An industry in crisis : risk, reflexivity, sub-politics and accountability processes in salmon farming

This paper draws upon an arena study on the accounting and accountability processes used within a business sector, under intense public and regulatory scrutiny in terms of its social, economic and ecological risks. Georgakopoulos and Thomson (2004, 2005) report on an absence of environmental accounting within the salmon farming organizations for management planning and control processes. This paper extends this analysis by attempting to theorise the social and environmental accounting observed by these organizations discharging these accountability duties using insights from the risk society literature. The interviews and documentary analysis revealed the existence of an active accountability network. However, Social and Environmental Accounting techniques did not feature in the engagement processes. We observed the existence of fragmented accountability networks, and evidence of a struggle for domination of a techno-scientific accountability process. Within these discourses, business and cost issues were evident, but they were not formally quantified or systematically integrated. We find that the accountability processes observed in our arena study, were consistent with Beck's (and others) analysis of reflexive modernity and the Risk Society Thesis This paper by evaluating accounting and accountability processes within a specific context, demonstrates the importance of locating social and environmental accounting processes within wider accountability discourses. These societal accountability discourses extend beyond social and environmental as well as conventional accounting practices. It is suggested that all accounting practices should become more reflexive in nature if they are to remain relevant in these wider societal accountability discourses

Stewardship and Risk: An Empirically Grounded Theory of Organic Fish Farming in Scotland

It has long been assumed ownership gives farmers incentives to act as stewards for the land. On this basis, quasi-property rights are granted to fish farmers to encourage them to manage risks to the aquatic environment. This paper offers an empirically grounded theorization of fish farmers’ perspectives on these issues. Data were gathered via field research with Scottish salmon farmers who had switched from conventional to organic fish farmers’ risk management strategies offer little support for the view that property rights automatically create incentives for stewardship of the marine environment.Risk, organic, fish farming, grounded theory, Agricultural and Food Policy,

The Influence of Critical Audit Matters in the US on the Informativeness of Investors

In 2017, the PCAOB announced its new audit standard, AS 3101. One requirement is reporting critical audit matters (CAMs), starting June 30, 2019, for large accelerated filers. Using US data of CAM, we investigate whether the reporting of CAMs is informative for investors using a difference-in-differences approach and we use as proxies for investors’ informativeness, absolute abnormal returns and abnormal trading volume. Our motivation is to assess the relevance and the effectiveness of a new regulation aiming to improve audit quality. Overall, our findings provide some indications that the first-time implementation of CAMs might lead to investors avoiding those companies presumably because of uncertainty about the information being released. We also investigate the content of the CAM paragraph and do not find that the number, categories, or firm-specific/industry-common CAMs are value-relevant for investors. The results of this study provide insight into the new US auditor standard and the value-relevance of CAMs for investors. We suggest that standard setters should aim to improve the auditor report to make it more informational. Overall, our paper provides some evidence on the implementation and communicative value of the new CAM reporting, suggesting that CAMs are not informative for investors. We argue that this is the case potentially due to the additional information from CAMs which leads to complex information or information overload making investors less reluctant to invest on the companies with a significant number of CAMs reported

The Effect of Reward System on Job Satisfaction in an Organizational Chart of Four Hierarchical Levels: A Qualitative Study

Rewards systems are one of the most significant issues of the human resource management. Throughout the literature, it is obvious that theorists and academics, as well as practitioners and managers emphasize the important factor of rewards. Additionally, job satisfaction is another crucial term within the same body of literature. Job satisfaction is likely to provide employees of all levels with feelings of fulfillment, achievement and even pleasure for their job. Thus, such feelings can make people more productive, creative and therefore more profitable for the organization. Furthermore, feelings of job satisfaction can strengthen the commitment and loyalty of employees with the organization, which is very necessary in present times where all firms are looking for competitive advantage and especially through their people. The objective of this study is to examine the correlation of the rewards systems and job satisfaction, based on a qualitative research. An attempt is also made to identify differences inrewards systems and the extent to which these differences influence job satisfaction among people in different organizational level. Qualitative evidence was found for the aspects of satisfaction in accordance with different kinds of rewards, focusing on the four hierarchical levels of an organization. One of the challenges of the study and its strength is the transitional stage that the organization is in, and the sub-cultures that have been created.Future research should measure crucial factors as behaviors, attitudes, performance and how these results can be linked to contextual elements and to employment performance. This study contributes to increase job satisfaction awareness, which is important for organizational development .Keywords: organizational behaviour; qualitative research; job satisfaction; reward system Résumé: Les systèmes de primes sont l'un des enjeux les plus importants de la gestion des ressources humaines. Il est évident que les théoriciens et les universitaires, ainsi que des praticiens et des gestionnaires mettent l'accent sur le facteur important des récompenses. En outre, la satisfaction au travail est un autre terme essentiel dans le même corps. La satisfaction au travail est susceptible de fournir aux employés de tous les niveaux des sentiments d'accomplissement, de réalisation et même le plaisir de travail. Ainsi, de tels sentiments peuvent rendre les gens plus productifs, créateurs et donc plus rentables pour l'organisation. En outre, les sentiments de satisfaction au travail peut renforcer l'engagement et la loyauté des employés envers l'organisation, ce qui est nécessaire à notre époque où toutes les entreprises sont à la recherche d'un avantage concurrentiel et en particulier via leur personnel. L'objectif de cette étude est d'examiner la corrélation entre les systèmes de récompenses et la satisfaction au travail, basée sur une recherche qualitative, avec également une tentative d'identifier les différences dans les systèmes de récompenses et la mesure dans laquelle ces différences influent sur la satisfaction au travail chez les employés dans les différents niveaux organisationnels.Des évidences qualitatives ont été trouvées pour les aspects de satisfaction en conformité avec de différentes sortes de récompenses, en se concentrant sur les quatre niveaux hiérarchiques de l'organisation. L'un des défis de l'étude et sa force est la phase transitoire dans laquelle l'organisation se trouve, et les subcultures qui ont été créées.Mots-clés: une étude qualitative; satisfaction au travail; système de récompens

The effect of reward system on job satisfaction in an organizational chart of four hierarchical levels: a qualitative study

Rewards systems are one of the most significant issues of the human resource management. Throughout the literature, it is obvious that theorists and academics, as well as practitioners and managers emphasize the important factor of rewards. Additionally, job satisfaction is another crucial term within the same body of literature. Job satisfaction is likely to provide employees of all levels with feelings of fulfillment, achievement and even pleasure for their job. Thus, such feelings can make people more productive, creative and therefore more profitable for the organization. Furthermore, feelings of job satisfaction can strengthen the commitment and loyalty of employees with the organization, which is very necessary in present times where all firms are looking for competitive advantage and especially through their people. The objective of this study is to examine the correlation of the rewards systems and job satisfaction, based on a qualitative research. An attempt is also made to identify differences in rewards systems and the extent to which these differences influence job satisfaction among people in different organizational level.Qualitative evidence was found for the aspects of satisfaction in accordance with different kinds of rewards, focusing on the four hierarchical levels of an organization. One of the challenges of the study and its strength is the transitional stage that the organization is in, and the sub-cultures that have been created.Future research should measure crucial factors as behaviors, attitudes, performance and how these results can be linked to contextual elements and to employment performance.This study contributes to increase  job satisfaction awareness, which is important for organizational development

Editorial: Managing and accounting for sustainable development across generations

Editorial: Managing and accounting for sustainable development across generation

Abnormal Audit Fees and Audit Quality: The Influence of Financial Expertise in the Audit Committee

CC BY-NC-ND 4.0The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 had a major influence on the relationship between auditors and clients, and gave audit committees the responsibility for approving and negotiating audit fees. Even if, in theory, abnormal audit fees should be associated with audit quality, there is not yet a consensus in the literature – which is limited and inconclusive – on the statistical significance of their relationship. Therefore, to fill this research gap, this study examines the association between a firm’s audit fees with audit quality, while also assessing the impact of audit committee members’ financial expertise on that relationship. Specifically, a large time frame is employed for regression analysis in a sample consisting of 3,599 firm-year observations from 2010 to 2018 in the US market. A two-stage approach is used, where the first model estimates audit fees based on the model’s residuals according to prior relevant studies, while the second model uses the aforementioned residuals as the main variable of interest in a logistic regression with the appearance of restatements as the dependent variable. The findings conclude that abnormal audit fees have a negative impact on audit quality. Furthermore, financial expertise in the audit committees has a positive impact on audit quality. These findings also conclude that there is no significant relationship between the interaction of abnormal audit fees and financial expertise in the audit committees and audit quality. These results are robust, after having been subject to a robustness check of a different audit quality proxy: discretionary accruals. This is consistent with the economic bonding theory and is in line with prior research

The use of a combined bipedicled axial perforator based fasciocutaneous flap for the treatment of a traumatic diabetic foot wound: a case report

The axial and perforator vascularised fasciocutaneous flaps are reliable and effective treatment methods for covering lower limb post-traumatic, septic, Charcot, and diabetic foot wounds. The authors describe the unique utilisation of a hybrid flap as an axial-perforator flap combination for the treatment of a traumatic diabetic foot wound

Neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin in dehydrated patients: a preliminary report

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Acute kidney injury has been recognized as a major contributor to end stage renal disease. Although neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (Ngal) has been reported as a promising biomarker for early detection of acute kidney injury, no study has yet examined its potential clinical impact in patients with normal renal function. The purpose of current study is to investigate possible difference in serum Ngal levels between dehydrated and control patients.</p> <p>Findings</p> <p>A total of twelve patients presented with symptoms of mild dehydration defined by history of diarrheas or vomiting and orthostatic (postural) hypotension and an age and sex matched group of twelve control patients were included. The two groups of patients did not seem to differ in basic clinical and laboratory parameters. Serum Ngal was higher in dehydrated patients when compared to control group (Ngal = 129.4 ± 25.7 ng/mL vs 60.6 ± 0.4 ng/mL, p = 0.02). Ngal was not correlated with age, hemoglobin, white blood cell count, red blood cell count, urea or creatinine.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The presence of elevated Ngal levels in dehydrated patients may suggest its role as a very sensitive biomarker in even minimal and "silent" prerenal kidney dysfunction</p

A CORRELATION STUDY OF MAJOR AND TRACE ELEMENTS IN SEDIMENTS OF RIVER NESTOS, NORTHERN GREECE AND COMPARISON WITH OTHER FLUVIAL SYSTEMS

ABSTRACT Fourteen sediment samples from the banks of River Nestos, Northern Greece, were collected, extracted with HNO 3 and analyzed for their content in 10 major and 32 trace elements. The analytical techniques used were ICP-OES and ICP-MS. The calculation of the Pearson Correlation Coefficient amongst the analyzed elements has revealed that among the majority of the elements exist positive correlations, which explains why most of them have a similar distribution along the river course. A comparison between the results acquired for the River Nestos and other fluvial systems, national and international, has shown the similarity of the geochemical identity of the River Nestos sediments with these systems