Financial Accounting
Kambiz Taghipour; Naghi fazeli; Arezoo Khosaravani
Abstract
The purpose of this study is perspectives of intertextuality in disclosure comprehensive information for stakeholders by the mathematical functions matrix. This study is considered applied in terms of the type of result, and from the point of view of the goal, it is placed in the category of exploratory ...
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The purpose of this study is perspectives of intertextuality in disclosure comprehensive information for stakeholders by the mathematical functions matrix. This study is considered applied in terms of the type of result, and from the point of view of the goal, it is placed in the category of exploratory studies that have been carried out using quantitative and qualitative models. The present study does not follow one type of research method, but uses a separate method to answer the formulated questions according to each department. Therefore, based on the nature of collection, this study can be classified as mixed methods approach. The statistical population in the qualitative part was 11 experts in the field of financial management and accounting, and in the qualitative part 30 experience financial managers of capital market companies participated. The result in the qualitative part indicated the existence of 6 factors to evaluate the intertextuality in disclosing comprehensive information functions at the level of the capital market, which was confirmed based on the Delphi analysis. Then, by selecting 2 factors out of the 6 factors identified as the basis of scenario planning, by conducting thematic analysis, 9 sub-factors emerged. The result of the acquisition in the quantitative part showed that the most important scenario for the development of the intertextuality function in the disclosure of comprehensive information is the sinusoidal scenario, or in explanatory terms, the operational intertextuality scenario, which can bring the most important consequence of legitimacy, that is, moral legitimacy for the company.
Financial Accounting
Abas Aflatooni; Mohamad Khatiri
Abstract
Recent research has increasingly focused on earnings management through the classification shifting of income statement items. However, domestic studies have only minimally addressed this topic. While international research has extensively examined the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on earnings management, ...
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Recent research has increasingly focused on earnings management through the classification shifting of income statement items. However, domestic studies have only minimally addressed this topic. While international research has extensively examined the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on earnings management, there is a notable lack of empirical evidence concerning Iranian firms. This study investigates the presence of earnings management through classification shifting in Iranian firms, comparing the phenomenon during the COVID-19 outbreak with other periods. The analysis utilizes data from 137 firms listed on the Tehran Stock Exchange, covering 2012 to 2023, resulting in 1,644 observations. The models are estimated using the generalized least squares (GLS) approach, controlling for year and industry effects. The findings confirm the existence of earnings management through classification shifting among Iranian firms. Moreover, the results indicate that this practice intensified during the COVID-19 pandemic compared to other years. Robustness tests, which employed different time frames for the pandemic and decile-ranked values for research variables, corroborate the study's main findings.
Financial Accounting
Sarah Mohsin; Narges Hamidian; seyed abbas hashemi
Abstract
Stock price crash risk, defined as an adverse event, is a pervasive phenomenon at the market level. This implies that the decline in stock prices is not limited to a specific stock but extends across the entire market. Stock price crashes result in significant losses for shareholders and investors, as ...
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Stock price crash risk, defined as an adverse event, is a pervasive phenomenon at the market level. This implies that the decline in stock prices is not limited to a specific stock but extends across the entire market. Stock price crashes result in significant losses for shareholders and investors, as well as a decline in the overall capital market. Hence, understanding the factors influencing this phenomenon is of critical importance. The present study aims to investigate the impact of industry operating cash flow volatility on future stock price crash risk, considering the roles of economic policy uncertainty and conditional conservatism in companies listed on the Tehran Stock Exchange. A sample of 136 companies was selected using a screening method over the period from 2012 to 2022.To analyze the data and test the hypotheses, regression analysis and panel data techniques were employed. The findings indicate that industry operating cash flow volatility has a positive and significant effect on future stock price crash risk. Furthermore, economic policy uncertainty amplifies the positive effect of industry operating cash flow volatility on stock price crash risk. Conversely, conditional conservatism in accounting mitigates the positive relationship between operating cash flow volatility and future stock price crash risk.
Financial Accounting
Pouyan Mohammadi; hamideh asnaashari; MohammadHosien SafarZade
Abstract
The purpose of financial reporting is to present commercial and economic realities. Hiding these facts can lead to a chain of negative consequences for investors, lenders, customers, suppliers and employees. Meanwhile, there is a growing concern on the complexities involved in financial reporting. To ...
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The purpose of financial reporting is to present commercial and economic realities. Hiding these facts can lead to a chain of negative consequences for investors, lenders, customers, suppliers and employees. Meanwhile, there is a growing concern on the complexities involved in financial reporting. To this end, the present study set out to explain the complexity pattern of financial reporting drawing upon qualitative and grounded theory approaches. The statistical population of the research included experts in the field of financial reporting. using a targeted sampling approach, 26 experts in the field of financial reporting including financial managers, audit committees Chairs, managers of investment funds, partners of audit institutions and Credit managers of banks were selected as participants in the research. The data of the research were collected using the semi-structured interviews. The findings pointed to the complexity of financial reporting as encompassing 12 causes: Understanding the concept of complexity, preparers' knowledge, the company's capital structure, cooperation between institutions, the standard-setting body, the legislative body, the accounting standards, the structure of internal controls, the company's financial position, the company's board of directors, the auditors' skill and the user's ability to identify it as causal conditions. Then according to the contextual conditions (Macro, industry, company and reporting structure) and intervening conditions (the informing, characteristics of Chief financial officer, macro factors and new technologies), several strategies (Appropriate report format, appropriate standardization, application of laws and regulations, and empowerment of human resources and control structure), were developed Afterwards, the consequences including The outcomes of macroeconomic
Financial Accounting
Marzieh Poursaedi; Mahmood Hematfar; , Seyed Enayatallah Alavi; Roya Nasirzadeh
Abstract
The purpose of this research is modeling the detection of firms financial fraud under the implementation of artificial neural network's evaluation algorithms. In this study, efforts have been made by using Quadratic Programming "QP" processes in artificial neural network algorithms to determine the basic ...
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The purpose of this research is modeling the detection of firms financial fraud under the implementation of artificial neural network's evaluation algorithms. In this study, efforts have been made by using Quadratic Programming "QP" processes in artificial neural network algorithms to determine the basic algorithm in the first place and choose the technical parameters of the artificial neural network in the second place, based on the time data from 2013 to 2022, through several stages. Then, by developing a diagnostic model based on two test and control scales, innovative algorithms that have the highest accuracy coefficients in predicting the accuracy of financial fraud should be investigated at the level of capital market companies. Therefore, based on the systematic sampling process, 95 stock exchange companies were selected, so that based on 950 observations (company-year), the distance between companies with financial health and companies with the possibility of financial fraud was determined through decimalization and the companies placed in the deciles with financial fraud should be examined through the parameters of the artificial neural network's usefulness. The results of the study showed that the unsupervised learning algorithm, which includes a set of evaluation parameters based on meta-heuristic algorithm, has higher accuracy of predictions based on the fulfilled data. Also, the results of predicting the financial frauds of decimated companies based on two selected algorithms, genetic and bee colony, show that the bee colony algorithm has a higher accuracy factor in predicting the probability of fraud of the investigated companies.
Financial Accounting
Shadi Hasanzadeh; Khadijeh Eslami; Mana Farahi
Abstract
Today, knowledge, innovation, and technology play a crucial role in economic growth and development. Among the key factors influencing innovation, the security of intellectual property rights stands out as both essential and challenging. This study examines the impact of intellectual property protection ...
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Today, knowledge, innovation, and technology play a crucial role in economic growth and development. Among the key factors influencing innovation, the security of intellectual property rights stands out as both essential and challenging. This study examines the impact of intellectual property protection on innovation, considering the mediating roles of research and development (R&D) expenditures and financial constraints. The analysis covers 119 companies listed on the Tehran Stock Exchange from 2018 to 2022, using a correlation-analytical approach. The results of hypothesis testing, based on a regression model, indicate that intellectual property protection fosters innovation within companies. Additionally, R&D expenditures and financial constraints act as mediating factors in this relationship. The findings suggest that strengthening intellectual property protection shields innovators from imitation and theft, encouraging companies to invest more in innovation. By securing exclusive rights, firms can achieve higher profitability and returns on investment. Furthermore, confirming the mediating effects of R&D expenditures and financial constraints highlights that increased intellectual property protection generates positive feedback for investors, thereby reducing financial constraints. This, in turn, allows for greater budget allocation to innovation. These insights can assist policymakers, standard setters, and legislators in refining national strategies by deepening their understanding of the benefits and challenges associated with intellectual property protection. By implementing targeted incentive policies, they can encourage capital market participants to drive innovation and enhance corporate innovation activities.
Financial Accounting
Mehdi Ebrahimkhani; seyed hosein shaker taheri; Mehrdadallah Golizadeh Azariha
Abstract
The purpose of this research is Evaluating the emergence of the radicalism approach in applying fundamental changes in the accounting profession, based on the interactive qualitative method. The methodology of this study is in the category of exploratory studies in terms of the type of result, application ...
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The purpose of this research is Evaluating the emergence of the radicalism approach in applying fundamental changes in the accounting profession, based on the interactive qualitative method. The methodology of this study is in the category of exploratory studies in terms of the type of result, application and from the point of view of the goal. Based on the nature of collection, this study should be classified as mixed research. Thus, in the qualitative phase of this study, thematic analysis has been used to determine the emerging areas of the radicalism approach in the implementation of accounting procedures through content analysis and interviews with experts. Then, through Delphi analysis, the reliability of the identified dimensions was checked so that at the end of the quantitative phase of the study, based on qualitative/interactive analysis processes, to evaluate the pairwise comparison of an "m×m" matrix, to determine the drivers and systemic consequences of the study phenomenon in the form of a cause and effect model. The results of the study in the qualitative part, during 12 interviews, indicate the identification of 278 primary open codes, 36 basic themes; It has 7 organizing themes and 4 inclusive themes. In the quantitative part, the results showed that focusing on the radicalism approach can lead to the effectiveness of competitive reporting functions at the level of capital market companies by changing the philosophical fields of the accounting profession.
Financial Accounting
Leila Zamanianfar; hossein alidadi; Danial Heidari; Alireza Altafi
Abstract
The purpose of this research is development of Caudillo's theory to appraisal of strengthen governance hegemony levers in Family ownership. In this research, firstly, through a systematic screening process, the levers that strengthen the governance hegemony were determined, and during the stages of fuzzy ...
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The purpose of this research is development of Caudillo's theory to appraisal of strengthen governance hegemony levers in Family ownership. In this research, firstly, through a systematic screening process, the levers that strengthen the governance hegemony were determined, and during the stages of fuzzy analysis, an attempt was made to examine the identified levers in terms of reliability. Then, in order to determine the most favorable analytical phase based on the levers of governance hegemony, from the CV process based on the training method to the evaluation of analyzes FAHP; VIKOR and EDAS. Finally, through the fuzzy analysis of TODIM and using the matrix process, the selection of the most obvious leverage for strengthening the governance hegemony in family-owned companies was carried out. The results in the qualitative part indicate the existence of six levers that strengthen the governance hegemony in family companies, which were determined during the steps of the fuzzy Delphi analysis, and all dimensions were confirmed as reliable. Then, based on the credit check process, it was determined that the most favorable fuzzy analysis based on the participants' scores is the hierarchical fuzzy analysis based on the type of TODIM. The results in the quantitative part showed that, based on the fuzzy basis of TODIM, the most obvious lever for strengthening the governance hegemony in companies with family ownership at the level of Iranian capital market companies is the lack of independence of the board of directors.
Accounting report
Esmaeil Khoshbakht; Amirhossein Taebi naghandari
Abstract
The present study aims to investigate the effect of religious beliefs on the inaccuracy of accountants in preparing financial statements, with a focus on the mediating role of professional ethics in Iran. For this purpose, 400 questionnaires were designed and distributed among official accounting and ...
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The present study aims to investigate the effect of religious beliefs on the inaccuracy of accountants in preparing financial statements, with a focus on the mediating role of professional ethics in Iran. For this purpose, 400 questionnaires were designed and distributed among official accounting and auditing professionals. The data was analyzed using Amos software. The findings indicate that religious beliefs have a negative and significant effect on accountants’ dishonesty and a positive and significant effect on their professional ethics. Additionally, the professional ethics of accountants is a factor that reduces inaccuracies in preparing financial statements, exerting a negative and significant effect. Finally, as a mediating variable, professional ethics explains the relationship between religious beliefs and accountants' dishonesty. The findings confirm that professional ethics serves as a partial mediator in this relationship.IntroductionFraud and inaccuracies in financial reporting have drawn significant attention in the accounting and auditing professions, particularly regarding their causes and the methods available to prevent fraudulent behavior. The inaccuracy of accountants is a multi-dimensional and complex phenomenon with various causes and effects, often leading to destructive consequences for business units and society.Increasing levels of inaccuracy in financial reporting have resulted in the bankruptcy of both large and small companies, raising concerns about the quality of financial statements. Consequently, identifying opportunities and possibilities to address accountants' inaccuracies in financial statements has become a key focus for creditors, investors, consultants, legislators, accountants, and other stakeholders.The expansion of morality and religiosity can often be more effective than laws, regulations, and standards in preventing inaccuracies. Accountants and auditors primarily follow laws and standards imposed by regulatory bodies such as the standards development committee and the auditing organization. However, these externally imposed standards may not always be fully accepted or embraced wholeheartedly. In contrast, religious and moral principles such as honesty and truthfulness are deeply rooted in personal beliefs. These principles often stem from family upbringing and are influenced by factors such as schooling, religion, and public or cultural institutions, which are deeply intertwined with native and natural structures. As a result, there is a stronger likelihood that auditors and accountants will adhere to religious and moral principles compared to externally imposed standards.Literature ReviewThe relationship between religiosity and religious beliefs can be analyzed through the theory of social norms. Social norm theory suggests that social norms influence people's behavior. It predicts that the religious beliefs of managers are shaped by the religious norms prevalent in their local geographical area. The importance of social and religious norms within a society plays a significant role in fostering people's adherence to these norms. By emphasizing the overall importance of moral behavior, faith-based beliefs provide specific guidelines and equip adherents with a framework for describing and understanding moral or immoral experiences.MethodologyThis research is one of the few studies that utilize the scientific method of construction and experimental proof, conducted based on pre-determined research hypotheses and plans. This type of research is appropriate when the data measurement criteria are quantitative, and statistical techniques are employed to extract results. Additionally, since the data for this study is collected through a questionnaire, it can be classified as survey research. In terms of its purpose, it falls within the applied research category.In this study, all official accounting and auditing justice experts working at the provincial centers across the country were considered as the statistical population. Using Cochran's formula, the sample size for the study was determined to be 385 individuals. To ensure caution, 400 questionnaires were distributed among the members of the statistical population. Given the existing limitations, the questionnaire was administered online through the Judiciary Research Center. Out of the respondents, 325 individuals completed the questionnaire, and the number of valid responses suitable for analysis was 312. It should be noted that 13 questionnaires were excluded due to incomplete information. Therefore, the total number of questionnaires used for statistical analysis in this study was 312.ResultsFigure 1 illustrates the regression coefficients and the paths related to the testing of research hypotheses. The variable of faith-based beliefs is considered an independent variable, the inaccuracy of accountants in financial reporting is the dependent variable, and professional ethics is the mediating variable. Path c represents the relationship between the independent and dependent variables in the absence of a mediating variable. Path a shows the relationship between the independent variable and the mediator, while path b indicates the relationship between the mediator and dependent variables. Additionally, path c' represents the relationship between the independent and dependent variables in the presence of the mediating variable. To test the research hypotheses in Amos software, three mediation models, the direct model and the indirect model were employed. These models were included in the present study, and the related findings were reported. The findings revealed that religious beliefs have a negative and significant effect on accountants’ dishonesty and a positive and significant effect on their professional ethics. Furthermore, the professional ethics of accountants, similar to religious beliefs, is a factor that reduces the inaccuracy of accountants in preparing financial statements and has a negative and significant effect on it. Finally, as a mediating variable, professional ethics explains the relationship between religious beliefs and accountants' dishonesty. The findings confirm that professional ethics is a partial mediator in this relationship.DiscussionThis research demonstrated how religiosity and professional ethics can effectively reduce the inaccuracy of accountants in preparing financial statements. The beliefs of accountants and preparers of financial statements can often have a greater impact than reporting laws and standards. Since accountants’ dishonesty has highly destructive effects on society, economic stability, and public trust, the findings of the research suggest that strengthening accountants’ faith and moral beliefs can help prevent this harmful factor.ConclusionAt first glance, it might be expected that an accountant with strong religious principles would demonstrate higher moral standards, thereby preventing them from preparing reports and financial statements that deviate from accounting principles. However, this is not always the case, and in some instances, the result may be the opposite. In reality, if religious beliefs alone do not enhance the moral system, they cannot effectively mitigate fraudulent behavior. In such situations, religiosity without moral commitment may manifest as hypocritical behaviors, which not only fails to reduce wrongdoing, but may even exacerbate it. Without ethical commitment, managers and accountants may manipulate financial statements to make them appear favorable, altering the numbers to avoid managerial threats without adhering to ethical principles.
Financial audit
Mohammad Amri Asrami; Seyed Kazem Ebrahimi; Hossein Amini
Abstract
Compliance with social and environmental responsibilities is one of the requirements of the current competitive era, and the competitive pressure on companies in this situation imposes costs that can affect financial performance. This research investigates the moderating role of competitive strength ...
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Compliance with social and environmental responsibilities is one of the requirements of the current competitive era, and the competitive pressure on companies in this situation imposes costs that can affect financial performance. This research investigates the moderating role of competitive strength in the relationship between social and environmental responsibilities and financial performance. The statistical sample for this research consists of companies listed on the Tehran Stock Exchange between 2016 and 2021. Using a regular screening method, 108 companies were selected as samples. After checking the classical assumptions of regression, the panel data model with fixed effects was used. The results showed that social performance has a positive relationship with financial performance. Competitive strength has a negative moderating effect on the relationship between social performance and financial performance. Environmental performance also has a positive relationship with financial performance, and competitive strength has a negative moderating role in this relationship. According to the coefficients of the variables, the social dimension of the company is more effective in increasing performance than the environmental dimension.
Introduction
A balance must be established between the modernization process and social and environmental concerns. Additionally, society's expectations regarding moral, legal, economic, and public interests require companies to commit to the communities in which they operate (Porter & Kramer, 2011). On the other hand, the growing interest of companies, especially large, national, and multinational companies, to demonstrate better environmental and social performance as part of their corporate social responsibility policy is often reflected in their management structures and investment policies. In line with the social responsibility policy, companies invest in the environmental field for three reasons: complying with environmental and social regulations and standards, improving company conditions, creating a favorable image of the company for society, and gaining access to other markets (Zaid et al., 2020).
Social responsibilities have been utilized in various businesses to achieve a competitive advantage and create stable relationships with society. In this regard, the theory of social responsibilities refers to the combined pursuit of economic progress, social equality, and environmental protection. The nature of social responsibilities is the interconnected and mutual realization of financial, social, and environmental goals (Donkor et al., 2023).
A company's environmental responsibility refers to its organizational behavior and commitment to the natural environment, which symbolizes the company's environmental ethics (Dilla et al., 2019). Several studies have shown conflicting results regarding a firm's environmental performance and financial performance. Some previous studies have shown that environmental responsibility improves long-term performance (Arda et al., 2019; Gilal et al., 2019). In addition, green knowledge and innovation promote an environmental orientation that allows companies to improve performance (Atan et al., 2018). On the contrary, since introducing environmental initiatives is costly (Zhang et al., 2019), evidence has shown that corporate environmental responsibility does not always lead to positive results (Chollet & Sandwidi, 2018). Based on a sample of companies listed on the Tehran Stock Exchange, this study examines the role of competitive strength in the relationship between firms’ social and environmental performance and financial performance.
Literature Review
Green theory emphasizes that community care helps organizations in sustainable development. Hence, government regulations and customer pressure encourage companies to adopt such practices in emerging markets. Environmental responsibility allows companies to improve their competitive advantages and dynamic capabilities (Arda et al., 2019). Incorporating environmental values supports environmental business in the long term (Gill et al., 2019). In general, green knowledge and innovation promote an environmental orientation and green resource management in companies, subsequently allowing them to improve their performance (Atan et al., 2018; Zhang et al., 2019). Based on this, this research expects to improve the effectiveness of a company by using organizational resources for environmental performance while simultaneously improving social performance.
Proponents of the positive effects of CSR argue that CSR enhances corporate value and image, as well as develops brand positioning, reputation, and corporate image, which in turn enhances financial performance in the long run (Hill, 2020). It is often assumed that the proper use of economic, social, and governance standards requires higher financial efficiency and performance.
Managers of firms with fewer resources have fewer opportunities to divert resources to their advantage (Kumar et al., 2023). They are more concerned about their presence in the market and maintaining their market share in the industry, and they consider themselves less socially responsible towards the company, market, and society (Jiang et al., 2019). The moderating power of competition encourages companies to act in socially responsible ways and helps maintain their reputation (Chih et al., 2010; Graafland, 2018). The intensity of competition affects decisions related to social responsibilities, including social and environmental performance (Jiang et al., 2019). Different levels of competition affect the relationship between the social and environmental performance of companies. Social practices and environmental ethics are intangible assets for a company in capital markets, and these assets change with shifts in competition levels. In particular, considering the role of competitive strength, the relationship between social performance and environmental performance with financial performance changes as the level of competition fluctuates (Saeed et al., 2023). Therefore, the following hypotheses can be proposed:
Hypothesis 1: There is a positive relationship between social performance and financial performance.
Hypothesis 2: Competitive strength moderates the relationship between social performance and financial performance.
Hypothesis 3: There is a positive relationship between environmental performance and financial performance.
Hypothesis 4: Competitive strength moderates the relationship between environmental performance and financial performance.
Methodology
This research is practical and post-event, conducted using the secondary data collection method. The information from companies was collected by referring to the Codal.ir website and using their financial statements and attached notes. The study period covers 2016 to 2021. Before testing the proposed model and hypotheses, the assumptions of the regression models were checked. The Chow test, Hausman test, and variance heterogeneity test indicated that the panel data model with fixed effects is suitable for the models of this research. In this study, the Breusch-Pagan-Godfrey test was used to check for heteroscedasticity. The results of the heteroscedasticity analysis show that the residuals of the normal regression models do not have constant variance, indicating heteroscedasticity, and the generalized least squares method was used to address this issue.
Results
The variable coefficient of social performance in models 1 and 2 is 0.0092 and 0.019, respectively, and is significant at the 99% confidence level in both models. There is a positive relationship between social performance and financial performance, meaning that compliance with social responsibilities leads to an increase in financial performance. However, in model 2, the moderating variable (strength of competition) reverses the relationship between social performance and financial performance. At the 99% confidence level, the strength of competition has a negative effect on the relationship between social performance and financial performance. The variable coefficient of environmental performance in models 3 and 4 is 0.003 and 0.004, respectively, and is significant at the 95% confidence level. There is a positive relationship between environmental performance and financial performance, indicating that compliance with environmental responsibilities leads to an increase in financial performance. In model 4, the sign of the coefficient for the moderating variable (strength of competition) is positive, meaning that the strength of competition has a positive relationship with financial performance. However, the moderating variable reverses the relationship between environmental performance and financial performance, so at the 99% confidence level, the strength of competition has a negative effect on the relationship between environmental performance and financial performance.
Conclusion
Disclosure of social performance leads to increased financial performance. The disclosure of social performance by the company, as a positive signal to the market and shareholders, directly benefits the improvement of the company’s reputation and value. Additionally, this disclosure can indirectly affect the company’s financial performance through mediators such as competitive advantage, reputation, customer satisfaction, access to capital, and environmental resource efficiency. The company's competitive advantages are one of the important dimensions of market characteristics that company leaders should consider in their efforts to make optimal decisions to maximize financial performance. When there are no competitive pressures, managers may become lax in their duties, leading to poor management and high agency costs.
Disclosure of environmental performance also leads to increased financial performance. Compliance with environmental responsibilities and publication of periodic reports raise awareness and judgment among society and stakeholders, thereby strengthening the company's brand. To ensure that environmental goals are met, environmental functions such as the development of environmental policies and programs, setting quantitative and measurable goals for reducing environmental pollution, implementing pollution prevention obligations, measuring and evaluating potential environmental effects, revising executive plans, and making reforms must be carried out.
Competitive strength has a negative moderating role in the relationship between environmental responsibilities and financial performance. Today, governments support and encourage companies to fulfill social and environmental responsibilities. On the other hand, when facing external pressures, companies rely on government support and try to attract technical and financial incentives to carry out social and environmental responsibilities at a lower cost and more easily. By actively implementing social and environmental responsibilities, companies can communicate with governing bodies and actively participate in the development and approval of environmental responsibility programs. These actions help companies gain external legitimacy and promote their corporate brand. In this way, by taking advantage of these factors, companies can increase profitability while raising product prices and consolidating customer loyalty. Additionally, emphasizing the reduction of physical waste through environmentally friendly solutions can lay the groundwork for reducing costs and increasing profitability.
Profitability
Azam Valizadeh Larijani; Farzaneh Yousefi Asl; Fatemeh Shirzadi; Niloofar Zamani
Abstract
Compliance with social and environmental responsibilities is one of the requirements of the current competitive era, and the competitive pressure on companies in this situation imposes costs that can affect financial performance. This research investigates the moderating role of competitive strength ...
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Compliance with social and environmental responsibilities is one of the requirements of the current competitive era, and the competitive pressure on companies in this situation imposes costs that can affect financial performance. This research investigates the moderating role of competitive strength in the relationship between social and environmental responsibilities and financial performance. The statistical sample for this research consists of companies listed on the Tehran Stock Exchange between 2016 and 2021. Using a regular screening method, 108 companies were selected as samples. After checking the classical assumptions of regression, the panel data model with fixed effects was used. The results showed that social performance has a positive relationship with financial performance. Competitive strength has a negative moderating effect on the relationship between social performance and financial performance. Environmental performance also has a positive relationship with financial performance, and competitive strength has a negative moderating role in this relationship. According to the coefficients of the variables, the social dimension of the company is more effective in increasing performance than the environmental dimension. IntroductionA balance must be established between the modernization process and social and environmental concerns. Additionally, society's expectations regarding moral, legal, economic, and public interests require companies to commit to the communities in which they operate (Porter & Kramer, 2011). On the other hand, the growing interest of companies, especially large, national, and multinational companies, to demonstrate better environmental and social performance as part of their corporate social responsibility policy is often reflected in their management structures and investment policies. In line with the social responsibility policy, companies invest in the environmental field for three reasons: complying with environmental and social regulations and standards, improving company conditions, creating a favorable image of the company for society, and gaining access to other markets (Zaid et al., 2020).Social responsibilities have been utilized in various businesses to achieve a competitive advantage and create stable relationships with society. In this regard, the theory of social responsibilities refers to the combined pursuit of economic progress, social equality, and environmental protection. The nature of social responsibilities is the interconnected and mutual realization of financial, social, and environmental goals (Donkor et al., 2023).A company's environmental responsibility refers to its organizational behavior and commitment to the natural environment, which symbolizes the company's environmental ethics (Dilla et al., 2019). Several studies have shown conflicting results regarding a firm's environmental performance and financial performance. Some previous studies have shown that environmental responsibility improves long-term performance (Arda et al., 2019; Gilal et al., 2019). In addition, green knowledge and innovation promote an environmental orientation that allows companies to improve performance (Atan et al., 2018). On the contrary, since introducing environmental initiatives is costly (Zhang et al., 2019), evidence has shown that corporate environmental responsibility does not always lead to positive results (Chollet & Sandwidi, 2018). Based on a sample of companies listed on the Tehran Stock Exchange, this study examines the role of competitive strength in the relationship between firms’ social and environmental performance and financial performance. Literature ReviewGreen theory emphasizes that community care helps organizations in sustainable development. Hence, government regulations and customer pressure encourage companies to adopt such practices in emerging markets. Environmental responsibility allows companies to improve their competitive advantages and dynamic capabilities (Arda et al., 2019). Incorporating environmental values supports environmental business in the long term (Gill et al., 2019). In general, green knowledge and innovation promote an environmental orientation and green resource management in companies, subsequently allowing them to improve their performance (Atan et al., 2018; Zhang et al., 2019). Based on this, this research expects to improve the effectiveness of a company by using organizational resources for environmental performance while simultaneously improving social performance.Proponents of the positive effects of CSR argue that CSR enhances corporate value and image, as well as develops brand positioning, reputation, and corporate image, which in turn enhances financial performance in the long run (Hill, 2020). It is often assumed that the proper use of economic, social, and governance standards requires higher financial efficiency and performance.Managers of firms with fewer resources have fewer opportunities to divert resources to their advantage (Kumar et al., 2023). They are more concerned about their presence in the market and maintaining their market share in the industry, and they consider themselves less socially responsible towards the company, market, and society (Jiang et al., 2019). The moderating power of competition encourages companies to act in socially responsible ways and helps maintain their reputation (Chih et al., 2010; Graafland, 2018). The intensity of competition affects decisions related to social responsibilities, including social and environmental performance (Jiang et al., 2019). Different levels of competition affect the relationship between the social and environmental performance of companies. Social practices and environmental ethics are intangible assets for a company in capital markets, and these assets change with shifts in competition levels. In particular, considering the role of competitive strength, the relationship between social performance and environmental performance with financial performance changes as the level of competition fluctuates (Saeed et al., 2023). Therefore, the following hypotheses can be proposed:Hypothesis 1: There is a positive relationship between social performance and financial performance.Hypothesis 2: Competitive strength moderates the relationship between social performance and financial performance.Hypothesis 3: There is a positive relationship between environmental performance and financial performance.Hypothesis 4: Competitive strength moderates the relationship between environmental performance and financial performance. MethodologyThis research is practical and post-event, conducted using the secondary data collection method. The information from companies was collected by referring to the Codal.ir website and using their financial statements and attached notes. The study period covers 2016 to 2021. Before testing the proposed model and hypotheses, the assumptions of the regression models were checked. The Chow test, Hausman test, and variance heterogeneity test indicated that the panel data model with fixed effects is suitable for the models of this research. In this study, the Breusch-Pagan-Godfrey test was used to check for heteroscedasticity. The results of the heteroscedasticity analysis show that the residuals of the normal regression models do not have constant variance, indicating heteroscedasticity, and the generalized least squares method was used to address this issue. ResultsThe variable coefficient of social performance in models 1 and 2 is 0.0092 and 0.019, respectively, and is significant at the 99% confidence level in both models. There is a positive relationship between social performance and financial performance, meaning that compliance with social responsibilities leads to an increase in financial performance. However, in model 2, the moderating variable (strength of competition) reverses the relationship between social performance and financial performance. At the 99% confidence level, the strength of competition has a negative effect on the relationship between social performance and financial performance. The variable coefficient of environmental performance in models 3 and 4 is 0.003 and 0.004, respectively, and is significant at the 95% confidence level. There is a positive relationship between environmental performance and financial performance, indicating that compliance with environmental responsibilities leads to an increase in financial performance. In model 4, the sign of the coefficient for the moderating variable (strength of competition) is positive, meaning that the strength of competition has a positive relationship with financial performance. However, the moderating variable reverses the relationship between environmental performance and financial performance, so at the 99% confidence level, the strength of competition has a negative effect on the relationship between environmental performance and financial performance. ConclusionDisclosure of social performance leads to increased financial performance. The disclosure of social performance by the company, as a positive signal to the market and shareholders, directly benefits the improvement of the company’s reputation and value. Additionally, this disclosure can indirectly affect the company’s financial performance through mediators such as competitive advantage, reputation, customer satisfaction, access to capital, and environmental resource efficiency. The company's competitive advantages are one of the important dimensions of market characteristics that company leaders should consider in their efforts to make optimal decisions to maximize financial performance. When there are no competitive pressures, managers may become lax in their duties, leading to poor management and high agency costs.Disclosure of environmental performance also leads to increased financial performance. Compliance with environmental responsibilities and publication of periodic reports raise awareness and judgment among society and stakeholders, thereby strengthening the company's brand. To ensure that environmental goals are met, environmental functions such as the development of environmental policies and programs, setting quantitative and measurable goals for reducing environmental pollution, implementing pollution prevention obligations, measuring and evaluating potential environmental effects, revising executive plans, and making reforms must be carried out.Competitive strength has a negative moderating role in the relationship between environmental responsibilities and financial performance. Today, governments support and encourage companies to fulfill social and environmental responsibilities. On the other hand, when facing external pressures, companies rely on government support and try to attract technical and financial incentives to carry out social and environmental responsibilities at a lower cost and more easily. By actively implementing social and environmental responsibilities, companies can communicate with governing bodies and actively participate in the development and approval of environmental responsibility programs. These actions help companies gain external legitimacy and promote their corporate brand. In this way, by taking advantage of these factors, companies can increase profitability while raising product prices and consolidating customer loyalty. Additionally, emphasizing the reduction of physical waste through environmentally friendly solutions can lay the groundwork for reducing costs and increasing profitability.
Capital Structure
Mahmood Madhoosh; Mehdi Safari gerayli; Javad Ramezani; Javad Babaee Khalili; Mehdi Khalilpour
Abstract
This study, while identifying the emerging fields of human rights accounting development in Iran's capital market, seeks to evaluate them within the context of the research. Using interviews and the grounded theory process, through three stages of open, central, and selective coding, an attempt was made ...
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This study, while identifying the emerging fields of human rights accounting development in Iran's capital market, seeks to evaluate them within the context of the research. Using interviews and the grounded theory process, through three stages of open, central, and selective coding, an attempt was made to develop the theoretical framework of the phenomenon. Finally, through the matrix processes, the most effective field of human rights accounting development was determined in the context of the study. The results of the qualitative part of this study, from a total of 321 open codes, indicate the identification of 32 themes, 6 components, and 3 main categories. IntroductionHuman rights are considered one of the key objectives of international institutes and organizations today, influencing various aspects of social functions. In addition to identifying the emerging contexts of human rights development in Iran’s capital market, this study seeks to evaluate these contexts within the research framework. Conducting such a study can serve as a basis for research innovation from a methodological perspective, while also contributing to the theoretical literature on human rights accounting and increasing the level of theoretical knowledge on the subject. This is particularly relevant given the structural features of companies in different societies and capital markets.Theoretical frameworkHuman rights represent a level of adjudication that every human, by nature, should enjoy. The dimensions of human rights include inherent rights, equal rights, inalienable rights, and universal rights. Human rights are a set of rights that arise from human nature, and every person in society should enjoy them without exception. Two narrow and wide approaches can be identified at the theoretical level. The wide approach is a process based on the limitless flow of data at the societal level, where information can be accessed, transferred, and publicized freely. In this way, freedom of information in human rights regulations refers to the people's right to access all types of information, including information in financial markets (McDonagh, 2020). The narrow approach, which emerged due to changes in the international community over time, narrows the range of information freedom and focuses exclusively on citizens' freedom to access information held by governmental institutions.MethodologyThe present study is developmental in terms of results, exploratory in terms of purpose, and combinatory in terms of data type. In the qualitative part, data were first collected through interviews using open, axial, and selective coding to identify the emerging contexts of human rights accounting in capital market companies. To confirm the reliability of the identified contextual axes, the Fuzzy Delphi analysis process was employed. Subsequently, in the quantitative part, the study seeks to prioritize the most effective axes using matrix analyses with row i and column j and MATLAB software. Given the nature of the study, which combines data collection processes in both qualitative and quantitative parts, the initial stages involved conducting interviews to gradually reach theoretical saturation by identifying the emerging contexts in human rights accounting through unstructured, in-depth interviews and designing open-ended questions. After developing the conceptual codes from the interviews, the process shifted to semi-structured and structured interviews to differentiate the components, creating general categories to facilitate theoretical saturation.Research findingsIn this section, the findings from the data-based theoretical analysis in the qualitative part are first presented to design a model, followed by matrix analysis to advance the objectives of the quantitative part. In the qualitative part, 14 accounting experts were interviewed using a three-stage coding process within the data-based theory to identify the emerging contexts of human rights development at the level of capital market companies, forming a theoretical framework. Based on the specification of coding processes according to Glasier's approach in data-based analysis, a theoretical framework related to emerging contexts in human rights accounting development can be proposed at the level of capital market companies.Next, Fuzzy Delphi analysis is employed to determine the experts' consensus regarding the appropriateness of the research components with the identified categories in the emerging contexts of human rights accounting development. Fuzzy Delphi analysis was used to assess the reliability and fit of the main components of the proposed model. All identified components were confirmed in the qualitative stage, and theoretical consensus was achieved. Therefore, this study shows that the most important context in the emerging development of human rights accounting in capital market companies is the development of effective governance functions aimed at motivating equal approaches among operational and financial units within the company and its stakeholders.Discussion and conclusionThe purpose of the present study is to evaluate the emerging contexts in human rights accounting development in Iran’s capital market. Grounded Theory was used to establish a theoretical framework for this phenomenon. A total of 321 open codes, 32 themes, 6 components, and 3 main categories were derived from 14 interviews, totaling approximately 830 minutes. Based on this analysis, a model related to the emerging contexts in human rights accounting development was proposed for Iran’s capital market.Matrix analysis revealed that the most important context in the emerging development of human rights accounting in capital market companies is the development of effective governance functions to promote equal approaches between the financial and operational units of the company and its stakeholders. The role of corporate governance as an influential factor in human rights accounting development includes fostering diversity in the selection of board members to represent various stockholder groups, considering factors such as religion, race, and gender. This diversity can enhance the effectiveness of supervision over managers and financial units.Implementing this approach can strengthen shareholders’ motivation to enter the capital market and invest in companies with a commitment to human rights. Developing accounting management information systems under governance supervision can facilitate the advancement of human rights accounting by enhancing the financial reporting language. Furthermore, these systems can significantly contribute to the creation of a data bank in companies, enabling them to report to human rights institutions. To keep their financial functions up-to-date with human rights compliance at the capital market level, it is crucial for companies to adhere to human rights management accounting information systems and invest in these areas to provide more robust information.Given the importance of corporate governance as an effective mechanism in shaping human rights accounting in capital market companies, it is recommended that boards of directors strengthen managerial oversight by focusing on the behavioral, ethical, and operational aspects of companies, ensuring the equal protection of citizens’ rights in accounting processes and procedures.
Accounting report
Alireza Javadipour; jafar Babajani; Ghasem Blue; Vajhollah Ghorbanizadeh
Abstract
Considering the goals of forming the audit committee and its extensive duties, evaluating the performance of the audit committee in order to identify its strengths and weaknesses is very important. The present study presents a model for evaluating the performance of the audit committee and a practical ...
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Considering the goals of forming the audit committee and its extensive duties, evaluating the performance of the audit committee in order to identify its strengths and weaknesses is very important. The present study presents a model for evaluating the performance of the audit committee and a practical model for the use of the activities of the audit committee by the beneficiaries. The model obtained in the current research includes 3 parts of evaluating the individual characteristics of the members of the audit committee, evaluating the work processes and reporting of the audit committee, and evaluating its duties and responsibilities, and the final model includes 3 dimensions, 13 components, and 78 indicators. The results of the research showed that the working and reporting processes of the audit committee have the most weight in evaluating the performance of the audit committee, and the evaluation of the audit committee meetings as the focus of the audit committee's activities is the most important among the performance evaluation components.ObjectiveThe optimal performance of the audit committee is an important variable in improving the processes and structure of corporate governance as well as financial reports. The duties of audit committees around the world are in sync with developments in the economic environment, and in Iran, according to the approved charter of the audit committee, the purpose of forming an audit committee in companies is to help fulfill the supervisory responsibility of the board of directors and to improve it in order to obtain assurance of reasonable quality of financial reporting, effectiveness of the internal audit process, ensuring the independence of the independent auditor and its effectiveness, adapting the company's activities to the laws, and ensuring the effectiveness of the activities of the corporate governance system, its committees, and other components. Considering the goals of forming the audit committee and its extensive duties, evaluating the performance of the audit committee in order to identify its strengths and weaknesses is very important. Due to the lack of comprehensive research in the country to provide a model to evaluate the performance of the audit committee, the present research has addressed this issue and a practical model for the use of the activities of the audit committee has been presented.MethodThe research method used in the first stage of the study involved extracting the dimensions, components, and performance evaluation indicators of the audit committee from the theoretical sources of the research. Then, the Fuzzy Delphi method was used to screen the indicators, and the Best-Worst Method (BWM) multi-criteria decision-making method was used to weigh each dimension, component, and index. Finally, to determine the gap between the existing situation in the field of audit committee performance evaluation and the model obtained in the current research, the Fuzzy Gap method has been used.FindingsBy studying the theoretical sources of the research, 96 indicators were determined to evaluate the performance of the audit committee, which were classified into 3 dimensions and 15 components using theoretical foundations. In the next step, to check the indicators, interviews were first conducted with 10 experts. In the interviews conducted regarding 6 indicators, revisions, and content adjustments were made to adapt to the current conditions of the country's economic environment. One index was also removed due to the lack of a legal structure for the index in Iran. In the next step, 95 finalized indicators were presented to the research experts for screening, and the responses given by the research experts were analyzed using the Fuzzy Delphi method. By calculating the fuzzy average of the numbers and then de-fuzzifying them, indicators with a de-fuzzified number less than 0.7 were removed, and 78 indicators were approved by the research experts. The model obtained in the current research includes three parts: evaluating the individual characteristics of the members of the audit committee, evaluating the work processes and reporting of the audit committee, and evaluating its duties and responsibilities. The final model includes 3 dimensions, 13 components, and 78 indicators.4- ConclusionAccording to the findings of the research, the important components in evaluating the performance of the audit committee are the audit committee meetings, the audit committee resources, communication with the board of directors, the audit committee charter, and monitoring of financial reporting. The results of the research showed that the working and reporting processes of the audit committee carry the most weight in the evaluation of the audit committee's performance, with a weight of about 66%, and the evaluation of the audit committee meetings as the focus of the audit committee's activities is the most important among the evaluation components. Also, proper communication with the board of directors, provision of sufficient resources for the activities of the audit committee, the existence of an approved charter of the audit committee, and monitoring of internal controls and financial reporting are important areas for evaluating the performance of the audit committee. The results of the research also indicated the existence of a significant gap between the current status of the audit committee's performance evaluation and the model obtained in the research. In this regard, it is suggested that the legislator (Securities and Exchange Organization) obliges the listed companies to evaluate the performance of the audit committee under their supervision. Furthermore, it is recommended to use the model presented in the current research, considering the importance of dimensions and components. Additionally, the board of directors of the companies can improve the performance of these committees by taking into account the important components of the audit committee's performance, by holding the audit committees under their supervision accountable in these areas, and also making a reasonable and logical assessment of their performance.Enhancing KnowledgeThis research has presented a practical model to evaluate the performance of the audit committee according to the characteristics of Iran's economic environment, which can serve as the basis for analyzing the performance of the audit committee based on its different functional dimensions.
Accounting and various aspects of finance
Javad Shekarkhah; Mohammad javad Salimi; Seyed Soroush Ghazinoori; Ali Hedayati Bilondi
Abstract
AbstractPension funds in Iran use a defined benefit pension plan, and their sustainability is important. However, the evaluation of their sustainability has always been criticized. Minimum reporting and simple accountability indicators do not meet the informational needs of stakeholders. Thus, the main ...
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AbstractPension funds in Iran use a defined benefit pension plan, and their sustainability is important. However, the evaluation of their sustainability has always been criticized. Minimum reporting and simple accountability indicators do not meet the informational needs of stakeholders. Thus, the main issue is to identify the indicators and standards for a comprehensive evaluation of financial sustainability. To address this issue, the theoretical foundations of sustainability evaluation of pension funds and the indicators applied by other countries and international organizations were examined. The indicators were presented to experts for receiving their opinions and, to reach a consensus on key indicators, a Fuzzy Delphi method was applied. For ranking and developing a combined indicator, the final indicator was obtained using experts' opinions and the SWARA method. 27 indicators in four dimensions were extracted from the theoretical foundations: equity, adequacy, financial, and innovation. According to the results of the Fuzzy Delphi method, 15 key indicators were finally confirmed. Among the key indicators, the support ratio obtained the first rank, while the replacement rate and penetration coefficient obtained the second and third ranks, respectively. The results of the SWARA method confirmed the combined indicator consisting of the equity dimension (1 sub-indicator), the adequacy dimension (3 sub-indicators), and the financial dimension (11 sub-indicators). The weight of equity, adequacy, and financial in the combined indicator is equal to 6%, 21%, and 73%, respectively. The support ratio, the present value of the Assets to Liabilities Ratio, and the actuary analysis obtained ranks 1 to 3. According to the combined indicator, the financial dimension has the highest importance, and despite difficulties such as a lack of resources and liquidity to pay current obligations, attention is focused on equity, adequacy, and innovation. However, combined indicators should always be reviewed.IntroductionOne of the challenges faced by pension funds and stakeholders in this system is how to assess financial sustainability and reporting. The governance structure, stakeholder relations, management, and accountability of pension funds necessitate attention to the evaluation of sustainability. Occupational pension schemes must provide necessary information regarding retirement plans. The information should be presented in a way that stakeholders can monitor and assess the financial health of occupational pension schemes and determine whether they are capable of fulfilling their contractual obligations. International organizations generally use indicators that are based on accessible information from different countries and therefore have the highest utility for comparison.In recent years, combined indicators have become one of the most commonly used analytical tools in many fields of social realities. Combined indicators have been widely accepted as useful tools for decision-making and information communication. Combined indicators are a combination of simple indicators with specific weights, where the weights indicate the relative importance that each of them should have in the final overall indicator. Determining the simple and combined indicators for assessing financial sustainability requires a precise understanding and attention to the characteristics of retirement plans, as these characteristics will vary from one organization to another and across different retirement schemes. This research aims to investigate and study the indicators used by international organizations and other countries, providing a scientific basis for evaluating and reporting the financial sustainability of pension funds.MethodologyConsidering the objective of the research, it is of an applied nature. In terms of implementation, this research is field-based. The research is of a mixed nature, meaning it consists of two components: qualitative and quantitative. The research, in terms of data collection, is conducted in a real and unadulterated manner and falls into the category of descriptive (non-experimental) research with a survey and exploratory approach. To properly conduct the research and achieve scientific results, four main stages of development and actions have been undertaken.The first stage involves reviewing and studying the theoretical foundations of evaluating the financial sustainability of pension funds and the indicators used in other countries, as well as identifying evaluation models used by international institutions to access proposed indicators, seek expert opinions, and obtain consensus on them. The second stage includes seeking expert opinions on the extracted key indicators from the theoretical foundations of the research to select acceptable indicators based on the conditions of Iranian pension funds. The Fuzzy Delphi method was used to seek expert opinions. In the third stage, the SWARA method was used to determine the weights of key indicators. Finally, in the last stage of the research, the findings and results are compared and aligned with the combined indicators used by other countries and international institutions. Results and DiscussionThis study analyzes a significant number of indicators of pension system sustainability. In conducting this research, using literature and scientific texts, the indicators for evaluating the sustainability of pension funds were identified in terms of adequacy (6 indicators), equity (4 indicators), financial (14 indicators), and innovation (3 indicators). Based on the consensus of experts, key indicators were finalized in three dimensions. The results indicate a combined indicator consisting of the dimensions of equity (1 sub-indicator), adequacy (3 sub-indicators), and the financial dimension (11 sub-indicators). In the next stage, using the SWARA method, weights were assigned to each of the indicators. Based on the ranking performed in the combined indicator, the equity dimension, including one indicator (implicit pension debt), accounts for 6% of the weight of the combined indicator. The adequacy dimension, composed of indicators such as replacement rate, asset growth rate, and asset growth rate to inflation ratio, accounts for approximately 21% of the weight of the combined indicator. Lastly, the financial dimension, being the most influential, accounts for 73% of the weight of the combined indicator and includes indicators such as population coverage ratio, support ratio, dependency ratio, consumption-to-resource ratio, consumption growth rate-to-resource ratio, current asset value-to-obligations ratio, accumulation rate, insurance contribution-to-pension payment ratio, actuarial analysis, economic dependency ratio of the elderly, and funding ratio. Considering the obtained combined indicator, it can be stated that the financial dimension indicators have the highest importance, followed by the sub-indicators of the adequacy dimension.ConclusionThe results of this study indicate that reporting and evaluating the financial sustainability of pension funds have faced challenges, including the lack of consensus on evaluation indicators. Published reports on the status and financial performance of pension funds have not been aligned with the characteristics of pension funds and stakeholder needs. Additionally, it is observed that some of the theoretical indicators mentioned in the literature do not correspond with the indicators used by international organizations (particularly the actuarial ones). According to the combined indicator, the financial dimension has the highest importance, and despite difficulties such as lack of resources and liquidity to pay current obligations, attention is focused on equity, adequacy, and innovation. However, combined indicators should always be reviewed.To address the existing issues at the operational, supervisory, and standard-setting levels, sufficient and effective measures need to be taken to advance the goals of sustainability assessment and reporting. Standard-setting organizations in the field of sustainability can play a crucial role in enhancing sustainability knowledge through educational development. At the organizational level, strong official support and senior management commitment are required for the development of sustainability assessment processes, and necessary training should be provided. It is important to pay more attention to the concepts and indicators of sustainability assessment to foster a better mindset towards sustainability and reporting. Regulatory bodies and stakeholders should employ innovative approaches in their assessments, including the performance of pension funds. The use of simple indicators may not provide sufficient information, so it is better to utilize combined indicators and update them to align with the characteristics of the pension fund's operating environment.
Financial Accounting
Zahra Jafari; Rahim Bonabi Ghadim; Rasoul Abdi
Abstract
The purpose of this research is the evaluation of effective criteria for the desirability of financial stability integration based on the comparison of metaheuristic algorithms in banks listed on the Tehran Stock Exchange. Initially, through a systematic content screening process, the effective criteria ...
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The purpose of this research is the evaluation of effective criteria for the desirability of financial stability integration based on the comparison of metaheuristic algorithms in banks listed on the Tehran Stock Exchange. Initially, through a systematic content screening process, the effective criteria for the desirability of financial stability integration are used to evaluate banks listed on the Tehran Stock Exchange. Then, relying on two algorithms of Particle Swarm Optimization and Gray Wolf, the study reveals that both innovative algorithms used in this study have the necessary capability to determine the desirability of the financial stability of banks listed on the Tehran Stock Exchange.Metaheuristic Algorithms, Financial Stability Integration, The Desirability of Banks' Efficiency. IntroductionOne of the most important changes in the economic systems of societies is the increasing focus on the functions of financial stability in the banking systems of countries, which has been increasingly taken into account in macroeconomic policies. It is important to note that, due to reasons such as international sanctions, the banking system in developing countries faces many challenges, including disruptions in the banking system and financial exchanges as a result of the reduced foreign trade. This can lead to increased financial costs and risks, reduce public trust in the banking system, diminish international interactions with foreign banks, and disrupt the economic balance. The purpose of this research is the evaluation of effective criteria for the desirability of financial stability integration based on the comparison of metaheuristic algorithms in banks listed on the Tehran Stock Exchange. Literature ReviewFinancial stability in the banking system is defined as a low level of vulnerability to possible risks, which creates a level of balance and stability in banking systems through the ability to resist economic challenges. Elsa et al. (2018) also considered the financial stability of banks as a basis for economic growth functions in a definition and stated that a dynamic banking system needs to control the risks and costs of commercial transactions in a balanced economy to achieve stable financial stability. On the other hand, Verma and Chakarwarty (2023) suggested that if financial stability does not govern the banking systems of countries and they do not have the necessary efficiency, the optimal direction of resources to industries faces a serious challenge, and this issue can affect the country's economic growth in a short period. MethodologyThis study employs a combined and applied methodology. Initially, through a systematic content screening process, the effective criteria for the desirability of financial stability integration are used to evaluate banks listed on the Tehran Stock Exchange. Then, relying on the two algorithms of Particle Swarm Optimization and Gray Wolf and extracting data related to the criteria identified between 2017 and 2018, efforts are made to determine the optimal point of desirability of financial stability integration for banks listed on the Tehran Stock Exchange. In this process, based on the expansion of the mathematical equations of each metaheuristic algorithm and the command codes of the MATLAB software, necessary actions are taken to answer the research questions. ResultThe results showed that both innovative algorithms used in this study have the necessary capability to determine the desirability of the financial stability of banks listed on the Tehran Stock Exchange. However, based on the Wilcoxon Signed-Rank Test coefficients, the Gray Wolf algorithm is more accurate than the Particle Swarm Optimization algorithm for predicting the function of the identified criteria in determining the desirability of financial stability of banks listed on the Tehran Stock Exchange. The results after executing command processes in MATLAB software indicated that both algorithms have the necessary capability to determine the desirability of the financial stability of banks admitted to the Tehran Stock Exchange. However, based on the coefficients of the Wilcoxon test, the Gray Wolf algorithm has a higher accuracy than the Particle Swarm Optimization algorithm for predicting the performance of the identified criteria in determining the desirability of the financial stability of accepted banks. It is also found that the most effective criterion in strengthening the determination of the desirability of financial stability of banks is the liquidity circulation "ϑ3" in the Gray Wolf algorithm. DiscussionIt is also found that the most effective criterion in strengthening the determination of the desirability of banks' financial stability is the Turnover Ratio in the Gray Wolf algorithm. The coefficients obtained in the Gray Wolf algorithm indicate a more effective optimization of effective criteria in determining the financial desirability of the country's banking system. This issue provides an explanation for the interpretation that banks can benefit from this algorithm for financial planning and covering their weaknesses in preserving resources even in the risky conditions of today's economy. ConclusionThe results show that the banks whose total value of transactions in the capital market is higher than the average value of their total shares over a certain period have higher capacities for liquidity circulation. Furthermore, in providing banking services in current and investment matters in competitive projects, these banks have the upper hand compared to other banks. The existence of such added value of shares in the capital market can be considered as contributing to higher returns and lower risk for investing in these banks. Therefore, as the basics of determining the comparative evaluation between algorithms, i.e., the constant return to scale (CRS) and the variable return to scale (VRS) showed banks with higher liquidity circulation and relying on the Gray Wolf algorithm reach the optimal point faster. This finding illustrates the flexibility of financial resources in timely allocation to the market and industries, which can bring higher returns for their shareholders in the long run.
Capital Structure
Mehdi Dasti; Mohammad Firouzian Nezhad; Ali Mahmoodi
Abstract
The purpose of this study is evaluating the reduction of the government's financial burden through the typology of drivers affecting generational accounting in the capital market by action research. In terms of methodology, this study has used Colaizzi's model (1978) to implement action research steps. ...
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The purpose of this study is evaluating the reduction of the government's financial burden through the typology of drivers affecting generational accounting in the capital market by action research. In terms of methodology, this study has used Colaizzi's model (1978) to implement action research steps. Therefore, based on this model, first, through interviews with experts and open coding, an effort was made to identify n Effective drivers on the implementation of generational accounting in capital market companies. Then, in order to validate the propositions, a critical evaluation was done to compare the propositions with similar researches, so that the propositions can enter the stage of forming a focus group to discuss and exchange opinions for the cognitive separation of each proposition in the form of a category. The results showed that a total of 22 propositions were identified from a total of 12 interviews and 217 open codes created. On the other hand, it was determined in the quantitative section, 22 criteria identified in 4 categories were the creators of the generational accounting typology framework of capital market companies. IntroductionOne of the most emerging concepts in the field of accounting knowledge, which in recent years has become a factor connecting the public sector to achieve sustainable development in the private sector, is generational accounting. Created to measure the relative financial burden on future generations, generational accounting is considered one of the financial tools of governments, both in the public and private sectors, that can help balance the circulation of cash in social contexts. Since industries operating in the capital market seek to provide financial resources to advance their business goals and facilitate economic growth and development, attention to the processes of allocating financial resources through the type of government support governance can reduce the financial burden on future generations. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the reduction of the government's financial burden through the typology of drivers affecting generational accounting in the capital market using action research. MethodologyIn terms of methodology, this study has used Colaizzi's model (1978) to implement action research steps. Therefore, based on this model, first, through interviews with experts and open coding, an effort was made to identify effective drivers influencing the implementation of generational accounting in capital market companies. Then, in order to validate the propositions, a critical evaluation was conducted to compare the propositions with similar research, so that the propositions could enter the stage of forming a focus group to discuss and exchange opinions for the cognitive separation of each proposition into a category. Then, through a Q evaluation checklist, each statement was scored between +4 and -4, and finally, a 4-level matrix was created to establish a foundation of effective drivers in the implementation of generational accounting, to reduce the government's financial burden on future generations. ResultAs it was determined during the research process, first through interviews and open coding, generational accounting propositions were identified. Then, to achieve validity, a matching between similar researches was performed to provide the possibility of entering the statements identified in the Q analysis model for the cognitive classification of this phenomenon in the context of capital market companies. Subsequently, by forming a focus group to determine the cognitive categories of the examined concept, during four sessions and by creating a Q evaluation checklist from +4 to -4 in 22 slots according to the identified propositions, the necessary actions were taken, and participants were asked to place each proposition in one of the 22 slots of the Q evaluation checklist. Then, through the Wiremax matrix, cognitive classes were determined regarding the separation of drivers affecting the implementation of generational accounting, and the results indicated the existence of four cognitive classes, which can be effective in reducing the financial burden of governments on future generations. The results showed that a total of 22 propositions were identified from a total of 12 interviews and 217 open codes were created. On the other hand, it was determined in the quantitative section that 22 criteria identified in four categories formed the creators of the generational accounting typology framework of capital market companies. ConclusionThe results showed that focusing on net transfer payments in the embargoed conditions of the country's industries can be considered a form of contingency governance that aims to balance the financial flow in the country's economic system. It reduces the high dependence of industries on developed economies in terms of providing resources or technological knowledge and helps balance the financial burden of the government in saving resources. Because the inefficiency of the economic infrastructure of the capital market system does not allow for the optimal allocation of resources to industries, the government sees no other way to prevent negative economic growth and the influence of other macro-economic factors, such as inflation, other than the allocation of resources through transfer payments. Although it is possible to infer the consequence of economic stickiness due to political maneuvers in the shadow of transfer payments, industries have no choice but to accept the role of the government in receiving transfer resources due to the lack of commercial exchange and the use of strategies with similar foreign companies. It is also important to mention that the lack of similar research with the analytical nature of this study makes it impossible to compare the results with other research.
Accounting and various aspects of finance
Mohamad Marfo; Mohammad javad Salimi; Iman Raeesi Vanani; Mojtaba Alifamian
Abstract
Purpose: The rapid development of technology and extensive environmental changes have accelerated economic growth, and the increasing competition among enterprises has restricted access to profit and increased the probability of enterprises ' financial distress. Due to the effects of high costs of financial ...
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Purpose: The rapid development of technology and extensive environmental changes have accelerated economic growth, and the increasing competition among enterprises has restricted access to profit and increased the probability of enterprises ' financial distress. Due to the effects of high costs of financial distress, its prediction has attracted the attention of researchers since the beginning. Therefore, this paper aims at a bibliometric analysis of financial distress research in the accounting, management and economic areas. Design/methodology/approach: The research method is based on a three-step protocol of dataset setting, dataset refining, and analyzing the data. First, the published articles in the financial distress field were collected from the Web of Science database. Second, the document information was refined, and 801 articles were chosen for literature review in this area. Finally, we used the bibliometric analysis toolbox to investigate the documents. Also, bibliometric analysis in this research was conducted using VOSviewer software. Findings: The findings of this research indicate the existence of six main streams of research (methods of predicting financial distress, predictors of financial distress, restructuring strategy, corporate governance, bank bankruptcy and earnings management) in the field of financial distress. Additionally, the results highlight the importance of social responsibility of the company, also demonstrate that improvements in technology, particularly the use of artificial intelligence tools, have enhanced predicting accuracy. IntroductionIn the life cycle of any company, while there are many opportunities for growth, prosperity, and success, there are also situations where the company may face decline, crisis, and failure. Theoretically, it is assumed that business companies operate indefinitely with the aim of making a profit.However, in the modern era of the global economy, companies not only become significantly more established but also face financial distress more frequently than in the past. In other words, due to globalization and the integration of national economies, the incidence of business failures and bankruptcies has risen. Financial failure is not an instantaneous event but a dynamic and generally lengthy process that affects the company's capital structure, investment policies, and performance. Therefore, identifying the factors of financial distress enables the prediction of an enterprise's financial distress.Identifying the factors influencing the financial distress of companies, firstly, enables the taking of appropriate actions by providing necessary warnings. Secondly, investors can distinguish favorable investment opportunities from unfavorable ones and invest their resources in situations and places where they are less likely to lose money.Given the importance and effects of financial distress and the high rate of failure of current businesses, a literature analysis in this area appears necessary. A review of the literature in the field of financial distress uncovers a multitude and variety of topics in past research. Thus, it is crucial to conduct a systematic review of past research to understand its intellectual structure. Moreover, the keywords used in past research represent the field’s main ideas and topics. Therefore, this study is going to draw the intellectual structure of financial distress research through quantitative techniques of co-word analysis, citation, co-citation, bibliometric, and co-authorship analysis. Research Question(s)This research, employing bibliometric analysis, reviewed the literature on financial distress in the fields of accounting, management, and economics. It also analyzed the content of articles in this field to answer the following questions:RQ1. What is the trend of publications in financial distress research?RQ2. What is the citation structure in the financial distress research?RQ3. What are the fundamental streams of financial distress research?RQ4. What are the emerging themes in the financial distress research? MethodologyThe research method is based on a three-step protocol: dataset setting, dataset refining, and analyzing the data. First, the published articles in the financial distress field were collected from the Web of Science database. Second, the document information was refined, and 801 articles were chosen for literature review in this area. Finally, we used the bibliometric analysis toolbox to investigate the documents. Additionally, bibliometric analysis in this research was conducted using VOSviewer software. ResultsOur findings indicate an increasing trend in the number of research studies on financial distress literature over the past six years, with approximately 54% of articles published during this period.We also document that "In Search of Distress Risk" is the most cited paper, receiving 881 citations in the Web of Science database; "Altman" is identified as the most influential author; and the USA emerges as the most influential country in this research field. This predominance can largely be attributed to the fact that most journals indexed in the Web of Science in the fields of accounting and finance are associated with the United States. Consequently, it is evident that the publication of articles by universities and researchers based in this country is more prevalent than in other countries worldwide. The findings of this research reveal the existence of six main streams of research: methods of predicting financial distress, predictors of financial distress, restructuring strategy, corporate governance, bank bankruptcy, and earnings management in the field of financial distress. Additionally, the results of the research not only underscore the importance of a company’s social responsibility but also highlight how technological advancements, particularly the use of artificial intelligence tools, have enhanced the accuracy of financial distress predictions. Discussion and ConclusionIn this study, first, the evolution of literature in this field has been reviewed through bibliometric analysis over the last four decades. Secondly, from a performance perspective, the indicators related to the article, citation indicators, and combined article and citation indicators have been examined. Additionally, scientific mapping of articles in this field has been conducted through citation analysis, co-citation analysis, co-authorship analysis, and co-word analysis. Finally, clustering and content analysis of the articles in this field have been performed.First, performance analysis was conducted to answer the first two research questions. The research findings confirm that during the last four decades, the literature on financial distress has significantly grown. Examining the growth trend of the articles’ number indicates the effect of changes in the business environment on financial distress. Thus, this trend shows an increase in the number of articles from 2010 onwards, the reason for which is attributed to the financial crisis of 2008, which caused many companies to face financial distress due to the impossibility of financing. Additionally, the trend of published articles shows a significant increase in articles during the period of COVID-19 and after (2020, 2022, 2023). The limitation caused by this public crisis (COVID-19) has increased the possibility of financial distress for companies, and many researchers have investigated this issue. Secondly, to examine the third question of the research, co-citation and bibliographic coupling analysis have been used. As indicated in the mentioned findings section, the studies conducted can be classified into three clusters: predicting financial distress, which is mainly based on accounting data criteria; a cluster of default risk and systematic risk, which provides information about the prospects of the company and the volatility of assets; and finally, the cluster of restructuring strategies, which includes studies that seek to exit this cycle of financial distress using these strategies. The Bibliographic coupling analysis indicates that six main streams of research (financial distress prediction methods, financial distress prediction factors, restructuring strategy, corporate governance, bankruptcy of banks, and earnings management) exist in the financial distress field.Thirdly, the co-word analysis was conducted to answer the fourth question of the research. The increase in the frequency of the words ‘machine learning’ and ‘social responsibility of the company’ in recent years indicates the development of advanced techniques and models in data mining. This development has become so widespread that a large number of research papers are published every year in many fields, including finance, using techniques and algorithms of artificial intelligence and machine learning. Additionally, regarding social responsibility, this trend suggests the primary purpose of enterprises has shifted from profit maximization to increasing shareholder wealth and protecting the interests of other stakeholders, including society and the environment. Therefore, it is expected that future studies will focus increasingly on social responsibility and sustainability.
َAccruals Quality
Abbas Aflatooni; Kefsan mansouri; Zahra Nikbakht
Abstract
The accounting information quality and its relationship with financing decision-making is one of the important issues that attract interest from researchers. However, the way accounting information quality affects financing costs during the COVID-19 pandemic is a topic that has not been explored in domestic ...
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The accounting information quality and its relationship with financing decision-making is one of the important issues that attract interest from researchers. However, the way accounting information quality affects financing costs during the COVID-19 pandemic is a topic that has not been explored in domestic research. The purpose of this research is to investigate the effect of the accounting information quality on the cost of debt and to explore how this effect mainfested during the pandemic of COVID-19. In this regard, the data from 137 firms listed on Tehran Stock Exchange for 2012-2022 (1057 firm-years) have been analyzed. The generalized least squares (GLS) approach was employed to fit the models and fixed effects for years and industries were also controlled. The research results for the entire period demonstrate that an increase in accruals quality (as a proxy for accounting information quality) leads to the cost of financing through debts and this decrease is more pronounced for innate accruals quality than for discretionary accruals quality. Furthermore, the findings suggest that during the period of the COVID-19 pandemic, the impact of accruals quality and its innate and discretionary components on the cost of debt diminished. The results of the robustness tests using decile-ranked values of accruals quality support the main findings.IntroductionThe global pandemic of COVID-19 and the economic recession related to it brought many challenges to companies in most countries (Barai & Dhar, 2021). Due to the widespread effects of this disease and the various and costly measures taken by countries to control this pandemic, during the outbreak of COVID-19, the economic activities of companies faced a serious challenge (Aljughaiman et al., 2023). COVID-19 had a significant negative impact on the employment level of the workforce, reduced economic activity, and created high levels of uncertainty in many financial markets (Zhang et al., 2020). These conditions have most likely hurt the accounting information quality (Pham et al., 2023; Chen et al., 2023) and due to the inverse relationship between the accounting information quality and the cost of debt, it has led to an increase in the cost of debt. However, most of the empirical evidence in this regard is related to developed countries such as the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia, and the evidence on emerging markets (such as the Iranian capital market) is limited in this regard. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the relationship between the accruals quality and the cost of debt and to compare the extent of this relationship during the COVID-19 pandemic and other years.Literature ReviewIn accounting, accruals refer to a part of earnings that does not carry cash flow and is a product of the accrual accounting system. Therefore, accruals represent the difference between earnings and cash flows (Nallareddy et al., 2020). Since accruals are affected by managerial discretion, the accruals quality can be used to evaluate the accounting information quality and predict future cash flows (Le et al., 2021). The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly affected the global economy (Zhu & Song, 2021), involved many businesses in financial difficulties (Albitar et al., 2020) and intensified their dependence on resources provided by creditors and investors (Shen et al., 2020). Most likely, these conditions have affected the accounting information quality (Pham et al., 2023). During the COVID-19 pandemic, most companies have had enough motivation for earnings management (Lassoued & Khanchel, 2021). However, earnings management causes the financial information reported by companies to be inconsistent with their actual situation, and this means reducing the accounting information quality (Tariverdi et al., 2012). According to these materials, the research hypotheses are presented as follows:H1: An increase in the quality of accruals causes a decrease in the cost of debt.H2: In the period of the COVID-19 pandemic, the intensity of the effect of accruals quality on the cost of debt has decreased.MethodologyThis research is practical, analytical, quasi-experimental, correlational in terms of research purpose, and retrospective and post-event in terms of the time dimension of the data. To collect financial and accounting data, Rahvard Novin database and reports published on Codal website were used, and Stata software was used to analyze the data. To fit the models, the generalized least squares approach was used.ResultsThe results show that compared to other years, during the COVID-19 pandemic, the accruals quality (the cost of debt) has decreased (increased) by 27% (35%). Also, the results indicate that an increase in accruals quality decreases the cost of debt. Furthermore, our results show that compared to other years, during the COVID-19 pandemic, the intensity of the effect of the accruals quality on the cost of debt has decreased.DiscussionThe research findings show that an increase in accruals quality significantly decreases the cost of financing. So, in order to reduce financing costs from debts, managers are advised to be diligent in improving the companies' accounting information quality. Finally, our results show that the cost of debt has increased during the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the decline in accruals quality and its components.ConclusionOur results show that with the increase in the quality of accruals, the cost of financing through debts has a significant decrease, and this decrease is more for the innate components of accruals quality than for its discretionary part. In addition, the findings indicate that during the COVID-19 pandemic, the intensity of the effect of the accruals quality and its innate and discretionary components on the cost of debt has decreased. The results of supplementary tests confirm the research main findings.
Accounting tools
Fatemeh Jalali Gorgani; Mohammadreza Abdoli; Hasan Valiyan; Mehdi Safari gerayli; Mohammad Mehdi Hossini
Abstract
The purpose of this study is evaluation matrix of perspective on the driving forces of legacy accounting. In this study, in terms of the methodological goal, this study is exploratory and from the perspective of the result, it is placed in the category of applied research. The participants in the qualitative ...
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The purpose of this study is evaluation matrix of perspective on the driving forces of legacy accounting. In this study, in terms of the methodological goal, this study is exploratory and from the perspective of the result, it is placed in the category of applied research. The participants in the qualitative part include 12 academic experts and accounting professors who have professional experience in the field of accounting and financial reporting, and in the quantitative part 22 people from managers and board members of companies with the nature of family ownership in this study as a pairwise comparison they participated. The result of this study in the qualitative part indicated the existence of 3 categories, 8 components and 39 themes as drivers of legacy accounting in family ownership, which was confirmed based on Delphi analysis. Then, by choosing 2 factors out of 8 identified components as the basis of scenario creation, 10 themes identified as sub-factors of scenario creation were examined. The result of the acquisition in a quantitative part indicates the existence of 4 scenarios with a favorable situation, which shows that the scenario of the second quarter with the metaphorical title of "Governance Hegemony" was determined to be the most effective driver in the emergence of legacy accounting in family-owned companies. IntroductionFamily-owned companies always face the assumption of opportunism at the level of the capital market from the point of view of market theorists and analysts, the reason for which is the large number of board members affiliated with the company owner or holding management positions in the decision-making structure of this type of companies (Sun et al., 2023). Assuming the acceptance of such an approach, it can be concluded that the method of financial functions and information disclosure is also done with the aim of covering the priorities of those in power in such a structure. Under such conditions, the violation of the rights of the beneficiaries can be considered the most important consequence of investing in these companies (Rezayee Pitenoei et al., 2021). Legacy accounting, as a term in such a structure with family ownership, can be considered a kind of practice in the shadow or parallel to the main accounting method of companies, which is used by the management of these companies to satisfy their opportunistic needs (De Wolf et al., 2020). In fact, legacy accounting is considered to be the result of a method of information disclosure that systematically prioritizes the interests of those in power over the interests of other shareholders. This is done in order to stimulate new investors to invest in the company's shares on the one hand and maintain the loyalty of current shareholders on the other. Additionally, it is used to secure their interests by providing cash for the development of investment plans and projects (Lloyd et al., 1999). Literature ReviewLegacy accounting aims to secure the interests of the majority of family owners by increasing the cost of minority shareholders, both in terms of money and share value (Wild, 2015). In fact, the interests of the majority of the shares, by increasing the members of family ownership through opportunistic accounting procedures, can deepen the conflict of interest between the internal owners (family owners) who control the company and external shareholders. This conflict of interest in legacy accounting procedures manifests in various ways, such as selling the company's products at a lower price to related people, hiring unqualified family members in the company, increasing the salary and benefits of family members, or showing an increase in tax payment. For example, companies often seek to minimize taxes, but some studies based on the accounting practices of family-owned companies show increased tax payments (Xia et al., 2017), as these companies aim to fulfill their financial obligations and seek to enhance their reputation by promoting social responsibility. MethodologyWhen designing the model, it is crucial to consider the execution method, ensuring that the phenomenon under investigation lacks an integrated framework and coordination within the target society, at least in terms of content. Therefore, given the lack of necessary theoretical coherence of the concept of legacy accounting within family-owned companies, as discussed in the theoretical foundations and introduction, this research is categorized as developmental research in terms of the result. The research approach of the current study, in terms of data collection logic, is of a hybrid type. This is because it explores a phenomenon for which there is no comprehensive framework in the theoretical areas of legacy accounting at the level of capital market functions, or where consensus is lacking. Therefore, the analysis of the qualitative part and the reliance on the data theory method are used to present the dimensions of the legacy accounting model as a multidimensional model.For this purpose, Glaser's (1992) emergent approach is used to develop the legacy accounting model through three stages of coding by using interviews with experts. In this approach, the theory emerges from the data, and researchers do not have presuppositions regarding the relationship between the data from the beginning. Additionally, based on the emergent foundation data theorizing strategy, data analysis begins simultaneously with the interviews (Kolayeanmoghadam et al., 2020). In terms of the purpose, this research fallswithin the category of exploratory studies conducted using both quantitative and qualitative models. The present study employs various research methods to address the formulated questions, tailoring each method to the specific needs of the respective department. Therefore, based on the nature of collection, this study can be classified as mixed research. Thus, different methods are employed for data collection and analysis at each stage of this study's analytical processes. ResultThis research, by undertaking through three main steps in the theoretical analysis of foundational data including open coding, selective coding, and core coding, seeks to explore the concept of heritage accounting development based on a theoretical framework. Through 12 interviews conducted across three stages of open coding, central coding, and selective coding, a total of three categories, eight components, and 39 conceptual themes were identified. These dimensions were determined after Delphi analysis to ensure reliability. Next, aiming to formulate future scenarios for evaluating the driving forces behind the development of legacy accounting in family ownership, the most effective axes for this evaluation were determined using the Micmac matrix by identifying the inputs and outputs of the matrix model. As a result, this section confirmed governance opportunism and behavioral opportunism as the primary driving factors influencing legacy accounting in family-owned companies. Subsequently, through the reciprocal matrix, scenarios describing the driving forces in the emergence of this accounting practice were determined. ConclusionThe term hegemony means the dominance of a group of power holders over others. The extension of this concept to the mechanism of governance refers to the fact that a powerful person as an owner, in an effort to protect their interests, tries to make arbitrary appointments based on the level of loyalty to the person in power. Decisions should be made solely to achieve the goals and visions set by the powerful person. In this governance structure, while the size of the board of directors may adhere to rules and requirements, the absence of conflict of interest and diversity of views within the board compromises its ability to effectively monitor the company's operations, leading to decisions primarily aligned with the owner's objectives. In such structures, the board of directors often lacks the necessary independence to make decisions contrary to the opinions of those in power. Instead, they merely symbolically apply external supervision to maintain market stability. In general, the scenario of hegemonic governance shows the promotion of the dominant values and culture of the power holders in a company, which is a model of the pervasive dominance of their ideas and opinions over the entire company. Additionally, this result indicates that legacy accounting within such a regulatory process serves as an instrumental approach, a lever to advance governance goals in family companies. By selectively disclosing news and information to stakeholders, it seeks to protect the interests of these individuals or the so-called powerful person
stock exchange
Behrooz Badpa; Sohrab Osta; Fatemeh Darvish-Hoseini
Abstract
Working capital management is crucial for business growth and survival as it maximizes enterprise value and shareholder wealth, thereby maintaining competitive conditions and optimal performance. This study identified and explained accounting variables determining operational efficiency (OE) of the companies ...
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Working capital management is crucial for business growth and survival as it maximizes enterprise value and shareholder wealth, thereby maintaining competitive conditions and optimal performance. This study identified and explained accounting variables determining operational efficiency (OE) of the companies listed on the Tehran Stock Exchange (TSE), Iran, in light of working capital items. The statistical population consisted of all companies, and the samples were 112 cases listed during 2016-2020. Utilizing an applied, descriptive-correlational research design, the relationship between the variables was then established. The dependent variable was OE, evaluated using data envelopment analysis (DEA); and the independent ones were working capital items and dividend growth rate. To investigate the effect of the independent variables on the dependent one, eight hypotheses were formulated, and multivariate linear regression with panel data in a fixed-effects model was implemented. Testing the hypotheses at a 95% confidence interval demonstrated that average period of collection of claims, average debt repayment period, dividend growth ratio, cash holding level, and liquidity ratio have a significant positive effect on OE. Nevertheless, the cash conversion cycle, and average inventory turnover period have negative impacts. Managers are thus suggested to identify working capital items and exploit them along with short/long-term goals in companies. This is practical in evaluating financial flexibility and solvency, facilitating optimal liquidity, and increasing business profitability and performance. Furthermore, learning about such items is helpful to investors, creditors, and analysts to make optimal decisions. IntroductionWorking capital management in companies plays a key role in their growth and survival. This business process also helps increase the value of such entities and maximize their shareholder wealth, thereby maintaining competitive conditions and optimal performance. Representing the management of current resources and expenses in a company, working capital management has two components, namely, the management of current assets and liabilities, whose balance is of utmost importance. Decisions made about each one can affect the other (Jahan Khani & Talebi, 1999). On the word of Nath et al. (2010), working capital items have a critical role in the operational efficiency (OE) of a company as well as its marketing capability. In this line, Fang et al. (2008) also believe that working capital items have high liquidity, and are directly associated with the operating results and efficiency of a company, so managing cash in the short term is especially relevant for competition in markets. Therefore, the main items in working capital can significantly shape the operating results in a company, including contribution margin, market share, and OE. Against this background, the present study is to identify and explain the accounting variables determining the OE of the companies listed on the Tehran Stock Exchange (TSE), Iran, in light of the working capital items.Materials & MethodsConsidering the type of supervision and the degree of control, this study is categorized as field research, because the variables were investigated in their natural state. With regard to the data collection method, this study is placed into documentary research. Utilizing an applied, descriptive research design, the relationship between the given variables was established via a correlational study. The statistical population comprised the companies listed on the TSE, Iran, and the study samples included 112 cases listed during 2016-2020. The dependent variable was OE, evaluated using data envelopment analysis (DEA), and the independent variables were working capital items and dividend growth rate. Profitability index, company size, financial leverage, and operating cash flow (OCF) were correspondingly deemed as the control variables in the research model. To shed light on the effect of the independent variables on the dependent one, eight hypotheses were initially formulated, and then multivariate linear regression using panel data in a fixed-effects model was implemented to test them. In order to analyze the data and interpret the results, descriptive and inferential statistics were ultimately utilized.FindingsUpon presenting the descriptive statistics and checking the assumptions of the regression as well as determining themost suitable research model, the linear regression equation was estimated using the fixed-effects model, as described in table 1Discussion & ConclusionAs confirmed by the study findings, working capital items can explain the OE of the companies listed on the TSE, Iran. In this respect, the results of testing the main research hypothesis are consistent with the reports by Sun et al. (2020) and Nath et al. (2010). The outcomes of testing the secondary hypotheses also reveal a significant positive relationship between the variables of average period of collection of claims, average debt repayment period, dividend growth ratio, cash holding level, and liquidity ratio and the variable of operational efficiency. Nevertheless, there is a significant negative relationship between the variables of cash conversion cycle and average inventory turnover period and operational efficiency.Considering these results, cash holding level and liquidity ratio have a positive effect on operational efficiency, which supports the findings in Nath et al. (2010). According to Nath et al. (2010), working capital items with high liquidity help improve the OE of a company, indicating its high capability to manage cash in the short term, as a requirement for its competitive presence in markets. The study results also agree with those concluded by Afrifa et al. (2022) that holding more cash facilitates working capital efficiency. Based on the study findings, average inventory turnover period has a negative effect on OE, in harmony with the results in Deloof (2003) that high inventory level declines the profitability and performance of a company. In his opinion, managers can increase the profitability and performance of businesses by reducing inventory levels. In view of the cash conversion cycle in the given companies during the study period here, the relationship between this variable and OE is negative, which is consistent with the results in Abdulla et al. (2017) that companies with higher cash conversion cycle are more efficient in managing their working capital as compared with other entities.From this perspective, managers are suggested to identify the role of working capital items and exploit them in line with the short/long-term goals in companies. This is practical in evaluating financial flexibility and solvency, and facilitates achieving optimal liquidity, and subsequently increasing business profitability and performance. Furthermore, learning about the role of working capital items is of assistance to investors, creditors, and analysts to make optimal decisions. Furthermore, it is possible to carry out the same study in the future with respect to the size and type of industry of the companies listed on the TSE, Iran, and complete a comparative study regarding the companies operating in each industry. Besides, it is recommended to analyze the effect of various working capital strategies on economic added value in a separate study. Investigating the effect of various strategies and components of working capital on stock price and its fluctuations should also be the subject of further research.
Accounting and various aspects of finance
Sajad Naghdi; Roghayye Jeddi
Abstract
The willingness of accountants to participate in the certified public accountant (CPA) exam has led to a highly competitive and challenging environment. Therefore, the aim of this research is to explore the lived experiences of CPA candidates. Given the psychological orientations, the unique scientific ...
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The willingness of accountants to participate in the certified public accountant (CPA) exam has led to a highly competitive and challenging environment. Therefore, the aim of this research is to explore the lived experiences of CPA candidates. Given the psychological orientations, the unique scientific and social structure of the candidates, and the multi-dimensionality of the exam, an interpretive paradigm and the qualitative method of phenomenology were employed for an in-depth study without statistical calculations. This study involved 37 participants, comprising 16 CPAs and 21 individuals who were rejected candidates, chosen through purposeful sampling. Data collection was conducted using the semi-structured interview method until the theoretical saturation limit was attained. Data analysis was carried out in five stages using Giorgi's method. The analysis yielded four main themes: weaknesses and limitations, structural challenges, strengths, and solutions to enhance the exam's quality. Each main theme encompassed three sub-themes with 99 narratives. Additionally, despite differing perspectives among candidates, a strong emphasis on the lack of educational resources, particularly in accounting and auditing courses, was noted. The findings also highlight a need to broaden the exam's scope to cover technical skills and reduce theoretical questions. Overall, the research underscores the significance of developing educational resources and focusing on practical questions to address the primary concerns of the candidates. IntroductionThe willingness of accountants to participate in the certified public accountant (CPA) exam has led to a highly competitive and challenging environment. Therefore, the aim of this research is to explore the lived experiences of CPA candidates. Since the accounting profession is continuously evolving and its complexity is increasing every day, it is necessary to consider this dynamic in the process of determining the qualification of certified public accountant. Some professionals have raised concerns about the design of the CPA exam, particularly regarding questions that are incorrectly framed, ambiguous, or have multiple or no correct answers. This issue often leads to candidates wasting time on such questions during the exam, a loss that cannot be compensated. Furthermore, the exam's administration also poses problems, such as an unfavorable physical environment and the use of non-professional proctors, contributing to stress. These factors collectively result in anxiety and psychosis both during and after the exam. Therefore, the systematic evaluation of various dimensions of the certified public accountant exam with the direct participation of the candidates can help identify and rectify the existing gaps and limitations. The findings from this research could then inform policy-making and program formulation within the certified accountant community.Literature ReviewConsidering the importance of the role of certified public accountant in society, the process of selecting and verifying their qualifications is also very important. For the first time, at the end of the 19th century, chartered accountants emerged as an institution in Britain, which at that time had the most advanced financial and economic system. Early in the 20th century, this institution started working in the United States of America. However, the pathology of the process of determining the qualification of a certified public accountant in Iran has shown several key challenges. These challenges include exam content and conducting method, necessary features to become a CPA, certification conditions and exam structure.MethodologyGiven the psychological orientations, the unique scientific and social structure of the candidates, and the multi-dimensionality of the exam, an interpretive paradigm and the qualitative method of phenomenology were employed for an in-depth study without statistical calculations. This study involved 37 participants, comprising 16 CPAs and 21 individuals who were rejected candidates, chosen through purposeful sampling. Data collection was conducted using the semi-structured interview method until the theoretical saturation limit was attained. Data analysis was carried out in five stages using Giorgi's method.ResultsThe analysis yielded four main themes: weaknesses and limitations, structural challenges, strengths, and solutions to enhance the exam's quality. Each main theme encompassed three sub-themes with 99 narratives. Additionally, despite differing perspectives among candidates, a strong emphasis on the lack of educational resources, particularly in accounting and auditing courses, was noted. The findings also highlight a need to broaden the exam's scope to cover technical skills and reduce theoretical questions.DiscussionObtaining the title of a CPA is a coveted goal for accountants from the onset of their careers. Consequently, it is essential to ensure that individuals who successfully navigate through the CPA qualification process possess the minimum required skills and expertise. The dynamic nature of economic, social, technological, environmental, and legal components continually influences the competencies and capabilities required of certified public accountants. Currently, the CPA exam in Iran faces criticism from professional accounting members, highlighting a clear concern: the existing procedures for determining the qualifications of CPAs are not adequately keeping pace with the rapid environmental changes.ConclusionIn general, the findings of this study indicate the importance of developing educational resources and focusing on practical questions, reflecting the primary concerns of CPA exam candidates. The lack of educational resources were emphasized by the majority of participants. Therefore, it is necessary for the community of certified public accountants to collaborate effectively with academic professionals. This collaboration should aim to produce textbooks and exam questions that are closely aligned with the curriculum, particularly in areas of accounting and auditing. It is recommended to include questions that assess talent skills such as comprehension, reasoning, and verbal abilities, as well as technical competencies like computer and Excel skills. Furthermore, the design of the questions should be such that they can be answered effectively only by candidates with relevant work experience (practical work) and those who have engaged in extensive and in-depth study (beyond mere memorization) of the subject matter. Considering the nature of the CPA exam, it is suggested to incorporate a wide range of questions to thoroughly evaluate a candidate's knowledge across all subjects. This approach should extend beyond just a few standards or specific areas to ensure that the candidates possess a well-rounded understanding of the entire curriculum.
Financial Accounting
Mohammad Hossein Setayesh; Zahra Rezaeianzadeh
Abstract
The main goal of this research is to identify and rank factors affecting innovation in accounting. In this research, firstly, accounting specialists were selected by purposeful sampling methods, and then qualitative data were collected using open questionnaires. After analyzing the collected data using ...
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The main goal of this research is to identify and rank factors affecting innovation in accounting. In this research, firstly, accounting specialists were selected by purposeful sampling methods, and then qualitative data were collected using open questionnaires. After analyzing the collected data using the phenomenology method, 11 factors were identified. Subsequently, a survey involving 17 faculty members from the accounting departments of Iranian public universities was conducted, and the Bayesian best-worst method was employed to rank these identified factors. Based on the results, the top 3 factors affecting innovation in accounting, in order of importance, include advances in information technology, changes in the business environment, and the level of financial knowledge and analytical skills of accountants. In order to improve the context of innovation in accounting, the results of this research suggest accountants should have general information about business and advances in information technology. They also, as the human capital of the innovation process in accounting, should continuously improve their level of financial knowledge and analytical skills.IntroductionIn recent years, the information technologies, such as cloud service models, big data, artificial intelligence, and blockchain are rapidly transforming the business environments and have raised concerns about the future of the accounting profession. Although these emerging technologies are still designed for the day-to-day work of accountants, they can significantly change the future work of accountants (Moll & Yigitbasioglu, 2019). It seems that in the face of the said technologies, the provision of accounting services, such as bookkeeping, preparing financial statements, preparing tax returns, and auditing, have all been subject to radical innovations (Bowles et al., 2020). According to the accounting literature, a new set of skills is necessary for accountants due to these emerging technologies. This is while job advertisements of Iranian companies (https://www.irantalent.com), still demand traditional job roles for accountants and instead, new job titles, such as fraud investigation specialist and senior data analyst have been emerging that can cover the newly defined job roles of accountants by literature. It seems that to reinforce the position of accountants in organizations, a change in accounting and in other words, the search for innovation in accounting is necessary.To address the lack of accounting literature in the field of innovation, the primary objective of this study is to identify and rank the factors that impact innovation in accounting by using qualitative methods, to initiate the expansion of innovative thinking and the creation of innovative ideas in accounting.MethodologyThis study used the phenomenology method to identify the factors affecting innovation in accounting. The accounting specialists were chosen as an informant using purposeful and snowball sampling methods. The twelve accounting specialists who participated in the research offered a wide range of services, including auditing, consulting, financial statement preparation, and tax accounting. Data collection was carried out mainly by means of an unstructured questionnaire supported by a telephone interview. Finally, by the use of Colaizzi’s method of data analysis, the factors affecting innovation in accounting were identified (Wirihana et al., 2018, p. 31).The Bayesian best-worst method was selected to rank the factors affecting innovation in accounting. The decision-makers were seventeen faculty members in the accounting department of Iranian public universities who had publications that transfer the concept of some sort of innovation in accounting. Bayesian best-worst method is based on pairwise comparison (Mohammadi & Rezaei, 2020). Pairwise comparison data from the decision-makers who participated in the research was collected through a standard questionnaire. Finally, using Python code for the chosen method, the factors affecting innovation in accounting were ranked.Results and DiscussionAccording to the results of Colaizzi’s method of data analysis, eleven factors were identified, and using the Bayesian best-worst method, the optimal weight of all factors was calculated. Table 1 presents the overall optimal weight and rank of factors affecting innovation in accounting. The findings indicate that the factors of advances in information technology (0.127806), changes in the business environment (0.12760311), and the level of financial knowledge and analytical skills of accountants (0.10951763) are respectively the most important factors. According to the optimal weight of all factors, it can be seen that none of the factors are irrelevant to innovation in accounting, because the weight of the least important factor is equal to 0.06665689. In fact, neither factor has an optimal weight lower than 0.065.ConclusionThe field of research into innovation in accounting is new, therefore this research generates new insight into the area. Among the practical implications, the study suggests that accountants consider environmental factors, such as advances in information technology and constantly update their knowledge and skills. It also suggests that they should improve their overall business knowledge by familiarizing themselves with different companies' operations and financial processes. Moreover, it suggests that they develop their analytical skills to be able to clarify the implications of decision-making results. Lastly, this study suggests that to achieve innovation in accounting, the conduct of research related to innovation and the cooperation of accountants can generate ideas to improve innovation in accounting.The study was qualitative in nature, as a result, this study cannot argue that the nature of innovation in accounting and the factors affecting it remain unchanged over time. Therefore, this study recommends more research in this field to contribute to a better understanding of innovation in accounting.
Financial Accounting
Zahra Eslami fard; Omid Pourheidari; Amirhossein Taebi naghandari
Abstract
Accounting is a reflection of the performance of economic entities, influenced by numerous factors. Culture is one of the most important factors influencing the development of accounting. This study explores how gender and social identity moderate the relationship between Islamic cultural values and ...
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Accounting is a reflection of the performance of economic entities, influenced by numerous factors. Culture is one of the most important factors influencing the development of accounting. This study explores how gender and social identity moderate the relationship between Islamic cultural values and the performance and attitudes within the auditing profession .This research follows an applied approach and employs a descriptive survey methodology. The study's population included all employees of the Audit Organization of Iran and doctoral students in accounting. A statistical sample of 384 individuals, composed of employees from the Iran Auditing Organization and accounting PhD students, was randomly selected based on Cochran’s formula for the year 1400. Data analysis was performed using the Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) approach with the Smart PLS software. The results indicated that there is a significant relationship between Islamic cultural values and employees' job performance and attitude. The study revealed that gender influences the relationship between Islamic cultural values and performance and attitudes within the auditing profession. However, social identity was found to have no significant impact on this relationship. Social identity has no effect on the relationship between cultural values of Islam and the function and attitude of the auditing profession. In conclusion, it is advisable to promote Islamic cultural values within the auditing profession to enhance ethical standards and professional competence.IntroductionThe increasing development and diversification of economic activities have led to the expansion of the capital market and the scope of activities of joint stock companies. Therefore, the duty and responsibility of professional auditors toward society and capital owners necessitates their adherence to a well-defined and consistent professional code of conduct, fostering acceptance, credibility, trust, and social respect (Turner, 2006).Career attitude is essentially an assessment of an individual's job, encapsulating their feelings, beliefs, and attachment to their occupation. Several variables influence the improvement of job attitudes, including age, education level, gender, work environment, years of service, competition, individual skills, job-specific skills, as well as the education and management approaches employed by audit supervisors (Kabir & Parvin, 2011).One of the most important factors influencing the development of accounting in any country is culture.Literature Review2.1. The effect of Islamic cultural values on the function and attitude of the auditing profession.Based on this discussion, the following hypotheses are presented:Hypothesis 1: There is a significant relationship between Islamic cultural values and the employees’ performance.Hypothesis 2: There is a significant relationship between Islamic cultural values and auditing staff’s job attitudeHypothesis 3: There is a significant relationship between the job attitude and performance of audit staff2.2 The effect of gender on the relationship between Islamic cultural values and the function and attitude of the auditing profession.Hypothesis 4: Gender affects the relationship between cultural values of Islam and auditing staff’s performance.Hypothesis 5: Gender affects the relationship between Islamic cultural values and auditing staff’s job attitude.Hypothesis 6: Gender affects the relationship between job attitude and audit staff performance.2.3. The effect of social identity on the relationship between Islamic cultural values and the function and attitude of the auditing profession.Hypothesis 7: Social identity affects the relationship between Islamic cultural values and auditing staff’s workHypothesis 8: Social identity affects the relationship between Islamic cultural values and auditing staff’s job attitude.Hypothesis 9: Social identity affects the relationship between job attitude and performance of audit staff.MethodologyThe research is applied and descriptive in nature, aiming to describe the effect of research variables during their implementation stages. The research population comprised employees of the Iran Auditing Organization and PhD students in auditing. We randomly selected a sample of 384 individuals based on Cochran's formula.To assess the fit of the measurement models, we employed criteria such as reliability and convergent validity. We evaluated questionnaire reliability using factor loading coefficients, Cronbach's alpha coefficient, and composite reliability. Data analysis involved the use of descriptive statistics as well as inferential statistics.ResultsThe purpose of this research was to examine the moderating role of gender and social identity in the relationship between Islamic cultural values and the function and attitude of the auditing profession. The results support the presence of a significant relationship between Islamic cultural values and auditor function, which aligns with the findings of Sayadi and Azizi (2016) and Hosseini and Babaei (2017). Additionally, the results reveal a significant connection between Islamic cultural values and auditor job attitudes, consistent with the findings of Sayadi and Azizi (2016) and Hosseini and Babaei (2017). Furthermore, the third hypothesis, suggesting a significant relationship between job attitude and audit staff performance, was confirmed, in accordance with Ali Fari et al.'s (2016) findings.The results indicate that gender significantly influences both Islamic cultural values and the performance of audit staff. Furthermore, gender has an effect on the relationship between Islamic cultural values and auditing staff’s job attitude. This result is inconsistent with the findings of Bani Mahd and Darvish (2015).The results also show that gender has an effect on the relationship between job attitude and performance of audit staff. This is consistent with the findings of Christensen et al. (2016), Sajjadi et al. (1401).Additionally, the results reveal that social identity does not affect the relationship between Islamic cultural values and auditing staff’s work. This is inconsistent with the findings of Badpa (2019).The results also show that social identity has no effect on the relationship between Islamic cultural values and auditing staff’s job attitude. This is in line with the findings of Ali Fari et al. (2016).Lastly, the results show that social identity has no effect on the relationship between job attitude and performance of audit staff. This is in line with the findings of Ali Fari et al. (2016). However, it is in contrast with the findings of Ebrahimzadeh et al. (1400) and Haqbin et al. (1401).AcknowledgmentsThe authors of the article express their appreciation and gratitude to the Islamic Azad University of Kerman branch.
Financial Accounting
Mohammad ali Karimi; Gholamreza Kordestani; . Kumars Biglar
Abstract
The public financial management system in developing countries faces ongoing challenges. These challenges include ensuring the compatibility of budget planning and discipline with macroeconomics, resource allocation in accordance with poverty reduction strategies, and effectively implementing programs ...
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The public financial management system in developing countries faces ongoing challenges. These challenges include ensuring the compatibility of budget planning and discipline with macroeconomics, resource allocation in accordance with poverty reduction strategies, and effectively implementing programs and activities while monitoring results. This research was conducted to identify the challenges of the public financial management system in the country. This qualitative study utilized the content analysis method to analyze data collected between 1400-1401. The required information was collected and analyzed through semi-structured interviews conducted with 15 experts to identify the challenges related to the country's public financial management systems. The challenges related to various public financial management sub-systems including the tax system, treasury system, asset and debt management system, budgeting system, accounting and financial reporting system, audit system, and performance evaluation system were identified in four elements, financial and non-financial resources, management and governance system, institutional framework, and support structures and in twelve dimensions including lack of financial resources, weak infrastructure and equipment, human resource problems, weakness in executive and operational processes, insufficient support of managers, influence and lobbying, lack of accountability, weak rules and standards, lack of transparency, weak training, non-implementation of accrual accounting, and weak performance budgeting. Identifying these challenges can provide a framework for improving the financial management system and help those involved in reforming the public financial management system.IntroductionStrong public financial management can reduce poverty, increase social justice, meet the information needs of stakeholders to assess accountability, and provide the basis for economic and social satisfaction, and contribute to sustainability in different dimensions. To achieve strong public financial management, there is a need to transform the public financial management subsystems.Studies have shown the necessity for reforming public finance management subsystems (Babajani, et al., 2012; Agha Mohammad et al., 2020; Nyamita, et al, 2015). To initiate reforms and strengthen the public financial management system, it is necessary to transition from traditional approaches to new ones that identify existing challenges and obstacles. By resolving them and building capacity, a foundation can be established for reforming the public financial management system. Therefore, the research question at hand is: What are the challenges facing public sector fiscal management?This research aims to introduce the literature related to the subject and explore the less-investigated issues associated with assessing financial management capacity and challenges within its sub-systems. In other words, the objective is to provide a deeper insight for responsible institutions and researchers to evaluate the capacity and challenges of public sector financial management.2-Literature ReviewThe research literature is presented in two parts: challenges related to public financial management sub-systems and assessing public financial management capacity.2-1: Challenges related to government financial management subsystems.Studies have shown that the tax system, treasury system, asset and debt management system, budgeting system, accounting and reporting system, audit system, and performance evaluation system are facing challenges.2-2: Assessing the capacity of public financial managementWhen assessing public financial management systems, the issue of capacity should be considered as crucial. Olander (2007) introduces four interdependent elements that need to be taken into account when assessing and developing public financial management capacity: management, resources, support structures, and the institutional framework. These elements represent the same challenges and limitations that must be identified and strengthened in the evaluation of public financial management. Doing so creates the necessary foundation for reforming and improving public financial management. MethodologyThis research employed a qualitative design. Data was collected through interviews, and the content analysis approach was utilized for analysis. A total of 15 individuals from the public sector were interviewed as part of the research. ResultsThe research results are presented in two parts.4-1) the codes extracted from the interviews are provided in Table.1, which consists of 7 main categories, 12 subcategories (dimensions), and a total of 70 concept elements (challenge factors).4-2) Research Concept Model.Drawing upon the research findings and recognizing that financial management comprises a comprehensive system of subsystems, the challenges associated with these subsystems also reflect the challenges of the overall financial management system. This is illustrated in Figure 1, which identifies 4 elements and 12 dimensions. DiscussionThe challenges related to public financial management subsystems, namely the tax system, the treasury system, the asset and debt management system, the budgeting system, the accounting and financial reporting system, the audit system, and the performance evaluation system can be grouped into four elements: financial and non-financial resources, management and governance system, institutional framework, and support structures. These challenges span across twelve dimensions, including: lack of financial resources, weak infrastructure and equipment, human resource problems, weakness in executive and operational processes, insufficient support of managers, influence and lobbying, lack of accountability, weak rules and standards, lack of transparency, weak training, non-implementation of accrual accounting, and weakness in performance budgeting. Identifying these challenges provides a framework for improving the financial management system and assists those involved in the reform of the public financial management system. ConclusionTo achieve the goals and capitalize on improvement opportunities, the financial management system must address several challenges. These challenges can be overcome through necessary reforms in the public financial management sub-systems, which require cooperation and coordination among executive bodies. The outcome of these reforms and the resolution of challenges will result in a robust public financial management system. This, in turn, will bring about stable financial income, resource discipline and efficiency, increased accountability and transparency, proper management of public funds, and ultimately good governance.However, it is important to acknowledge an important limitation: The breadth of dimensions and sub-systems related to the research subject. Limited access to experts and familiarity with all relevant topics presented a constraint. One potential solution to address the need for skilled human resources in the public sector is the establishment of a public financial management course. By developing the course curriculum in accordance with the actual needs of the public sector, this limitation can be mitigated.
Financial Accounting
mandana taheri; Mahtab Jafari
Abstract
Investor Sentiment often stem from held-up beliefs or information unrelated to stock value and can lead to extreme reactions or low reactions to good or bad news in stock valuation. In this study, the effect of two important policies of Earning sharing and debt policy in the company that can be investigated ...
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Investor Sentiment often stem from held-up beliefs or information unrelated to stock value and can lead to extreme reactions or low reactions to good or bad news in stock valuation. In this study, the effect of two important policies of Earning sharing and debt policy in the company that can be investigated on the behavior and inclinations of investors and then the Moderating effect of management Entrenchment on the relationship. To achieve the purpose of the research, four hypotheses were developed and data collected from 163 companies listed on the Tehran Stock Exchange during the years 2011 to 2021 were tested through regression models. The findings of this study showed that dividend policy increases investors' Sentiment but debt policy decreases investors' Sentiment. Management Entrenchment strengthens the positive relationship between dividend policy and investor sentiment. Therefore, during the dividend policy, the managers are of the shareholders' goals and want a higher dividend payment ratio. Management Entrenchment also reinforces the negative relationship between debt policy and investor sentiment. Therefore, risk-averse managers tend to use less debt, which is also a favorite of investors; because they invest in companies that have the least debt and their capital structure shows the importance of equity.