Benjamin P. Foster, William Ornstein and Trimbak Shastri
Section 404 of the Sarbanes‐Oxley Act (SOX) of 2002 required companies to report on the effectiveness of their internal controls over financial reporting. Auditors also must…
Abstract
Purpose
Section 404 of the Sarbanes‐Oxley Act (SOX) of 2002 required companies to report on the effectiveness of their internal controls over financial reporting. Auditors also must attest to, and report on, the assessment of the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting made by the management of the company being audited. The purpose of this paper is to provide analyses of audit fee costs and material weaknesses reported for companies of different sizes after the effective date of Section 404 and suggest approaches to reduce SOX 404 compliance costs.
Design/methodology/approach
Quantitative analysis and deductive reasoning are used to evaluate audit costs associated with Section 404.
Findings
Audit fees have been increased substantially, particularly during the first year a company complied with Section 404, and have not been dropped substantially after the first year of compliance. Companies with sales of less than $1 billion reported significantly more material weaknesses than larger companies.
Originality/value
This paper documents audit costs after the SOX Section 404 effective date, the typical types of material weaknesses reported, the proportion of companies of different sizes reporting material weaknesses, and describes approaches to reduce compliance costs.
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In management, psychology, science and technology, we are becoming more conscious of networks and less blinkered by hierarchies. Charles Handy's four cultures based upon the ‘web’…
Abstract
In management, psychology, science and technology, we are becoming more conscious of networks and less blinkered by hierarchies. Charles Handy's four cultures based upon the ‘web’ and the ‘net’, as well as the ‘role’ and the ‘person’ — have extended managerial awareness. Ornstein, in his Psychology of Consciousness has popularised the notion of the two sides of the brain — one logical and analytical, and the other intuitive and aesthetic. Nature's network has become well known to us, through the emerging science of ecology and via David Attenborough and David Bellamy amongst others. The new physics epitomised by Gary Zukov's Dance of the Wuli Masters, has brought a causality into a world which has been dominated by Newtonian cause‐effect. Finally, and most visibly, electronic networks are bursting out all over, to envelop our mechanically man‐made world.
As the field of history expands with each passing decade, so does the number of reference works on historical events. Many fine reference works have been released in recent years…
Abstract
As the field of history expands with each passing decade, so does the number of reference works on historical events. Many fine reference works have been released in recent years, and the following is an annotated list of some of those that librarians ought to consider purchasing. The materials included were published in the decade beginning with the American Bicentennial. The scope of the bibliography is also limited to certain subjects deemed appropriate by the author, and excludes a number of excellent works that were considered too limited (bibliographies of individuals, for example), even though they might well be proper purchases for a library's reference collection. Also excluded, generally, are those works that are revisions of earlier works. The range of subjects included within the larger context of “American history” is somewhat dependent on the materials actually published, and the author has attempted to select only those materials that have received favorable reviews.
Nadeem M. Firoz, Ahmad S. Maghrabi and Ki Hee Kim
In every country, specific cultures exist. In comparison most businesses have a variety of different cultures because there are different people working within the company. People…
Abstract
In every country, specific cultures exist. In comparison most businesses have a variety of different cultures because there are different people working within the company. People with the same religion, language, beliefs and values share a culture. This, in turn, is shared with all types of people in the same cultural system. Here the author examines the art of managing people who are from different cultures, taking into account their different set of values, traditions, and ways of achieving various goals. It exposes some of the problems inherent in the host (local) country where a home (parent company) manager refuses or is incapable of internalizing the local culture in which the expatriate operates. Business tactics are enforced and implemented differently depending on the culture the decision‐maker is from. Therefore, one should always think globally and act locally.
Reading the political and the familial in The Americans illuminates central features of the New Right. In particular, The Americans provides an opportunity to reconsider the…
Abstract
Reading the political and the familial in The Americans illuminates central features of the New Right. In particular, The Americans provides an opportunity to reconsider the significance of the ‘pro-family’ label to New Right organising, the importance of mothering to the ‘pro-family’ narrative offered by the New Right, and the relationship between this account of mothering and democratic citizenship more broadly. This paper argues: first, the ‘pro-family’ label served to weaponise American families against equality and egalitarian public institutions; second, that this weaponisation of the family was accomplished through a rhetorical and real elevation of the moralised work of mothers in the home; and third, this account of mothering is incompatible with democratic citizenship not only because it reproduces inequality but also because it presents families, particularly mothers, as surrounded by enemies. Surrounded by enemies, their children appear endangered or dangerous should they become products of enemy forces. The pro-family rhetoric of the New Right – with its emphasis on the labour of women, particularly mothers – concealed an insurgent factional bid for power just as the Jennings family concealed an insurgent operation inside the United States. The displacement of law in The Americans mirrors the displacement of law in American conservative politics in the 1980s and law’s replacement by the ideal of sanctified families that the guard republic. The Americans both recognises this reversal in American conservative politics and parodies the reversal of the idea that law protects the family.
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Paul Buhenga Masiko, Pross Nagitta Oluka, George William Kajjumba, Godfrey Mugurusi and Sylvia Desire Nyesiga
Technology competencies (TC) and human resources (HR) play a vital role in enhancing productivity in any industry. Yet the significance and interplay of these two factors in…
Abstract
Purpose
Technology competencies (TC) and human resources (HR) play a vital role in enhancing productivity in any industry. Yet the significance and interplay of these two factors in developing economies such as Uganda that are kick-starting oil exploration is not clear. Using structural equation modeling (SEM), the underlying relationship between technology, human resources and productivity in the petroleum industry is established.
Design/methodology/approach
To examine the interrelationship among the independent factors (TC and HR) and the dependent factor (productivity), a questionnaire was used to collect data from respondents in Uganda. All the targeted respondents come from the oil exploration side of the industry in Uganda. SEM, a multivariate statistical analysis technique, was applied to analyze the underlying relationships among variables.
Findings
The findings suggest that TC and HR positively and significantly influence the petroleum industry productivity (PI). Both TC and HR explain a 32% variation of the observed improvement in productivity. The relationship between the independent variables (TC and HR) and dependent variable (PI) is summarized using the equation ΔPI = 0.36 TC + 0.25 HR, with TC having a more significant effect on PI than HR.
Practical implications
The study thus proposes to governments and oil companies in resource constrained environments that adoption of advanced technologies in oil exploration plays a relatively much bigger role and has an overarching impact on productivity especially in countries with small scale production, or in hostile environments or with unconventional hydrocarbon reservoirs.
Originality/value
For developing economies with fewer resources that often face economic tradeoffs, the study examines the significance of TC and HR development in expanding the oil and gas sectors. This work, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, is among the few studies that have examined the impact and the interplay of TC and HR on the productivity of emerging oil industries in developing economies such as Uganda.
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Litigation is part of the American policymaking playbook as diverse groups routinely turn to courts to pursue their agendas. All of this litigation raises questions about its…
Abstract
Litigation is part of the American policymaking playbook as diverse groups routinely turn to courts to pursue their agendas. All of this litigation raises questions about its consequences. This essay examines the literature on the political risks of litigation. It argues that this literature identifies four potential risks – crowd out, path dependence, backlash, and individualization – but offers less insight into the likelihood of these risks in practice. It ends by offering suggestions about how to advance our understanding of when litigation casts a negative political shadow in the current age of judicialization.
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The purpose of this paper is to contribute to our understanding of the meaning of work. The study is concerned with eliciting work meanings of spiritually oriented individuals…
Abstract
The purpose of this paper is to contribute to our understanding of the meaning of work. The study is concerned with eliciting work meanings of spiritually oriented individuals with a view of establishing whether there is a common agenda identifiable and whether spirituality influences work behavior. It was found that in spite of their diversity, all research participants desired to express spiritual life purposes of “developing and becoming self”, “unity with others”, “expressing self” and “serving others” in the workplace. A second finding is that they seek to balance these over time. Furthermore it was found that spirituality clearly influences work behavior as research participants make career transitions if they cannot express their spirituality. Lessons are explored for contemporary organizations interested in retaining spiritually oriented employees.
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William Morton and James Uhomoibhi
This paper aims to report on the design and implementation of an e‐laboratory for enhanced science, technology and engineering education studies.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to report on the design and implementation of an e‐laboratory for enhanced science, technology and engineering education studies.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper assesses a computer‐based e‐laboratory, designed for new entrants to science, technology and engineering programmes of study in further and higher education to enable them complete proper “hands‐on” (not simulation) laboratory experiments off‐campus and also in virtual learning environments accessible remotely. The development of such a laboratory was in response to the inherent inability of web‐based learning environments to duplicate, off‐campus, the laboratory facilities and availability on‐campus. The measurement of effectiveness relates to whether a laboratory task can be accurately and completely achieved. Common parameters included percentage task completion, error rate and assistance required. Operations under different conditions were studied and observations made from comparison on implementations.
Findings
E‐laboratories were found to be more student‐centred with learners taking responsibility for their own learning.. The face‐to‐face pre‐computer scenario learners had a very low completion rate, a high error rate and required constant assistance. The computer‐based scenario resulted in a high completion rate, low error rate and a significant reduction in learner supervision.
Research limitations/implications
The technical constraints imposed by present online environments, the resulting impact on specific learning styles, and possible solutions to overcome these limitations are discussed.
Practical implications
Both quantitative surveys and qualitative interviews established a positive impact on student learning, thus justifying development of similar systems. More research and applications could follow as this has the potential to impact positively on development and use of e‐labs for enhanced science, technology and engineering studies in terms of costs, time and space requirements.
Originality/value
The recent interest and advances in the development of remote and virtual labs has shown that students of today, who are digital natives, especially those in the fields of science, technology and engineering, find the use of e‐laboratories very useful in enhancing their studies, encouraging them to use familiar technologies to access and do experiments either remotely or virtually online, thereby enhancing their learning. The approach adopted is unique and original, blending both virtual and hands‐on approach to experimental studies.