FROM THE HARMONIZATION NEED TO THE SPONTANEOUS ACCOUNTING HARMONIZATION

The issue of international accounting harmonization has achieved, mainly within the last decade, a significant dimension in the field of international accounting research. The main determinant factor for this state of the art is the process aiming at red

CASH FLOW REPORTING AND CREATIVE ACCOUNTING

Within the wide field of creative accounting, the main preoccupation of researchers surrounded earnings management. The current study comes to acknowledge that creative cash flow may distort the assessment of financial performance and should therefore, become a subject of the same interest for analysts and investors, as earnings management is. In order to reach the objective proposed, there are two hypotheses formulated, to be validated within the research: H1: Creative accounting distorts cash flow reporting within the boundaries of current regulations. H2: Real activity manipulation alters significantly the operating cash flow. The steps followed were analyzing the accounting standard related to cash flow statement, IAS 7, in order to uncover issues not taken into account, or options of allocation provided for accountants, which could lead to opportunistic choices and lack of comparability. The relevant literature was reviewed, so as to identify the opinions of accounting and finance specialists related to this subject, the results of their scientific process. The final step was a synthesis of relevant results and observations, which lead to the acceptance of the hypothesis of the research. Moreover, several techniques were identified, both related to creative accounting and to real activity manipulation, influencing mainly the figure reflecting operating cash flow, and thus the image on the potential of business continuity. Main conclusions were that the techniques applied were within the limits set by the standard: opportunistic allocation of dividends and interest collected or paid misallocation of certain activities like sale of receivables, but mainly recording non-recurring events into the operating cash flow, without separate notes of information or adjustments. Real activity manipulation should also be considered as it is even more difficult to detect, unless analysis is also performed on notes to financial reports and the figures within the profit and loss account. The contribution of the current study is providing a synthetic arrgumentation to why cash flow should be analysed in the context of creative accounting, reviewing methods and techniques that distort significantly the results of operating activity, providing basis for further study related to the impact of such practices on forecasts of cash flow and predictability of bankruptcy.operating cash flow, creative accounting, non-recurring activity, IAS 7, financial performance

FREE CASH FLOW AS PART OF VOLUNTARY REPORTING. LITERATURE REVIEW

The present study has as main objective to reflect the state of literature regarding free cash flow, and to withdraw the main pro's and con's in order to create an objective image upon this indicator. The main idea generating this research was the growing interest on cash flow reporting. As many say, "Cash Flow is King", while in Anglo Saxon countries the interest of investors and analysts in concentrated on operating cash flow, as the most important indicator of the probability of bankruptcy. In this context, voluntary additional reporting, like free cash flow may come either as an aid in providing the fair view or as an opportunistically reported figure. Throughout the paper, the intention was to provide answers to three main research questions: "What are the definition and calculation method of free cash flow? Why is there an interest in free cash flow reporting? What is the impact of free cash flow on the agency theory?" In order to provide relevant conclusions, four international data basis were used, and related articles and studies were extracted. The results proved that there is no generally accepted definition and computing method, while the format depends on the end-user of the report (shareholders, investors, analysts, bankers, a.s.o.). As stated below, this aspect generates confusion and lack of comparability, giving room to creative accounting techniques. Moreover, the interest on free cash flow reporting is connected mainly to liquidity assessment, company valuation and investors' choice. Still, in the context of agency theory, results show that in presence of high free cash flow, managers tend to make investment choices that satisfy their personal interest and that generate low efficiency and profitability for the company. The contribution to current state of research is providing a literature review study, focused on a comparative approach, as well as on underlying an objective image upon a debatable financial indicator and accounting report.free cash flow, reporting, management, agency theory, creative accounting

MEASUREMENT OF NEED FOR HARMONIZATION BETWEEN NATIONAL ACCOUNTING STANDARDS AND INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL REPORTING STANDARDS

This study analyzes the quantification methods of the harmonization degree between the national accounting settlements and the international accounting standards. Starting from the presentation of the main methods used for this purpose such as - Euclidean distances, Jaccard’s coefficients, Spearman’s coefficients and other nonparametric methods for rank correlation analysis – we suggest a method of quantification for the need of harmonization between the national accounting standards and the financial reporting international ones. Beyond the certainty of a quantification model foe this need, we analyze in the present study the situation of 33 states selected through reporting at a global level. The main achievement of this study is represented by the concept of pre-formal harmonization and the method to quantify it, strongly connected with the general accepted concepts of formal and material harmonization of accounting.financial reporting standards, pre-formal harmonization, measurement of harmonization

Motivating Accounting Professionals in Romania. Analysis after Five Decades of Communist Ideology and Two Decades of Accounting Harmonization

Our paper focuses on accounting professionals in Romania as being a significant element when considering a national accounting system that went through complex accounting reforms of more than two decades. Since accounting policy represents an area of social and economic policy we must also consider the five decades of communist regime leaving their fingerprint on the Romanian society. It is our objective to capture the perception of the Romanian accounting profession that actually witnessed all these processes of transformation. More precisely we focus on exploring the motivational pattern of Romanian accounting professionals, arguing that our results could offer useful insights when it comes to accountants’ drivers to participate in the international accounting arena and therefore in the international accounting harmonization process. Our theoretical framework is based on Herzberg’s motivation-hygiene theory. Since Herzberg in his studies used the interview method, for more consistency, we found an interview-based qualitative approach to be the most appropriate to our research. One of our conclusions is that Herzberg’s theory can identify and explain reasonably well the motivational factors of today’s Romanian accounting professionals. However, the theory must be adjusted for higher relevance: (1) salary is not seen hygiene but a motivator, (2) advancement is not a motivator but hygiene, and (3) team/staff with strong motivational effect must be added to the model. Motivators and Hygiene factors were directly related to the level of hierarchy and redrafted a different pattern within the structure of an entity. By analyzing the information being obtained through the interview process, our paper offers an overview on the particular work environment that characterizes the accounting professional of late Romanian modernity, after five decades of an ideology based system. The results of the performed analysis document the fact that alienation and dependence have not become characteristics of the modern accounting professional. Furthermore, dehumanization and exploitation prove to be, in the case of the Romanian accounting system, inevitable consequences of the division of labor and the development of private property.Drivers, Motivators, Hygiene Factors, Job Satisfaction, Labor Behavior, Organizational Culture, Human Resource Accounting

THE IMPACT OF GLOBALIZATION ON REGULATIONS AND ACCOUNTING SYSTEMS. DIMENSIONING AND QUANTIFICATION.

In this study we concentrate our efforts on the consequences that the existence and manifestation of globalization have on various domains of human activity. The impact of globalization will be analyzed from the perspective of the cause-effect relationship, with a special emphasis on the consequences of the phenomenon. A special part of our scientific demarche is reserved to the accounting sphere. We try to create a new dimension on the basement of relations between globalization and accounting systems. Globalization represents a new dimension of our world. The accounting domain is today into real connections with phenomenon of globalization. In this context, our main objectives are represented by the research demarche to create a model of quantification the impact of globalization on regulations and accounting systems. We believe that such a model of quantification could be real and its contributions to scientific development will be considerable.Globalization, International Accounting, Impact, Quantification

MEASUREMENT OF NEED FOR HARMONIZATION BETWEEN NATIONAL ACCOUNTING STANDARDS AND INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL REPORTING STANDARDS

This study analyzes the quantification methods of the harmonization degree between the national accounting settlements and the international accounting standards. Starting from the presentation of the main methods used for this purpose such as - Euclidean distances, Jaccard’s coefficients, Spearman’s coefficients and other nonparametric methods for rank correlation analysis – we suggest a method of quantification for the need of harmonization between the national accounting standards and the financial reporting international ones. Beyond the certainty of a quantification model foe this need, we analyze in the present study the situation of 33 states selected through reporting at a global level. The main achievement of this study is represented by the concept of pre-formal harmonization and the method to quantify it, strongly connected with the general accepted concepts of formal and material harmonization of accounting

MEASUREMENT OF NEED FOR HARMONIZATION BETWEEN NATIONAL ACCOUNTING STANDARDS AND INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL REPORTING STANDARDS

This study analyzes the quantification methods of the harmonization degree between the national accounting settlements and the international accounting standards. Starting from the presentation of the main methods used for this purpose such as - Euclidean distances, Jaccard’s coefficients, Spearman’s coefficients and other nonparametric methods for rank correlation analysis – we suggest a method of quantification for the need of harmonization between the national accounting standards and the financial reporting international ones. Beyond the certainty of a quantification model foe this need, we analyze in the present study the situation of 33 states selected through reporting at a global level. The main achievement of this study is represented by the concept of pre-formal harmonization and the method to quantify it, strongly connected with the general accepted concepts of formal and material harmonization of accounting

THE IMPACT OF GLOBALIZATION ON REGULATIONS AND ACCOUNTING SYSTEMS. DIMENSIONING AND QUANTIFICATION.

In this study we concentrate our efforts on the consequences that the existence and manifestation of globalization have on various domains of human activity. The impact of globalization will be analyzed from the perspective of the cause-effect relationship, with a special emphasis on the consequences of the phenomenon. A special part of our scientific demarche is reserved to the accounting sphere. We try to create a new dimension on the basement of relations between globalization and accounting systems. Globalization represents a new dimension of our world. The accounting domain is today into real connections with phenomenon of globalization. In this context, our main objectives are represented by the research demarche to create a model of quantification the impact of globalization on regulations and accounting systems. We believe that such a model of quantification could be real and its contributions to scientific development will be considerable

Inhibition and mechanism of 4-(beta-D-ribofuranosyl)aminobenzene 5′-phosphate synthase, a key enzyme in the methanopterin biosynthetic pathway

The first committed step in methanopterin biosynthesis is catalyzed by 4-(beta-D-ribofuranosyl)aminobenzene 5 ′-phosphate (RFA-P) synthase. Unlike all known phosphor-ribosyltransferases, beta-RFA-P synthase catalyzes the unique formation of a C-riboside instead of an N-riboside in the condensation of p-aminobenzoic acid (pABA) and 5-phospho-α-D-ribosyl-1-pyrophosphate (PRPP) to produce 4-(β-D-ribofuranosyl)aminobenzene 5 ′-phosphate (β-RFA-P), CO2, and inorganic pyrophosphate (PPi). Herein, we report the successful cloning, active overexpression in Escherichia coli, and purification of this enzyme from the methanogen Methanococcus jannaschii. Steady-state initial velocity and product inhibition kinetic studies indicate an ordered Bi-Ter mechanism involving binding of PRPP, then pABA, followed by release of the products CO2, then β-RFA-P, and finally PPi. β-RFA-P synthase lacks any chromogenic cofactor, and the presence of pyridoxal phosphate and a mechanistically related pyruvoyl cofactor have been strictly excluded. Collaborative work in Dr. Takacs\u27s laboratory has involved the design and synthesis of inhibitors of β-RFA-P synthase. These include N-substituted pABA analogs and 4-(N-alkylamino)-phenyl derivatives bearing in the 1-position either a boronic acid, sulfonic acid, phosphonic acid or monoester and diester derivatives. Based on comparisons of the inhibition constants among the N-substituted derivatives, we propose that the pABA binding site in β-RFA-P synthase has a relatively large hydrophobic pocket near the amino group. These enzyme-targeted inhibitors arrest the methanogenesis and growth of pure cultures of methanogens. The inhibitors do not adversely affect the growth of pure cultures of acetogenic bacteria that play a beneficial role in the rumen. Collaborative work with Dr. Miner\u27s group demonstrated that inhibitors added to dense ruminal fluid cultures (the artificial rumen) halt methanogenesis; however, they do not inhibit volatile fatty acid (VFA) production and, in some cases, VFA levels are slightly elevated in the methanogenesis-inhibited cultures. The design of tight-binding inhibitors of the synthase is an important objective since it provides information about the enzyme\u27s active site and could lead to development of practical antimicrobial agents that eradicate methanogenesis in domesticated ruminant animals