Response of Regulatory Bodies to Financial Crises: role of auditors and international comparison

In the light of recent crises capital markets are re-evaluating value relevance of financial information for price formation on the stock market. In this paper we investigate this issue through a comparison of recent developments in the US market as compared to Czech market. The paper identifies specific and significant contrasts between the US and Czech economies and draws conclusions on regulatory structures in developing as compared to advanced economies.capital Markets; enforcement; regulation

Exploring the trend of Czech FDIs and their effect to institutional environment

This paper is the result of Metropolitan University Prague research project no. 68-02“Territorial Studies, Economics, International Relations” (2019) based on a grant from the Institutional Fund for the Long-term Strategic Development of Research Organisations. The authors would like to thank for useful comments and suggestions professors and participants of the 7th edition of the Conference IFRS Global Rules and Local Use - Beyond the Numbers in Prague 2019 and participants at conference ICABE 2019 in Thessaloniki Greece.Purpose: The goal of this paper is to explore the trend of FDIs in the Czech Republic and its changes in recent years using the gravity model. Apart from traditional variables used in FDI models we also introduce IFRS in national accounting rules. Design/Methodology/Approach: We use open-source data from the World Bank and FDI data from the Czech national bank, to analyse a panel data of bilateral FDI for 19 EU countries over the period 2008–2017 by PPML specification. Findings: We have observed significant effect of positive impact on broader introduction of IFRS in 2010 in terms of country imports and exports. We observed lower significance of IFRS dummy in the gravity model, where dependent variable is the sum of FDI inflow and FDI outflow it is not significant in the models which dependent variables are FDI inward and FDI outward for FDIs. Practical Implications: In general, FDIs increased productivity in the Czech Republic, especially in 1990s. We assess the effect and possible contribution of traditional variables like size, GDP, border and distance to Czech FDIs. Originality/Value: We find that the positive effect of IFRS exists at 10 percent significance for FDIs. Nevertheless we claim that this effect is mixed with other institutional issues, namely institutional isomorphism. Further tests will be needed after the forthcoming change of the Czech accounting act, which is approaching after 2020.peer-reviewe

Accessibility of websites of the European national tourism boards

Purpose: The aim is to find out the current state of accessibility of the websites of European national tourism boards. Furthermore, the identification of the most common errors in terms of accessibility as well as recommendations leading to their correction is aimed for. Design/methodology/approach: The study is based on methods of testing the availability of web systems. The testing included automated tools, namely AChecker and Accessibility Evaluation Tool, as well as the WCAG 2.1 checklist developed by WebAIM initiative. Findings: The research has shown a relatively high accessibility of those websites. Nevertheless, some accessibility violations have been identified that can significantly complicate the accessibility of those websites for users using various assistive devices or other alternative hardware or software means. The most commonly identified errors include: failure to use alternative text for content-relevant images, the absence of text or audio transcripts for videos shared via Youtube, missing descriptions for text form elements and missing label for search form. Practical implications: The results of the research can be used in the evaluation of web presentations at the level of tourism boards and destination management. Originality/Value: The main output of this article is the application of web testing methodology on a comprehensive set of national tourist boards.peer-reviewe

Case Study Analysis of Sustainability Reporting of an Agri-Food Giant

The purpose of this study was to contribute to the discussion of how large companies in the agri-food sector cope with the growing pressure to perform sustainably and how they disclose sustainability-related information to their stakeholders. To achieve this goal, we used the case study method. We analyzed Cargill’s specific approach to sustainability reporting, who is a company with a 150-year history and worldwide activities. We used reports from the year 2014 and 2018. The core of our analysis lies in the content analysis of the text using 39 corporate social responsibility (CSR) keywords (Cohen, 2010). The frequency of keywords related to the three aspects of CSR was measured to reveal the areas that the company considers most important and those upon which it draws the attention of users. To complement this analysis, we then investigated the linguistic features of Cargill’s sustainability reports, which employed the LIWC2015 program (LIWC–Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count) and focused on four features of disclosure (analytical thinking, clout, authenticity, and emotional tone). The findings of our research confirmed that the dominant companies in the agri-food business have reacted to challenges of their social environment and changed their attitude to keep up with the current stage of social development. Sustainability reporting is elaborated and covers all aspects of the company’s activity in sufficient detail. This attitude developed continuously despite it not always being appreciated by Cargill’s stakeholders. The main limitation of our study lies in the method which did not allow even with the greatest effort to eliminate subjectivity. The other limitation relates to the specific features of the company and its position within the world economy and also to its long history, which determined the form and extent of reporting. However, our findings are indicative and inspiring for future research. Our results contribute to the debate concerning the form, content, and evolution of sustainability reporting. Moreover, our results can be used in practice by corporate management, when designing their marketing strategy, plans, and programs. We claim that the biggest challenge for big multinationals like Cargill in these days is to effectively protect the nature and respect the law in jurisdictions where there is traditionally low incentive to obey the rules because of poor regulations and many opportunities to misuse their dominant position

E.U. and China Trends in Trade in Challenging Times

The sudden and abrupt rise of COVID-19 became a challenge for the world economy. In this paper, we investigate the changes in a trend of mutual trade between the EU-15 countries and China during the demanding times of the COVID-19 crisis. We use monthly data for Chinese exports to the E.U. (2018:01–2020:05) and imports from the E.U. (2018:01–2020:07) relying on the data from the open-source TradeMap developed by the International Trade Centre UNCTAD/WTO (ITC). Overall, there is an obvious decline of 13–32 percent in worldwide trade as predicted by the WTO. This affected China as the main trading partner of electronic devices and medical supplies. The trade between the E.U. and China has decreased, but the major change in demand brought an alteration in commodities structures and the reorientation of Chinese export production. In the first five months of 2020, we witnessed the strong engagement of the Chinese economy in the production of goods newly in high demand—mainly articles strongly related to healthcare and medical equipment. Thus, we have observed that the Chinese were very flexible in changing the structure of their exports triggered by the COVID-19 crisis. This flexibility is worth further exploration, especially because the COVID-19 crisis is still not over and new data and changing results can be expected

Social Responsibility of Mining Companies at a Time of COVID-19: Dear Shareholders!

This paper examines annual reports (ARs) of multinational mining companies Glencore, Rio Tinto and BHP framed by the challenge of COVID-19 in 2020. We apply a linguistic analysis to screening the letters of chairmen and CEOs that encapsulate an ideology of mining, prioritize the message of sustained and prospective financial success, and display commitment to employees and communities. Using critical discourse analysis, we explore how corporations involved in destructive activities managed to mask the nature of their conduct and promote positive PR when expected to document an on-the-ground involvement with employees and local communities due to the global pandemic. We accounted for the ideology of mining natural resources, the central message foregrounded in the reports, the selection and distribution of key topics and keywords, and relexicalization of critical concepts and descriptions. The CDA revealed “smart management” of COVID-19 aimed to hide facts related to the destruction of the environment and to manipulate people in exchange for education, financial rewards and social improvement. The critical contribution of our paper is that the COVID-19 crisis became an opportunity for corporations to display resilience as well as to manage, dominate and render local populations dependent and vulnerable

Effect of COVID-19 on International Trade among the Visegrad Countries

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has been detrimental to all countries, despite the continuous efforts of governments on all continents to attempt to mitigate its damaging effects. All economic and social indicators have worsened. This study explores the impact of COVID-19 on international trade among the Visegrad Four (V4) countries. We employ data from Eurostat and FRED to explore this influence, using the monthly import and export data for the 2010 M1–2021 M4period. We estimate the trade model for each member country of the V4, exploring their trade relations with other V4 members. We employ a shift dummy and impulse dummy to show the effect of country lockdowns initiating possible structural change. After exploration, we found that the COVID-19 impact was evident in all countries, but not with the same strength. Looking outside the V4 group, we can also see that there are strong trade relations with Germany, which is the strongest European economy. For further exploration, we suggest investigating these outside links to complete the picture

Social Responsibility of Mining Companies at a Time of COVID-19: Dear Shareholders!

This paper examines annual reports (ARs) of multinational mining companies Glencore, Rio Tinto and BHP framed by the challenge of COVID-19 in 2020. We apply a linguistic analysis to screening the letters of chairmen and CEOs that encapsulate an ideology of mining, prioritize the message of sustained and prospective financial success, and display commitment to employees and communities. Using critical discourse analysis, we explore how corporations involved in destructive activities managed to mask the nature of their conduct and promote positive PR when expected to document an on-the-ground involvement with employees and local communities due to the global pandemic. We accounted for the ideology of mining natural resources, the central message foregrounded in the reports, the selection and distribution of key topics and keywords, and relexicalization of critical concepts and descriptions. The CDA revealed “smart management” of COVID-19 aimed to hide facts related to the destruction of the environment and to manipulate people in exchange for education, financial rewards and social improvement. The critical contribution of our paper is that the COVID-19 crisis became an opportunity for corporations to display resilience as well as to manage, dominate and render local populations dependent and vulnerable

Determinants of corporate financing decisions: a survey evidence from Czech firms

This paper investigates the empirical evidence on determinants of financing decisions on the pool of respondents among financial managers of Czech firms. The theoretical section provides an overview of prominent contemporary theories on capital structure. Employing Chi-square Sign Test and Logit regression the empirical analysis provides the evidence how the financial managers perceive particular instruments of internal and external financing. We find, that firms follow pecking order theory for working capital financing, however the arguments for pecking order theory in investment financing are not that strong. Firms prefer retained earnings among internal financing instruments and bank loans and leasing among external financing instruments. Finally, the paper discusses the links with practice and some limitations of the results.corporate finance, capital structure, trade-off theory, pecking order theory, transition economies, survey

DataSheet1_The relationship between electricity consumption, trade, and GDP and the effect of COVID-19: a panel ARDL approach on the Visegrad countries.docx

The aim of the study is to explore the linkage between electricity consumption, international trade and GDP during the COVID-19 pandemic in a sample of the Visegrad Four (V4) countries. The study uses data from the period of 2010 Q1–2021 Q3. Applying the panel-pooled mean group-autoregressive distributed lag (PMG-ARDL) model, we evaluate both long-run and short-run linkages among electricity consumption, trade, GDP, and the COVID-19 pandemic. We tested both the long-run and short-run linkages among electricity consumption, trade, GDP, and a COVID-19 dummy variable for the Visegrad countries. The main contribution of this study to the literature is testing the effect of COVID-19 on electricity demand by considering trade and GDP for the Visegrad countries. Our empirical findings show that there is no long-term causal relationship among these variables for the Visegrad countries. But, on the other hand, even if the trade variable is not significant in the long run, it is significant in the short run and for the cross-section models as it concerns the policy implications stemming from this exceptional and unique situation. We learned that it is difficult to frame any viable policy implications from such an extraordinary situation when many states have not tested their ad hoc measures. The best way, we consider, would be to renew trade and improve production before the next crisis. Nonetheless, in the area of technology, this painful period brought faster digitalization in all segments and the rationing of natural resources.</p