Problems of Islamic Banks in Kuwait: client’s perspective: مشكلات البنوك الإسلامية الكويتية حسب مدركات العملاء

This study aims to investigate the problems perceived by Islamic banks (IBs) clients, by applying on three banks. Using a questionnaire survey method, this study examines the perceptions of a sample of 110 IBs clients in Kuwait, measuring 34 problems classified under three broad categories: Managerial problems, communication and public relations problems, financial and credit problems. The paper presents descriptive statistics and analytical analyses. The most important managerial problems were: excessive administrative expenses, delays when visiting the branch, low investment opportunities offered that match clients’ needs and capabilities customers, lack of attention to the quality of services. Regarding the communication problems, the top problems were: distinguishing between clients based on their influence and banks interest, exaggerating the benefits of the services and not fully disclosing disadvantages and risks, weak communications between the bank and clients, unclear understanding of Islamic finance instruments such as Musharakah, Murabahah, and Mudarabah, week information disclosure regarding new investment opportunities. In terms of financial problems, the study revealed that top ones are: the rise in commissions and the profit margin of loans and other services, strict guarantees and credit requirements for financing, defaults in ATM machines or lack of available cash in them, and low financing opportunities for SMEs. Further, the study shows that there are no significate differences between different IBs as perceived by clients. The female and younger client groups were more expressing than male and older clients in terms of perceived problems compared to males and older sample groups. Based on the research findings, the paper provides several recommendations such as: providing qualified human resources that develop and innovate high quality products and services which meet clients’ needs and expectations. Moreover, IBs should take the advantage of the latest (FinTech) applications. Finally, applying corporate governance codes would help solving many raised problems and mitigate their impact. Besides, it would improve the efficiency of IBs management and business ethics practices.

Economies of Scale in Brazilian Supplementary Health

Low profitability has been responsible for the insolvency of a large number of health plan operators (HPO) in recent years, which increasingly requires these entities to assess which services can be optimized without compromising their final activities. An answer to this problem may lie in the adequate dimensioning of support activities. Therefore, the aim of this study is to investigate the economies of scale in the support activities of Brazilian HPO. In the presence of such economies, it can be considered that operators have room to dilute their administrative expenses, suggesting that profitability can be increased without the need for large price increases, which can guarantee the survival of companies in the sector without penalizing their customers. For this purpose, panel data regressions with Random Effects (RE), Fixed Effects (FE) and pooled were estimated, considering 5,185 observations for the period 2011 – 2018. The results found by estimating the total cost function were favorable to the hypothesis of economies of scale in the supplementary health sector. Finally, it was also possible to verify that the type of operator and the geographic location of the administrative headquarters of these entities contribute to the scale effect to a greater or lesser extent. These results show that the economies of scale existing in the sector can significantly contribute to the operational and financial maintenance of various HPO, providing an alternative to mitigate the low profitability of these companies.

TAXATION OF CASH PAYMENTS AS A MEANS OF LIMITING THE DEMAND FOR CASH AND DE-SHADOWING THE ECONOMY

Studies have shown that the policy of the National Bank of Ukraine to reduce cash in circulation is not consistent. Its priority is to meet the growing demand for cash, rather than taking measures to limit cash flow. This opinion is confirmed by the data for 2020, when there was a rapid growth of cash in circulation, the ratio of which to GDP increased from 9.7% (at the level agreed with the IMF at 9.5%) to 12.3%. In Ukrainian realities, there is a direct relationship between the amount of cash in circulation and the level of the shadow economy. The more cash in circulation, the larger the shadow economy, the higher the level of corruption, the greater the number of criminal offenses. The NBU has in fact become an institution that forms the main condition of the shadow economy: it supplies a sufficient amount of cash for shadow circulation. Responding to the growing demand for cash requires significant funds to produce new cash. Such expenses are included in the NBU's administrative expenses estimate. In case of lack of own revenues of the NBU, financing of its losses should be carried out from the budget of the next year. To cover the possible deficit of the NBU, it is proposed to introduce a fee for cash payments. Its introduction is seen as a tool to limit the demand for cash in economic turnover, rather than as an ever-growing source of filling the budget. The payers of the fee will be persons who pay for the purchased goods in cash. The introduction of such a fee will stimulate the reduction of cash payments, and hence the shadow economy.

Problems of Determination and Payment of Bankruptcy Administration Costs

This article continues the research of peculiarities seen in the insolvency proceedings of legal entities and examines the problems of determination and payment of administrative costs of the bankruptcy proceedings of legal entities. The authors analyze the features of these costs in bankruptcy proceedings and how they can be identified. It also assesses the order in which administrative expenses must be paid in cases where the expenses do not exceed the estimate of administrative expenses, exceed it, or if assets of the legal person are insufficient to reimburse these costs.

The effect of revenue diversification on the firm value and stability of banks: A comparative study of Nigerian and Malaysian banks

This study contributes to the current debate on the downsides and benefits of revenue diversification. Diversification may affect banks when they invest in riskier activities with lower returns, while they benefit from diversified activities that are less risky but have higher returns. The study offers extended implications in the empirical literature using a different measure of revenue diversification from an emerging market perspective. The study uses recent financial data from 26 Malaysian and Nigerian banks for the period 2009–2017, totaling 234 observations. The GMM estimation technique is employed to test the relationship. The results show that revenue diversification – non-interest income/gross revenue ratio (NII), fee and commission income/revenue ratio (NII1), and non-interest income/total assets ratio (NIITA) – significantly affect the firm value and stability of Nigerian banks. Liquidity, administrative expenses, net interest margin (NIM), non-performing loans (NPL), size, GDP growth rate and inflation also affect the firm value and stability of a bank. For Malaysian banks, diversification variables do not significantly affect firm value of a bank, while liquidity, administrative expenses, NIM and size significantly affect firm value. Diversification (NII and NIITA), liquidity, administrative expenses, NIM, NPL, size, GDP growth and inflation rate has a significant impact on the stability of Malaysian banks. The study concludes that revenue diversification affects both the firm value and stability of banks, and to achieve sound financial stability, banks that focus on interest-generating activities may diversify into non-interest-generating activities.

Tax Write-Off and Remission on Revenue Mobilization in Wiawso Municipal Assembly of Ghana

The maiden budget of the Akufo-Addo administration, presented by the Finance Minister on Thursday, March 2, 2021, saw the downward revision of certain taxes while others were completely abolished. According to Public Finance General Directorate, the purpose of taxation as enshrined in the French laws is “for the maintenance of public force and administrative expenses”. The need therefore to increase internally generated funds have been at the center stage of most developing countries, as Donor Partners insist on ensuring efficiency in tax administration before loans can be granted. Against the backdrop of tax cuts announced in the 2021 budget, this study seeks to evaluate the effect of tax cuts on revenue mobilization in the Wiawso Municipal Assembly of Ghana. The study employed the purposive sampling technique, making use of a population of 50. The result of the study showed that there is a strong negative relationship between tax cuts and revenue mobilization. Hence tax cuts can be assumed to reduce revenue mobilization. It also came to light that non-compliance was the main challenge facing the revenue collectors in the Wiawso Municipality. In the light of the above, the following recommendations were made. Government should support GRA by providing the necessary resources needed by the staff to carry out their daily activities effectively. For instance, the introduction of the taxpayer identification system. Technical training should also be organized regularly for GRA staff in other to help them acquire the necessary technical skills needed to carry out their activities effectively.

Latent but not absent: The ‘long tail’ nature of rural special education and its dynamic correction mechanism

The ‘long tail’ nature of rural special education (RSE) suggests that it simultaneously possesses the private nature of discreteness and the public nature of externalities, which can easily cause provision insufficiency. However, this mismatch may have a dynamic intertemporal correction mechanism impacted by different expenditures of supply sectors (governments and other social sectors). This paper uses different models and data from 30 provinces in China from 2003–2014 to analyze this dynamic correction mechanism. This research finds that different kinds of expenditures from different suppliers have divergent effects on this correction. Capital expenses (especially infrastructure construction) have significantly positive effects on the correction, but administrative expenses have significant dual effects on the correction. These effects may be caused by the various governance efficiencies and motivations of all stakeholders in RSE. This paper concludes that we should pay more attention to the accurate recognition and effective satisfaction of RSE affected by the governance efficiency and motivation of different suppliers to achieve this dynamic correction.

Historical Analysis of Income Statement – A Case Study Salalah Mills Company Oman

Purpose of the study: The objectives of the study were to critically analyze the financial performance of Salalah Mills Company (SMC), to examine the income statement position of the company, and to study the profitability position and improvements of Salalah Mills Company.Design/Methodology/Approach: The secondary data was obtained from the annual reports of Salalah Mills Company through the income statement for the period 2015 to 2019. The collected data was analysed using financial ratios involving excel and SPSS, to evaluate the Salalah Mills Company (SMC) profitability. Findings: The study revealed that the reduction in the company's gross profit (profit margin), the pre-tax margin was due to the increase in the cost of goods sold, administrative expenses, the cost of materials consumed, the selling and distribution expenses, and the labour cost. Research Implications: The study suggested that the company should reduce the cost of sales and administrative expenses to achieve an increased gross profit margin. It was also suggested that the company should focus more on marketing. Practical Implications: The study suggested that the company should look for an alternative for raw materials such as buying wheat from the local farmers. It was also suggested that the company should work on finding ways and means to achieve good profits so as to satisfy the shareholders. Originality/value: This research work is of its first own kind as the study focuses on the accounting perspectives of the food company in the Sultanate of Oman. Keywords: Direct cost of sales, Operating Income of the Flour Mills, Income Statement Analysis, Financial ratios, Market share of flour mills.

Remuneration, Personnel Expenses and Third Party Expenses in Times of Covid-19 in the Financial Sector

The objective of this research was to determine the statistically significant differences between the semiannual percentages of salaries, personnel expenses and third party expenses of the Peruvian financial sector during the “COVID-19” pandemic. The percentage of administrative expenses of 46 financial entities in Peru was analyzed, and in what proportion they invested in favor of their collaborators; As a result, in terms of remuneration, the Municipal Savings Banks invested in a greater proportion (50.69%), regarding personnel expenses, the Municipal Savings Banks stand out with 16.8%, and in terms of third-party payments, the financial entity that invested the most was Edpymes with 42.30%. Likewise, through the Kruskal Wallis test it was obtained that there are no statistically significant differences in remuneration, payment of personnel and payment to third parties among financial entities in Peru (p value> 0.05). It is concluded that the semester percentage variation in time of COVID-19 with respect to the first semester 2019 has had a minimal change (+ 1.20%. In salaries, -1.6% in personnel payments and -0.05% in third party expenses).