Research regarding the issues of the arm’s length principle mentioned by I.A.S. 24

This article illustrates, based on a case study, the steps that companies should follow in order to substantiate the compliance of their related party transactions with the arm’s length principle (as required by I.A.S. 24). The case study takes into consideration the provisions of the O.E.C.D. transfer pricing guidelines, and where the application was required of domestic legislation, we applied the Romanian one. We found that the most important step is represented by a comparability analysis between related party transactions and comparable market transactions. Further on, in relation to the comparability analysis, in practice two situations are met: the use of comparable entities’ information from the year under analysis and the use of this information from previous years. In this context we selected a sample of comparables and analysed if these two practical approaches impact the final conclusion regarding the compliance with the arm’s length principle. We found that there can be a small difference among the results obtained in the two situations. Mainly, the article presents important findings for professionals from the accounting and finance area in order to understand the mechanism of the arm’s length principle

Exploring the clonal evolution of CD133/aldehyde-dehydrogenase-1 (ALDH1)-positive cancer stem-like cells from primary to recurrent high-grade serous ovarian cancer (HGSOC). A study of the Ovarian Cancer Therapy–Innovative Models Prolong Survival (OCTIPS) Consortium

Background High-grade serous ovarian cancer (HGSOC) causes 80% of all ovarian cancer (OC) deaths. In this setting, the role of cancer stem-like cells (CSCs) is still unclear. In particular, the evolution of CSC biomarkers from primary (pOC) to recurrent (rOC) HGSOCs is unknown. Aim of this study was to investigate changes in CD133 and aldehyde dehydrogenase-1 (ALDH1) CSC biomarker expression in pOC and rOC HGSOCs. Methods Two-hundred and twenty-four pOC and rOC intrapatient paired tissue samples derived from 112 HGSOC patients were evaluated for CD133 and ALDH1 expression using immunohistochemistry (IHC); pOCs and rOCs were compared for CD133 and/or ALDH1 levels. Expression profiles were also correlated with patients' clinicopathological and survival data. Results Some 49.1% of the patient population (55/112) and 37.5% (42/112) pOCs were CD133+ and ALDH1+ respectively. CD133+ and ALDH1+ samples were detected in 33.9% (38/112) and 36.6% (41/112) rOCs. CD133/ALDH1 coexpression was observed in 23.2% (26/112) and 15.2% (17/112) of pOCs and rOCs respectively. Pairwise analysis showed a significant shift of CD133 staining from higher (pOCs) to lower expression levels (rOCs) (p < 0.0001). Furthermore, all CD133 + pOC patients were International Federation of Gynaecology and Obstetrics (FIGO)-stage III/IV (p < 0.0001) and had significantly worse progression-free interval (PFI) (p = 0.04) and overall survival (OS) (p = 0.02). On multivariate analysis, CD133/ALDH1 coexpression in pOCs was identified as independent prognostic factor for PFI (HR: 1.64; 95% CI: 1.03–2.60; p = 0.036) and OS (HR: 1.71; 95% CI: 1.01–2.88; p = 0.045). Analysis on 52 pts patients with known somatic BRCA status revealed that BRCA mutations did not influence CSC biomarker expression. Conclusions The study showed that CD133/ALDH1 expression impacts HGSOC patients' survival and first suggests that CSCs might undergo phenotypic change during the disease course similarly to non stem-like cancer cells, providing also a first evidence that there is no correlation between CSCs and BRCA status

Characterisation of tumor microvessel density during progression of high-grade serous ovarian cancer: clinico-pathological impact. An OCTIPS Consortium study.

Background: High-grade serous ovarian cancer (HGSOC) intratumoural vasculature evolution remains unknown. The study investigated changes in tumour microvessel density (MVD) in a large cohort of paired primary and recurrent HGSOC tissue samples and its impact on patients’ clinico-pathological outcome. Methods: A total of 222 primary (pOC) and recurrent (rOC) intra-patient paired HGSOC were assessed for immunohistochemical expression of angiogenesis-associated biomarkers (CD31, to evaluate MVD, and VEGF-A). Expression profiles were compared between pOCs and rOCs and correlated with patients' data. Results: High intratumoural MVD and VEGF-A expression were observed in 75.7% (84/111) and 20.7% (23/111) pOCs, respectively. MVDhighand VEGF(+)samples were detected in 51.4% (57/111) and 20.7% (23/111) rOCs, respectively. MVDhigh/VEGF(+)co-expression was found in 19.8% (22/111) and 8.1% (9/111) of pOCs and rOCs, respectively (p = 0.02). Pairwise analysis showed no significant change in MVD (p = 0.935) and VEGF-A (p = 0.121) levels from pOCs to rOCs. MVDhighpOCs were associated with higher CD3(+)(p = 0.029) and CD8(+)(p = 0.013) intratumoural effector TILs, while VEGF(+)samples were most frequently encountered among BRCA-mutated tumours (p = 0.019). Multivariate analysis showed VEGF and MVD were not independent prognostic factors for OS. Conclusions: HGSOC intratumoural vasculature did not undergo significant changes during disease progression. High concentration of CD31(+)vessels seems to promote recruitment of effector TILs. The study also provides preliminary evidence of the correlation between VEGF-positivity and BRCA status

Advance Pricing Agreements and Double Taxation – Key Concepts in the Context of Transfer Pricing

The paper presents the main advantages and disadvantages of an advance pricing agreement (APA), illustrates a practical example regarding a situation of double taxation of results and presents a comparative analysis between the number of advance pricing agreements granted by the EU countries and the number of Double Tax Treaties concluded by these countries. Results show that an APA presents more advantages than a transfer pricing file, but its disadvantages (regarding the cost and the period of time needed for the issuance) have a big impact on the business of a company and determine most of the taxpayers to choose a transfer pricing documentation file rather than to apply for an APPA. The results of this research also show that countries which have concluded a big number of Double Tax Treaties tends to grant much more APAs compared with the other category of countries where the number of Double Tax Treaties is smaller

Transfer Pricing System of EU Countries: An Analysis in the Context of SDGS

Considering that the base erosion and the profit shifting practiced by multinationals could deprive governments of their fair share in taxes and, as a consequence of the financial resources needed to achieve the sustainable development goals (‘SDGs’), governments have started to be interested in the implementation of transfer pricing regulations. The objective of the paper is to analyze the transfer pricing regulations and practices adopted by the EU countries that record a good progress in terms of SDGs vs. EU countries that record a moderate progress in this respect.The results of the study show that the strictness of the transfer pricing system influences the progress regarding the achievement of the SDGs. More exactly, the countries which record a good progress in achieving SDGs have, in general, a stricter transfer pricing system. In order to increase the strictness of the transfer pricing system and the progress in terms of SDGs, countries could implement regulation which envisage: the preparation of an annual transfer pricing documentation; the preparation of a documentation on three levels according to BEPS 13; the adoption of certain measures in order to increase the number of APAs, MAPs and transfer pricing audits; imposing of penalties.</p

A European map regarding the strictness of the transfer pricing regulations

In the context in which transfer pricing may represent a mechanism through which multinationals have the possibility to move funds internationally, in order to prevent the base erosion and profit shifting between multinationals, countries over the world have adopted various transfer pricing regulations. Furthermore, some of the countries adopted stricter regulations than others. The objective of our research was to identify the level of strictness for the transfer pricing regulations from the European countries. To achieve this objective, we analyzed the transfer pricing regulations of all European countries and we built a transfer pricing strictness index, based on which we defined 4 categories of countries (where category 1 includes the countries with the least strict transfer pricing regulations and category 4 countries with the strictest regulations). After that, we illustrated how these categories are distributed on the European map. In order to collect the information, we used the transfer pricing guides issued by the Big Four companies for the year 2015. The study`s results show that the strictness of the transfer pricing regulations decreases from the west of Europe to east. Moreover, most of the countries were included in category 2, respectively category 3, meaning that the transfer pricing regulations from the European continent are not so flexible, but in the same time are not so strict

Rola IT w sektorze logistycznym : wpływ modelu DuPonta na rentowność przedsiębiorstw IT

Background: The information technology (IT) is presented in all levels of the supply chain, from the communication with suppliers, through the manufacture process and until the delivery to clients. Moreover, IT has a positive effect on the performance of the supply chain. In this context, it is important for the IT sector to register a positive evolution, in other words it is important that the IT companies to be profitable and to continue to exist on the market ensuring the provision of the necessary tools for the logistic sector. Therefore, the objective of this paper was to analyze the profitability of the IT companies and to identify which factors impact it. The importance of our study in the context of the logistic sector can be sustained by the fact that technology information constitutes a crucial strategic aspect for the logistics service providers and it is important to maintain a positive evolution of the IT sector. Methods: There was used a regression analysis which started from the factors of the DuPont model and afterwards supplemented by one factor identified based on the Stepwise method. Results: The results show that the profitability of the Romanian IT companies is influenced by the Net Profit Margin, the Asset Turnover, the Financial Leverage and the Sales Growth. Conclusions: More exactly, the profitability of these companies is impacted by the capacity to generate net income based on the sales performed (and indirectly by the management of the costs), the efficiency with which the assets are used in order to generate revenues, the financing source of the assets and by the growth of the sales volume. Our results may present importance for the financial management, investors and researches offering insights about the factors which should be observed in order to improve the profitability of an IT entity from Romania. The importance of this study for the logistics sector can be interpreted as following: knowing which is the evolution of the IT market from a country and which factors impact the profitability of it represents an asset from the point of view of the logistics aspects, as there can be provided insights in case that the continuity for the tools needed is uncertain. Future research direction may imply the analysis of the correlation between the evolution of the IT companies and the logistic sector. Considering the fact that, as far as we know, no similar study was performed at the level of the Romanian IT industry, the novelty and originality of the research is represented by the performance of the research at the level of this market.Wstęp: Technologia IT jest obecna we wszystkich obszarach łańcucha dostaw, od komunikacji z dostawcami, poprzez proces produkcyjny aż po dostawy do klientów. Dodatkowo, IT ma pozytywny wpływ na pracę łańcucha dostaw. W tym kontekście ważne jest, aby sektor IT przeżywał pozytywną ewolucję, to znaczy, aby firmy IT były zyskowne oraz kontynuowały swoją działalność na rynku i były w stanie dostarczać potrzebnych narzędzi dla sektora logistycznego. Celem niniejszej pracy była analiza zyskowności przedsiębiorstw IT oraz identyfikacja czynników na nią wpływających. Istotność tych badań w kontekście sektora logistycznego opiera się na fakcie, że informacja technologiczna jest kluczowym aspektem strategicznym dla dostawców usług logistycznych i dlatego ważnym jest utrzymanie pozytywnej ewolucji sektora IT. Metody: W pracy zastosowano analizę regresji, wychodząc od czynników modelu DuPonta a następnie uzupełniając o czynnik zidentyfikowany przy użyciu metody Stepwise. Wyniki: Wyniki wskazują, że na zyskowność rumuńskich przedsiębiorstw IT ma wpływ marża netto, wskaźnik rotacji, dźwignia finansowa oraz wzrost sprzedaży. Wnioski: Zyskowność badanych przedsiębiorstw jest uwarunkowana zdolnością generowania dochodu netto w oparciu o realizowaną sprzedaż (oraz pośrednio przez zarządzanie kosztami), wydajnością wykorzystania posiadanych zasobów, źródłem finansowania zasobów oraz wielkością sprzedaży. Prezentowane wyniki są istotne dla zarządzania finansowego, zarówno dla inwestorów jak i naukowców, oferując informacje na temat czynników, które należy kontrolować w celu uzyskania zyskowności przedsiębiorstwa IT w Rumunii. Istotność uzyskanych wyników dla sektora logistycznego należy zinterpretować następująco: znajomość ewolucji rynku IT w kraju oraz czynników wpływających na zyskowność daje przewagę z punktu widzenia aspektów logistycznych i dostarcza niezbędnych informacji w sytuacjach niepewnych. Dalsze badania powinny obejmować analizę korelacji pomiędzy ewolucją przedsiębiorstw IT oraz sektora logistycznego. Biorąc pod uwagę fakt, że jest to pierwsza tego typu praca dotycząca poziomu przemysłu IT w Rumunii, nowość i oryginalność prezentowanej pracy jest reprezentowana poprzez jej realizację na poziomie tego rynku

Highly Specialized Textiles with Antimicrobial Functionality—Advances and Challenges

Textiles with antimicrobial functionality have been intensively and extensively investigated in the recent decades, mostly because they are present in everyday life in various applications: medicine and healthcare, sportswear, clothing and footwear, furniture and upholstery, air and water purification systems, food packaging etc. Their ability to kill or limit the growth of the microbial population in a certain context defines their activity against bacteria, fungi, and viruses, and even against the initial formation of the biofilm prior to microorganisms’ proliferation. Various classes of antimicrobials have been employed for these highly specialized textiles, namely, organic synthetic reagents and polymers, metals and metal oxides (micro- and nanoparticles), and natural and naturally derived compounds, and their activity and range of applications are critically assessed. At the same time, different modern processing techniques are reviewed in relation to their applications. This paper focuses on some advances and challenges in the field of antimicrobial textiles given their practical importance as it appears from the most recent reports in the literature

DOES THE SHAREHOLDER SALIENCE INFLUENCE THE CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY OF ENTITIES FROM ENERGY SECTOR?

The stakeholder salience framework has become, over the past two decades, a tool often used to identify, asses and prioritize stakeholders and has demonstrated considerable theoretical and managerial implications. The objective of this paper is to determine to what extent stakeholder salience influences how different stakeholder categories are represented in the sustainability reports of entities from energy sector. In this respect, an interpretative content-based analysis of the social and environmental information disclosed by entities is used. The sample encompasses six energy entities that are comprised of Dow Jones Sustainability Europe Index (DJSI) constituent\u27s list on September 19, 2016. The results highlight that stakeholders who hold power have a high score of salience, being followed by those who possess legitimacy and then by those who possess urgency. The obtained results suggest the need to continue to focus on the normative theory of the stakeholders. The results also highlight that there is a link between the stakeholder salience, on the one hand, and the number and type of attributes held by each category of stakeholders, on the other hand. Stakeholders who hold power have a high score of salience, being followed by those who possess legitimacy and by those who possess urgency