Robert W. McGee and Xiaoli Yuan
Timeliness of financial reporting is one of the attributes of good corporate governance identified by the OECD and World Bank. Shareholders and other stakeholders need information…
Abstract
Purpose
Timeliness of financial reporting is one of the attributes of good corporate governance identified by the OECD and World Bank. Shareholders and other stakeholders need information while it is still fresh and the more time that passes between year‐end and disclosure, the more stale the information becomes and the less value it has. This paper aims to examine the timeliness of financial reporting in the People's Republic of China and to compare it to timeliness in the USA and the European Union (EU).
Design/methodology/approach
The timeliness of financial reporting was measured by counting the number of days that elapsed between year‐end and the date of the independent auditor's report for Chinese companies listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange and a selection of public companies in the USA and EU. Results were then compared to determine whether there was a significant difference. This study also compares timeliness data on the basis of audit firm to determine whether companies audited by one of the Big‐4 firms are more timely in their financial reporting than are companies audited by Chinese audit firms.
Findings
The paper finds that Chinese companies took significantly longer to report financial results than either the EU or US companies. EU companies took significantly longer to report financial results than US companies. The vast majority of Chinese company audits were not conducted by the Big‐4 accounting firms.
Practical implications
Companies that are not timely in their financial reporting practices find it more difficult to attract capital. Their corporate governance practices are also seen as less than ideal, which has a negative effect on a company's reputation within the financial community. Thus, Chinese companies that are slow in reporting their financial results may suffer negative consequences in terms of reputation and ability to raise capital, all other things being equal.
Originality/value
This paper is the first to compare the timeliness of financial reporting for the People's Republic of China, the USA and the European Union.
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Academic inbreeding, whereby universities select their academic staff from among their own graduates, is a prevalent practice worldwide. This chapter presents a review of academic…
Abstract
Academic inbreeding, whereby universities select their academic staff from among their own graduates, is a prevalent practice worldwide. This chapter presents a review of academic inbreeding research and discusses its relevance to leadership. The definition of academic inbreeding is examined, including its rationale and conceptualization. Then, the mechanisms through which academic inbreeding comes to be and the mechanisms that sustain the practice are presented and elaborated upon. Empirical evidence about the effects of academic inbreeding on scholarly practices is considered. Considering that the effects of academic inbreeding tend to be mostly detrimental to a university which aims to be creative, proactive, engaged with external communities, and producing knowledge with the highest levels of quality, policies to deal with this phenomenon are needed. Leadership in this context faces often difficult challenges since the curtailing of academic inbreeding is necessary but often deeply entrenched in traditions, culture and norms, habitus and power structures of the universities.
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Barrie O. Pettman and Richard Dobbins
This issue is a selected bibliography covering the subject of leadership.
Abstract
This issue is a selected bibliography covering the subject of leadership.
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The growing turbulence of the external environment has progressively led to the necessity by organizations of exploiting new opportunities provided by data-driven approaches for…
Abstract
The growing turbulence of the external environment has progressively led to the necessity by organizations of exploiting new opportunities provided by data-driven approaches for supporting the even more complex decision-making processes. The new digital environment has led to the development and adoption of innovative approaches; also in the urban context which has always been characterized by different, interconnected, and dynamic dimensions. Urban governance models have been enhanced by smart technologies, which act as enablers of advanced services and foster connections between citizens, public and private organizations, and decision-makers. In this context, the objective of this chapter is to examine the role of data-driven approaches in the urban context during the chaotic and high variable circumstances related to the diffusion of the Coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19). Thanks to the adoption of the co-evolutionary perspective, a cycle in urban governance decision-making approach based on digital technologies is depicted and its contribution for managing the ongoing Covid-19 is traced. The results of the analysis highlight how the data-driven approach supports urban decision-making process and shed light on the co-evolutionary perspective as heuristic device to map the interactions settled in the networks between local governments, data-driven technologies, and citizens. In this sense, this chapter offers interesting insights, potentially capable of generating useful implications for both researchers and professionals in the public sector.
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Enas Moustafa Mohamed Abousafi, Mohamed Abouelhassan Ali and Jose Louis Iparraguirre
This chapter applies the five drivers of productivity framework to regional microdata for Egypt and extends it by introducing an index of industrial clusters as an explanatory…
Abstract
This chapter applies the five drivers of productivity framework to regional microdata for Egypt and extends it by introducing an index of industrial clusters as an explanatory factor of the productivity performance of local private sector firms. Applying structural equation models, the geographic concentration of sectoral economic activity is found to have a positive and statistically significant effect on labor productivity. The transmission mechanism is conjectured to be the positive spillovers that are created, which local firms can tap into. In contrast, a higher concentration of skilled workers in an industrial sector in a region is associated with lower levels of labor productivity – a finding that suggests there may be structural deficiencies in the allocation of skilled workers. Regional policy should focus on net investments in gross capital formation throughout the country, for which the national and regional governments should improve how public investments are managed and the institutional framework – including the rule of law, bureaucracy and red tape, conflict of interest, transparency, and governance – so that private investment (both local and foreign) may substantially increase.
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Welles Matias de Abreu, Marcio Luiz Albuquerque Oliveira and Ricardo Corrêa Gomes