International Accounting and Auditing Standards Adoption in Non-EU Eastern European Countries: Review of Regulations and Literature

In this paper, we review the regulations and research on the adoption of international accounting and audit standards in eleven Eastern European countries outside of the European Union. We find many regulatory commonalities among these jurisdictions related to their Communist-bloc heritage. The state remains the most important stakeholder and tax accounting dominates financial reporting. The work of local auditors is considered less reliable than that of their Big 4 counterparts. International organizations and the Big 4 auditors provide stimuli for and assistance with international standards’ adoption. Accounting and audit research is limited. The scarcity of data forces most authors to focus on the qualitative evaluation of accounting and audit reforms. Some opt for surveys. Few papers include empirical analyses. Our review covers jurisdictions, which have received limited attention in prior literature. We inform future empirical work and speak to the generalizability of previous research findings to this set of countries.

Validation of growth standards and growth references: A review of literature

The World Health Organization (WHO) growth standards provide the most recognized and widely accepted way of assessing child growth. To ensure its applicability, accuracy, and reliability, studies have validated WHO growth standards against local populations and other internationally recognized growth references. We reviewed outcomes of evaluations done on WHO growth standards and assess the appropriateness of using these growth standards on a global level. We undertook a systematic quantitative review of studies published from 2011 to 2020 from multiple databases. Studies were included if they considered children aged 59 months and below and reported on validation of growth standards. There was an agreement in studies that validated WHO growth standards against international growth references of its superiority in identifying stunted, overweight, and obese children. However, they were less likely to identify underweight children. None of the studies reviewed reported similar growth trajectories to WHO standards in all indicators considered. Regional differences in child growth were observed in comparison to WHO growth standards. Adoption of regional-specific standards increases the sensitivity of identifying children with adverse nutrition outcomes.

Reforming Russian accounting: The history, current challenges, and prospects

Subject. This article focuses on the evolution, current problems and prospects for further development of Russian accounting. Objectives. The article aims to study the results of the reform of Russian accounting, identify its current challenges, and justify the prospects for further development. Methods. For the study, I used critical analysis, synthesis, comparison, observation, and the analog approach. Results. The article describes the stages of reforming Russian accounting since the beginning of Russia's transition to the market economy to the present day, and the achievements and areas of concern of the system of regulation of Russian accounting at the current stage of its development. It shows trends in the Russian Accounting Standards adoption, and it advances arguments in favor of promising lines for further development of the Russian Accounting Standards system. Conclusions and Relevance. The evolution of Russian accounting since the beginning of Russia's transition to a market economy has been characterized by stages varying in the intensity of adoption of new accounting standards. The results of the reform of Russian accounting show the existence of both significant achievements and areas of concern. The future direction of further reform of Russian accounting should be the elimination of its current problems. The results obtained have both applied and theoretical spheres of application in the field of financial accounting.

P074 Crohn’s disease clinical data standards: Adoption and implementation to promote data sharing and reuse

Background Creation and adoption of clinical data standards will transform incompatible and disparate data into universal and illuminating information, facilitating discoveries that could have invaluable impact on Crohn’s Disease clinical research. Implementation of CDISC standards deliver on the promise of FAIR data through consistent organization and analysis that allow all researchers to leverage information from studies globally. Methods With support from The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust and following the CDISC consensus-based standards development process, a team of Crohn’s disease and standards development experts was created to develop clinical data standards for Crohn’s disease.The CDISC standards development process consists of five stages: Results Free and publicly available data standards are anticipated to be available in May 2021 in the following areas: - Questionnaires, Ratings and Scales (including standard symptom measures, patient/investigator reported outcomes, and socio-economic measures) - Prior and Baseline, and On-Study Treatments (including response to prior treatment) - Disease Classification (location and phenotypic descriptions of the disease)- Endoscopy Assessments - Cross Section Imaging Assessments (including CT, MRI and Ultrasound) - Histopathology of Biopsy Samples - Biomarkers of Interest for Crohn’s Disease Conclusion Widespread promotion of the standards for researchers to adopt and implement is of highest importance. CDISC provides complementary education courses and implementation information to assist in adoption for academic teams new to CDISC standards. Widespread adoption of the standards will bring clarity to Crohn’s Disease data and will enable the accessibility, interoperability, and reusability of data (FAIR).

Standardizing Primary Healthcare referral datasets: Interviews, form-reviews, and FHIR profiling (Preprint)

BACKGROUND Referral linkages are crucial for efficient functioning of Primary Health Care (PHC) systems. Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resource (FHIR) is an open global standard that facilitates structuring health information for coordinated exchange amongst stakeholders. OBJECTIVE The objective of this study is to profile, present methodology and the profiled FHIR resource for Maternal and Child Health (MNCH) referral use case in a typical Low-and-Middle-Income-Country (LMIC). METHODS Practicing doctors, midwives, and nurses were interviewed, and different referral forms reviewed. In this study, we have introduced the FHIR and its relation to the WHO International Classification for Disease (ICD). The union of datasets were aggregated and mapped to base patient FHIR resource elements, and extensions were created for datasets not in the core FHIR specification. RESULTS We found that there were many different data elements from the referral forms and interview responses. The resulting FHIR standard profile is published on GitHub for adaptation or adoption as necessary. Understanding datasets used in healthcare and clinical practice for information sharing is crucial in properly standardizing information sharing particularly as the world manage COVID-19 and other infectious diseases. This methodology and profiled dataset can be used by development organizations, and governments to fast-track FHIR standards adoption for paper and electronic information sharing at PHCs in LMICs. CONCLUSIONS We presented our methodology for profiling the referral resource crucial for the standardized exchange of new and expectant moms’ information. Using data from frontline providers and mapped to the FHIR profile helped contextualize the standardized profile.

The Evolution of the ISO/IEC 29110 Set of Standards and Guides

While the quality of products is a competitive advantage for very small software development organizations, the usage of Software and Systems Engineering standards amongst such very small organizations is extremely low. A key factor in the literature explaining this lack of quality standards adoption is the perception by small and very small organizations that such standards have been developed for large multi-national companies and not with small and very small organizations in mind. The ISO/IEC 29110 standard is unique amongst software and systems engineering standards, in that the working group (ISO/IEC JTC1/SC7 WG 24) mandated to develop a new standard approached industry to conduct a needs assessment and gather actual requirements for a new standard as part of the standards development process. This paper presents a historical perspective behind the development of the ISO/IEC 29110 systems and software engineering standard and its constituent components, including the rationale behind its development and the innovative design of implementation guides to assist very small companies in adopting the standards. Further this paper will present an overview of the various parts of the ISO/IEC 29110 family and briefly present the plans for the future evolution of this series of standards.