretionary revenue.Research Findings/Insights: By conducting the research on a large sample of Chinese listed companies from 2005 to 2010, the empirical results suggest that Chinese two-tier board structure comprising aboard of directors with at least one third independent directors and supervisory board fails to mitigate earnings management.Theoretical Implications: This study adds to the corporate governance literature by linking the independent directors and supervisory directors and earnings management. It shows that the principal-principal agency conflict between the controlling shareholders (the State) and minority shareholders is the main cause of earnings management in China.Practical Implications: The results support the evidence that the regulators should pay more attention to enhance the authentic independence of independent directors and supervisory directors in Chinese firms

Turbo-Coded V-BLAST/MAP MIMO System

Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO) systems can greatly increase the spectral efficiency. There is a need to design detection algorithm that can recover the transmitted signals with acceptable complexity and using suitable coding system to get high performance. In this paper, several MIMO detection techniques with Turbo coding were introduced and evaluated in terms of Bit Error Rate. VBLAST with Maximum A posteriori (MAP) detection techniques is introduced for Turbo coded MIMO system