Do Social Ties between External Auditors and Audit Committee Members Affect Audit Quality?

We examine whether social ties between engagement auditors and audit committee members shape audit outcomes. Although these social ties can facilitate information transfer and help auditors alleviate management pressure to waive correction of detected misstatements, cozy interpersonal relations can undermine auditors' monitoring of the financial reporting process. We measure social ties by alma mater connections, professor-student bonding, and employment affiliation and audit quality by the propensity to render modified audit opinions, financial reporting irregularities, and firm valuation. Our evidence implies that social ties between engagement auditors and audit committee members impair audit quality. In additional results, we generally find that this relation is concentrated where social ties are more salient, or firm governance is relatively poor and agency conflicts are more severe. Implying reciprocity stemming from social networks, we also report some suggestive evidence that audit fees are higher in the presence of social ties between an engagement auditor and the audit committee. Collectively, our analysis lends support to the narrative that the negative implications--namely, worse audit quality and higher audit fees--of these social ties may outweigh the benefits

Paragon or pariah? The consequences of being conspicuously rich in China's new economy

In some cultures vast personal wealth is lauded whereas in others, it is viewed with suspicion and contempt. In recent years, a super rich elite of business people has emerged in China, and, given the country's cultural and socialist past, we believe that people are more likely to react negatively to reports of conspicuous wealth. To test our arguments, we examine the reactions to and consequences of China's entrepreneurs being included on the Hurun Rich List. We find negative consequences for stock market traded firms controlled by the Rich List entrepreneurs: stock prices decline, government subsidies are reduced, and the named entrepreneurs are more likely to be investigated. These effects are strongest in rent-seeking industries and are mitigated by philanthropy

The Synthesis of NiO/TiO2 Heterostructures and Their Valence Band Offset Determination

In this work, a heterojunction based on p-type NiO/n-type TiO2 nanostructures has been prepared on the fluorine doped tin oxide (FTO) glass substrate by hydrothermal method. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-Ray diffraction techniques were used for the morphological and crystalline arrays characterization. The X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy was employed to determine the valence-band offset (VBO) of the NiO/TiO2 heterojunction prepared on FTO glass substrate. The core levels of Ni 2p and Ti 2p were utilized to align the valence-band offset of p-type NiO/n-type TiO2 heterojunction. The valence band offset was found to be similar to 0.41 eV and the conduction band was calculated about similar to 0.91 eV. The ratio of conduction band offset and the valence-band offset was found to be 2.21

Linköping University Post Print Fermi level equilibrium at donor-acceptor interfaces in multi-layered thin film stack of TTF and TCNQ Fermi level pinning at donor-acceptor molecular hetero-junctions in multi-layered thin film stack of TTF and TCNQ

Abstract Organic hetero-junctions in a multi-layered thin film stacks comprising alternate layers of the molecular donor -tetrathiafulvalene (TTF) and the acceptor -tetracyanoquinodimethane (TCNQ), have been studied by Ultraviolet Photoelectron Spectroscopy (UPS). We show that the energy level alignment at the organic-organic interfaces in the stacks depends only upon the relative energy structure of the donor and acceptor molecules, in particular, the molecular integer charge transfer (ICT) states. The observed interfacial dipoles, across the multi-layered organic stacks, correspond to the difference in energy between the positive and the negative charge transfer states of the molecules constituting the interface. Consequently, Fermi level across the multi-layer system is pinned to those states, since the energetic conditions for the charge transfer across the interface are fulfilled. Hence the energy level alignment at donor-acceptor interfaces studied can be rationalized on the basis of integer charge transfer model (ICT-model). Moreover, we present the photoelectron spectra where 0.85eV shift of the highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) of TTF during formation of TCNQ over-layer is directly observed. These studies contribute to the understanding of the nature of the offset between the frontier electronic levels of the donor and acceptor components which is of high importance in the engineering of efficient organic solar cells

Spin Centers in Vanadium-Doped Cs₂NaInCl₆ Halide Double Perovskites

We provide direct evidence for a spin-active V4+ defect center, likely in the form of a VO2+ complex, predominantly introduced in single crystals of vanadium-doped Cs2NaInCl6 halide double perovskites grown by the solution-processed hydrothermal method. The defect has C4v point group symmetry, exhibiting an electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectrum arising from an effective electron spin of S = 1/2 and a nuclear spin of I = 7/2 (corresponding to 51V with nearly 100% natural abundance). The determined electron g-factor and hyperfine parameter values are g⊥= 1.973, g∥ = 1.945, A⊥ = 180 MHz, and A∥ = 504 MHz, with the principal axis z along a ⟨001⟩ crystallographic axis. The controlled growth of V-doped Cs2NaInCl6 in an oxygen-free environment is shown to suppress the V4+ EPR signal. The defect model is suggested to have a VOCl5 octahedral coordination, where one of the nearest-neighbor Cl– of V is replaced by O2–, with octahedral compression along the V–O axis. This VO complex formation competes with the isolated V3+ substitution of In3+, which in turn provides a means for the charge-state tuning of V ions. This finding calls for a better understanding and control of defect formation in solution-grown halide double perovskites, which is critical for optimizing and tailoring material design for solution-processable optoelectronics and spintronics

Convection in a Krogh Cylinder: Putting Back Fluid Flow in the Extravascular Tissue

Models for drug delivery are based on the use of stirred tanks to represent organs that contain no mass transfer resistances. In the original Krogh cylinder model, a mass transfer resistance shows up but there is no convection in the tissue where convection should matter. In the present study, a two-dimensional flow field is used to show that when a liquid enters the capillary, some leave through the walls into the tissue at the arterial end and then doubles back into the capillary at the venous end. Some flow does not return which is taken to be the flow to the lymphatic system. We can get the measured transcapillary pressure drop of about 2,666 Pa if in addition the compliance of the tube wall is taken into account. Very realistic flow fields have been shown for a model liver and a tumor

Efficient CuO/Ag2WO4 photoelectrodes for photoelectrochemical water splitting using solar visible radiation

Water splitting energy production relies heavily on the development of high-performance photoelectrochemical cells (PECs). Among the most highly regarded semiconductor materials, cupric oxide (CuO) is an excellent photocathode material. Pristine CuO does not perform well as a photocathode due to its tendency to recombine electrons and holes rapidly. Photocathodes with high efficiency can be produced by developing CuO-based composite systems. The aim of our research is to develop an Ag2WO4/CuO composite by incorporating silver tungstate (Ag2WO4) nanoparticles onto hydrothermally grown CuO nanoleaves (NLs) by successive ionic layer adsorption and reaction (SILAR). To prepare CuO/Ag2WO4 composites, SILAR was used in conjunction with different Ag2WO4 nanoparticle deposition cycles. Physicochemical characterization reveals well-defined nanoleaves morphologies with tailored surface compositions. Composite CuO/Ag2WO4 crystal structures are governed by the monoclinic phase of CuO and the hexagonal phase of Ag2WO4. It has been demonstrated that the CuO/Ag2WO4 composite has outstanding performance in the PEC water splitting process when used with five cycles. In the CuO/Ag2WO4 photocathode, water splitting activity is observed at low overpotential and high photocurrent density, indicating that the reaction takes place at low energy barriers. Several factors contribute to PEC performance in composites. These factors include the high density of surface active sites, the high charge separation rate, the presence of favourable surface defects, and the synergy of CuO and Ag2WO4 photoreaction. By using SILAR, silver tungstate can be deposited onto semiconducting materials with strong visible absorption, enabling the development of energy-efficient photocathodes.Funding Agencies|department of Science and Technology (ITN), at Campus Norrkoping; Linkoping University, Sweden; Ajman University [2022-IRG-HBS-5, 2022-RTG-02]; National Research Infrastructure for Advanced Electron Microscopy (ARTEMI)</p