The impact of audit committee expertise on audit quality: Evidence from UK audit fees

Governance regulators currently place great emphasis on ensuring the presence of financial expertise on audit committees (Sarbanes-Oxley, 2002; UK Corporate Governance Code 2010–2016). Underlying this is a belief that greater expertise enhances the effectiveness of audit committees and, by extension, the quality of the external audit. This study investigates the impact of audit committee expertise on one measure of audit quality - audit fees paid by FTSE350 companies. Our analysis finds that audit committees possessing greater levels of financial expertise are associated with higher audit fees. When we segregate financial expertise between accounting and non-accounting, we find that the positive impact identified is driven by non-accounting expertise. Furthermore, when we separate FTSE100 and FTSE250 firms we find the impact of financial expertise is confined to FTSE250 firms. Our findings are important as they highlight the usefulness of segregating financial expertise between specialists and non-specialists, something which regulators in the UK and in the USA currently do not do. Our findings also highlight the potential value of audit committee expertise in smaller as opposed to larger listed firms, suggesting that the value of expertise to audit quality depends on the specific financial reporting challenges firms face

Conditional preparation of states containing a definite number of photons

A technique for conditionally creating single- or multimode photon-number states is analyzed using Bayesian theory. We consider the heralded N-photon states created from the photons produced by an unseeded optical parametric amplifier when the heralding detector is the time-multiplexed photon-number-resolving detector recently demonstrated by Fitch, et al. [Phys. Rev. A 68, 043814 (2003).] and simultaneously by Achilles, et al. [Opt. Lett. 28, 2387 (2003).]. We find that even with significant loss in the heralding detector, fields with sub-Poissonian photon-number distributions can be created. We also show that heralded multimode fields created using this technique are more robust against detector loss than are single-mode fields.Comment: 6 pages, 6 figures, reference added, typos corrected, content update

The Performance of US Bond Mutual Funds

We evaluate the performance of the US bond mutual fund industry using a comprehensive sample of bond funds over a long time period from January 1998 to February 2017. In this one study, we evaluate bond fund selectivity, market timing and performance persistence. We evaluate bond funds relative to their self-declared benchmarks and in terms of both gross-of-fee returns and net-of-fee returns. We document considerable abnormal performance among funds both to the fund (gross returns) and to the investor (net returns). Bond fund performance is found to be superior in the post financial crisis period. However, past strong performance cannot be relied upon to predict future performance. Finally, while some funds exhibit market timing ability; we find a predominance of negative market timing among US bond mutual funds

Analysis of margin classification systems for assessing the risk of local recurrence after soft tissue sarcoma resection

Purpose: To compare the ability of margin classification systems to determine local recurrence (LR) risk after soft tissue sarcoma (STS) resection. Methods: Two thousand two hundred seventeen patients with nonmetastatic extremity and truncal STS treated with surgical resection and multidisciplinary consideration of perioperative radiotherapy were retrospectively reviewed. Margins were coded by residual tumor (R) classification (in which microscopic tumor at inked margin defines R1), the R+1mm classification (in which microscopic tumor within 1 mm of ink defines R1), and the Toronto Margin Context Classification (TMCC; in which positive margins are separated into planned close but positive at critical structures, positive after whoops re-excision, and inadvertent positive margins). Multivariate competing risk regression models were created. Results: By R classification, LR rates at 10-year follow-up were 8%, 21%, and 44% in R0, R1, and R2, respectively. R+1mm classification resulted in increased R1 margins (726 v 278, P < .001), but led to decreased LR for R1 margins without changing R0 LR; for R0, the 10-year LR rate was 8% (range, 7% to 10%); for R1, the 10-year LR rate was 12% (10% to 15%) . The TMCC also showed various LR rates among its tiers (P < .001). LR rates for positive margins on critical structures were not different from R0 at 10 years (11% v 8%, P = .18), whereas inadvertent positive margins had high LR (5-year, 28% [95% CI, 19% to 37%]; 10-year, 35% [95% CI, 25% to 46%]; P < .001). Conclusion: The R classification identified three distinct risk levels for LR in STS. An R+1mm classification reduced LR differences between R1 and R0, suggesting that a negative but < 1-mm margin may be adequate with multidisciplinary treatment. The TMCC provides additional stratification of positive margins that may aid in surgical planning and patient education

Barriers to healthcare and a ‘triple empathy problem’ may lead to adverse outcomes for autistic adults: A qualitative study

Autistic people experience more co-occurring health conditions and, on average, die younger than non-autistic people. Despite growing awareness of health inequities, autistic people still report barriers to accessing healthcare. We aimed to explore the experiences of autistic people accessing healthcare, shining a light on the complex interplay of relevant factors and to explain, at least in part, the possible reasons underling health disparities and adverse health outcomes. This is a qualitative study from an autistic research team. Data were collected from 1248 autistic adults as part of a large, mixed-methods, international survey exploring barriers to primary healthcare. This article reports the qualitative findings, following a thematic analysis. Using our exploratory findings, we then constructed a model to explain the reported experiences. Respondents reported a variety of barriers. Here, our article gives voice to their stories, in their own words. Themes included: early barriers; communication mismatch; doubt – in oneself and from doctors; helplessness and fear; and healthcare avoidance and serious adverse health outcomes. Our constructed model outlines a chronological journey through which healthcare access barriers may lead to adverse health outcomes. Our findings also build on the double empathy problem, situating this in a medical context, proposing a triple empathy problem

Time, institutional support and quality of decision making in child protection:A cross-country analysis

This paper examines perceptions of time and institutional support for decision making and staff confidence in child welfare staffs ultimate decisions – examining differences and similarities between and within the service-oriented Nordic countries (Norway and Finland) and the risk-oriented Anglo-American countries (England and California). The study identifies a high degree of work pressure across all the countries, lines of predominantly vertical institutional support and relatively high confidence in decisions. Finland stands out with higher perceived work pressure and with a horizontal support line, whereas England stands out with workers having a lower degree of confidence in their own and others’ decisions

Palmitoylethanolamide and Cannabidiol Prevent Inflammation-induced Hyperpermeability of the Human Gut In Vitro and In Vivo—A Randomized, Placebo-controlled, Double-blind Controlled Trial

Background and aimsWe aimed to examine, for the first time, the effect of cannabidiol (CBD) and palmitoylethanolamide (PEA) on the permeability of the human gastrointestinal tract in vitro, ex vivo, and in vivo.MethodsFlux measurements of fluorescein-labeled dextrans 10 (FD10) and fluorescein-labeled dextrans 4 (FD4) dextran across Caco-2 cultures treated for 24 hours with interferon gamma (IFNγ) and tumour necrosis factor alpha (TNFα) (10 ng·mL−1) were measured, with or without the presence of CBD and PEA. Mechanisms were investigated using cannabinoid receptor 1 (CB1), cannabinoid receptor 2 (CB2), transient receptor potential vanilloid 1 (TRPV1), and proliferator activated receptors (PPAR) antagonists and protein kinase A (PKA), nitric oxide synthase, phosphoinositide 3-kinases, extracellular signal–regulated kinases (MEK/ERK), adenylyl cyclase, and protein kinase C (PKC) inhibitors. Human colonic mucosal samples collected from bowel resections were treated as previously stated. The receptors TRPV1, PPARα, PPARδ, PPARγ, CB1, CB2, G-coupled protein receptor 55 (GPR55), G-coupled protein receptor 119 (GPR119), and claudins-1, -2, -3, -4, -5, -7, and -8 mRNA were measured using multiplex. Aquaporin 3 and 4 were measured using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). A randomized, double-blind, controlled-trial assessed the effect of PEA or CBD on the absorption of lactulose and mannitol in humans taking 600 mg of aspirin. Urinary concentrations of these sugars were measured using liquid chromatography mass spectrometry.ResultsIn vitro, PEA, and CBD decreased the inflammation-induced flux of dextrans (P < 0.0001), sensitive to PPARα and CB1 antagonism, respectively. Both PEA and CBD were prevented by PKA, MEK/ERK, and adenylyl cyclase inhibition (P < 0.001). In human mucosa, inflammation decreased claudin-5 mRNA, which was prevented by CBD (P < 0.05). Palmitoylethanolamide and cannabidiol prevented an inflammation-induced fall in TRPV1 and increase in PPARα transcription (P < 0.0001). In vivo, aspirin caused an increase in the absorption of lactulose and mannitol, which were reduced by PEA or CBD (P < 0.001).ConclusionCannabidiol and palmitoylethanolamide reduce permeability in the human colon. These findings have implications in disorders associated with increased gut permeability, such as inflammatory bowel disease

Deep Observation of the Giant Radio Lobes of Centaurus A with the Fermi Large Area Telescope

The detection of high energy (HE) {\gamma}-ray emission up to about 3 GeV from the giant lobes of the radio galaxy Centaurus A has been recently reported by the Fermi-LAT Collaboration based on ten months of all-sky survey observations. A data set more than three times larger is used here to study the morphology and photon spectrum of the lobes with higher statistics. The larger data set results in the detection of HE {\gamma}-ray emission (up to about 6 GeV) from the lobes with a significance of more than 10 and 20 {\sigma} for the North and the South lobe, respectively. Based on a detailed spatial analysis and comparison with the associated radio lobes, we report evidence for a substantial extension of the HE {\gamma}-ray emission beyond the WMAP radio image in the case of the Northern lobe of Cen A. We reconstruct the spectral energy distribution (SED) of the lobes using radio (WMAP) and Fermi-LAT data from the same integration region. The implications are discussed in the context of hadronic and leptonic scenarios