Corporate governance and impression management in annual press releases

We study the association between corporate governance and impression management in annual results press releases (ARPRs). Press releases constitute a timely vehicle to communicate firm performance to third parties. However, oftentimes, managers provide self-serving disclosures that attempt to distort readers¿ perceptions of corporate achievements. Corporate governance mechanisms actively monitor managerial disclosures, improving firm transparency. Thus, we predict that strong governance (i) increases firm voluntary release of ARPRs, and (ii) reduces impression management in those ARPRs. Tests are based on a sample of Spanish firms. The results confirm that strong governance firms are more likely to release an ARPR. In particular, board independence and the existence of remuneration and audit committees significantly determine this type of voluntary disclosure. We also show that strong governance limits impression management practices, consistent with governance monitoring effectively reducing self-serving disclosures by management. Our evidence is consistent with impression management being associated to firm news, suggesting that these practices respond, at least partly, to informative motivations. En este trabajo investigamos la asociación entre el gobierno corporativo y la manipulación de la presentación de la información en las notas de prensa. Las notas de prensa son uno de los medios que usan las empresas para comunicarse con terceras partes. A veces, las empresas revelan información con la intención de mostrar una imagen sesgada de la empresa. El gobierno corporativo es uno de los mecanismos que controlan la manipulación en la revelación de información y mejora la transparencia. Nuestras expectativas son que empresas con mejor gobierno corporativo (i) incrementen la revelación voluntaria y (2) muestren menos manipulación de la presentación de información en sus notas de prensa. Hemos analizado empresas Españolas cotizando en la Bolsa de Madrid. En particular, hemos encontrado que la independencia de los directivos y la existencia de comités de remuneración y de auditoria determinan el tipo de revelación de información voluntaria. Estos resultados confirman el papel de control que ejerce el gobierno corporativo para reducir efectivamente la presentación engañosa de la información. Nuestros resultados también muestran que la manipulación esta relacionada con las noticias de las empresas, lo que sugiere que estas practicas responden, al menos en parte, a razones informativas.Gobierno corporativo, manipulación de la presentación, revelación voluntaria Corporate governance, impression management, voluntary disclosure

Monitoring and control projects in public institutions under PMI´S methodology and principal guiding for public function

En el Presente artículo se expone un modelo para la administración y monitoreo de los proyectos, basado en el caso exitoso desarrollado en el Ejército Nacional, el cual tiene como propósito servir de réplica para las entidades y organismos públicos como una herramienta flexible para el monitoreo y control de los proyectos y para las organismos de control como la contraloría, procuraduría sobre el desarrollo integral de todos los proyectos y para la administración eficiente de los recursos asignados por el Ministerio de Hacienda y Crédito Público a entidades y organismos públicos de Colombia. En la cual se establece la centralización de esfuerzos para la planeación, estructuración y desarrollo de proyectos, su monitoreo y control enfocados a cumplir la estrategia para la que fueron diseñados o para incrementar el bienestar de la población.This article outlines a model for the management and monitoring of projects based on the successful case developed into the national army, which It is intended to serve as a replica for entities and public bodies as a flexible tool for the monitoring and control of projects and for the supervisory bodies as the contraloría, procuraduría on the development comprehensive of all the projects and for the efficient management of the resources allocated by the Ministry of Hacienda and credit public to entities and public organizations of Colombia. In which it establishes the centralisation of efforts for the planeación, Structuring and development of projects, his monitory and control focused to fulfil The strategy for which were designed or to increase the welfare of the population

La excesiva onerosidad de las prestaciones en la contratación mercantil

El mercado, los operadores y las relaciones comerciales se han visto con la crisis global afectados en su capacidad de negocio y en su productividad. Para solventar los desequilibrios financieros, económicos y la propia desconfianza e inseguridad jurídica los intérpretes han puesto sobre la mesa la necesidad de dar una respuesta a estos problemas desde una perspectiva uniforme e internacional. Cada vez resulta más frecuente que los tribunales, sin obviar los diferentes institutos y principios generales del derecho, apliquen de manera complementaria en los fundamentos jurídicos de las resoluciones judiciales los principios y reglas del comercio internacional a los supuestos de imposibilidad de cumplimiento de la prestación por la alteración de circunstancias sobrevenidas que suponen una excesiva onerosidad y un desequilibrio de las prestaciones contractuales. En este estudio, se analizan conjuntamente las especialidades de las obligaciones y contratos mercantiles, la buena fe, la lealtad, cooperación, excesiva onerosidad y la renegociación, conforme a la Propuesta de Código Mercantil

The effect of earnings management on the asymmetric timeliness of earnings.

Is earnings management affecting (driving) the measures of earnings conservatism?Ball et al. (2000) point out that the asymmetry in the recognition of good and bad news in earnings (faster recognition of bad news: earnings conservatism) is more pronounced in common‐law than in code‐law based accounting regimes. However, comparative studies on earnings conservatism in Europe have failed to identify significant differences between common‐law and code‐law based countries. We argue that in code‐law based countries managers have incentives to reduce earnings consistently. This enhances the association between earnings and returns in bad news periods. We find that after controlling for discretionary accruals, the differential earnings response to bad news in Germany and France decreases significantly.Conservatism; Earnings management; Europe; Comparability;

The economic determinants of conditional conservatism.

We study the economic determinants of conditional conservatism. Consistent with prior literature, we find that contracting induces only conditional conservatism and litigation induces both conditional and unconditional conservatism. We extend prior evidence by Qiang (2007) by showing that taxation and regulation induce not only unconditional conservatism, but conditional conservatism as well. We show that in certain scenarios taxation and regulation create incentives to shift income from periods with high taxation pressure and high public scrutiny to periods with lower taxation pressure and lower public scrutiny. These income shifting strategies are implemented by recognising current economic losses that, given managerial incentives to report aggressively, would not have been recognized otherwise, or by delaying the recognition of current economic gains that would have been recognized had circumstances been different.Conservatism; Contracting; Taxation; Political costs; Litigation risk;

Accounting conservatism and corporate governance.

We predict that firms with stronger corporate governance will exhibit a higher degree of accounting conservatism. Governance level is assessed using a composite measure that incorporates several internal and external characteristics. Consistent with our prediction, strong governance firms show significantly higher levels of conditional accounting conservatism. Our tests take into account the endogenous nature of corporate governance, and the results are robust to the use of several measures of conservatism (market-based and nonmarket-based). Our evidence is consistent with the direction of causality flowing from governance to conservatism, and not vice versa, indicating that governance and conservatism are not substitutes. Finally, we study the impact of earnings discretion on the sensitivity of earnings to bad news across governance structures. We find that, on average, strong-governance firms appear to use discretionary accruals to inform investors about bad news in a timelier mannerConditional conservatism; Corporate governance; Managerial discretion;

Conditional conservatism and cost of capital.

We empirically test the association between conditional conservatism and cost of equity capital. Conditional conservatism imposes stronger verification requirements for the recognition of economic gains than economic losses, resulting in earnings that reflect losses faster than gains. This asymmetric reporting of gains and losses is predicted to lower firm cost of equity capital by increasing bad news reporting precision, thereby reducing information uncertainty (Guay and Verrecchia 2007) and the volatility of future stock prices (Suijs 2008). Using standard asset-pricing tests, we find a significant negative relation between conditional conservatism and excess average stock returns over the period 1975-2003. This evidence is corroborated by further tests on the association between conditional conservatism and measures of implied cost of capital derived from analysts’ forecasts.Conditional conservatism; Asymmetric reporting; Cost of capital; Information precision; Uncertainty;

SEARCH ENGINES IN COLOMBIA: LEGAL REVIEW AND STUDY OF THE MUEBLES CAQUETA VS. GOOGLE INC CASE

Purpose ”“ Considering the relevance of personal data protection, this article focuses on the identification of the criteria used by Colombian Courts regarding the rights to access, modification and erasure personal data within the context of information made available through search engines. This framework will expose the different cases ruled by the Colombian Constitutional Court as it attempts to highlight which were the criteria used by the courts that brought them to rule that search engines are mere intermediaries between the content makers and data subjects. Finally, this study aims to contribute not only to the data protection legal literature in Colombia, but also, to improve the possibilities to effectively implement user´s rights of online search engines in Colombia. Methodology ”“In order to achieve the purpose of this research project, the following methodological strategies will be employed: (i) Legal-analytical study, by way of reviewing the Colombian regulatory framework in order to map out main rules regarding the fundamental rights to access, modification and erasure of personal data, and determining which ones are the aspects hindering the effective implementation of the rights; (ii) Legal-theoretical study, where it reviews the issues identified by legal scholars as hampering the implementation of data protection rights in general; (iii) Legal-empirical study that aims to raise awareness regarding the incidence of the activities carried out by search engines in the life of data subjects. Findings ”“ The Colombian Constitutional Court has seen search engines as mere intermediaries, meaning they do not have to rectify, correct, eliminate or complete the information listed in the results they provide. This approach demands that the Judiciary enforces the existence of a right to request the erasure of links and the need of procedures provided by them to do it effectively without erasing or altering the content of the website. This delisting process should not be arbitrary based on conditions that allow data subjects to ask the erasure of links associated with their names. In the European Union, the conditions to get those results delisted are inadequacy, irrelevance, or excessiveness in relation to the processing purposes. The current position of the Constitutional Court about the search engines role and their responsibilities has not protected the user’s fundamental rights to privacy, reputation, and honor. Therefore, a more committed study on behalf of the Court is required. Practical Implications ”“ In the Muebles Caquetá Case, the Court must point out the importance of the activities carried out by online search engines, and force them to face the implications of being a “controller” of the processing of personal data that takes place within their services. I suggest that the Court itself should draft clear delisting guidelines considering the opinions of a group of impartial experts, civil society representatives and the local Data Protection Authority. Originality ”“ Considering the implications posed by personal data and data mining, this article identifies the legal and regulatory framework surrounding those activities and in way contribute to create a data protection culture in Latin America, raise awareness regarding the incidence of search engines in the life of data rights holders, identify possible disconnections between the existent regulatory framework for personal data rights, and facilitate the cooperation between Courts and stakeholders of the telecommunication and media sectors, based on the common goal of fulfilling the public interests of ensuring data protection rights.Purpose ”“ Considering the relevance of personal data protection, this article focuses on the identification of the criteria used by Colombian Courts regarding the rights to access, modification and erasure personal data within the context of information made available through search engines. This framework will expose the different cases ruled by the Colombian Constitutional Court as it attempts to highlight which were the criteria used by the courts that brought them to rule that search engines are mere intermediaries between the content makers and data subjects. Finally, this study aims to contribute not only to the data protection legal literature in Colombia, but also, to improve the possibilities to effectively implement user´s rights of online search engines in Colombia. Methodology ”“In order to achieve the purpose of this research project, the following methodological strategies will be employed: (i) Legal-analytical study, by way of reviewing the Colombian regulatory framework in order to map out main rules regarding the fundamental rights to access, modification and erasure of personal data, and determining which ones are the aspects hindering the effective implementation of the rights; (ii) Legal-theoretical study, where it reviews the issues identified by legal scholars as hampering the implementation of data protection rights in general; (iii) Legal-empirical study that aims to raise awareness regarding the incidence of the activities carried out by search engines in the life of data subjects. Findings ”“ The Colombian Constitutional Court has seen search engines as mere intermediaries, meaning they do not have to rectify, correct, eliminate or complete the information listed in the results they provide. This approach demands that the Judiciary enforces the existence of a right to request the erasure of links and the need of procedures provided by them to do it effectively without erasing or altering the content of the website. This delisting process should not be arbitrary based on conditions that allow data subjects to ask the erasure of links associated with their names. In the European Union, the conditions to get those results delisted are inadequacy, irrelevance, or excessiveness in relation to the processing purposes. The current position of the Constitutional Court about the search engines role and their responsibilities has not protected the user’s fundamental rights to privacy, reputation, and honor. Therefore, a more committed study on behalf of the Court is required. Practical Implications ”“ In the Muebles Caquetá Case, the Court must point out the importance of the activities carried out by online search engines, and force them to face the implications of being a “controller” of the processing of personal data that takes place within their services. I suggest that the Court itself should draft clear delisting guidelines considering the opinions of a group of impartial experts, civil society representatives and the local Data Protection Authority. Originality ”“ Considering the implications posed by personal data and data mining, this article identifies the legal and regulatory framework surrounding those activities and in way contribute to create a data protection culture in Latin America, raise awareness regarding the incidence of search engines in the life of data rights holders, identify possible disconnections between the existent regulatory framework for personal data rights, and facilitate the cooperation between Courts and stakeholders of the telecommunication and media sectors, based on the common goal of fulfilling the public interests of ensuring data protection rights.Purpose ”“ Considering the relevance of personal data protection, this article focuses on the identification of the criteria used by Colombian Courts regarding the rights to access, modification and erasure personal data within the context of information made available through search engines. This framework will expose the different cases ruled by the Colombian Constitutional Court as it attempts to highlight which were the criteria used by the courts that brought them to rule that search engines are mere intermediaries between the content makers and data subjects. Finally, this study aims to contribute not only to the data protection legal literature in Colombia, but also, to improve the possibilities to effectively implement user´s rights of online search engines in Colombia. Methodology ”“In order to achieve the purpose of this research project, the following methodological strategies will be employed: (i) Legal-analytical study, by way of reviewing the Colombian regulatory framework in order to map out main rules regarding the fundamental rights to access, modification and erasure of personal data, and determining which ones are the aspects hindering the effective implementation of the rights; (ii) Legal-theoretical study, where it reviews the issues identified by legal scholars as hampering the implementation of data protection rights in general; (iii) Legal-empirical study that aims to raise awareness regarding the incidence of the activities carried out by search engines in the life of data subjects. Findings ”“ The Colombian Constitutional Court has seen search engines as mere intermediaries, meaning they do not have to rectify, correct, eliminate or complete the information listed in the results they provide. This approach demands that the Judiciary enforces the existence of a right to request the erasure of links and the need of procedures provided by them to do it effectively without erasing or altering the content of the website. This delisting process should not be arbitrary based on conditions that allow data subjects to ask the erasure of links associated with their names. In the European Union, the conditions to get those results delisted are inadequacy, irrelevance, or excessiveness in relation to the processing purposes. The current position of the Constitutional Court about the search engines role and their responsibilities has not protected the user’s fundamental rights to privacy, reputation, and honor. Therefore, a more committed study on behalf of the Court is required. Practical Implications ”“ In the Muebles Caquetá Case, the Court must point out the importance of the activities carried out by online search engines, and force them to face the implications of being a “controller” of the processing of personal data that takes place within their services. I suggest that the Court itself should draft clear delisting guidelines considering the opinions of a group of impartial experts, civil society representatives and the local Data Protection Authority. Originality ”“ Considering the implications posed by personal data and data mining, this article identifies the legal and regulatory framework surrounding those activities and in way contribute to create a data protection culture in Latin America, raise awareness regarding the incidence of search engines in the life of data rights holders, identify possible disconnections between the existent regulatory framework for personal data rights, and facilitate the cooperation between Courts and stakeholders of the telecommunication and media sectors, based on the common goal of fulfilling the public interests of ensuring data protection rights.Purpose ”“ Considering the relevance of personal data protection, this article focuses on the identification of the criteria used by Colombian Courts regarding the rights to access, modification and erasure personal data within the context of information made available through search engines. This framework will expose the different cases ruled by the Colombian Constitutional Court as it attempts to highlight which were the criteria used by the courts that brought them to rule that search engines are mere intermediaries between the content makers and data subjects. Finally, this study aims to contribute not only to the data protection legal literature in Colombia, but also, to improve the possibilities to effectively implement user´s rights of online search engines in Colombia. Methodology ”“In order to achieve the purpose of this research project, the following methodological strategies will be employed: (i) Legal-analytical study, by way of reviewing the Colombian regulatory framework in order to map out main rules regarding the fundamental rights to access, modification and erasure of personal data, and determining which ones are the aspects hindering the effective implementation of the rights; (ii) Legal-theoretical study, where it reviews the issues identified by legal scholars as hampering the implementation of data protection rights in general; (iii) Legal-empirical study that aims to raise awareness regarding the incidence of the activities carried out by search engines in the life of data subjects. Findings ”“ The Colombian Constitutional Court has seen search engines as mere intermediaries, meaning they do not have to rectify, correct, eliminate or complete the information listed in the results they provide. This approach demands that the Judiciary enforces the existence of a right to request the erasure of links and the need of procedures provided by them to do it effectively without erasing or altering the content of the website. This delisting process should not be arbitrary based on conditions that allow data subjects to ask the erasure of links associated with their names. In the European Union, the conditions to get those results delisted are inadequacy, irrelevance, or excessiveness in relation to the processing purposes. The current position of the Constitutional Court about the search engines role and their responsibilities has not protected the user’s fundamental rights to privacy, reputation, and honor. Therefore, a more committed study on behalf of the Court is required. Practical Implications ”“ In the Muebles Caquetá Case, the Court must point out the importance of the activities carried out by online search engines, and force them to face the implications of being a “controller” of the processing of personal data that takes place within their services. I suggest that the Court itself should draft clear delisting guidelines considering the opinions of a group of impartial experts, civil society representatives and the local Data Protection Authority. Originality ”“ Considering the implications posed by personal data and data mining, this article identifies the legal and regulatory framework surrounding those activities and in way contribute to create a data protection culture in Latin America, raise awareness regarding the incidence of search engines in the life of data rights holders, identify possible disconnections between the existent regulatory framework for personal data rights, and facilitate the cooperation between Courts and stakeholders of the telecommunication and media sectors, based on the common goal of fulfilling the public interests of ensuring data protection rights

Room in a forest

This thesis is an exploration of the frictions between the self and the external worlds, using architecture as a woven structure that oscillates between the two worlds. This structure allows us to understand our individual intimacies in the midst of constant exposure. It is the sum of this encounters that will constitute the final form of the architecture. Spanish Ambassador’s House: The endless outsider “I am the center of the house, but in control. I am the center under observation”. My thesis proposal is bound for the Spanish Ambassadress in Lower Manhattan, New York City. The house is a dwelling of social and business encounters and the ambassadress´ claim for intimacy and her endless search for identity, like “water drops in an empty bath”. Working method: Textile Analogue through masonry To test this, I have developed a drawing method that will activate a procedure of making that will reinform an architecture. These drawings conflate the subjective character of my imagination and the very concrete procedure of masonry construction