The impact of constructive operating lease capitalisation on key accounting ratios

Current UK lease accounting regulation does not require operating leases to be capitalised in the accounts of lessees, although this is likely to change with the publication of FRS 5. This study conducts a prospective analysis of the effects of such a change. The potential magnitude of the impact of lease capitalisation upon individual users' decisions, market valuations, company cash flows, and managers' behaviour can be indicated by the effect on key accounting ratios, which are employed in decision-making and in financial contracts. The capitalised value of operating leases is estimated using a method similar to that suggested by Imhoff, Lipe and Wright (1991), adapted for the UK accounting and tax environment, and developed to incorporate company-specific assumptions. Results for 1994 for a random sample of 300 listed UK companies show that, on average, the unrecorded long-term liability represented 39% of reported long-term debt, while the unrecorded asset represented 6% of total assets. Capitalisation had a significant impact (at the 1% level) on six of the nine selected ratios (profit margin, return on assets, asset turnover, and three measures of gearing). Moreover, the Spearman rank correlation between each ratio before and after capitalisation revealed that the ranking of companies changed markedly for gearing measures in particular. There were significant inter-industry variations, with the services sector experiencing the greatest impact. An analysis of the impact of capitalisation over the five-year period from 1990 to 1994 showed that capitalisation had the greatest impact during the trough of the recession. Results were shown to be robust with respect to key assumptions of the capitalisation method. These findings contribute to the assessment of the economic consequences of a policy change requiring operating lease capitalisation. Significant changes in the magnitude of key accounting ratios and a major shift in company performance rankings suggest that interested parties' decisions and company cash flows are likely to be affected

Професорові П.Ю. Гриценку шістдесят

У ці світлі осінні дні наукова спільнота святкує славний ювілей — 60-річчя директора Інституту української мови Національної академії наук України, завідувача відділу діалектології, доктора філологічних наук, професора Павла Юхимовича Гриценка

Forward analysis of π\piN scattering with an expansion method

The $\pi$N forward scattering data are analyzed using an expansion method, where the invariant amplitudes are represented by expansions satisfying the forward dispersion relations. The experimental errors of the data are taken into account through the covariance matrix of the coefficients of the expansions in a careful error analysis. From the results, some coefficients, $c_{n0}^\pm$, of the subthreshold expansions have been calculated with proper error bars.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures. v2: Added some references. v3: Corrected hyphenatio

Design of E. coli expressed stalk domain immunogens of H1N1 HA that protect mice from lethal challenge

The hemagglutinin protein (HA) on the surface of influenza virus is essential for viral entry into the host cells. The HA1 subunit of HA is also the primary target for neutralizing antibodies. The HA2 subunit is less exposed on the virion surface and more conserved than HA1. We have previously designed an HA2 based immunogen derived from the sequence of the H3N2 A/HK/68 virus. In the present study we report the design of an HA2 based immunogen from the H1N1 subtype (PR/8/34). This immunogen (H1HA0HA6) and its circular permutant (H1HA6) were well folded and provided complete protection against homologous viral challenge. Anti-sera of immunized mice showed cross-reactivity with HA proteins of different strains and subtypes. Although no neutralization was observable in a conventional neutralization assay, sera of immunized guinea pigs competed with a broadly neutralizing antibody CR6261 for binding to recombinant Viet/04 HA protein suggesting that CR6261 like antibodies were elicited by the immunogens. Stem domain immunogens from a seasonal H1N1 strain (A/NC/20/99) and a recent pandemic strain (A/Cal/07/09) provided cross-protection against A/PR/8/34 viral challenge. HA2 containing stem domain immunogens therefore have the potential to provide subtype specific protection

Strong extinction of a far-field laser beam by a single quantum dot

Through the utilization of index-matched GaAs immersion lens techniques we demonstrate a record extinction (12%) of a far-field focused laser by a single InAs/GaAs quantum dot. This contrast level enables us to report for the first time resonant laser transmission spectroscopy on a single InAs/GaAs quantum dot without the need for phase-sensitive lock-in detection

Cloaked Facebook pages: Exploring fake Islamist propaganda in social media

This research analyses cloaked Facebook pages that are created to spread political propaganda by cloaking a user profile and imitating the identity of a political opponent in order to spark hateful and aggressive reactions. This inquiry is pursued through a multi-sited online ethnographic case study of Danish Facebook pages disguised as radical Islamist pages, which provoked racist and anti-Muslim reactions as well as negative sentiments towards refugees and immigrants in Denmark in general. Drawing on Jessie Daniels’ critical insights into cloaked websites, this research furthermore analyses the epistemological, methodological and conceptual challenges of online propaganda. It enhances our understanding of disinformation and propaganda in an increasingly interactive social media environment and contributes to a critical inquiry into social media and subversive politics

Risk of Lung Carcinoma Among Users of Nonsteroidal Antiinflammatory Drugs

BACKGROUND; Nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) inhibit the development of lung tumors in experimental animals. To the authors' knowledge there are little data regarding whether regular use of NSAIDs reduces the risk of developing lung carcinoma in humans. METHOD; The association between lung carcinoma risk and regular use of NSAIDs, including aspirin, was evaluated in a hospital-based case–control study of 1038 patients and 1002 controls. RESULTS; The relative risk estimate of lung carcinoma associated with using NSAIDs 3 times a week or more for 1 or more years demonstrated an odds ratio (OR) of 0.68 (95% confidence interval [95% CI], 0.53–0.89). Results were similar when separated by lung histologic type. The association varied by smoking status. The OR was1.28 (95% CI, 0.73–2.25) in never-smokers and 0.60 (95% CI 0.45–0.80) in ever-smokers. The smoking-specific risk estimates for aspirin were similar to those for all NSAIDs. CONCLUSIONS; The results of the current study suggest a possible chemoprotective benefit with the use of NSAIDs among individuals who are former or current smokers

The Importance of Audit Firm Characteristics and the Drivers of Auditor Change in UK Listed Companies

This paper explores the importance of audit firm characteristics and the factors motivating auditor change based on questionnaire responses from 210 listed UK companies (a response rate of 70%). Twenty-nine potentially desirable auditor characteristics are identified from the extant literature and their importance elicited. Exploratory factor analysis reduces these variables to eight uncorrelated underlying dimensions: reputation/quality; acceptability to third parties; value for money; ability to provide non-audit services; small audit firm; specialist industry knowledge; non-Big Six large audit firm; and geographical proximity. Insights into the nature of 'the Big Six factor' emerge. Two thirds of companies had recently considered changing auditors; the main reasons cited being audit fee level, dissatisfaction with audit quality and changes in top management. Of those companies that considered change, 73% did not actually do so, the main reasons cited being fee reduction by the incumbent and avoidance of disruption. Thus audit fee levels are both a key precipitator of change and a key factor in retaining the status quo