THE "NEW ECONOMY" AND THE ENTREPRENEUR: REASSESSMENT AND PERSPECTIVES IN THE CONTEXT OF XXI CENTURY

Industrial revolutions, the progress in IT industry, the growth rate of developing new technologies, global competition, liberalization of markets, continue to demand change, globalization of market, economic and financial crisis are just some of the causes that have contributed to the restoration of a new global economic with direct impact on business entrepreneur. Changes socio-economic level paradigm is reflected both in changes to management and organization paradigms enterprise activity in the product market, at work, at the performance that follows the entrepreneur. In this article we tried a summary of mutations in these paradigms, mutations that will rearrange and reposition the business entrepreneur in the current context of a sustainable economy, based on knowledge, so-called \"new economy\"."new economy", sustainable development, entreprise, paradigms, changes, global performance

Romanian country risk in the context of the adherence to the European Union

The main aim of this paper is to analyse all possible characteristics related to the country risk factor for the state of Romania. The country risk factor is a measure of a risk related to economic, political, physical and other unforeseen events able to affect the stability of the financial sector in a certain country with immediate results in the profitability index of the multinational companies operated in the country especially banks. Nowadays, in the context of a very high rhythm of economic globalization and of international investor’s expansion in multinational companies, the country risk factor is very important. The paper tries to assess the Romanian country risk factor especially after the year 2007, when Romania has became a member of the European Union. Some comparisons between its country risk factor and that of the other new member states will be also made in an attempt to find out the relative position of Romania with respect to the other nations joined the European Union recently. A valid analysis of the business environment will be also presented as it is consider as a key element for the enterprises in order to be aware of the direction they are heading and contributes to improve the favorable factors they should develop to come out with the competitive advantage. The SWOT analysis will be used to emphasize the strengths, the weaknesses, the opportunities and the drawbacks of the Romanian business environment and their mode to influence the country risk factor of the state of Romania.peer-reviewe

Financial crisis and accounting information : the need for corporate social responsibility in accounting profession

This paper wants to draw attention on several aspects regarding the causes that led to the emergence of 21st century economic crisis, pointing their implications in the balance of economic-financial mechanisms. In history, on the occasion of economic and/or financial crisis, among their causes there are mentioned causes related to managers’ irresponsible actions, managers who, together with accounting professionals, chose to alter accounting data in order to create a more appealing image on the market of the company’s financial status. We will underline the role of accounting in system of a more efficient, socially responsible corporatist governing, capable of recreating economic-financial balances and of regaining the confidence of the population in economic values, as well as the role of accounting in “faithfully” reflecting these values.peer-reviewe

Corporate governance and business performance: Evidence for the Romanian economy

Our finding contributes towards the understanding of movements regarding the adoption of corporate governance practice in emerging countries such as Romania and its impact on business performances of a company. We have developed two econometric models to assess the business performances of the companies listed on Bucharest Stock Exchange, in order to point out the impact of corporate governance on business performances. Our results are inconsistent for the period 2001–2011, but if we consider only 2011, the results document a positive correlation between corporate governance quality and market value of companies, such it is reflected by Tobin’s Q. Therefore, our results contribute to the studies relating corporate governance and business performances, as it confirms a positive relationship between the two variables which appears once the Romanian emerging economy has began to adopt the best corporate governance practices. Firstly, our research has important implications for managers in order to know that the adoption of the best corporate governance practices could contribute to the financial success of the firm. Secondly, the results are useful for any investor who needs to consider the quality of corporate governance as a good predictor for the best rate of return of theirs investments. Moreover, our findings have also implications on policy-makers and regulatory authorities in European developing countries and offer them a barometer of adopting the best corporate governance practices in European space. First published online: 17 Mar 201

Board characteristics and firm performances in emerging economies. Lessons from Romania

This study investigates correlations between board characteristics and firm performances. For this purpose, six board characteristics were chosen: (1) equilibrium between non-executive and executive members of the board of directors; (2) independence of board members; (3) selection of board members by the assistant role of the Nomination Committee; (4) training the members’ competences; (5) remuneration policy of board members by the assistant role of the Remuneration Committee; (6) improuving the accountability and transparency of financial information by the assistant role of the Audit Committee. The financial performances are represented by Return on assets (ROA) and Tobin’s Q. The present study sample consists of 55 Romanian non-financial companies which are listed on the Bucharest Stock Exchange (BSE) in 2012. We found the following characteristics in the majority of boards of directors: equilibrium between non-executive and executive members, independence of the members and concerns on training competences. On the other hand, the majority of companies do not have, within their governance system, advisory committees (such as Nomination, Remuneration or Audit Committees), which are meant to help the board in its decision-making. No statistically significant association was found between any of the board characteristics and performances represented either by Tobin’s Q or ROA, but the findings are in line with numerous studies conducted in developing countries and may be explained by various shortcomings which characterise the lagging of transition economies

Impact of european funds upon rural development in the European Union: Impacto dos fundos europeus no desenvolvimento rural da União Europeia

Rural Development Funds are an important part of the European Union strategies, under the Common Agricultural Policy. They should help in the development of rural areas, which are the most subjected to poverty and social depravation. The aim of this study is to evaluate the impact of these funds upon rural development in an attempt to assess the efficiency of their usage. To do this, we use data for the 27 European Union members states for the 2000 – 2022 period. Data related to productivity in agriculture, employment and poverty in rural areas is used as dependent and modelled with the help of dynamic panel regression against the amount of money used from these funds. We show that as rural development funds increased in time, poverty decreased, which is an important indicator of efficiency. Additionally, while the variables related to the rural areas, like importance of agriculture in the national economy, employment and poverty in rural areas follow the classical spatial distributions on the West-East direction, the use of rural development funds does not. Absorbed rural development funds have significantly impacted the gross value added in agriculture, employment, and poverty in rural areas. Our most important result is the inverse relationship between rural development funds absorbed and the percentage of rural people at risk of poverty and social exclusion, clearly pointing out the need for continuous support for rural development.&nbsp

The value of public audit-theories and empirical evidence

This study is a review of the main issues in public audit. The theoretical concepts of operation, organizational differences, national and regional peculiarities, visions of specialists in the field, etc. are investigated. Practically all states in the world have institutions or commissions with the ability to check the bodies that work with public money. There are three basic models based on which any superior entity in the public audit functions: Westminster, the board of administration, and Napoleonic. Obviously, variations may appear. However, there are more and more trends of structural and functional similarity of higher institutions. Their sources are classified into three types of isomorphism: coercive, mimetic and normative. For a deeper analysis, we did not limit ourselves to findings of the structures, but we even addressed the theoretical bases of the necessity or value of the public audit. Within the broader framework of neo-institutional theory, we have reviewed six economic and administrative theories that could explain the demand for public audit: agency theory, signal theory, assurance theory, management control theory, governance theory, and confirmation theory. In order not to remain only in the strictly theoretical framework, we also discussed the opinions of specialists working in the field, expressed through a questionnaire administered by the International Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions. The conclusions try to foreshadow some future trends in public audit, under the pressure of current economic transformations

Does technology matter for combating economic and financial crime? A panel data study

In this paper we analyze the influence of technology on the level of the economic and financial crime, using data for 185 countries over the 2012–2015 time period and controlling for many important variables. First, we find that on average, the size of the economic and financial crime in low income countries is about double compared to that of high income countries, while their Research and development expenditure (as % of GDP) are about four times lower than in high income countries. We find clear evidence that increased technology reduces the size of the economic and financial crime. In addition, we find that Research and development expenditure (% of GDP) matter more in reducing the economic and financial crime in low income countries than they do in high income countries. Our main findings are generally stable after conducting some robustness checks. From a policy perspective, our study may prove to be of great use to decision makers of the states, to government and non-governmental enterprises and to potential investors within different markets. First published online 6 January 202

The impact of covid-19 on financial management: evidence from Romania

The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted every facet of life globally. Business and commerce are key areas where the monetary crunch has been acutely felt. This study aims to analyze the various key changes in entities’ activities to evaluate the level of business performance in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. For this purpose, we use panel data analysis on 218 Romanian listed companies of different sizes (big and small) and belonging to different business sectors for the period June 30, 2019–June 30, 2020. We find that the net profits of the overall market decreased by 37.43% over the analyzed period. However, small companies engaged in agriculture, commerce, construction, IT R&D, and transport and storage witnessed better financial performance. In addition, our results show that equity financing, proper liquidity management, and an increased company size consolidate the economic performance of entities regarding return on equity and return on assets. Our findings are useful for policymakers such as managers and investors and can help them make the best decision for their managing or investing activities. Moreover, governments need to know how companies respond to the pandemic to identify the sectors of activity that are more vulnerable to the crisis’ effects and the main financial management decisions that must be adopted by companies during times of crises

Rethinking the shadow economy in terms of happiness. Evidence for the European Union Member States

This paper’s goal is to highlight how happiness affects the level of shadow economy, by using many control variables within different types of potentially determining factors of shadow economy. Another main contribution consists in the systematic comparison between old and new European Union member states in terms of determinants of shadow economy, including happiness. Our findings consist in the fact that happier people are more likely to act honestly, thus causing a decrease in the size of shadow economy and this result is valid both for old and new European Union countries. In addition, we found that the quality of public governance and the richness of a country are associated with a lower propensity towards shadow economy for all the member states. However, the relationship between public governance and shadow economy are never sig-nificant when the happiness and richness variables vary simultaneously. Our research reveals that the shadow economy in European Union countries is explained in percent of about 62% by richness and happiness of the people. Contrary to our expectations, the fiscal pressure seems not to be a determinant for shadow economy in the European Union space. First published online 4 December 2016