An Overview of the IT Risk Management Methodologies for Securing Information Assets

Effective information asset management is the basis of information security as well as many other issues. IT risk assessments work well with the proper handling of asset values, and also it is for effectively securing information assets. There is also a wide variety of risk assessment methodologies. This chapter presents information about the overall IT risk management process and methodologies. Best practices are mentioned and occasionally compared based on the requirements of the information technology (IT) sector in practice. This chapter will provide deep knowledge about the IT risk management approach and construction to implementers, risk owners, IT auditors, executive managers, and other IT staff.

A Revised Approach to Flood Damage Estimation in Flood Risk Maps and Flood Risk Management Plans, Poland

This article describes the determination of asset values in residential and industrial areas in Poland that can be used in the preparation of flood hazard and risk maps (FRMs) and flood risk management plans (FRMPs). In the Floods Directive’s first cycle of implementation (2010–2015), German indicators of asset value were adapted to Polish conditions. This approach was used due to the lack of national statistics necessary to determine the value of property. In this study, the asset values in residential and industrial areas were prepared on the basis of the nationwide household wealth survey conducted in 2016 by the Narodowy Bank Polski (the central bank of Poland) and other data available from Statistics Poland. The proposed approach enables the determination of asset values based on real, validated data. The obtained indicators result in higher and more realistic values of the assets of households (buildings with contents) and the assets of companies (fixed assets and stocks) operating in both residential and industrial areas. The proposed approach, as an extension in relation to the first planning cycle, has been implemented in the second cycle of FRMP preparation in Poland.

Historical trends in health care-related financial holdings among members of Congress

Background Revelations that some members of Congress, including members of key health care committees, hold substantial personal investments in the health care industry have raised concerns about lawmakers’ financial conflicts of interest (COI) and their potential impact on health care legislation and oversight. Aims 1) To assess historical trends in both the number of legislators holding health care-related assets and the value and composition of those assets. 2) To compare the financial holdings of members of health care-focused committees and subcommittees to those of other members of the House and Senate. Methods We analyzed 11 years of personal financial disclosures by all members of the House and Senate. For each year, we calculated the percentage of members holding a health care-related asset (overall, by party, and by committee); the total value of all assets and health care-related assets held; the mean and median values of assets held per member; and the share of asset values attributable to 9 health asset categories. Findings During the study period, over a third of all members of Congress held health care-related assets. These assets were often substantial, with a median total value per member of over $43,000. Members of health care-focused committees and subcommittees in the House and Senate did not hold health care-related assets at a higher rate than other members of their respective chambers. Conclusions These findings suggest that lawmakers’ health care-related COI warrant the same level of attention that has been paid to the COI of other actors in the health care system.

Accounting discretion in family firms: The case of goodwill write-off. Evidence from US firms

This paper investigates whether family ownership affects decisions to take a writeoff of the goodwill and the amount written off. This study is based on a panel of public United States firms. Consistent with predictions based on agency theory and socioemotional wealth (SEW) theory, the findings demonstrate accounting discretion in goodwill impairment is lower in family firms than non-family firms. The results also show that first-generation family firms are more likely to exploit accounting discretion in goodwill impairment decisions than second or later generation family firms, due to greater concerns associated with the negative consequences of the write-off. This paper contributes to previous research on accounting in the context of family firms. Family firms cannot be considered a homogeneous group with the same propensity to exploit the discretion allowed by accounting rules in highly subjective fair value measurements. Generational change significantly influences firms' accounting choices, leading to more credible earnings and asset values for second or later generation family firms. This study also suggests the earnings management literature would benefit from additional in-depth investigation into how the generational stage of family businesses affects accounting discretion.

A quantitative approach for evaluating intervention-value relations: historic mosques of Manisa, Turkey

PurposeThis study aims to propose a systematic way of evaluating the impact of historic and current interventions on cultural asset values of monuments that have preserved their authentic functions so that future interventions can be better guided.Design/methodology/approachThe study focuses on the Mosque typology. The case studies are chosen from a region that has a rich historic background, but has generally undergone rapid urbanization and faces extensive restorations today. Conventional site survey, archive and historical research and visual analysis are made, but the evaluation process has been designed. As a result, scale and intensity of interventions and disasters and the vulnerability of the monument should be identified for each period of the asset. Variations in the intensity of esthetic or historic qualities and the environmental settings should be credited, rather than the utilitarian necessities.FindingsMosques and their environs are most vulnerable in terms of their architectural authenticity and site aesthetics.Originality/valueThe objects studied in the previous studies present a variation, but the majority of the work is carried out with conventional evaluation methods with the emphasis on building scale. However, the mosques are affected by the interventions and disasters, not only as single architectural entities but also as the focal elements of their neighborhoods. So, the intervention-value relations should be understood both for building and site scales. An evaluation process is proposed for understanding the change of values with respect to interventions and disasters throughout history by combining qualitative and quantitative techniques.

Forest gardens increase the financial viability of farming enterprises in Sri Lanka

Forest gardens (FGs) are tree-dominant land uses in Sri Lankan farming enterprises. Although FG financial performance has been described, their overall contributions to farming enterprises remain unclear. This information is critical given the global quest for financially viable, sustainable agricultural models. Farming enterprises include On-farm (land uses: FGs, paddy, cash crops, plantations, swidden/chena plots, livestock), Off-farm (employment, trading, grants, welfare) and household components. Forest garden financial performance was compared with other enterprise components in short-(reference year, 2012–2013) and long-terms (beyond 2013). Financial data were collected for 85 farming enterprises in nine locations of the Intermediate zone using Household Income and Expenditure surveys and quantified using accounting procedures. In the short-term, 49% of On-farm income was the value of household consumption while 54% of On-farm expense the value of household contributions. FGs contributed 29% to food and fuelwood self-sufficiency, generated the highest profit, were the most financially efficient land use, and average FG profit (Current assets) was greater than enterprise profit. In the long-term, FGs had the highest number of timber and fuelwood species (biological assets). Their average net realisable value (NRV) was 90% of total NRV for biological assets from all land uses. Since FGs occupied 68% of the study area, their substantial biological and land assets had high Non-Current asset values. Average FG Non-Current asset values accounted for 79% of Total Equity and were farmers' core ownership interest in enterprises. Forest gardens increase the financial viability of farming enterprises. Their financial contributions warrant recognition in national economic performance assessments.

Effective Tax Rates by Income and Wealth Class

We use the Survey of Consumer Finances (SCF) from 1995 through 2016 to study trends in average effective tax rates across the income and wealth distribution. These average tax rates (ATRs) calculated from SCF income data are comparable to those calculated from external sources. We show that the wealthiest families have the highest ATRs, even as the income definition expands to include nontaxable sources and even though the wealthiest families are only sometimes among those with the highest annual income. However, the majority of income-producing assets held by the wealthiest are in the form of unrealized capital gains, effectively avoiding taxation. After altering the income concept to a measure of “potential income,” which incorporates changes in net worth and allows us to include untaxed increases in asset values, the wealthiest families no longer have the highest ATRs.

Long-Run Growth of Financial Data Technology

“Big data” financial technology raises concerns about market inefficiency. A common concern is that the technology might induce traders to extract others’ information, rather than to produce information themselves. We allow agents to choose how much they learn about future asset values or about others’ demands, and we explore how improvements in data processing shape these information choices, trading strategies and market outcomes. Our main insight is that unbiased technological change can explain a market-wide shift in data collection and trading strategies. However, in the long run, as data processing technology becomes increasingly advanced, both types of data continue to be processed. Two competing forces keep the data economy in balance: data resolve investment risk, but future data create risk. The efficiency results that follow from these competing forces upend two pieces of common wisdom: our results offer a new take on what makes prices informative and whether trades typically deemed liquidity-providing actually make markets more resilient. (JEL C55, D83, G12, G14, O33)

Stock Performance When Facing the Unexpected

The COVID-19 crisis has had enormous costs. The effects on financial markets were exacerbated by panic, fear of the unknown, fear of the end of the world as we knew it. This panic obfuscated our ability to make rational predictions on future cash flows and asset values. Overall though, our economic system is bouncing back. We can learn from this experience and build more flexible models which can help us to better manage severe systemic risks.