A relevância e utilidade das demonstrações financeiras : a perceção dos gestores das PME

Mestrado em Contabilidade e Gestão das Instituições FinanceirasAs Pequenas e Médias Empresas (PME) constituem um segmento de extrema importância quer a nível europeu quer a nível nacional, representando a quase totalidade do tecido empresarial português e a maior fonte potencial de emprego e crescimento. Atualmente, num mercado global, caracterizado pela competitividade e instabilidade, torna-se cada vez mais importante para as PME a necessidade de obter informações úteis que as auxiliem a gerir de forma eficiente os seus negócios. Neste sentido, a contabilidade tornou-se vital no sucesso da organização como forte instrumento para a tomada de decisão, deixando a sua anterior e simples função de registo. Considerando a importância das PME no cenário económico, e reconhecendo o contributo da informação contabilística no processo de tomada de decisão, este estudo foca-se na perceção dos gestores das PME, enquanto principais intervenientes no processo de elaboração das demonstrações financeiras, no que concerne à relevância e à utilidade que atribuem às demonstrações financeiras, no seio da organização. Porém, as PME nem sempre se encontram totalmente preparadas para superar os atuais e constantes desafios, sendo os seus procedimentos contabilísticos direcionados, maioritariamente, para as exigências fiscais, o que é contraditório com os reais objetivos da contabilidade.Small and Medium-Sized Entities (SME’s) are a very important segment both at European level and at national level, representing almost all the Portuguese business and the largest potential source of jobs and growth. Nowadays, in a global market, characterized by instability and competitiveness, it becomes increasingly important for SME's to obtain useful information that help them efficiently manage their businesses. In this sense, accounting has become vital to the success of the organization as a powerful tool for decision making, leaving its previous simple registration function. Considering the SME’s importance in the economic environment, and recognizing the contribution of accounting information in the decision-making process, this study is focused on SME’s manager’s perceptions as key players in the financial reporting process, with regard to the relevance and utility that they attach to the financial statements, within the organization. However, SME’s are not always fully prepared to overcome the current and ongoing challenges, and its accounting procedures are mostly related, with tax requirements, which is a contradiction bearing in mind the real objectives of accounting

Brazilian Flora 2020: Leveraging the power of a collaborative scientific network

International audienceThe shortage of reliable primary taxonomic data limits the description of biological taxa and the understanding of biodiversity patterns and processes, complicating biogeographical, ecological, and evolutionary studies. This deficit creates a significant taxonomic impediment to biodiversity research and conservation planning. The taxonomic impediment and the biodiversity crisis are widely recognized, highlighting the urgent need for reliable taxonomic data. Over the past decade, numerous countries worldwide have devoted considerable effort to Target 1 of the Global Strategy for Plant Conservation (GSPC), which called for the preparation of a working list of all known plant species by 2010 and an online world Flora by 2020. Brazil is a megadiverse country, home to more of the world's known plant species than any other country. Despite that, Flora Brasiliensis, concluded in 1906, was the last comprehensive treatment of the Brazilian flora. The lack of accurate estimates of the number of species of algae, fungi, and plants occurring in Brazil contributes to the prevailing taxonomic impediment and delays progress towards the GSPC targets. Over the past 12 years, a legion of taxonomists motivated to meet Target 1 of the GSPC, worked together to gather and integrate knowledge on the algal, plant, and fungal diversity of Brazil. Overall, a team of about 980 taxonomists joined efforts in a highly collaborative project that used cybertaxonomy to prepare an updated Flora of Brazil, showing the power of scientific collaboration to reach ambitious goals. This paper presents an overview of the Brazilian Flora 2020 and provides taxonomic and spatial updates on the algae, fungi, and plants found in one of the world's most biodiverse countries. We further identify collection gaps and summarize future goals that extend beyond 2020. Our results show that Brazil is home to 46,975 native species of algae, fungi, and plants, of which 19,669 are endemic to the country. The data compiled to date suggests that the Atlantic Rainforest might be the most diverse Brazilian domain for all plant groups except gymnosperms, which are most diverse in the Amazon. However, scientific knowledge of Brazilian diversity is still unequally distributed, with the Atlantic Rainforest and the Cerrado being the most intensively sampled and studied biomes in the country. In times of “scientific reductionism”, with botanical and mycological sciences suffering pervasive depreciation in recent decades, the first online Flora of Brazil 2020 significantly enhanced the quality and quantity of taxonomic data available for algae, fungi, and plants from Brazil. This project also made all the information freely available online, providing a firm foundation for future research and for the management, conservation, and sustainable use of the Brazilian funga and flora

Characterisation of microbial attack on archaeological bone

As part of an EU funded project to investigate the factors influencing bone preservation in the archaeological record, more than 250 bones from 41 archaeological sites in five countries spanning four climatic regions were studied for diagenetic alteration. Sites were selected to cover a range of environmental conditions and archaeological contexts. Microscopic and physical (mercury intrusion porosimetry) analyses of these bones revealed that the majority (68%) had suffered microbial attack. Furthermore, significant differences were found between animal and human bone in both the state of preservation and the type of microbial attack present. These differences in preservation might result from differences in early taphonomy of the bones. © 2003 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved