Antithrombotic Prophylaxis in the Middle East

Several factors have been proposed to explain the persistence of a high incidence of venous thromboembolism worldwide with its associated morbidity and mortality. Underutilization of anticoagulants and failure of adherence to thromboprophylaxis guidelines are emerging global health concerns. We herein review this alarming observation with special emphasis on the Middle East region. We also discuss strategies that could help control this increasingly reported problem

The extent of corporate governance disclosure and its determinants in a developing market: The case of Egypt

This paper assesses the extent of corporate governance voluntary disclosure and the impact of a comprehensive set of corporate governance (CG) attributes (board composition, board size, CEO duality, director ownership, blockholder ownership and the existence of audit committee) on the extent of corporate governance voluntary disclosure in Egypt. The measurement of disclosure is based on published data created from a checklist developed by the United Nations, which was gathered from a manual review of financial statements and websites of a sample of Egyptian companies listed on Egyptian Stock Exchange (EGX). Although the levels of CG disclosure are found to be minimal, disclosure is high for items that are mandatory under the Egyptian Accounting Standards (EASs). The failure of companies to disclose such information clearly shows some ineffectiveness and inadequacy in the regulatory framework in Egypt. Moreover, the phenomenon of non-compliance may also be attributed to socio-economic factors in Egypt. Therefore, it is expected that Egyptian firms will take a long time to appraise the payback of increased CG disclosure. The findings indicate that that—ceteris paribus—the extent of CG disclosure is (1) lower for companies with duality in position and higher ownership concentration as measured by blockholder ownership; and (2) increases with the proportion of independent directors on the board and firm size. The results of the study support theoretical arguments that companies disclose corporate governance information in order to reduce information asymmetry and agency costs and to improve investor confidence in the reported accounting information. The empirical evidence from this study enhances the understanding of the corporate governance disclosure environment in Egypt as one of the emerging markets in the Middle East

Burnout among surgeons before and during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic: an international survey

Background: SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has had many significant impacts within the surgical realm, and surgeons have been obligated to reconsider almost every aspect of daily clinical practice. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study reported in compliance with the CHERRIES guidelines and conducted through an online platform from June 14th to July 15th, 2020. The primary outcome was the burden of burnout during the pandemic indicated by the validated Shirom-Melamed Burnout Measure. Results: Nine hundred fifty-four surgeons completed the survey. The median length of practice was 10 years; 78.2% included were male with a median age of 37 years old, 39.5% were consultants, 68.9% were general surgeons, and 55.7% were affiliated with an academic institution. Overall, there was a significant increase in the mean burnout score during the pandemic; longer years of practice and older age were significantly associated with less burnout. There were significant reductions in the median number of outpatient visits, operated cases, on-call hours, emergency visits, and research work, so, 48.2% of respondents felt that the training resources were insufficient. The majority (81.3%) of respondents reported that their hospitals were included in the management of COVID-19, 66.5% felt their roles had been minimized; 41% were asked to assist in non-surgical medical practices, and 37.6% of respondents were included in COVID-19 management. Conclusions: There was a significant burnout among trainees. Almost all aspects of clinical and research activities were affected with a significant reduction in the volume of research, outpatient clinic visits, surgical procedures, on-call hours, and emergency cases hindering the training. Trial registration: The study was registered on clicaltrials.gov "NCT04433286" on 16/06/2020

Progressing corporate governance disclosure in Egypt: Current status and action plan

This study examines the level of corporate governance disclosure in Egypt and explores the attitudes of Egyptian regulators, auditors, accountants, academics and company directors about the strategies needed to enhance CG disclosure. The measurement of disclosure is based on a checklist developed by the United Nations, which was gathered using a content analysis of financial statements and websites of a sample of Egyptian companies listed on Egyptian Stock Exchange (EGX). Levels of CG disclosure are found to be very low, however, disclosure is high for items that are mandatory under the Egyptian Accounting Standards (EASs) that are based on International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). The failure of companies to disclose such information clearly shows some ineffectiveness and inadequacy in the regulatory framework in Egypt. Moreover, the phenomenon of non-compliance may also be attributed to the socio-economic factors in Egypt. Therefore, it is expected that Egyptian firms will take a long time to appraise the benefits of increased CG disclosure. Therefore, awareness building, education and training, incentives or disincentives to disclose including the nature of enforcement regimes are among possible policy recommendations based on interviews with Egyptian experts, but all carry costs as well as benefits. The findings provide a benchmark of performance against which future research can measure longitudinal changes after a further learning period

Do Board Independence and audit committees motivate disclosure on Different Corporate Governance information categories in the annual reports in developing countries?

In this study we examine the impact of board independence and the presence of an audit committee on the level of disclosure of different corporate governance (CG) information categories (i.e. Ownership structure and exercise of control rights, Financial transparency and information, Auditing, Corporate responsibility and compliance, and Board and management structure and process) of the 30 most actively traded companies on the Egyptian Stock Exchange (EGX). The findings indicate that the different categories of CG disclosure are associated with board independence which is consistent with a complementary relationship between independent directors and disclosure. However, the results throw into question the cost benefit relationship of establishing audit committees in the active share trading Egyptian firms, since there is no significant association between the existence of these committees and the different CG disclosure categories. Therefore, awareness building, education and training, incentives or disincentives to disclose including the nature of enforcement regimes are possible policy recommendations, but all carry costs as well as benefits. The findings provide a benchmark of performance against which future research can measure longitudinal changes after a further learning period.©EuroJournals Publishing, Inc. 2010

An empirical analysis of corporate governance structures and voluntary corporate disclosure in volatile capital markets: the Egyptian experience

This paper examines the level and determinants (i.e. ownership structure, board composition and audit committee presence) of voluntary corporate disclosure in the annual reports of the largest 100 companies listed on the Egyptian stock exchange (EGX). Our results indicate that overall voluntary disclosure was low at just 13.43% with a large variation range. This score places Egypt at a lower level than other emerging capital markets (e.g. Singapore, Hong Kong and Malaysia). The variances of these results support the need for individual country level studies and comparative analysis. Multivariate results show audit committee presence as the most significant variable influencing voluntary disclosure. Also, companies with a higher ratio of independent non-executive directors have a higher extent of voluntary disclosure. It was also evidenced that voluntary disclosure increases with decreases in block-holder ownership. Results show that two other ownership aspects -- managerial and government -- are not related to voluntary disclosure. Finally, the analysis shows profitability and internationality significantly impact voluntary disclosure. On the other side, that number of shareholders, type of auditor, size, liquidity, leverage and industry type of the firm do not affect the extent of voluntary disclosure.corporate governance, corporate disclosure, voluntary disclosure, volatile capital markets, Egypt, ownership structure, board composition, audit committee, emerging markets, emerging markets, non-executive directors, independent directors, profitability, internationalisation,