Corporate Governance, Cash holdings and Value of a Firm: Evidence from Australian Firms

The present study analyses influence of board structure and cash holdings on the value of Australian firms for the period 2004 to 2010. Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) adopted the Principles of Good Corporate Governance Guidelines in 2003 and Australian firms have started adopting these principles starting 2004. Similarly the reporting framework of Australian firms is harmonized with the rest of the world with adoption of Australian International Financial Reporting Standards (AIFRS) starting in 2004. Corporate cash holdings despite their significance have not been considered extensively in prior literature outside the US. Cash holdings may have significant influence on the value of the firm as too much excess cash may lead to misuse of these funds by entrenched managers. Corporate governance has a role to play in maintaining appropriate cash holdings and their use. The present has two objectives: it considers the influence of corporate cash holdings on the value of Australian firms; and it examines the role of board structure on the relationship between cash holdings and value of the firm. The present study considers all non-financial firms that are part of the All Ordinaries Index (AOI). The present study constructs Fama French 25 portfolio and estimate the excess return as the difference between actual return and the average return of the relevant FF portfolio. OLS analyses show that board independence has no significant impact on the value of the firm though cash holdings have significant influence. Analysing using panel data methods however unearth the significant influence of board independence on the value of Australian firms

ISO Analyzer and Reporting System

This paper describes the development of a GUI-based application program called the ISO Analyzer and Reporting System. The Independent System Operator (ISO) Analyzer and Reporting System facilitates the study of electricity markets by empowering its users with the ability to query and to generate reports from market and operational data by allowing them to analyze data over a period of time, which is helpful to draw useful conclusions. The system downloads publicly available files on energy load and pricing data from an independent system operator?s website and stores data from the files in the form of SQL server database tables for querying and generating reports. In addition, ISO reports can dynamically create certain custom queries to extract information from a database, based on the user?s selection. ISO maintenance can clean the database as a regular activity. This system pertains to the New York Independent System Operator (NYISO)

Corporate Social Performance and Use of Debt: an Examination of Australian Companies

This study examines whether the corporate social performance (CSP) activities of firms influence the structure of debt in the Australian context. Long-term debt is often associated with higher monitoring by lenders, which suggests that firms may benefit from using long-term debt strategically. Short-term debt arises from regular business dealings with a number of primary stakeholders such as customers, suppliers, employees and lenders. We propose in this study that businesses that are committed to improving CSP outcomes may reduce use of short-term debt contributing to building sustainable long-term relationships with the primary stakeholders. We therefore investigate whether firms that prioritise CSP favour long-term debt or short-term debt. Using a sample of Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) listed firms, this study finds that the level of CSP is not associated with long-term debt use, but there is a significant negative association between CSP and the short-term debt usage. This finding suggests that firms with stakeholder-friendly policies reduce their use of short-term debt rather than long-term debt. The reduced use of short-term debt helps resolve possible conflicts between the primary stakeholders and a firm, thus this study presents evidence supporting stakeholder theory and conflict-resolution hypothesis

Dog Breed Identification using ResNet Model

As dogs are domestic animals due to the many numbers of dog breeds available around the world. It’s hard to find out the exact dog breed name for a common person. There are many techniques available to identify dog breed. But the proposed work introduced the new technique called RESNET which is the part of CNN to classify dog. RESNET is used to identify images. It helps to perform different tasks on larger datasets. Identification of different dogs is one of the important applications of Convolutional Neural networks. Since the identification of dog breeds is very difficult because they spread in a large number and it makes very hard for a person to identify or classify dogs. With the help of Keras and TensorFlow, a dataset is created, tested, and trained for the detection of dog breeds by using RESNET. Around 120 different dog breeds are present in the dataset which consist of 20600 images of dogs. From this paper, load these images and convert them into a NumPy array and normalize them. Then,100 epochs were used with a batch size of 128 to achieve the best accuracy. The model is saved for further process to create a web application to identify the dog

Intramural and subserosal echogenic foci on US in large-bowel intussusceptions: prognostic indicator for reducibility?

Background: In large-bowel intussusceptions, several US signs are known to indicate a lower likelihood of reducibility by enema. US can demonstrate echogenic dots or lines (foci) in the bowel wall, which might indicate an ischemic bowel. Objective: To determine the presence of echogenic intramural and subserosal foci in large-bowel intussusceptions and to evaluate the degree of correlation with reducibility. Materials and methods: Between 2001 and 2008, 74 consecutive US examinations were retrospectively evaluated by two pediatric radiologists for intramural and subserosal echogenic foci, or trapped gas, in the intussusception. The degree of correlation between the sonographic findings and reducibility was evaluated. Results: Of 73 intussusceptions examined by US, 56 (76%) were reducible and 17 (23%) were not reducible. Out of 10 intussusceptions with intramural gas, 11 with subserosal gas, and 14 with intramural and subserosal gas, 8 (80%), 6 (56%), 9 (64%), respectively, were not reducible. The presence of intramural gas or subserosal gas or both predicted a lower chance of reduction, but with regard to the effect of these findings together, intramural gas was the only significant predictor. Conclusion: Having intramural gas in large-bowel intussusception significantly decreases the chance of reductio

AAOIFI Reporting Standards: Measuring Compliance

Islamic banking and finance has grown rapidly in recent decades. Islamic banks offer a range of products that comply with Shari'a law, many of which differ from traditional Western financial products. In addition modern Islamic banks are large entities listed on stock exchanges around the world, and as such are required to provide annual financial statements which accord not only with the relevant regulatory authorities, but also demonstrate the entities' compliance with Islamic principles. In consequence, the development of Islamic accounting standards to guide Islamic financial reporting has become an important issue. A practical response exists in the form of the Accounting and Auditing Organization for Islamic Financial Organizations (AAOIFI), established in Bahrain in 1991. To date, the AAOIFI has published a substantial body of accounting and governance standards, but little empirical research has thus far been conducted into compliance with these standards by Islamic reporting entities. This study provides an initial step in addressing the empirical gap. An index approach following that used to study compliance and disclosure of Western reporting entities is used to test compliance with the accounting and governance standards published by the AAOIFI. A benchmark index comprised of items identified in the literature as most significant for Islamic accounting is identified through a study of the literature. The English language Annual Reports from a sample of Islamic banks licensed and domiciled in Bahrain provide the data to measure compliance over a three year period

Fluoride releasing restorative materials: a review

Fluoride compounds are incorporated as anticariogenic agents in numerous restorative materials. Incorporation of fluoride into restorative materials impart anticariogenic character by various mechanisms including reduction of demineralisation, enhancement of remineralisation, interference of pellicle and plaque and inhibition of microbial growth and metabolism. In addition, the application of the topical fluoride in the form of toothpaste and varnish is also considered as the most effective method of caries prevention. The fluoride combines with HA of the tooth and forms an acid-resistant fluorapatite (FAP) crystals. Also, fluoride enters into the cells of the bacteria and inhibits carbohydrate metabolism, which eventually kills the bacteria. The objective of this review was to emphasise the fluoride-releasing restorative materials available in dentistry

Corrosion in Titanium dental implants – a review

Titanium (Ti) is the most widely used biomaterial for dental implants as it exhibits excellent mechanical properties and biocompatibility. The biocompatibility of titanium is related to thin, protective surface titanium dioxide (TiO2) layer, which forms a boundary at the implant-biological medium interface, reducing its reactivity with the surrounding biological environment and prevents corrosion. However, the metallic materials used as implants are susceptible to corrosion due to variations in the internal electrolyte environment. The surface oxide layer can be destroyed during insertion of implant or micro-motion between implant and bone under loading conditions. The localized destruction causes corrosion of the implant and induces leak of metallic particles or ions into surrounding tissues. The presence of metallic particles in peri-implant soft and hard tissues may be due to frictional wear or corrosion, or simultaneous occurrence wear and corrosion which is known as tribocorrosion. The released metal ions may remain in the intercellular spaces near the site where they were released or may be taken up by macrophages, or they can migrate systemically. This review article highlights various aspects of corrosion, biological response to corrosion products and prevention of corrosion of titanium dental implants