Neutrality of narrative discussion in annual reports of UK listed companies

This paper reports the results of an investigation into the neutrality of the narrative discussion of financial performance and position, as evidenced in 179 annual reports of UK listed companies. Neutrality of narrative discussion was determined by comparing the average proportions of good and bad news contained in the narrative and statutory accounts sections of the annual reports. The results of a comparison of the proportion of good news in the two sections of the annual reports suggest that the narrative sections contained a significantly higher proportion of good news than the statutory accounts sections. Comparison of proportions of bad news, however, indicates that the narrative sections contained a significantly lower proportion of bad news compared to the statutory accounts sections. Finally, the results also suggest that the proportion of good news as compared to bad news in the narrative sections is significantly higher than the proportion of good news compared to bad news in the statutory accounts section. The results are consistent with the suggestion that company management highlights good news in narrative discussions. The implications of the findings for company management, users, auditors and regulators are discussed

Acid and low temperature treatments on Salmonella Enteritidis inoculated in pork and its subsequent survival in simulated gastric fluid

ABSTRACT: The objective of this study was to evaluate the acid resistance of Salmonella enterica serovar Enteritidis (S. Enteritidis) in stored pork and in simulated gastric fluid (SGF). A culture of S. Enteritidis was subjected to acid treatment prior to inoculation into pork, stored under refrigeration at frozen temperatures and exposed to SGF. The S. Enteritidis CCS3 and ATCC 13076 strains previously subjected to acid treatment (at pH 4.0-5.0) were inoculated in pork and stored at 4°C and -18°C. Storage at 4ºC did not affect the populations of both S. Enteritidis strains. After 84 days at -18°C, the mean population of both CCS3 and ATCC strains were reduced by 0.8 and 1.5 log cycles, respectively. Prior acid treatment did not enhance the survival of both strains at low temperatures. After acid treatment and low temperature storage, S. Enteritidis ATCC 13076 lost culturability after being exposed to SGF for 10 minutes. In contrast, S. Enteritidis CCS3 was tolerant until three hours of SGF exposure. S. Enteritidis CCS3 submitted to pH 4.0 was more tolerant to SGF exposure than when submitted to pH 4.5, 5.0 and without acid treatment. Therefore, this study indicates that exposure to an acidic and cold environment during processing enhanced the ability of S. Enteritidis to survive in the gastric environment of the human stomach, possibly increasing the risk of a Salmonella infection after consumption of pork