SIGNIFICANT DOUBT ABOUT THE GOING CONCERN ASSUMPTION IN AUDIT

The purpose of this paper is to survey the going concern principle and its applicationin auditor’s work. The management of an entity is responsible for the assumption of the goingconcern principle in the compilation of the financial statements. We study the auditor’sresponsibilities in the audit of the financial statements relating to management’s use of the goingconcern assumption in the preparation of the financial statements. We analyze the events andconditions that may cause significant doubt about the ability of an entity to continue as a goingconcern.Professional judgment, Audit evidence, Management’s use of going concern assumption.

The flat tax in Romania. A good economic strategy?

This paper evaluates the main effects of the implementation of tax flat system in Romanian economy. If accompanying measures are not going to be enforced, the introduction of the flat rate of 16% in Romania will lead to unsustainable budgetary deficits and inflationist pressures. The flat tax favors the workers with big salaries and also big and financially solid companies (which, mainly “export” the profit). It will attack the fragile macroeconomic stability. It is uncertain if it will lead to the increase of the degree of employment, having in view the fact that the contributions to the social insurances have a very high level. The alternative scenario is simple. Romania should have chosen to continue what it was confirmed to be a valid element of the economic evolution towards a European standard (progressive fiscal system).flat tax; fiscal policy; inflation; AD-AS model

IS READY ROMANIA FOR EURO ADOPTION? FROM STRUCTURAL CONVERGENCE TO BUSINESS CYCLE SYNCHRONIZATION

The objective of this study is to identify gaps between economic and commercial structures between Romania and the euro area and to explain whether the results obtained justify recently decision to delay euro adoption beyond 2015. According to theory of optimum currency areas, the existence of similar economic structures, increasing trade integration and synchronization of business cycles with monetary union will provide greater symmetry of shocks between Romania and the euro area. If the shocks are more symmetrical, then common monetary policy of the European Central Bank will act as a tool to neutralize the shocks in the case of Romania, and the euro adoption would have fewer adverse effects. To meet the research objective, we have structured this paper into three parts. In the first part we referred to the importance of the proposed theme in the economic literature. In the second part, we used several statistical methods to identify how divergent is Romania relative to the euro area economies. The results obtained show increasing divergence between economic structures until 2009 year using the NACE 6 methodology. In fact, Romania has the most divergent structure in EU-27 countries, being characterized by lowest contribution of services to GDP. However, structural differences do not constitute an obstacle to euro adoption, as long as Romania becomes more commercially integrated with other European countries. Thus, Romania is the seventh economy in terms of trade with the EU-27 (73.3% of exports and 74.3% of imports), and the degree of convergence between the structure of exports and imports have increased significantly compared with 2000 year. In the third part, we estimated the degree of synchronization of business cycles between Romania and the euro area, based on Hodrick-Prescott filter. Results showed an increasing correlation of business cycles as a result of increasing industrial activity and export synchronization.euro area, sectoral divergence, business cycle synchronization, Krugman index, Hodrick-Prescott filter

THE ANALYSIS OF EQUITY-EFFICIENCY TRADE-OFF IN THE EUROPEAN UNION ECONOMY

The European Union’s economic evolution for the last sixty years is specific to the long term stages of the economic cycle, of Kondratieff type. The economic expansion period has been characterized by a higher efficiency level (growth in productivity, in the labour occupation degree) which favoured the reducing of the inequalities related to incomes through the redistribution process. The economic recession stage showed that, under the terms of an increased unemployment, of a low aggregate demand and of a less flexible aggregate supply, the economic efficiency level is relatively lower. On these conditions, the providing of social equity (of the cohesion) will affect negatively the efficiency degree, fact which will extend the period of economic recession within The European Union.economic growth, labour productivity, economic recession, total factor productivity

LOAN LOSSES PROVISIONING PROCESSES IN ROMANIAN BANKS DURING JANUARY 2007 – FEBRUARY 2011

The paper presents the loan loss provisioning phenomenon at the level of Romanianbanks, based on a very detailed set of rules in the area. Using data collected by National Bank ofRomania, we find evidence of the significantly increase in the banking loan loss provisions in the lastanalyzed years. We investigate the dynamics of the loan losses provisioning processes and present thenational regulatory framework. The paper concludes that the actual situation in the field forceRomanian banks to react and improve their risk management.Loan Loss Provisions, Loan Classification in Romanian Banking System, Provision Coefficient

Public Pensions Reform in Romania. How Affect the Public Finance Sustainability?

This paper deals with the problem of the public pension system’s sustainability in Romania and its impact upon the sustainability of the public finance. Thus, the public pension deficit increased in the last three years, caused by the unsustainable increase of pensions during expansionary years and by decrease of number of taxpayers in the economy. Unfortunately, the pressure on public pension system will continue in the next decades due to decline of the total population and of the working age population and to increasing share of the older people. The first part of the paper is an explanation for the factors which affect the public pension system, and it presents this system’s vulnerabilities. The second part is a brief presentation of the effects of the reforms made after December ’89, with reference to the public pension system. The third part outlines the impact of the unitary pension law upon the improvement of the balancing position of the public pension system. The last part makes an analysis for the budget impact of the unitary pension law, outlining the comparison between the basic scenario – keeping the current system and the alternative scenario, which provides a rich package of reforms with reference to this field.public pensions system, private pensions system, finance sustainability, reforms, ageing problem

RECENT APPROACHES IN THE OPTIMUM CURRENCY AREAS THEORY

This study is dealing with the endogenous characteristic of the OCA criteria, starting from the idea that a higherconformity of the business cycles will result in a better timing of the economic cycles and, thus, in getting closerto the quality of an optimum currency area. Thus, if the classical theory is focused on a static approach of theproblem, the new theories assert that these conditions are dynamic, and they cannot be positively affected evenby the establishment of the Economic and Monetary Union. The consequences are overwhelming, as theendogenous approach shows that a monetary union can be achieved even if all the conditions mentioned inMundell’s optimum currency areas theory are not met, showing that some of them may also be met subsequentto the unification. Thus, a country joining a monetary union, althogh it does not meet the criteria for an optimumcurrency area, will ex post lead to the increase of the integration and business cycle correlation degree

The importance of monitoring the operational risk at the level of banking companies

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the potential operational banking risk losses and to introduce the key operational risk indicators. We present a possible matrix of the operational risk monitoring indicators and the correlations between the main types of the operational banking risks and the measures to prevent and diminish the operational risks. The majority of operational risk events should be prevented with the adequate procedures and for this reason, operational banking risks events need to be identified and monitored. It is very important for a bank to develop loss events tracking and reporting, that represent early warning signals in the banking risks management.operational risk, monitoring indicators, banking risk management

STUDY OF CORRELATION BETWEEN AVERAGE INTEREST RATE AND NON-PERFORMING LOANS IN THE ROMANIAN BANKING SYSTEM DURING 2006- FEBRUARY 2010

This paper aims to examine the correlation between average interest rate and non-performing loans in the Romanian banking system during 2006-February 2010. We based our approach on the Pearson correlation coefficient and we realized an empirical study, which demonstrates how these relevant banking elements are connected. Also, the result of this research suggests that there are other indirect channels which affect the non-performing loans.Pearson correlation coeficient, Non-performing loans, Average interest rate, Credit-risk provisions

MEASURING MODEL FOR BAD LOANS IN BANKS. THE DEFAULT PROBABILITY MODEL.

The banking sectors of the transition countries have progressed remarkably in the last 20 years. In fact, banking in most transition countries has largely shaken off the traumas of the transition eraAt the start of the 21st century banks in these countries look very much like banks elsewhere. That is, they are by no means problem free but they are struggling with the same issues as banks in other emerging market countries during the financial crises conditions. The institutional environment differs considerably among the countries. The goal we set with this article is to examine in terms of methodology the most important assessment criteria of a measuring model for bad loans.assessment criteria, "Default" model, collateral, Basel II Accord