Comparative review of dual reporting in public sector in three south-east European countries

2019 ◽  
Vol 31 (3) ◽  
pp. 325-344 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jelena Poljašević ◽  
Vesna Vašiček ◽  
Tatjana Jovanović
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Primary Source ◽  
European Countries ◽  
Accounting Systems ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Comparative Review ◽  
Depth Analysis ◽  
Accrual Basis ◽  
The Republic ◽  
The Government

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to analyze the application of budgeting and accounting bases and their relation to financial accounting reporting systems through a comparative survey of three South-Eastern European countries (Slovenia, Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina – the Entity of the Republic of Srpska). Design/methodology/approach The in-depth analysis based on the study of related literature and comprehensive review of existing indicators of accounting systems leads to the identification and characterization of the most important components of the government accounting systems’ focusing also on the information usefulness in the decision-making processes. Findings Dual reporting based on different bases is the main feature of the accounting information system of selected countries. Budgetary reports based on a cash basis represent the primary source of information for decision making. Selected jurisdictions started with the preparation and presentation of financial reports based on the accrual/modified accrual basis which was not the result of the informational needs of decision-makers, so the information themselves have become their own purpose. Practical implications By exploring the opportunities and obstacles in the implementation of the accrual basis in the selected countries, the paper contributes to the development of the EPSAS project. Originality/value This paper contributes to the literature on the application of various budgeting and accounting bases, with an emphasis on research of the similarities and differences of the reporting methods, for the purpose of distinguishing more easily two basic types of reports and, consequently, identifying their appropriate use.

The 2016 Police and Crime Commissioner elections

2017 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 41-54 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Joyce
Keyword(s):  
Public Awareness ◽  
Primary Source ◽  
Source Material ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Social ◽  
Key Issues ◽  
The Subject ◽  
The Government

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to analyse the 2016 elections for Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) and to compare them with those that took place in 2012. It seeks to evaluate the background of the candidates who stood for office in 2016, the policies that they put forward, the results of the contests and the implications of the 2016 experience for future PCC elections. Design/methodology/approach This paper is based around several key themes – the profile of candidates who stood for election, preparations conducted prior to the contests taking place, the election campaign and issues raised during the contests, the results and the profile of elected candidates. The paper is based upon documentary research, making particular use of primary source material. Findings The research establishes that affiliation to a political party became the main route for successful candidates in 2016 and that local issues related to low-level criminality will dominate the future policing agenda. It establishes that although turnout was higher than in 2012, it remains low and that further consideration needs to be devoted to initiatives to address this for future PCC election contests. Research limitations/implications The research focusses on the 2016 elections and identifies a number of key issues that emerged during the campaign affecting the conduct of the contests which have a bearing on future PCC elections. It treats these elections as a bespoke topic and does not seek to place them within the broader context of the development of the office of PCC. Practical implications The research suggests that in order to boost voter participation in future PCC election contests, PCCs need to consider further means to advertise the importance of the role they perform and that the government should play a larger financial role in funding publicity for these elections and consider changing the method of election. Social implications The rationale for introducing PCCs was to empower the public in each police force area. However, issues that include the enhanced importance of political affiliation as a criteria for election in 2016 and the social unrepresentative nature of those who stood for election and those who secured election to this office in these contests coupled with shortcomings related to public awareness of both the role of PCCs and the timing of election contests threaten to undermine this objective. Originality/value The extensive use of primary source material ensures that the subject matter is original and its interpretation is informed by an academic perspective.

The use and non-use of the government financial report by Maltese Members of Parliament

2018 ◽  
Vol 31 (4) ◽  
pp. 1124-1144 ◽  
Author(s):  
Josette Caruana ◽  
Brady Farrugia
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Information Overload ◽  
Qualitative Interviews ◽  
Financial Reports ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Financial Report ◽  
Members Of Parliament ◽  
The Government ◽  
And Performance ◽  
Questionnaire Research

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the use and non-use of the Government Financial Report by Maltese Members of Parliament (MPs). It refers to information overload theory to analyse the gap between financial reports and their relevance for decision making. Design/methodology/approach A mix of qualitative (interviews) and quantitative (questionnaire) research tools are applied, with the Maltese MPs being the research participants. This method is acclaimed to be comprehensive, but this study highlights certain disadvantages when applied in the political arena. Findings The characteristics of the information itself could be the main cause of information overload, resulting in the non-use of the financial report for decision making. Politicians refer to financial data for their decision making, but not to the data presented in the financial report. Irrespective of the politician’s professional background, the data in the financial report is perceived as incomplete and outdated. Practical implications The cause of information overload and its effects are important considerations for preparers of financial information and accounting standard setters, if they wish that their production is relevant for decision makers. Originality/value There is an increase in research concerning politicians’ use of budgetary and performance information, at local and regional levels of government. This study investigates exclusively the use of the financial report by politicians at central level, in a politically stable environment.

The framework of data-driven and multi-criteria decision-making for detecting unbalanced bidding

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Huimin Li ◽  
Limin Su ◽  
Jian Zuo ◽  
Xiaowei An ◽  
Guanghua Dong ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Distance Measure ◽  
Public Procurement ◽  
Unit Price ◽  
Data Driven ◽  
Relative Distance ◽  
Multi Criteria Decision Making ◽  
Ideal Solution ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Government

PurposeUnbalanced bidding can seriously imposed the government from obtaining the best value for the taxpayers' money in public procurement since it increases the owner's cost and decreases the fairness of the competitive bidding process. How to detect an unbalanced bid is a challenging task faced by theoretical researchers and practical actors. This study aims to develop an identification method of unbalanced bidding in the construction industry.Design/methodology/approachThe identification of unbalanced bidding is considered as a multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) problem. A data-driven unit price database from the historical bidding document is built to present the reference unit prices as benchmarks. According to the proposed extended TOPSIS method, the data-driven unit price is chosen as the positive ideal solution, and the unit price that has the furthest absolute distance measure as the negative ideal solution. The concept of relative distance is introduced to measure the distances between positive and negative ideal solutions and each bidding unit price. The unbalanced bidding degree is ranked by means of relative distance.FindingsThe proposed model can be used for the quantitative evaluation of unbalanced bidding from a decision-making perspective. The identification process is developed according to the decision-making process. The finding shows that the model will support owners to efficiently and effectively identify unbalanced bidding in the bid evaluation stage.Originality/valueThe data-driven reference unit prices improve the accuracy of the benchmark to evaluate the unbalanced bidding. The extended TOPSIS model is applied to identify unbalanced bidding; the owners can undertake objective decision-making to identify and prevent unbalanced bidding at the stage of procurement.

Factors limiting the adoption of hemp as an alternative sustainable material for green building delivery in Ghana

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kofi Agyekum ◽  
Emmanuel Adinyira ◽  
James Anthony Oppon
Keyword(s):  
Building Materials ◽  
Green Building ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Sustainable Material ◽  
Environmental Threats ◽  
Additional Information ◽  
Comparative Review ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
The Government

PurposeThe increased awareness of global environmental threats like climate change has created an upsurge of interest in low embodied carbon building materials for green building delivery. Though the literature advocates for the use of hemp-based building materials, there is no evidence of studies to explore its potential use in Ghana. Therefore, this study explores the potential factors that limit the adoption of hemp as an alternative sustainable material for green building delivery in Ghana.Design/methodology/approachA structured questionnaire was used to solicit the views of built environment professionals operating in construction, consulting and developer firms. The questions were developed through a comparative review of the related literature and complemented with a pilot review. Data were analysed via descriptive and inferential statistics.FindingsOn the average, the majority of the respondents showed a moderate level of awareness of hemp and its related uses in the construction industry. Also, certain key factors like the perceived association of hemp with marijuana, lack of expertise in the production of hemp-related building materials, farmers not getting the needed clearance for the cultivation of hemp, lack of legislation by the government in the legalisation of hemp and the inadequate knowledge of consumers on the benefits of hemp-based building materials were identified as potential limitations to the adoption of hemp as an alternative sustainable material for green building delivery.Originality/valueThe findings from this study provide insights into a less investigated area in sub-Saharan Africa and further provide new and additional information to the current state-of-the-art on the potential for the use of hemp in the building construction sector.

Grey assessment and prediction of the financial agglomeration degree in central five cities

2014 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 95-103 ◽  
Author(s):  
Li Li ◽  
Guo-hui Hu
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Scientific Development ◽  
Fuzzy Decision Making ◽  
Grey Prediction ◽  
Fuzzy Decision ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Multiple Dimension ◽  
The Government ◽  
Development Tendency ◽  
Decision Making Model

Purpose – At present, financial agglomeration tendency in domestic and foreign countries is increasingly evident. Therefore, from a comparative perspective, this paper aims to assess and predict the financial agglomeration degree in central five cities. Design/methodology/approach – According to the diversity of evaluating indexes and the uncertainty of financial agglomeration, this paper constructs a set of indexes of evaluating the financial agglomeration degree, comprehensively evaluates the financial agglomeration degree of the five cities – Wuhan, Changsha, Zhengzhou, Nanchang and Hefei – in China's middle region from 2001 to 2010 by using the multiple dimension grey fuzzy decision-making model, and predicts their development tendency by using the GM (1, 1, β) model. Findings – The results show that the multiple dimension grey fuzzy decision-making pattern cannot only be used to determine the weights of evaluating indexes, but also get the fuzzy partition and ranking order of the financial agglomeration in central five cities. The grey prediction results can objectively reflect the development tendency of the financial agglomeration in central five cities. Practical implications – From the results, it is necessary for any competitive city to clarify their relative strengths and weaknesses in order for the accurate location and scientific development, and it also provides a reference for the government decision-making. Originality/value – The paper succeeds in using the multiple dimension grey fuzzy decision-making model to measure the financial agglomeration degree of the five central cities and the grey prediction model to predict future trends.

Governance of the Chinese Super League

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 4-25 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yang Ma ◽  
Markus Kurscheidt
Keyword(s):  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Organisational Change ◽  
The Body ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Republic Of China ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
Depth Analysis ◽  
The Government ◽  
Governance Processes ◽  
Super League

Purpose In 2017, the Chinese Super League (CSL), the first professional football division in the People’s Republic of China (PRC), became the highest-spending league in the international players’ transfer market, with a total spending of €377m. Moreover, the government of the PRC is backing the CSL with an ambitious football plan. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to examine the governance of the CSL by questioning the organisational viability of the league. Design/methodology/approach In addition to the relevant international literature, this study is based on 14 recent scholarly articles published in Mandarin from 2013 to 2018 to reflect the national academic debate. Moreover, website research on all CSL clubs has been conducted. The institutional analysis follows the integrative change model of Cunningham (2002) complemented by agency and bureaucracy theory. Findings The CSL still faces substantial governance problems caused by the divergence of goal setting, organisational inefficiencies and compliance issues. The organisational change is notably constrained by internal competitive value commitments and external power dependency. Research limitations/implications The institutional findings on the CSL provide a starting point for empirical studies. The approach contributes to the theory of sport governance processes. Practical implications The material and insights are informative for decision makers to evaluate the competitiveness of the CSL. Originality/value This paper is the first international in-depth analysis of the governance of the CSL using the body of knowledge published in Mandarin.

Vietnamese industrial development: following Washington on the road to Beijing

2019 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Marco Rodolfo Di Tommaso ◽  
Antonio Angelino
Keyword(s):  
Industrial Policy ◽  
Policy Making ◽  
Industrial Development ◽  
Descriptive Analysis ◽  
Policy Formulation ◽  
Policy Implications ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Depth Analysis ◽  
The Government ◽  
On The Road

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the main features of the Vietnamese economic transition and industrial development pattern analyzing the evolution of the industrial policy formulation in the light of the changes in the country’s productive specialization and competitive position in the international division of labor. The authors also aim at stressing the role exerted by different external paradigm of influence on the Vietnamese policy making and the function of selectivity as an instrument to upgrade the competitiveness of the Vietnamese production system. Design/methodology/approach The paper provides a descriptive analysis of the Vietnamese recent economic trends and structural transformation dynamics. It realizes a literature review concerning the academic debate on the role and the effects of industrial policy in Vietnam identifying a categorization between different theoretical perspectives. In addition, it implements an in-depth analysis of the main industrial planning strategies promoted by the government investigating the evolution of the lines of the country’s economic policy agenda. On the basis of the previous analyses, the paper draws out some conclusions about the application of selective criteria in Vietnamese industrial policy interventions. Findings An in-depth examination of the planning prescriptions suggests that the Vietnamese government has undertaken a pronounced paradigm change in the course of last 15 years. The Vietnamese planning approach displays a shift toward a systematic and extended vision concerning the role of industrial policy, which result to be in clear discontinuity with respect to the market-friendly approach supported by Washington institutions. Nevertheless, this configuration outlines several limits characterizing the Vietnamese planning activity, connected to the lack of transparency and efficiency of the governance mechanisms that risk to undermine the effectiveness of the upgrading policies. Originality/value The paper focuses on Vietnam, an emerging economy in transition whose development trajectory has been characterized by peculiar economic and policy dynamics. The hybrid character of the government policy-making approach makes it difficult to identify univocal interpretations concerning the country’s industrial development dynamics and the resulting policy implications. In this perspective, the analysis has shed light on the mechanisms conditioning the formulation of industrial policy in Vietnam, focusing on the external influences exerted on its definition and on the domestic interactions associated to its implementation.

scholarly journals From bricks-and-mortar to bricks-and-clicks

2018 ◽  
Vol 48 (4) ◽  
pp. 415-438 ◽  
Author(s):  
Johannes Wollenburg ◽  
Alexander Hübner ◽  
Heinrich Kuhn ◽  
Alexander Trautrims
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Exploratory Study ◽  
Primary Source ◽  
Delivery Systems ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Configuration Theory ◽  
Logistics Networks ◽  
Grocery Retailing ◽  
Last Mile ◽  
Last Mile Delivery

Purpose The advent of grocery sales through online channels necessitates that bricks-and-mortar retailers redefine their logistics networks if they want to compete online. Because the general understanding of such bricks-and-clicks logistics systems for grocery is still limited, the purpose of this paper is to analyze the internal logistics networks used to serve customers across channels by means of an exploratory study with retailers from different contexts. Design/methodology/approach A total of 12 case companies from six European countries participated in this exploratory study. Face-to-face interviews with managers were the primary source for data collection. The heterogeneity of the sample enabled the authors to build a typology of logistics networks in grocery retailing on multiple channels and to understand the advantages of different warehousing, picking, internal transportation and last-mile delivery systems. Findings Bricks-and-mortar grocery retailers are leveraging their existing logistics structures to fulfill online orders. Logistics networks are mostly determined by the question of where to split case packs into customer units. In non-food logistics, channel integration is mostly seen as beneficial, but in grocery retailing, this depends heavily on product, market and retailer specifics. The data from the heterogeneous sample reveal six distinct types for cross-channel order fulfillment. Practical implications The qualitative analysis of different design options can serve as a decision support for retailers developing logistics networks to serve customers across channels. Originality/value The paper shows the internal and external factors that drive the decision-making for omni-channel (OC) logistics networks for previously store-based grocery retailers. Thereby, it makes a step toward building a contingency and configuration theory of retail networks design. It discusses in particular the differences between grocery and non-food OC retailing, last-mile delivery systems and market characteristics in the decision-making of retail networks design.

scholarly journals Access and its contribution to achieving trust and satisfaction in inter-ethnic relationships

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mensur Zeqiri
Keyword(s):  
Qualitative Inquiry ◽  
Civil Servants ◽  
Community Relations ◽  
Mutual Trust ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Main Research ◽  
Cultivation Strategy ◽  
Relational Outcomes ◽  
The Republic ◽  
The Government

PurposeThis study seeks to provide further testing of access in the context of government – community relations within the political context of the Republic of North Macedonia. The study analyses relationship cultivation strategy of access and explains how it contributes to achieving trust and relationship satisfaction in government–community relations. This paper also provides insights into the importance of access to achieving positive government–community relations based on mutual trust and satisfaction.Design/methodology/approachFor this research, a qualitative inquiry was conducted, and qualitative in-depth interviewing was used as the main research method. In total, 39 interviews were conducted: 12 interviews with Macedonian civil servants, eight interviews with Albanian civil servants and 19 interviews with Albanians.FindingsThe findings of this study showed citizens not to have enough access to government and its institutions. Besides, the results showed access to be crucial to building positive government–community relations based on mutual trust and satisfaction. In particular, discrimination and social distance were crucial in building trust between government and citizens.Originality/valueThe study provided evidence on the importance and contribution of the cultivation strategy of access to government-community relationships in general and to the relational outcomes of trust and satisfaction in particular. The findings supported the initial assumptions that access constitutes an important factor in predicting the government–community relationship quality.

New Cyprus parliament will be tougher to deal with

2016 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Eastern Mediterranean ◽  
Economic Recovery ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Parliamentary Elections ◽  
Presidential System ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Republic ◽  
The Government ◽  
Republic Of Cyprus ◽  
Parliamentary Support

Subject The May 22 parliamentary elections. Significance The elections had the lowest turnout in the history of the Republic of Cyprus and brought about significant changes in the composition of the chamber. They were conducted amid a climate of fragile economic recovery and talks with the Turkish Cypriots on reunification. The outcome was a weakening of parliamentary support for the talks and a louder voice for nationalist, anti-austerity and anti-reform views. Impacts The government that is in place will not be affected because Cyprus has a presidential system. However, the lack of a parliamentary majority could hinder the Cypriot economy's fragile recovery. Resolving the division of Cyprus problem would be a significant positive boost for the very insecure Eastern Mediterranean.

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