نوع مقاله : مقاله پژوهشی

نویسندگان

1 دانشیارگروه حسابداری دانشکده مدیریت و حسابداری، دانشگاه علامه طباطبائی، تهران، ایران

2 استادیار گروه حسابداری و مالی دانشگاه علامه طباطبائی

3 دانشیار، گروه مدیریت فناوری وکارآفرینی، دانشکده مدیریت و حسابداری، دانشگاه علامه طباطبائی، تهران، ایران.

4 دانشجوی دکتری حسابداری، دانشکده مدیریت و حسابداری، دانشگاه علامه طباطبائی، تهران، ایران

چکیده

صندوق‌های بازنشستگی در ایران از نوع مزایای معین است و پایداری آن‎ها از اهمیت بالایی برخوردار است. بااین‌وجود ارزیابی پایداری آن‌‎ها همواره موردانتقاد بوده است. گزارشگری حداقلی و استفاده از شاخص‌های ساده پاسخگوی نیازهای اطلاعاتی ذینفعان نیست. مسئله پیش‎رو، تعیین شاخص‌ها و استانداردهایی برای ارزیابی همه‌جانبه پایداری مالی می‌باشد. برای پاسخ به این مسئله ابتدا مبانی نظری ارزیابی پایداری صندوق‌های بازنشستگی و شاخص‌های مورداستفاده توسط کشورها و سازمان‌های بین‌المللی بررسی گردید. شاخص‌های استخراج‌شده برای نظرخواهی در اختیار خبرگان قرار داده شد و بر روی شاخص‌های کلیدی به روش دلفی فازی اجماع کسب گردید. به‌منظور رتبه‌بندی و تدوین شاخص ترکیبی، با استفاده ازنظر خبرگان و به‌کارگیری روش سوارا، شاخص نهایی حاصل شد. 27 شاخص در چهار بعد عدالت، کفایت، مالی و نوگرایی استخراج و مطابق با نتایج روش دلفی فازی، 15 شاخص کلیدی به تأیید نهایی رسید. ازاین‌بین، نسبت پشتیبانی ازنظر تأثیر رتبه اول، نرخ جایگزینی و ضریب نفوذ رتبه دوم و سوم را کسب کرد. نتایج حاصل از اجرای روش سوارا تأییدکننده شاخص ترکیبی متشکل از ابعاد عدالت (1 زیر شاخص)، کفایت (3 زیر شاخص) و بعد مالی (11 زیر شاخص) است. در این شاخص، بعد عدالت، کفایت و مالی به ترتیب 6، 21 و 73 درصد وزن شاخص ترکیبی را تشکیل می‌دهد. نسبت پشتیبانی رتبه اول، نسبت ارزش فعلی دارایی‌ها به تعهدات رتبه دوم و تجزیه‌وتحلیل اکچوئری رتبه سوم را کسب کرده است. با توجه ‌به شاخص ترکیبی، بعد شاخص‌های مالی بیشترین اهمیت را داشته و باوجود مشکلاتی همچون عدم وجود منابع و نقدینگی برای پرداخت تعهدات جاری، توجه به ابعاد عدالت و کفایت و نوگرایی در مراحل بعدی قرار می‌گیرند. بااین‌وجود شاخص‌های ترکیبی باید همواره موردبازنگری قرار گیرد.

کلیدواژه‌ها

موضوعات

عنوان مقاله [English]

Identifying and Ranking Sustainability Evaluation Indicators for Iranian Pension Funds

نویسندگان [English]

  • Javad Shekarkhah 1
  • Mohammad javad Salimi 2
  • Seyed Soroush Ghazinoori 3
  • Ali Hedayati Bilondi 4

1 Associate Professor, Accounting Department, Faculty of Managment and Accounting, Allameh Tabataba'i University, Tehran, Iran.

2 Assistant professor, Accounting Department, Faculty of Managment and Accounting, Allameh Tabataba'i University, Tehran, Iran.

3 Associate Professor, Management of Technology and Entreneurship Department, Faculty of Management and Accounting, Allameh Tabataba’i University, Tehran, Iran.

4 Ph.D. Student, Faculty of Management and Accounting, Allameh Tabataba'i University, Tehran, Iran.

چکیده [English]

Abstract
Pension 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.

Introduction

One 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.

Methodology

Considering 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 Discussion

This 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.

Conclusion

The 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.

کلیدواژه‌ها [English]

  • Pension Funds
  • Financial Sustainability
  • Sustainability Reporting
  • Combined Indicators Of Sustainability Assessment
  1. بهزاد پور، سمیرا و علی رحمانی. (1398). ارزیابی سودمندی اطلاعات ارائه‌شده در صورت‌های مالی صندوق‌های بازنشستگی. مجله دانش حسابداری. 6(1). 37-74. https://doi.org/‌10.30479/jfak.2019. 9800.2355
  2. پورخانی ذاکله بری، مظفر؛ جهان شاد، آزیتا. (1400). ارائه الگو برای افشای پایداری شرکتی و ارزیابی عوامل مرتبط با تئوری مشروعیت بر گزارشگری آن. پژوهش‌های حسابداری مالی و حسابرسی.13(49). 177 – 204. http;//dorl.net/do/20.1001.1.23830379‌.1400.13.49.8.3
  3. راهداری علیرضا، نصر، مصطفی. (1396). چالش‌های اتاق فکر در ایران. فرایند مدیریت و توسعه. 30(1). ۵۴-۲۳. http://jmdp.ir/article-۱-۲۷۲۷-fa.html
  4. طیبی ابوالحسنی، سید امیرحسین. (1398). درآمدی بر روش تحقیق: رویه‌های استاندارد تحلیل داده‌های کیفی. سیاست‌نامه علم و فناوری، 9(2 (پیاپی 27))، 67-95. 20.1001.1.24767220.1398.09.2.5.1
  5. عبدالعظیم بیگ، فاطمه. (1398). رویکرد اصلاح نظام بازنشستگی در ایران. دانشگاه علامه طباطبایی. پایان‌نامه مقطع کارشناسی ارشد.
  6. عنایتی، انور. کردستانی، غلامرضا و محمدی ملقرنی، عطاالله. (1401). ارائه الگوی ارزیابی پایداری مالی در سازمان تأمین اجتماعی. حسابداری و منافع اجتماعی. 12(1). 1-20.. doi: 10.22051/jaasci.2022.40183.1696
  7. کردستانی، غلامرضا و محمدی، مریم. (1397). شاخص‌های ارزیابی پایداری مالی بخش عمومی. مطالعات حسابداری و حسابرسی، 35(1). 5-16.  10.22051/JAASCI.‌2022.‌40183.1696
  8. محقق زاده، مهرداد، دامن کشیده، مرجان، مؤمنی و صالحیان، هوشنگ، افشاری‌راد، مجید و دقیقی اصلی، علیرضا. (1399). طراحی مدل پایداری مالی در سازمان تأمین اجتماعی با تمرکز بر اصلاحات پارامتریک. اقتصاد کاربردی، 10(35). 15-29. https://journals.srbiau.‌ac.ir/‌article_18115.html
  9. موسوی، پریسا، یوسفی زنوز، رضا و اکبر حسن‌پور. (1394). شناسایی ریسک‌های امنیت اطلاعات سازمانی با استفاده از روش دلفی فازی در صنعت بانکداری. مدیریت فناوری اطلاعات. 22(1). ۱۶۳ -۱۸۴. DOI: 10.22059/JITM.2015.53555
  10. Allianz Pensions sustainability index. Available at:  http:// project online.com/ app/ uploads/ Allianz_2016_Pension_Sustainability_Index. pdf
  11. Alonso-Fernandez, J., Meneu-Gaya, R., Devesa-Carpio, E., Devesa-Carpio, M., Dominguez-Fabian, I., & Encinas-Goenechea, B. (2018). From the replacement rate to the synthetic ECONOMIC RESEARCH-EKONOMSKA ISTRAŽIVANJA 6663 indicator: A global and gender measure of pension adequacy in the European Union. Social Indicators Research, 138(1), 165–186. https://doi.org/10.1007/‌s11205-017-1653-x
  12. Balugani, E., Butturi, M. A., Chevers, D., Parker, D., & Rimini, B. (2020). Empirical Evaluation of the Impact of Resilience and Sustainability on Firms’ Performance. Sustainability, 12(5),  https://doi.org/‌10.3390/‌su12051742
  13. Cheng, C.H., & Lin, Y. (2002). Evaluating the best main battle tank using fuzzy decision theory with linguistic criteria evaluation. European journal of operational research, 142 (1), 174-186. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0377-2217(01)00280-6
  14. Chybalski, F. (2016). The Multidimensional Efficiency of Pension System: Definition and Measurement in Cross-Country Studies. An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement,128(1), No 2, 15-34 https://doi.org/10.1007%2Fs11205-015-1017-3
  15. Clements, B. Feher, C, Sanjeev Gupta. (2015). Inequality and Fiscal Policy. International Monetary Fund. https://www.elibrary.imf.org/‌view/book/9781513531625/ch015.xml
  16. Devesa-Carpio, J.E., Rosado-Cebrian, B., Álvarez-García, J. (2020). Sustainability of Public Pension Systems. In: Peris-Ortiz, M. Álvarez-García, J. Domínguez-Fabián, I. Devolder, P. (eds) Economic Challenges of Pension Systems. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/‌10.1007‌/978-‌3-030-37912-4_6
  17. Ding, K. (2022). Necessity, Feasibility and Limitation of ESG Investment of Pension Funds in China. Law and Economy, 1(3), 55–62. Retrieved from https://www.paradigmpress.org/le/article/view/214
  18. Evans, T. L. (2012). Occupy Education: Living and Learning Sustainability. Global Studies in Education. Volume 22.
  19. Farooq, M.B. and De Villiers, C., 2019. Understanding how managers institutionalise sustainability reporting. Accounting, Auditing and Accountability Journal, 32(5), pp. 1240-1269.
  20. Galasso, V. (2019). Designing a pension system. The science of futures. Promises and previsions in architecture and philosophy. https://journals.openedition.org/estetica/5747
  21. Henock, M.S. (2019) Financial sustainability and outreach performance of saving and credit cooperatives: the case of Eastern Ethiopia. Asia Pacific Management Review, 24(1), 1–9. https://doi.org/10.1016/‌j.apmrv.2018.08.001
  22. International Federation of Accountants [IFAC]. (2011). Reporting on the Long-Term Sustainability of a Public Sector Entity’s Finances. http://www.ifac.org.
  23. Keršulienė, V., Zavadskas, E. K., & Turskis, Z. (2010). Selection of Rational Dispute Resolution Method by Applying New Step-wise Weight Assessment Ratio Analysis (SWARA). Journal of Business Economics and Management, 11(2), 243-258. https://doi.org/10.3846/jbem.2010.12
  24. Meutia, I., Yaacob, Z., & Kartasari, S.F. (2019). Sustainability reporting: An overview of the recent development. Accounting and Financial Control, 3(1), 23-39. doi:10.21511/afc.03(1).2020.03
  25. OECD (2013). REVIEW OF THE IRISH PENSION SYSTEM. https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/social-issues-migration-health/oecd-reviews-of-pension-systems-ireland_9789264208834-en
  26. OECD (2020). A framework for assessing the adequacy of retirement income. https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/sites/760ca223 en/index.html?itemId=/content/component/760ca223-en#section-d1e4152
  27. Rotschedl, J. (2015). Selected factors affecting the sustainability of the PAYG pension system. Procedia Economics and Finance, (30).742 – 750. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2212-5671(15)01323-4
  28. Schmukler, L. (2008). Pension Funds and Capital Market Development. How Much Bang for the Buck? The World Bank Development Research Group Macroeconomics and Growth Team. https://elibrary.worldbank.org/doi/10.1596/1813-9450-4787
  29. Thoradeniya, P., Lee, J., Tan, R., & Ferreira, A. )2021(. From Intention to Action on Sustainability Reporting: The Role of Individual, Organisational and Institutional Factors during War and Post-war Periods. The British Accounting Review, 54(1) https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bar.2021.101021
  30. Tsymbal, A.Makarenko, O. Tymoshenko, A. )2020(. The Time Has Come. The KPMG Survey of Sustainability Reporting 2020. https://home.kpmg/xx/en/home/insights/2020/11/the-time-has-come-survey-of-sustainability-reporting.html